For Your Information....
The Elmira Country Club Women's Golf Association is holding a "Santa Raffle", all proceeds to go to Dana. The "Santa" is a one of a kind by Sayre, PA, artist Glory Kilmer. The Santa is currently on display at the Elmira Country Club. The ticket price is $10.00. If you would like to help out, here is the information:
1. Send a check made payable to "ECC Women's Golf Association" to:
Judy Mustico
826 Holley Road
Elmira, New York 14905
2. Please include your email address or a self addresses stamped envelope, if you would like a receipt. Receipts will be forwarded after November 18th.
Drawing is scheduled to be held on December 2nd. If you would like more information or would like to help with ticket sales, please contact Judy Mustico at judym@stny.rr.com. Thank you very much!
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Monday, November 5, 2007
Surgery Went Well....Hooray!!
Good Monday Morning Everyone,
The plastic surgeon just came out to let me know that the surgery is done and everything went great. He was very pleased!! Dana is already awake and talking to the recovery room nurses about cycling. He will return to his room around 11:00 am, just in time for lunch. Thank you for all of the extra prayers last night and this morning....they sure helped!! As far as we know, this is the absolute last surgery that Dana will need for now. Lets keep our fingers crossed! Have a great day!!
The plastic surgeon just came out to let me know that the surgery is done and everything went great. He was very pleased!! Dana is already awake and talking to the recovery room nurses about cycling. He will return to his room around 11:00 am, just in time for lunch. Thank you for all of the extra prayers last night and this morning....they sure helped!! As far as we know, this is the absolute last surgery that Dana will need for now. Lets keep our fingers crossed! Have a great day!!
Sunday, November 4, 2007
A Busy Weekend and an Early Monday Morning
It was a busy weekend here at the Shepherd Center for Dana. He had Occupational Therapy on Saturday morning for an hour. The therapist focused on stretching the left arm to get full range of motion back. After the session Dana did a little extra and spent some time on the therapy bike. It is set up to move your legs for you in the pedaling motion while you move the arms. The hope is that someday Dana's brain will reconnect with the nerves and his body will recognize that motion as one he was very familiar with. In the meantime, it keeps the leg muscles from totally withering away(atrophy).
Saturday afternoon and evening we spent visiting with our friends Eric and Colleen. They flew in from Baltimore to see Dana. The visit was very refreshing. It was great to chat about something other than the injury or The Shepherd Center. You get so consumed with daily life at The Shepherd Center, you forget that there is a whole world out there around you. For dinner we were joined by Dan and Erin. We had a push pass and went across the street to TGIFridays. A late night as we didn't get in till around 10:30pm. Thanks Eric and Colleen for the visit. It was great to catch up with you two, Dan and Erin. We are blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful friends.
Sunday was a restful day. Dana and I went to the church service here at The Shepherd Center and spent alot of the day outside because starting Monday morning he will be on bedrest for approx 3-4 weeks.
As you start your Monday morning, say an extra prayer for Dana as he will undergo(what we hope to be the last) surgery around 7 am. He has a sacral wound(tailbone area) that is taking its time to heal. It could take months to heal. Instead of waiting the months to heal, and per doc's suggestion, Dana will have the quarter size hole closed tomorrow via muscle flap. The surgery itself won't take long. The doc will take muscle and skin from another area and cover the sore. The recovery time however is a bit longer and will be a true test of Dana's patience. He will have to lay fairly flat(with side to side turns only) for 3-4 weeks. That means...lots of reading, movies, watching TV etc. The timing is planned so that the sacrum and left arm with both be healed around the same time, late November. With that being said, watch out....come the first of December, Dana will be ready to go! In the meantime...keep him in your thoughts and prayers. Cards, letters, emails etc. will be especially appreciated during the next few weeks. I will have an update as to how the surgery went, tomorrow afternoon. Goodnight!
Saturday afternoon and evening we spent visiting with our friends Eric and Colleen. They flew in from Baltimore to see Dana. The visit was very refreshing. It was great to chat about something other than the injury or The Shepherd Center. You get so consumed with daily life at The Shepherd Center, you forget that there is a whole world out there around you. For dinner we were joined by Dan and Erin. We had a push pass and went across the street to TGIFridays. A late night as we didn't get in till around 10:30pm. Thanks Eric and Colleen for the visit. It was great to catch up with you two, Dan and Erin. We are blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful friends.
