Day 3 at home has been a good one. I miss Laura and Lyssa and all my friends at TLC, but we are so happy to be here. Rick had visitors first thing this morning. Chris Mooney and all his boys and then Brad Stewart and Terry Haynes. Rick loves seeing everyone. Real life has proven to be a good dose of therapy for him. He talks more and probably walks as much with his walker as he did at TLC. We'll be back at PT in Seymour 3 times next week.

Colby called today to say that he misses Rick and things around TLC are really boring without him and the kids there. Blake had surgery yesterday to repair the broken bones in his arm and leg and handled it very well. Doctors still aren't optimistic, but Colby and his family aren't giving up.

I may not post as often as before...tonight I'm at my brother's house updating because Mom's internet is still down.

Love,
Crystal

Sorry I haven't been able to post in a couple of days...the internet at my mom's house is down. Rick's last day at TLC was a good one...a long one, but a good one. It was hard to say goodbye to everyone, even though I know we will see them all again soon. Everybody in the room was crying except Rick! It was 9 o'clock before we got to Seymour, but Rick was so happy to get here. His Aunt Chyral had already brought over his favorite banana nut muffins and mom had a snack ready for him, too. He got in the recliner and looked right at home. He has slept pretty good both nights, waking up early in the morning to go to the bathroom, but he is already getting more rest than he did at TLC. Yesterday he spent most of the day in the recliner relaxing and watching tv. He used his walker to get everywhere he needed to go. We just finished his first PT session with Tim at the Seymour Hospital. Tim actually came to Wichita Falls last year to work with Rick a couple of times and was the first person to actually stand him up. He did really good with Tim this morning and I think he surprised him at how well he could do everything.

We're looking forward to seeing everyone while we're in Seymour, and Rick has already asked me, "Is anybody coming to see me today?" So, y'all come see him!

Thanks for everything!

Love,
Crystal

We have lived in Lubbock for 9 MONTHS! Can you believe that? I can't...and I am so ready to get home. Seymour, TX never looked so good! I will dearly miss Laura and Lyssa...it would have been really sad to go home every evening to an empty hotel room or apt. Laura has so many connections in Lubbock...whether I needed a mechanic or a lawyer, she knew who to call. I will miss everyone at TLC. Such a great group of people. Rick just asked me, "can we go home now? right now?" Bless his heart...still not sleeping and his give-a-shitter is just broke. But, we'll fix it with our own brand of TLC.

What will we do while we're in Seymour? Well, I only have about 5,000 thank you cards to write! I wrote a few when Rick was first hurt, but then it just got to be too hard to keep up with. So, that will keep me busy and it will also be great for Rick to know who all did what while he was still too out of it to know anything. We will start out patient rehab at the Seymour Hospital until I can get things set up with NT Rehab and already have our first session scheduled for Friday morning at 11 o'clock.

Our prayers are needed for Blake Brazil now more than ever. He has hit a rough patch. His lungs have collapsed and his temp is spiking. Please pray for God's mercy and healing to be over this family.

Love,
Crystal

The doctor's appointment yesterday went good. The kidneys and bladder both look good. He didn't really have an explantion for the blood and wants to follow up in 3 months. Laura and Kelley watched him walk in his socked feet again, and decided he had more tone than they originally thought. Laura felt like a bump in the baclofen pum was needed. Luckily we got a hold of Dr. Wolcott's nurse to come increase it before she left on vacation. Dr. W took all of his staff and their families to Cancun! Riley said, "when I grow up, I wanna work for Dr. Wolcott!" So, hopefully we'll see some more improvement in his tone. We also found out yesterday that his break will be more like 2 months instead of 1. It has to do with the DARS money and the timing of how it is released. We have plans of doing some outpatient therapy at North Texas Rehab in Wichita Falls. We will be staying with my parents in Seymour during the break and will be looking for a place of our own.

Rick got to ride again this morning at Hold Your Horses. He looked so good. His balance was fabulous and he rode even better than he did last time, but he was tired after 15 minutes. We got back to TLC and he ate lunch and laid down for a nap. The kids and I went to finish up some school shopping. They each picked out a new pair of shoes and was toting them around while we continued to shop in the mall. We went into Icing, and they made the mistake of putting their bags down and before we knew it, they had been stolen. I was so mad. I mean, you know how it is...it's not that I had spent a whole lot of money, but it had taken us 2 hours to find those shoes. And, I had told the kids to keep up with their stuff. I just couldn't believe someone would do that. Well, lucky for us there are more good people than bad. As many of you know, Heather Winn has a shop in the Lubbock mall which we stopped by after reporting the bags missing. Brooke was there and asked if Riley could stay. The next thing I know, Riley is calling telling me that Heather has replaced our shoes! Thank you, Heather you too kind.

