Thursday, December 31, 2009
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Monday, December 28, 2009
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Friday, December 25, 2009
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Friday, December 18, 2009
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Monday, December 14, 2009
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Friday, December 11, 2009
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Friday, December 4, 2009
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Monday, November 30, 2009
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Monday, November 23, 2009
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
Sunday, November 15, 2009
If you want to help
Never easy to ask, but here are ways people could help if they wanted.
Items for Sara's care:
Gain HE laundry detergent
Paper towels
Trash bags
Distilled Water
Groceries for family:
Peanut butter
milk
eggs
cereal
spaghetti sauce
dried navy beans
dried black beans
smoked ham hock(s)
chicken(s)
butter
onions
cream of mushroom soup
fruit
Help with the bathroom:
Big bag of thinset mortar
Rental of or use of a laser level (shoots a laser line around the room - to level out and measure the whole room for the final grade and measurements.)
Contact information for a welder to fabricate the sink bracket.
Help with rent:
Landlords will credit me $100 per post for the back fence. There are 5 posts that need to be replaced. The fence sections that are out there would need to be put back up between the new posts.
Help with transportation:
My truck got repossessed and I could not redeem it, so I am going green and going to bicycle commute. I'm actually pretty excited about it. A friend is going to let me shower at their place in Santa Rosa, near my office. I can use my boss' vehicle for client appointments until I am able to buy a car later.
Michael is giving me his bicycle and I need a few parts to convert it from a mountain bike to a commuter bike. Michael will do all the work. My boy the mechanic.
Rear rack
Panniers (saddlebags) - preferably waterproof
front and back light set
bell or horn
mirror set
softer seat for a big butt (gonna be on it 20 miles round trip per day.)
trekking (butterfly) handlebars [recommended for commuters]
As always, cash donations are very helpful. Anything received will be used for the above, in that order.
With continued appreciation...Kristina
Items for Sara's care:
Gain HE laundry detergent
Paper towels
Trash bags
Distilled Water
Groceries for family:
Peanut butter
milk
eggs
cereal
spaghetti sauce
dried navy beans
dried black beans
smoked ham hock(s)
chicken(s)
butter
onions
cream of mushroom soup
fruit
Help with the bathroom:
Big bag of thinset mortar
Rental of or use of a laser level (shoots a laser line around the room - to level out and measure the whole room for the final grade and measurements.)
Contact information for a welder to fabricate the sink bracket.
Help with rent:
Landlords will credit me $100 per post for the back fence. There are 5 posts that need to be replaced. The fence sections that are out there would need to be put back up between the new posts.
Help with transportation:
My truck got repossessed and I could not redeem it, so I am going green and going to bicycle commute. I'm actually pretty excited about it. A friend is going to let me shower at their place in Santa Rosa, near my office. I can use my boss' vehicle for client appointments until I am able to buy a car later.
Michael is giving me his bicycle and I need a few parts to convert it from a mountain bike to a commuter bike. Michael will do all the work. My boy the mechanic.
Rear rack
Panniers (saddlebags) - preferably waterproof
front and back light set
bell or horn
mirror set
softer seat for a big butt (gonna be on it 20 miles round trip per day.)
trekking (butterfly) handlebars [recommended for commuters]
As always, cash donations are very helpful. Anything received will be used for the above, in that order.
With continued appreciation...Kristina
Update
Wow...Sara is pretty prolific on the posts. The stuff she comes up with cracks me up...and makes me think. I keep telling her she is smarter than I gave her credit for.
Sara is doing well. Pretty healthy, despite her condition. I had swine flu a couple of weeks ago, but she didn't get it. I isolated myself and got put on Tamiflu. Then the next week both Michael and Mike got regular flu, but didn't give it to her because they isolated also. We are pretty careful around here when it comes to her health...have to be.
Its been getting colder at night. Actually have to start running the heater to keep it pretty even in here. She can't take temperature extremes. She does like to be a little colder, rather than hotter.
As a family we are struggling pretty hard. As always I don't put the day to day up here. Gets hard to face. I'm not making money yet and my unemployment has been held up for the period I was eligible. Ugh. Freaking california.
