PRAISE THE LORD!!!!

September 22, 2016
Rick was admitted to the hospital for an EXTREME UTI, he was SEVERELY dehydrated.
 He was having memory problems & was unable to move from place to place.

After 3 days in the hospital he was released to go home, he's now receiving home PT to get his strength back.
Thank you to everyone for prayers.

But most of all:

Thank you JESUS for Ricks FULL RECOVERY!!!
 

Rick was an IT Consultant with a genius IQ, an avid surfer, skier, cyclist, golfer,
musician & fisherman. Rick loved any sport that would take him outside.

On February 3, 2009
my husband Rick was in a near fatal rollover auto accident where he was
ejected from the vehicle & met the pavement face first. He was in a coma for 3 weeks;
with 3 areas in his brain bleeding, bi-lateral brain-stem damage,
on a ventilator & had a feeding tube. His left eye socket & cheek had been crushed.
He had multiple lacerations on his face and fractures in his neck & ribs.

The doctors had informed me he had only a 2% chance of living, the written prognosis was the word; grave.
The doctors told me if he lived he would be a vegetable and he would always need to be on a ventilator & be fed
through a tube and would never be able to live at home. Nursing home care would be needed 24/7 as he would
need to be cared for by a professional only. The doctors advised me to unplug him, I told them that GOD had a
purpose for Ricks life & that I would NOT unplug him, I would care for him the rest of his life no matter what
they had given me as his prognosis! By the time he was ready to leave the hospital they removed him
from the ventilator, 3 weeks after the accident he awoke to the sound of my voice
and he mumbled 3 times, I love you!
 

He spent 7 months in the nursing home. He had to relearn everything, eating, walking, talking, reading.
His memory had been extremely compromised, he couldn't remember anything about the accident and only
bits and pieces of his life.  I constantly showed him pictures daily of everyone
& told him their names eventually memories started to return.

March 2009
He started physical, speech & occupational therapies while a resident at the nursing home.
He still has stroke like symptoms from the bleeds in his brain that cause his left arm & hand to be
permanently frozen in position. His left leg is unable to bend easily; he wears a brace on his left ankle
for support. He was progressing slowly with walking, learning to eat, speak, spell and write.

December 10, 2009
10 months after the auto accident Rick was given a near fatal dose of Baclofen
by a homecare nurse; resetting all his forward progress & completely changing the condition
of his eyes. With a 50/50% chance of repairing the eye damage, we decided not to go
forward with eye surgery. He now has to wear prism glasses as he sees double everything.

He's still getting better slowly everyday, his memory for some things is still a challenge,
we're grateful for each & every day. He has mostly good days as he's not a negative
person, life stills makes him smile everyday.

He spends his days now sitting in a wheelchair doing word searches for 3 hours & then
sitting in a lift chair  playing Wii Golf the remainder of the day. We are extremely thankful that
he can do this as he was not supposed to be able to do anything.
His brain is still healing.
 

PRAISE the LORD!
My art work allowed us to purchase a van with a lift in the back,
new glasses, new electric lift chair & new electric wheelchair.
He's set now to proceed forward to new things.

Look how GOD restored his face, his eye socket on the left was completely crushed, so was his cheek!!
His brain is still healing more & more every day, it's a slow steady process!

PRAISE the LORD!!!

This was the first day he was outside 4-23-09
he had not tried to walk yet

Right before walking on 6-22-09

Stood without being held, holding on to parallel bar

Stood for 5min 30 sec

Finally able to move his left arm away from his body

First trip down the hall by himself

July is the beginning of the 5th month of recovery & he's doing GREAT!!!
Glasses to help him see better & a lift on left shoe to help him walk again!

AUGUST 2009
Providence Traumatic Brain Injury Program
The BEST TBI program in the country!

after 1 week in the Traumatic Brain Injury Program

Eating a general diet, no thickened liquids & walking with a quad-cane, GI tube removed!!

PRAISE the LORD!!!

Going home August 26th, less than 6 months after the accident!

Never to return to any type of assisted living!

February 14, 2014
Surgery on Rick's left arm, the doctor thought they may be able to increase the use of his arm
by adding length to his tendon. So far Rick has been able to open his hand slightly
making it much easier to keep his hand clean & cut his fingernails, but no increased use.

March 17, 2014
 Rick got an upper denture so now he can eat some of his favorite foods again.

December 28, 2015
Stage 3 Basal Cell Carcinoma removed from Rick's forehead, surgery went well.

February 16, 2016..
It's been 7 years since the first pump was put in place allowing
Rick to walk & do daily tasks more easily. Surgery went well.
 

October 29, 2009
his 50th Birthday, he rode the
stationary bike .3 of a mile.
PRAISE THE LORD!!!

Still improving daily PRAISE THE LORD!!!

Last update: 11/17/2016