DAY 172

I went ahead and posted the address here at Trustpoint...I have no idea when we'll move as they increased the pump again this afternoon. Rick had a really good day, and I'm so impressed with the effort and interest that his therapists and the techs have in him. Yesterday in PT Chel'C rigged up a boltster on the mat for Rick to straddle as if he was horseback and "roped" a post with a theraband. Today his OT had him "branding". She made a brand out of a clothes hanger and had Rick dip it in red paint and brand a sheet of paper hanging on the wall. In ST, Jeannie asked Rick if he played cards...he was actually teaching the kids to play poker when he got hurt...so, she has incorporated poker into his ST sessions. ST and OT are also working on cognitive skills as well. He had really good voice in ST again today. He was able to hold an "aahhh" out for 3 seconds...this is huge for Rick. Usually he can only make a sound for about a second. He took a 2 hour nap after therapy and was still a little groggy when Beverly and Monte Hollar came by to visit. He did eat a good supper and is waiting on a shower. We've been staying up way too late watching the NFR and I think it's catching up to him.

I thank God for getting us through another day, and especially for my family taking such good care of our kiddos through all of this...looking forward to Christmas break.

Hope y'all have a good night.

Love,
Crystal

DAY 170 & 171

Wow...can't believe we are to day 171. Today was a great day for Rick. They bumped the pump up yesterday, and we could tell a difference today. The biggy is that he is now able to extend his left arm above his head. Before, his shoulder was "locked" by the tone and he could only raise his arm to shoulder height and no further. He didn't even act like it hurt to push his arm up...it was really great. He also had good voicing in speech. The ST explained that the vocal chords are muscles too and they are just as affected by the tone as all the other muscles in his body. So, the baclofen must be helping there, too. She also told me to have him clear his throat and cough as much as possible to keep those vocal chords working and loosening up. Just now he was sitting in his wheelchair and was reaching for the thermostat. I asked him what he was doing, and he said pretty plainly, "heat up" and then put his hand on me and said "I'm cold".

We got some beautiful pictures from Marilyn Cheatham. She took pictures of Rick demonstrating his horses at the 2008 Remuda Sale at Pitchfork. The pictures are wonderful...Rick looks so relaxed and happy horseback. He looked at the pictures for a long time...thanks, Marilyn...great inspiration!

I also find great inspiration in Psalm 18...The cords of death surrounded me, and the streams of ungodliness and torrents of ruin terrified me. The cords of Sheol surrounded me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called upon the Lord and cried to my God; He heard my voice out of His temple and my cry came before Him into his ears. Psalm 18: 4-6

The Lord is my rock and my salvation. When I'm tired, frustrated and scared I talk to Him. There are days that I wouldn't have made it through without Him. Even when things are heading in the right direction with Rick, I worry about the many unanswered questions. I will have my answers one day and one day my family will be put back together again.

God Bless.
Love,
Crystal

DAY 169

Not much to report for today. I took the kids to the movies last night. We went to see The Blind Side...it was good. My mom picked the kids up today, and they left at 3:30. I gave Rick a haircut, stretched him out some and made him stand up and do some squats...just anything to not lose what we work on during the week. I showered him and he's in bed sleeping.

Judy and Kyle Helm stopped by and had the last 6 presents. One of the presents was a box of candy canes and had the following note with it:

Look at the Candy Cane
What do you see?
Stripes that are red like
His blood shed for me.
White is for my Savior
Who's sinless and pure.
"J" is for Jesus-
My Lord that's for sure.
Turn it around and a staff you will see.
Jesus, my shepherd, was born just for me!

Hope everyone has a great week.

God Bless You all,
Crystal

DAY 167 & 168

I met my dad in Crosbyton yesterday and picked up the kids. We didn't do much last night...stayed at the hospital until 9 and then ate and went to the hotel. Rick's day yesterday was kind of blah. He threw up yesterday morning and just didn't seem to really care about much going on after that. He did have a new trick up his sleeve when I went to put him in bed. I had the bedrail up at the top of the bed and he reached for it, so I thought I would see what he was going to do. He stood up just enough to scoot his bottom over his arm rest and sat himself down in the bed...then looked at me and smiled a little like, "see what I can do?".

Of all mornings to have car trouble, I pick this morning...it was freezing and my battery was dead. Easy fix right? Wrong. My hood wouldn't open. Luckily there is a collision center next door to the hotel so 2 guys came over and practically took my grill off to get the hood up...the latch is totally messed up, so now my car hood is closed with a bungy cord and I can't go over 50 mph. Anyway, they have a part ordered and should have it in next week. We finally got to the hospital at 11. Kim, Phillip, Curtis, Jean, Melanie and Carson Graf all came to see us today. They are just like family to us. Rick is always happy to see them. After he ate lunch he took a nap and we went to Abuelos for lunch. We also had a visit from Tanner Kieschnick tonight who was taking a break from studying for finals. Rick told him to bring him 2 Bud Lights...now why would he think that Tanner would have any Bud Light?

