Day 155 to 168, Feb. 1-14

Day 155 to 168, Feb. 1-14

It was a busy two weeks! We apologize for the delay in updating the blog, there was so much going on it was difficult to find time to gather updates. We will be brief in our update for the first week of February. 

This week had the usual trips to Neuroworx and for the most part Jeff and Annette stuck to their routine. On Monday Julee had surgery and opted to go home early and recover in the comfort of her own home. She is doing well. 

On Wednesday Jeff's good friend Max brought him lunch. Jeff really enjoyed the visit! While they spent time catching up, Annette went to lunch with Clifton and Joyce for her upcoming birthday.  

On Saturday Jeff and Blake went to Kasey's house for occupational therapy where they built a ramp for Jeff's manual wheelchair. It will allow easier transfers into the truck from the manual wheelchair. We are so grateful to Kasey and his student for taking the time to do this and Blake for helping them. 

As far as the actual transfers go Annette said, " It will take some practice, but I'm sure I'll get there someday." We have complete faith that they will do great!

Blake put it perfectly when he described Kasey. "We are grateful for all the help that Kasey is providing for Jeff. And for his genuine concern about Jeff's future and health. He also was the one that got a hold of Dr. Dodds to talk to him about the pressure sores. Also, right now Kasey is trying to come up with ways that he might be able to do some trade things with Jeff so Jeff can get more days of therapy. He has such a loving personality and concern for jeff and wants to be able to work with Jeff more on teaching him things to help brighten his future." 

Because of Kasey's concern and persistence about the pressure sores Jeff will be going to a wound clinic. He's just too boney for his own good! Unfortunately, they can't fit him in for a few weeks, but we are looking forward to his appointment. 

We didn't have spaghetti dinner on Sunday because there was a baby blessing with a late lunch. Congrats to Cameron (Jeff's nephew) and Breann on their sweet little Libby! 

Monday and Tuesday were business as usual with therapy. They also started to prepare for their upcoming trip to St. George! On Tuesday Brent and Janet brought Jeff and Annette a homemade lunch to help celebrate Annette's birthday. We are so grateful to them for being such great friends! 

On Wednesday Annette had to change out Jeff's suprapubic catheter and did a great job all by herself! She then went with Julee to her follow up for after her surgery. Everything is good. It took longer than expected in the waiting room and then only a few minutes in the actual office. It reminded them of Jeff's last follow up.

Then Jeff and Annette went to the shop for Ron to work on the suspension in the back of the truck. Annette said, "One side slid right in, but the other side... Not so much." In the end Ron got the job done and the back of the truck was lifted another inch to help keep the wheelchair from dragging on the ground. 

We are so blessed to have the shop and Ron's help when we need it and we are grateful for all he does to help out!

Unfortunately the delays in the morning caused Jeff to miss his Neuroworx appointment. There were just too many things to get done before they could leave on their trip. 

Thursday was Annette's birthday and a busy, busy day getting loaded up and heading to St. George. We want our mom to know how much we love her and how grateful we are to get the chance to celebrate her!

Peggy very graciously took the time to catalog their trip for us. Jeff, Annette, Cherie, Blake, Aliyah, Jay, and Peggy had quite the adventure on Jeff's first trip since being paralyzed. 

"It has been a long winter this year for our family. Not just the amount of snow and cold weather, which is  really what our winters in northern Utah should be, but we find ourselves very involved in daily living.  Finding the time to head south to our home away from home in St. George has been disappointing for those of us who normally break up the winter with the warmer and sunnier climes of Dixie. Finally this past week Jay and I were able to break away. Jeff, Annette, Cherie, Blake and baby Aliyah joined us with enough "equipment" to make for a good and active 4 day stay. Cherie made the optimum comment, "I'm not sure I want to try this again, taking enough stuff to take care of a baby and a handicapped person away from home was challenging." They brought down Jeff and Annette's king size mattress and box springs, 2 wheelchairs, and the single hoist to make it all work, which it did very well. Next round everything is in place without all the hassle.

 

The first thing they did was go to their favorite restaurant, the Pizza & Pasta Factory, to celebrate Annette's birthday. With some grunting, lifting and assembling, the bed was put in place, as well as the hoist poles. Everyone got unpacked and settled in as we all absorbed the sun and breathed in air from the blue skies. We couldn't have picked a better time to be in St. George when the other end of the state was in a terrible inversion combined with smog and fog. The daily routines were set with time for shopping and trail walking, riding bikes or in Jeff's case trying out his almost manual wheelchair. They tried out 3 different trails, with finding the last one was easiest for Jeff to maneuver on as it was more flat and didn't involve as many slopes from one side to the other. Sore arms and shoulders let Jeff know he needs more workouts; but he didn't complain because it was so great being outside and enjoying the experience after a long 6 months.