It looks like Wednesday will be a full day of therapy with our discharge meeting scheduled for 4 o'clock. Looking forward to getting to Seymour and going nowhere for awhile!

Love,
Crystal

The kids and I got back from Seymour at 3:00 yesterday. Rick told me that Susan Pautsky had come by to see him and she brought trash mix and brownies...I swear, all these gals tryin' to steal my man! The sleep meds aren't working and I guess nothing will until we get him home. He is so tired. This morning we got a visit from Lacey and Brogan Rankin. They got to watch Rick walk with his new walker...which he is getting better and better at maneuvering. Laura and Kelley took Rick's shoes off of him today to see if walking in his socked feet would help him feel his foot placement better. They call that "input" from the floor. I thought it would work, but he didn't seem to have any better feel for it...they even tried taking his socks off.

The doctors are trying to wake Blake Brazil from his coma. They took him off all paralytics and sedatives. He is tolerating it which is an excellent sign, and has even responded to a command.

Praise God for all of his blessings. His timing and His ways are always perfect.

Love,
Crystal

Wow, what a day...I'm sure Rick feels like he was runover with a Mack Truck. He had the urology appointment this morning where we expected to pee in a cup and chat with the doctor. Well, we did way more than that! The doctor wanted to "take a look at Rick's bladder", so you know what that means...little camera going somewhere little cameras are not meant to go. He had some discomfort, but it only took 30 seconds for the doc to look and say everything looks good. So, now he wants a catscan of the kidneys. And the nurse says, "any day, any time?" And I said sure. She comes back with "how about today at noon." It's 11:45, so, why not? It took about 30 minutes to get insurance authorization and the catscan took about 20 minutes, a quick x-ray, and we were out at 1:30. So, basically Rick spent 4 hours at the doctors office. He was starving by the time we got back to TLC. They gave him time to eat and then a session of PT and that's all he did today. We'll get the results of the CT on Friday.

Sleep meds are changed so that he gets half a dose at bed time, and when he wakes up in the middle of the night he'll get the other half. Lack of sleep makes for a pretty cranky Ricky.

The kids and I are in Seymour tonight. We started packing up stuff from TLC and from L&L's Bed and Breakfast and Supper and Entertainment. Some how we've managed to accumulate as much stuff between those 2 places as we had at the house at TRR! We'll head back to Lubbock tomorrow after twirling practice.

Blake had a rough night. Started running a really high temp and had to be put on an ice blanket. Rick was on an ice blanket for 2 weeks straight. His vitals also got a little shakey for a while, but thankfully all is well today. Keep praying for this precious family...this roller coaster is a long one.

God Bless,
Crystal

Back to the boring ole' hum drum day again today. Rick didn't sleep last night and wasn't in the best mood. So, back to the drawing board with the sleep meds. He worked on walking in PT and again did really good with his walker and minimum help from Kelly. He made a PB&J sandwich in OT and beat his last time. They have a speech therapist that just comes in as needed and she came in today. She hasn't seen Rick in a month and said she could tell a huge improvement in his articulation and clearness.

He has a doctors appointment in the morning with a urologist. About a month ago when he was having bad back pains, the only thing we could figure was that he was passing a kidney stone. On Saturday we think he was trying to pass the stone out of his bladder, so the doc wants him to see the urologist to make sure eveything is okay.

Blake had another good day. He is doing better and will get on a different kind of ventilator that is a step down from what he's on. And the doctor that has been such a jerk and full of negativity actually has some positive things to say now.

because you know that the testing of your faith developes perseverance. James 1:3

Love,
Crystal

WOO HOO!!!

Rick rode a horse today! We had been planning this outing, but with the rain and the mud, we didn't know if it would actually happen. So, this morning we went to Hold Your Horses Theraputic Riding Center and Rick got on! It was so good. He hated wearing the helmet, but that was not optional. We were all crying and laughing...all of us except for Rick. He didn't think it was any big deal...he said, "of course I can ride". Like Duh...what did you think, I knew I could do it. Of course, we all knew that he could do it to0, but actually seeing him do it was, to borrow a phrase from Riley, "the bomb diggety"!!! It's such good therapy and one that I pray we can continue. It will help with EVERYTHING! And, another great benefit from riding this morning is that Rick took a nap this afternoon and actually went to sleep.

