Angels Near and Far

I will be without Internet access for approximately 2 weeks. I will be unable to post updates on Sean’s progress during that time. Please keep him and his family in your thoughts and prayers. Thanks.

Long good day

Posted at approximately midnight Friday, July 3rd.

I wish sometimes, that I didn’t need sleep because there is so much I want to tell you about. But, as always, I’m tired so I will make this brief. Sean had a great day. Kyle was here and Sean is always at his best when Kyle is at his side. He worked hard in his therapies. At one point today he had three visitors at one time. Kyle, Rusty, Greg and Sean went out on the back patio and played left handed disc golf. Sean kicked butt and even scored a few hole in one’s! Kiersten brought Sean dinner and they had a nice visit. Last night he told me that Kiersten was his favorite visitor. It is so wonderful to know that our children are best friends.

I visited early in the day and brought lunch for the gang and then I took the day off to catch up. I came back at 7 and Sean and I watched a movie together. Sean and I are movie buffs and I haven’t been watching movies without him. It was so nice to watch a good movie with him and discuss the cinematography. He has such a good eye and appreciation for all things visual. Towards the end of the evening I took him into the bathroom to brush his teeth and when I was watching him I was struck with the reality of how close we came to losing him and it was all I could do to hold it together. I don’t know if I have shared this before but I lost two babies before I had Sean. Tiffany lived for 3 days and Jeremy lived for 6 hours. Sean was such an amazing gift from God. I honestly don’t think that I had the strength to bury another child. That struck me tonight and again I was reminded of God’s awesome love. He knows my heart and He saved our son. I don’t know why God chose to work this miracle on Sean and I hope that I am not egotistical enough to think it was about me. I think it was about Sean. But God saved me in saving Sean. I am awestruck and overwhelmed at the depth of God’s love.

Time for mimi.

I know that I say thank you a lot for your support and prayers, but I can never properly thank you enough because there are days like today when your messages are want carry me through. And to all of you that don’t write, I can see on my end who is following and all of you, as well, carry us.

Love,
Terri, Vince, Sean, Kiersten, and Kyle

He’s Walking

Posted at 11 p.m. PT

Today Sean was cleared for weight bearing and he walked! He walked the parallel bars and then walked with a walker from his door to his bed. He has a long way to go to regain strength before he can walk unassisted but he is on his way. He also got to go in the pool today and greatly enjoyed it.

Next week assisted care living centers will be sending people to evaluate Sean and next weekend I will travel to check them out. It looks like we will be taking off again in two weeks. I am excited for Sean to be progressing so fast but I really don’t want to leave home again. We have been back for a week and I haven’t been able to connect with very many friends. Every day I think that I will call people and it never seems to pan out. Calling all girlfriends. Please call me, I miss you all so much and I would love to catch up.

Gotta go for now. Time for mimi.

Thank you all so much for walking with us in this journey. As I have said before, you are all blessings from God!

Love,
Us

I thought I had posted the update from Sunday but alas, it turns out I had not. So in the order they were posted, here they are. Please note that they are edited for clarity, privacy and confidentiality.

From Sunday

Today was another long day. It started with my 7:45am arrival at the hospital. Sean was in the hall with a nurse and CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) and he told me that he fell down. They had put him in his wheelchair and left him in his room. He wheeled himself past the nurses station and out to the patio where he got his wheel stuck in the grass so he tried to stand up to move his chair and he fell down. He said he tried to get up for a long time. I don’t know how long he was out there but finally another CNA spotted him out a window and came to the rescue. Thank God he wasn’t hurt but it was very frightening to consider what could have happened. We now have him on a one-on-one with a CNA 16 hours a day. We will cover from 11am to 7pm.

I’m tired, so tired. Tomorrow Vince will be home and I hope to be able to write a more thorough upbeat update. I’m just too tired to write more tonight.
Please keep praying beautiful people because God is great and He is listening.
Love,
Terri, Vince, Sean, Kiersten & Kyle

Break day

Posted Tuesday at 7 p.m. PT

Yesterday after leaving the hospital at 5, (Kiersten was with Sean). I came home to find Vince about ready to work on the much neglected lawns and I was ready to dig in to the hospital bills to find a game plan. Instead I talked Vince into hanging out in the pool with me. It was the first time I have been in the pool this summer and the first time that Vince and I have truly relaxed together in 9 weeks. After that we went to the hospital to help Sean with his shower and say goodnight. Then we went to some friend’s house and had dinner and relaxed.

I feel much calmer today then I have in quite some time. I have been able to get things done without the feeling of impending doom. I told a friend the other day that I really don’t like the person that this situation has made me become lately. I’m not beating myself up over it but the stress of the last two weeks really hasn’t brought out the best in me. I’m edgy and lack patience in a big way. I have taken very little, if any time to connect with God and I feel it.

Just allowing myself some down time yesterday showed me that I need more of that. I was talking to Vince a couple of weeks ago about life returning to normal. It’s just that when you go through something like this you can never return to your old normal so you are faced with the challenge of carving out a new normal. I think that if you do it right and allow God to lead then the new normal can be better then before. I wouldn’t ask God to throw this in our path and I don’t believe that He did but I know that He can and has carried us through this and He can shape us and guide us and our lives can be bigger and richer than before. It’s all about trusting in and leaning on God, and when life gets crazy like it has the last two weeks we have a tendency to neglect to connect and the the crazy becomes chaos. All of this to say that I need some time with my Father and I know that He has better days in store for us.