I thank God for all he's done for us through this ordeal. We have a lot to be thankful for including the family and friends and complete strangers that have prayed and done so many things for us. I know we still have a ways to go, but it's been made so much easier by keeping the faith.

I still believe!

Love,
Crystal

DAY 166

I have to start off tonight's post bragging on Riley. She won first place in UIL oral reading today. One of the judges said she should just skip high school and go straight to Hollywood!

Rick had a good day, too. He talked in speech again this morning. He answered about 6 questions pretty loud, well enough for her to understand his answers...she said he made her day. Still working on arm strength and range of motion in OT, and Chel'C is still focused on his neck, posture and walking. Dr. Wolcott discontinued his bloodpressure medicine, so one more med to be off of. He's been taking it ever since the accident...a precautionary thing...blood pressure and intercranial pressure are related. The highest his BP has been in the last 10 days is 120/79...pretty well perfect. We got a visit today from Matt McNabb and his mom and dad. It was great to see them...haven't seen Matt since August. Rick smiled and showed Matt how he can still "rope".

Today is my sisters b-day...Happy B-day, Pooh...thanks for taking care of my kids. Dig in your heels and refuse to get to "40" or you'll be old like Rick...and Sherry...sorry Big Sher, I think the gig is up, noone believes you're 29!

Present #3 A sign that says "BELIEVE" and a note that says in part, "'Believe' says it all for Jesus tells us many times exactly what to do; If you belive, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer". Matthew 21:22.

Got to get Rick in the shower...good night!

Love,
Crystal

DAY 165

Dr. Wolcott bumped the pump up again this morning...I was actually a little surprised he did it so soon. He said that it will probably need to be bumped one more time and hopefully we'll have it set. I have a feeling we'll be here at Trustpoint until the middle to end of next week. He got 4 hours of therapy today and then took a 3 hour nap. I just keep praying that his tone will be manageable. His dose right now is not consider high by any means, but it just makes me wonder how much medicine he'll need. If he continues at the dosage he's receiving, he will need a refill in January. Refill is a pretty simple process. The pump has a soft port in the middle of it. The doctor will find the port and use a needle to refill.

I got a phone call today from a girl whose husband was at both Baylor and Pate with Rick. He went to outpatient about 3 weeks before we left. She was upset...having him at home is hard. He can talk and is now walking with a walker, but the docs changed his medicine and he started having pretty bad outbursts. I think she just wanted to talk to someone that understands. I encouraged her and told her it will get better and easier. It's frustrating because there is no "normal" with brain injuries. And we've proven every statistic wrong, so you kind of feel like your Christopher Columbus sometimes. I refuse to be bitter or angry. The answers will come one day and until then I will continue to be devoted to Rick and the task at hand.

Gift #2...4 stockings with our names on them filled with chocolate...Rick and Cade's favorite!

Good night.
Love,
Crystal

DAY 164

Praise God for another great day! We actually heard Rick's voice in speech therapy this morning...he said "hi" 4 times with a lot of sound. Jeannie (ST) has been massaging his face muscles to loosen them up and also working on strengthening his mouth muscles and tongue. The baclofen pump has helped loosen muscles in his neck and I think that is also contributing to the progress we are seeing in speech. He stood in the standing frame for about 20 minutes and then Chel'C ultrasounded his neck this afternoon. After she is through working on the muscles on the left she will work on the muscles in the back of his neck that are causing him to keep his neck stuck out all the time. He worked on taking his shirt off and putting it back on in OT. He is really using his left arm a lot more now and a tech works with him every day on stretching and range of motion, and Amanda makes him bear weight on it every day by standing him at a table and making him put both hands flat on the table and hold himself up...of course she has to help with balance, but he does a really good job...it's all starting to pay off.

Neill who is Dr. Wolcott's Nurse Practioner told me this a.m. that Dr. Wolcott wants to keep us here "awhile". I'm like "how long is awhile?" . We're going to play it by ear...get all the adjustments made to the pump that need to be made. Chel'C will probably have a big say in when it's time since she is the one measuring the amount of tone Rick has.

Christmas has come early for us this year. Judy Miller Helm is from Vernon, and now lives in Lubbock. She left a little surprise for us today. 12 presents with a note to open one a day for the next 12 days. The first present was a little snowman standing next to a tree with blocks saying "24 days 'til Christmas", and a note that said: Just like it can be hard waiting for Christmas, it can be hard being patient & waiting on God. So, remember James 1:4 when the waiting is hard. "Let patience have her perfect work in you so that you may be prefect and complete wanting nothing". How perfect of a verse is that. And, btw Judy, if your reading this...your in big trouble...you've done enough for us already!

Well, I've said it once and I'll say it again...there are so many GOOD people out there, and y'all are such a blessing to us. I thank God every day for all He's done for us.

Love,
Crystal