All and all it was a great weekend. His Aunt Cyndi and Uncle James stopped by on Saturday. They live in California and haven't seen Rick since this time last year, so they were in for a very pleasant surprise. Also, our friend from Dallas, Diana Bullard spent the weekend with us and got to go see Rick ride this morning, too. She brought him breakfast burritos, Sprinkles cupcakes, and a steak for supper last night. I don't know, but she may have stolen his heart away from Laura!

So sorry we missed Steven and Rene Bagley this afternoon. While Rick was napping, I took the kids to see Despicable Me. Very cute movie and I've just been on a high today since seeing Rick ride this morning. He was so funny. He waved to us, gave us the "OK" sign, saluted us, and pretended he was roping. I've posted pictures on my FB page, and will get some on the blog, too.

Blake Brazil is still holding steady which at this point is fabulous. At this point in the injury you pray for boring days...and he's had a few boring days...Praise the Lord! Colby came to work today and handled things a lot better. He is such a good guy and I so wish he didn't have to deal with this.

So, I end this post with a big "YEAH BOY!" and a high five to God! And a big thank you to those who continue to pray for us, encourage us, and support us.

Love,
Crystal

So many great things to report today. I'll start with Rick first. He's been using a new walker since Wednesday and it was a slow go on Wednesday. But today it was a totally different story. First, Kelly had him walking back and forth in the gym and she did not assist him at all. There were a few times she had to correct him when he got off balance, but he was walking with just the walker. Then this afternoon he had another ordering outing. We left the wheelchair at TLC, and he used his walker to get to the elevator and in the suburban. Kelly only had to help him a few times. We went to Smoothie King and he needed a little help maneuvering the walker up the curbs and lost his balance few times once inside. But, when it came to ordering, he only had to say what he wanted twice before the guy understood him. Then when we got back to TLC, Laura called to say she was dropping off a chocolate cake. She got to see Rick for a minute and thought he looked great. She told him how she slaved away at the cake, and Rick said, "Bless your heart."

More walking news. Jared walked today for the first time with no assistance what-so-ever. No walker, no PT, just Jared...all Jared. He looked so good...a little wobbly at times, but I was so proud of him.

Blake also had a good day. The pressures have been good and they took the drain tubes out of his head. Everything is looking good...Praise the Lord.

Hope everyone has a great weekend. 12 days to go!

Love,
Crystal

Rick's day was kind of back to the blahs. He didn't sleep good again last night...guess we'll fight this battle until we go home. I'm hoping that once we're home, this not sleeping thing will be a thing of the past. I remember about 5 years ago when I spent 11 days in the hospital for a pancreatic attack, I couldn't sleep at all, but once I was home, it was all good. He went to the pool today and used his walker in the water. We only stayed for a little bit...the kids were getting pretty antsy...I can only keep them locked down for so long!

Colby tried to come back to work today, but was only able to stay a few hours. Blake is holding his own, but it's really been hard on Colby and his 3 other brothers. Colby is missing the one person who he would lean on in a time like this...I know the feeling. There is a Facebook page called Prayers For Blake Brazil. I woul d like to ask if all my FB friends would join that page and leave an encouraging scripture for the family. God is the only thing that is going to get them through this. I know y'all have it in you because you've already done it for me, and I remember how great it felt each day to have a little encouragement.

But He said to me, My grace is enough for you; for My strength and power are made perfect in your weakness. Therefore, I will all the more gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities, that the strength and power of Christ may rest upon me. II Corinthians 11:9

Love,
Crystal

Praise the Lord! Rick actually slept last night and Blake Brazil is doing better! Thank you God. Rick looked and felt so good today. In PT this morning he walked with his new walker and did a lot better and then got back on his barrel to practice his balance. He was even talking louder! His handwriting in ST was better...it was just all good!

Blake's pressure has come back down, but he has pneunomia. He was a strong, healthy man before the accident, so pneumonia will not get him down. He still has a long road ahead of him which is something we all understand. It's hard, and boy have these last few days brought back all the things we went through with Rick the first few days. Please keep praying for the Brazil's.

Never underestimate the power of prayer!