 

Jeff was able to get Jay's laptop running better and he installed Windows 10 on Jay's as well as on his own laptop. Jeff had to put up with commercials on the TV, because we do not have DVR. So he took the challenge to arrange what he wanted to watch, doing the channel switcheroo. He never watches live TV at home, only prerecorded with the remote button pressed down on forward. This was another experience in developing stronger patience, not just for Jeff, but the rest of us who didn't have control of a remote. Meal times were enjoyable to be with family and cute Aliyah in her booster chair entertaining us. We tried to prepare Jeff's favorite foods with emphasis on cherries which he enjoyed in the form of juices, jam, pie and candy, scattered in with good healthy tasty meals.

 

Sunday night we were joined by biking friends for an evening of sharing past and present times they had spent together. Brent and Josh Lloyd came first, sharing their bike riding events for the weekend. Brent took a pretty good fall, leaving him with a good bruise on his rear end and sore muscles. After an hour we were joined by 5 more of Jeff's friends. The family from Michigan, Mike Lyon, his wife  Laura, and son Philip, used to live in Riverton. They came to ride the trails in the St. George area clear from Michigan. Their son is attending BYU Idaho in Ricks, ID, who drove down to join them for the weekend. Rod Lyon (Mike's brother) and his son, Nate, long time biking buddies from Sandy, added their stories. It was great to listen and to laugh with them and enjoy a good deal of their time with Jeff and Annette.

 

Monday came too soon for Jeff. He wished he could stay longer, but Blake and Cherie had to get back home to their jobs. So they packed back up, taking the original guest room bed back with them and delivered it to Roxane while they had Randy's trailer, which afforded getting Jeff's bed down to St. George in the first place.  

 

Jay and I put in a few hours taking care of business. Driving around the St. George area when 1/3 of northern Utahns are there for a 3 - 4 day weekend  takes a lot of patience. Why? Good clean warm air, soccer and baseball tournaments, St. George's famous Parade of Homes, outdoor recreation a bundle, along with shopping and eating out.

 

On Monday around noon, we had to go from St. George to the Hurricane exit and we could not believe the bumper to bumper traffic crawling up St. George Blvd. towards the freeway heading north. Even both the side roads along the freeway were crawling. It looked like a mass exodus, in reality it was. We are so glad we have our own home to stay in, without having to deal with all the crowds. Tuesday and Wednesday were just fine in taking care of our "get it done" items; the drive back to Salt Lake County was a breeze. After we take care of appointments and taxes we will be heading back south A.S.A.P. for another round of sun and clean air.

 

It was a good experience to spend a few days with Jeff, Annette, Cherie, Blake and Aliyah taking in their  willingness to serve and help each other without complaint, with determination and satisfaction working together, affording Jeff the opportunities to get "out and about." Jeff and Annette have scheduled two more trips for St. George, one in March with son Ryan and Julee, and again in April with Brent & Jan Lloyd. Each trip will become easier and more enjoyable for all concerned. Experience is a great teacher in all endeavors of life, so just enjoy the learning on your way."

Before we add in a few more thoughts about the trip, we need to give some shout outs to those who made it possible. In order to fit in one vehicle Blake's older brother's mother in law, Louise, allowed them to take her Tahoe. We are so grateful to her and want to recognize her for her help!

Also, we want to thank Randy for letting them borrow his trailer. There is no other way they could have gotten everything they needed down to St. George. In addition, Randy built the ramp that made it possible for Jeff to get into the house. He did a fantastic job and we are grateful for his talents and time! 

We are grateful to all of Jeff's biking friends, mentioned above, who took time out of their busy schedules to stop by the house and visit with Jeff. It meant a lot to all of us!

Last but not least, we all want Blake to know how much we appreciate all he does to help. It was a lot of work loading everything up and then unloading it all. He also did the transfers in and out of the Tahoe so it limited the time he and Cherie had to themselves. We are grateful for their sacrifice!

After going on the trails for the first time Cherie sent Brandi and Julee a text saying, "We took dad to the trail. It  was hard for me to see the bikers but I can only imagine how hard it was for him." 

We are proud of our dad for going back on the trails he loves so much. The exercise will help build up his strength and being outdoors in the sun is good for the soul. They went on different paths every day, alternating between Jeff pushing himself and the others taking turns to help. 

Annette said, "It was so nice down there. Nice to see the sun and nice to be warm."

They took the less expensive travel shower chair with them only to discover that it wouldn't fit in the bathroom. Instead, Jeff got in his power chair and leaned it all the way back so Annette could wash his hair. The first time they tried it Annette pulled the nozzle with the hose out and when she turned it on it sprayed her instead of him! She said her face and clothes were completely soaked, but the bathroom was spared. Ha!

We are so thankful Jeff's first trip away from home was a success. It was a lot of work for everyone involved and we appreciate all they did to make it work. 

We want to wish you all a happy Valentine's day and hope you got to spend time with your loved ones! While Jeff and Annette came home on Monday, we'll add that for next week's update. 

Thanks for reading!