Sunday was a restful day. Dana and I went to the church service here at The Shepherd Center and spent alot of the day outside because starting Monday morning he will be on bedrest for approx 3-4 weeks.
As you start your Monday morning, say an extra prayer for Dana as he will undergo(what we hope to be the last) surgery around 7 am. He has a sacral wound(tailbone area) that is taking its time to heal. It could take months to heal. Instead of waiting the months to heal, and per doc's suggestion, Dana will have the quarter size hole closed tomorrow via muscle flap. The surgery itself won't take long. The doc will take muscle and skin from another area and cover the sore. The recovery time however is a bit longer and will be a true test of Dana's patience. He will have to lay fairly flat(with side to side turns only) for 3-4 weeks. That means...lots of reading, movies, watching TV etc. The timing is planned so that the sacrum and left arm with both be healed around the same time, late November. With that being said, watch out....come the first of December, Dana will be ready to go! In the meantime...keep him in your thoughts and prayers. Cards, letters, emails etc. will be especially appreciated during the next few weeks. I will have an update as to how the surgery went, tomorrow afternoon. Goodnight!
A variety of information from 216C
Backing up a couple of days and starting with Thursday. Dana had therapy all day. It was the busiest day yet! The day was started off in a manual chair where he pushed with only the right arm. The left arm has another 5 weeks of healing to do. As you can imagine, pushing up hill, down hill, over curbs etc. is very draining....add lifting weights, stretching, and mental thinking to that and Dana was exhausted. By the afternoon, Dana was back in his power chair to continue with therapy. He spent some more time in the kitchen...this time making brownies.....they were delicious! In speech on Thursday, Dana ran an interview. His interviewee was a little difficult and tossed in some "make you think", type comments, but Dana ran the interview just as professional as ever. (Oh and by the way.....the interviewee was ME)! Late afternoon he met with the sports professional to learn about hand cycling and golf the adaptive way!
The hand surgeon tracked Dana down to follow up on his arm. Everything is healing well. The current cast will come off Friday and a splint will be made.
On to Thank Gosh it is Friday! Dana is able to get his shirt on by himself. He is putting in his own contact lenses, brushing his teeth and shaving. In therapy he did more weights, stretching, flexion and extension of his left arm and massaging of his neck and upper back muscles. In speech therapy Dana filled out a credit card application and answered all the follow up questions correctly! Friday afternoon the left arm splint was made and is alot lighter and less bulky. Friday night Dana and I got a push pass. Dana is able to go anywhere that we can get to without using a car. The places are limited, but we had dinner at Houstons. They use the push passes to allow families to get back into the community and figure situations out together. Dinner was great and Dana even treated! (Using a credit card, figuring out the tip, manuvering through a restaurant and around people in a chair, is all part of therapy). Not to mention...getting used to the ingnorant people that stare. Dana says,"I am getting a sign made up that says....YES..I am in a wheelchair, have you ever seen a wheelchair before???"
The two of us had a very nice meal and it was great to get out together(just us) for the first time since August 12th. This weekend will be a busy one, as we are expecting some friends to visit. Enjoy the weekend!
The hand surgeon tracked Dana down to follow up on his arm. Everything is healing well. The current cast will come off Friday and a splint will be made.
On to Thank Gosh it is Friday! Dana is able to get his shirt on by himself. He is putting in his own contact lenses, brushing his teeth and shaving. In therapy he did more weights, stretching, flexion and extension of his left arm and massaging of his neck and upper back muscles. In speech therapy Dana filled out a credit card application and answered all the follow up questions correctly! Friday afternoon the left arm splint was made and is alot lighter and less bulky. Friday night Dana and I got a push pass. Dana is able to go anywhere that we can get to without using a car. The places are limited, but we had dinner at Houstons. They use the push passes to allow families to get back into the community and figure situations out together. Dinner was great and Dana even treated! (Using a credit card, figuring out the tip, manuvering through a restaurant and around people in a chair, is all part of therapy). Not to mention...getting used to the ingnorant people that stare. Dana says,"I am getting a sign made up that says....YES..I am in a wheelchair, have you ever seen a wheelchair before???"
The two of us had a very nice meal and it was great to get out together(just us) for the first time since August 12th. This weekend will be a busy one, as we are expecting some friends to visit. Enjoy the weekend!
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