Love,
Crystal

Yesterday was a good day for Rick...he was a little tired, but managed to get through the day. It helped that his cousins from California stopped by to see him and root him on. Sean, Andrea, and Andrew stayed most of the day and got to see him do a few things. He was walking with a new walker and new shoes yesterday, so his steps were not as good as they have been. Andrew and Cade were recruited to help with Jared's PT. Jared is a 17 year old boy from Slaton that was involved in a car wreck a month before Rick's accident. He absolutely loves baseball, so yesterday his PT had Andrew and Cade play baseball with Jared. They all had fun and Jared had a big ole' smile on his face the whole time.

Today did not start out so hot. Rick was given his PT's heck when I got here. He wouldn't do the tests he needed to do to finish his PT eval. I couldn't even talk him into it. So finally I just told him I was going to leave if he wasn't going to cooperate, so he finally finished his eval, but he wasn't happy about it. He had a good OT session with some great stretching in his left shoulder. He had pool group this afternoon, and threw up on the way to the pool. It was such a mess...I was cleaning him up in the middle of 20th street. Anyway, finally got through that, and he actually had a really good pool session. Kelly had him running as fast as he could (which ain't setting no records), but he was moving so good. Then we finished the day by saddling a barrel and Rick getting on and roping. It was really good. I hardly helped him get the saddle cinched up...he was moving his hands soooo good and did it all by himself. Then he threw his rope at the dummy...I put it around the horns, and he jerked his slack and dallied. So, we saved the day, but this morning I was seriously thinking this day was going to be shot. Joanna Elliott came by after supper and visited for a while. She got engaged on July 4th. So, Rick was shaking her hand and I said, "Do you remember what just happened to Jo?" And he took her hand and looked down at it looking for the ring. So, he rememembered...that is so awesome!

Still needing prayers for Blake Brazil. His intercranial pressure has been up too high today. Please pray for the pressure to come down and for him to stabilize. And for God's grace and peace to surround the family.

Tonight we are doubling the sleeping meds for Rick...this has GOT to work!

To the King that rules forever, who will never die, who cannot be seen, the only God, be honor and glory forever & ever. 1Timothy 1:17

Love,
Crystal

WEEKEND SUMMARY

Rick was in a pretty good mood even though he was tired. The Ambien CR is only holding him over until about 3:30 am. He slept in both days and he took naps, so maybe he has caught up a little bit on his sleep. Shauna and Nored came by to see him today, and they bought him cinnamon rolls from Cinnabon. He absolutely loved them and will certainly love them for breakfast this week.

I have a special prayer request. One of our most favorite TA's at TLC is Colby Brazil. Colby's brother, Blake was hurt in a motorcycle accident early yesterday morning and has a TBI. He has a lot of positive things going for him right now. Although he has had to have part of his skull removed because of the swelling, he has also had some purposeful movement. I went to visit today, and offer my support. I just feel like our experience with TBI's and our walk of faith have to be shared with others, or we have gone through all of this for nothing. I so recognized the look on his mom's face...the confusion and fear are there along with the hope and the faith.
The confusion and the fear will not last, but the faith and the hope will.

Love,
Crystal

Well, the Lunesta only worked for a little while. Rick went to sleep last night, but woke up early. Luckily, the Ambien CR which is an extended release formula was delivered today. He had a reevaluation in PT, but they didn't get finished....should finish up on Monday and get the new results...Kelly said she could already see some improvement. Emilee got him on the cable pulleys to stretch his arms and he was able to get his left arm up higher than ever...said it doesn't hurt, it's just tight. This afternoon he had a special outing. He got to pick where he wanted to go, but it had to be a place where he could order a drink or something. He chose DQ and you should have heard him turn his voice on when he ordered a large, Double Fudge Cookie Dough Blizzard. He had to say it twice, but she understood him the second time. And, he ate the entire thing! Cade and I bought him new shoes today. He's worn the same ones everyday since he first started walking, and the toe on the left one has worn a hole in it...that's a good thing.

Rick has decided not to go to the Kieschnick family reunion. He's just too tired. He would like to see everyone, and I know there are lots of folks that would like to see him, but I don't think it would be worth it...he would be exhausted by the time we got there. Hopefully while we are on break we'll get to catch up with everyone.