Sean is continuing to blow people away. He is doing incredible. But he is bored. He wants visitors so bad and has had very few. I think that everyone is trying to respect our space. Well here is the green light people. If you know Sean whether you are a personal friend or a family friend please stop by and see him. Also [to Sean’s ICU] nurses, he may not remember you but I know he would love to see you. We have talked to Sean and told him what you did for him. [For further information, please leave a comment along with your current email address – none of which will be published – and you’ll be contacted.]

Gotta go for now. As always thank you for your love and prayers.

Love,
Terri, Vince, Sean and Kiersten
P.S. Robert and Joan words can’t express our gratitude.
P.S.S. Thank you lawn gnomes!

Sean is eating

Posted at 10 p.m. PT

Today Sean was cleared to eat a regular diet, so he ate a lot more. He is continuing to improve every day. Today he was watching Surfs Up with his cousin when his doc came in to see him. The doc asked if he remembered what happened to him and he told an elaborate story about the surfing accident that he was in. Kyle waited until he was done then reminded him that he was actually in a skateboard accident. Sean got a mischievous grin on his face and said I know. He was just messing with the Dr.. I love that! It just shows how much his funny personality is coming back.

Vince is working a 72 so I am spending most of my time at the hospital but today Kyle was here, so between him and Kiersten and Sean’s friend Jerod and his wife Christie, I was able to unpack and get some other things done around the house. So much to do! I am tired of saying that I am overwhelmed, but that is where I am at for now. At least there is a light at the end of the tunnel, it’s just a very long tunnel.

Are you all as blown away by the miracle of this as I am? People either do not survive or they live a minimal existence after a brain injury like Sean’s. God is restoring Sean. People please get this. This is a miracle. Hard fought by medical personnel and family and friends but orchestrated and produced by God.

No more words for tonight.
Love,
Vince, Terri, Sean & Kiersten

There’s no place like home

Posted Thursday Night

We’re home! Grueling day. We were supposed to leave at !0:30 which got bumped to 11:30 then 12:45 then 1:30. We left at 2:10. Long day but we are here, we are safe and we are happy. Our ridiculous foursome was reunited! Thank you God for returning us safely home!
Will write tomorrow.
Love you mucho,
Us

I feel complete

Posted at 10:33pm PT

Those were Sean’s words, "I feel complete", when I was telling him more about the [update blog] and the outpouring of love and prayers and support. I explained to him just how important he is to so many people and how much he is loved and he smiled and said that it makes him feel really good and complete. The last two days with Sean have been so wonderful. He is calmer and clearer and we have just been relaxed together. We have watched movies and he has been able to (especially tonight) relax and enjoy the movie. He amazes me. Today he told me that he wouldn’t take this back if he could. He said because of this I am a better person. What did I ever do to deserve the gift of the amazing children that God has blessed us with.
Okay….. drum roll, the news you have all been waiting for. WE ARE COMING HOME TOMORROW! We leave at 10:30 tomorrow morning and Sean and I are over the moon about it. Also Sean’s G tube was removed today so he is TUBELESS!

Well it’s late and it’s a big day tomorrow so I have to sleep. I look forward to being home and seeing friends and going to church on Sunday. I will keep updating and filling you in on how God continues to bless us. Thank you , thank you, thank you all you beautiful people. Words will never express our gratitude for your love and support and, oh yes, your prayers.
ALL GLORY TO GOD

Love,
Sean and family

A long day

Posted at approximately 10:00 pm PT

How do I describe my frustrations today? Well at one point I said to someone, "What do I have to do? Strip naked in the lobby and start screaming? Then maybe someone will say I think she’s upset about something." That’s how frustrating today was and as it turns out there is really no one person to blame. It was just a complete cluster bleep. Anyway, finally Sean got his central line out and the doc from [the old hospital] called the doc from Kentfield and approved Sean’s transfer. Unfortunately it was late in the day so now we are looking at Thursday for transfer.

The late afternoon went well and this evening Sean and I watched a movie. He got a little restless but for the most part was able to focus. He is improving so much every day. He is getting stronger and easier to transfer so he is now able to use the bathroom when he wants with the help of his aid for transfer from bed to chair and back and the last 3 days he has been able to shower in a shower chair! As hard as this is I wouldn’t be anywhere else.

I have to close now for much needed mimi but I want to say thank you to Suzanne and Laurie. It was very hard to accept this help* and it took a lot of convincing but they are true friends and we appreciate everything that they are doing for us. We are learning that at times you must humble yourself and admit that you need help. As for the checks going to Suzanne**, well I honestly don’t know a more trustworthy person and I thank her so much for taking on that responsibility.

Goodnight beautiful people please keep praying because God is great and He is ALWAYS listening.

Love,
Terri, Vince, Sean & Kiersten

Editor’s Notes:
* – earlier today there was a posted update from a friend of Terri’s that spoke about the financial impact on Sean and his family and about how an account has been set up at a local bank for donations. More on that in a second.

** – this was in response to a message I sent directly to Terri addressing some concerns I had about how the account was being set up (checks are requested to be made out to a third party individual instead of a trust fund type account in the family’s name).

My take on this situation isn’t appropriate for here. If you are at all interested in making donations to help out with the added expenses the family is enduring (lodging, transportation, food, etc.) and the anticipated upcoming expenses when Sean will be transferred yet again to a rehabilitation hospital in southern California, please let me know and I’ll give you the information.

I’m currently kicking around an idea for various ways to raise money for the family, including a walk/run/ride-a-thon (seeing Sean was very active in sports), a skateboarding contest, and other ideas. If you have any ideas, please pass them along!