Goodnight and God Bless,
Crystal

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days. We got up early on Tuesday morning and had the trailer loaded by 8 am! Thanks to all the Tongue River guys and gals that helped, I couldn't have done it without you. We got to Seymour Tuesday afternoon, and once I got still, I was gone...I was so tired. Riley had twirling practice and a swimming party on Wednesday. We didn't make it back to Lubbock until today at noon. I was so ready to see Rick. I don't really worry about him when I'm away. I know he's in good hands and is able to make his wants and needs known. More than anything, I just want to know what he's doing and see his progress and always be here to encourage him. After lunch he had PT and he walked outside with the rolling walker. Kelly and Laura have requested approval for a custom made AFO for Rick's left foot. An AFO is a special brace that will encompass his left ankle and foot, and will help with positioning his foot correctly when he's walking. We were hoping we wouldn't need one, but when Rick tries to walk, the tone really kicks in in his left foot. He can stand and have his heel on the ground with no problem, but when he initiates any kind of movement, the tone kicks in. After walking he had ST. He and Meredith have been working on the computer to help Rick get ready for his communication device. She is trying to get him more familiar with the keyboard. When he got there she told him to go ahead and get on the computer and work on typing a message. He typed, "I love Crystal". Then he turned around and winked at me! That just makes me want to laugh and cry at the same time.

The Kieschnick Family Reunion is this weekend. Rick still hasn't decided whether or not he wants to go. Part of the problem is that he's STILL not sleeping at night. Dr. Wolcott changed his sleeping meds to an extended release, but insurance hasn't approved it yet. So, tonight we are trying a new one called Lunesta and hopefully that will work. He's got to get some rest.

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. Matthew 11:28

Love,
Crystal

Rick had a pretty decent weekend. There wasn't any therapy today, and he said he actually slept last night for the first time in a long time and was feeling pretty good. Unfortunately, the kids and I had to leave at lunch to get to TRR. My brothers came out this afternoon and got a few things for me. In the morning right after breakfast, (7 ish) we will start packing the big trailer. I have just hit a brick wall this afternoon with this packing mess. So, I went to Dixie Maid to refuel! It was just as good as I remembered, and hopefully it will help me get my act together this evening. I called Rick and he said the had a good day. I made him a gooey butter cake before I left, so I think that helped a little bit.

Counting down the days to the 28th, and still counting on the Lord to get us through this.

Love,
Crystal

Well, Rick was pretty tired today. He walked really good in PT this morning, so I posted a video of it on my Facebook page. It's slow going, but his steps are really good. His gait is smooth and his balance is getting so much better. In the video you'll notice that Kelly is behind him holding on to his gait belt, but she's not having to help a lot. After the walking this morning though, he was pretty well done for the day. He didn't want to go on the outing this afternoon, but it's not optional. We went to tour the wineries of Lubbock, Llano Estacado and Caprock. Rick did walk the entire time through the Llano Estacado tour, but said he just couldn't do it at Caprock. We do have day passes for this weekend, but will probably just hang around Lubbock...maybe go to the movies or something...depends on the weather. It rained all day today, and it's not much fun trying to get Rick in and out of the vehicle in the pouring rain.

I think this week has caught up to all of us...time for bed!

Goodnight and God Bless!

Love,
Crystal

Rick had a very busy day today. He rode the trykes this morning, and walked non-stop for 440 ft with the rolling walker in PT. That is the furthest he's ever walked without needing a break. He worked on building his cinch in theraputic recreation. He also had a really good speech session, but still won't use his voice much outside of speech...he says it takes a lot of effort to keep his voice on and it makes him really tired. We met with Missy, our case manager and Rick's official discharge date is July 28th. She even printed a calendar off for Rick to put in his notebook to cross off each day. We went to get his baclofen pump refilled and Dr. Wolcott's nurse educated Cade on the whole process. Riley had shooting camp this morning at LCU and some girls from Matador that she played b-ball with were there also. She talked me into letting her go back with them.

My plans are to be at TRR on Monday afternoon to finish packing. My brothers are coming over on Monday as well to load some things to haul back to Seymour that I don't want on the moving van. Then first thing Tuesday morning, Tom is letting the guys off to help me load the rest of our stuff. I know it's a work day, but if anyone else could help us, it would be greatly appreciated.

A year ago today, Rick was taken off the ventilator. His reaction to being taken off set the tone for the rest of his recovery. I remember the nurse on nights telling me, "we'll take him off, but only for a little at a time as he probably won't be able to handle it." My dad stayed the night that night with him, and when they took him off the venitlator, he never missed a beat...or I guess I should say breath. He surprised the doctors, but he didn't surprise me.

For I will turn their mourning into joy and will comfort them and make them rejoice after their sorrow. Jeremiah 31:13

Love,
Crystal