Well, the landlords have finally blown a fuse. First they push and harrass me to get the bathroom finished on their timetable (using up all the money I had set aside to pay the first month bills above the IHSS money I get to help take care of Sara) and since then my rent is late every month. I told them why. They know what the deal is with my changing careers. They know the timing of everything I have coming in. But they decided to get mental and have sent me a certified letter saying they are not going to be flexible anymore and then sent me two separate 3 day notices to Pay Rent or Quit (on two different days - one from them, one from their lawyer.) I paid them everything I had but still owe $1K. I sent them back a detailed letter re-explaining the situation and telling them what I could do and when. I also told them that I cannot move Sara. It took months to get this house ready and safe for her - not to mention thousands of dollars. I told them I don't think they want to assume liability for her health if they terminate my tenancy. So...long story short...me and the landlords are now on opposite sides of the fence.
On the work front, I have gotten appointed with Farmers Insurance and am working with a managing agent. Despite my credit he has taken me on and put me under his business insurance and bond. He knows me and knows that I am very trustworthy and conscientious. He also sees how well I am able to understand and sell insurance. I have my fire and casualty license and am working on my life and health license. I should have done them both at the same time, but didn't have the $$ to do both classes and tests. He is paying for my life license and test now. So I am trying to finish those this week. Then I'll be licensed for everything except securities. I'll wait on that.
The lawsuit for Sara's injuries is going pretty well. The legal team has been working for over a year on the case and we now have a court date. We are going to trial in May. We are very hopeful for a favorable outcome. Lord knows Sara deserves a win with everything she has been through and will endure the rest of her life.
Until then, we are just trying to keep everything going. I have sent in my last piece of jewelry for appraisal. Then it goes down to an auction house in SF. We've gone through everything in the house and taken pictures for an estate sale. We will probably call an estate liquidator and let them just come buy it in a single lot. Then the house will be pretty much empty, except for Sara's stuff, my mattress, all of michael's room, and kitchen stuff. I struggled over whether to get rid of my kitchen collection. I finally decided that I really wanted to keep it. I have stuff from my Grandmother, her mother, my mother, both sides of the family, silly stuff, specialty items, and they all mean something to me and nothing to anyone else. There would be so little value to another person. I can look at pictures of feasts my grandmother had prepared and know exactly what she used and where. And, although my own daughter could be less interested in cooking, she does love it when I tell her the history of something. And nothing is better to share history over than food and food preparation. Anyway, there it is.
My ex husband is still here, helping take care of Sara. He's unemployed, too, but his business is starting to pick up. He should be out of here around the first of the year. By then hopefully my business is picking up too in the insurance field. Until then he has been helping where he can and donating some of his unemployment payments to the cause. its all good. Turns out we are still pretty good roommates. If we had been smart the first time we wouldn't have messed up and gotten married. Some people can be good friends and roommates, but horrid married people. That was us. Ugh. Anyway, we are good roommates. But this is definately not a permanent thing. Do like some privacy around here.
Sara is doing well. Pretty healthy, despite her condition. I had swine flu a couple of weeks ago, but she didn't get it. I isolated myself and got put on Tamiflu. Then the next week both Michael and Mike got regular flu, but didn't give it to her because they isolated also. We are pretty careful around here when it comes to her health...have to be.
Its been getting colder at night. Actually have to start running the heater to keep it pretty even in here. She can't take temperature extremes. She does like to be a little colder, rather than hotter.
As a family we are struggling pretty hard. As always I don't put the day to day up here. Gets hard to face. I'm not making money yet and my unemployment has been held up for the period I was eligible. Ugh. Freaking california.
Well, the landlords have finally blown a fuse. First they push and harrass me to get the bathroom finished on their timetable (using up all the money I had set aside to pay the first month bills above the IHSS money I get to help take care of Sara) and since then my rent is late every month. I told them why. They know what the deal is with my changing careers. They know the timing of everything I have coming in. But they decided to get mental and have sent me a certified letter saying they are not going to be flexible anymore and then sent me two separate 3 day notices to Pay Rent or Quit (on two different days - one from them, one from their lawyer.) I paid them everything I had but still owe $1K. I sent them back a detailed letter re-explaining the situation and telling them what I could do and when. I also told them that I cannot move Sara. It took months to get this house ready and safe for her - not to mention thousands of dollars. I told them I don't think they want to assume liability for her health if they terminate my tenancy. So...long story short...me and the landlords are now on opposite sides of the fence.
On the work front, I have gotten appointed with Farmers Insurance and am working with a managing agent. Despite my credit he has taken me on and put me under his business insurance and bond. He knows me and knows that I am very trustworthy and conscientious. He also sees how well I am able to understand and sell insurance. I have my fire and casualty license and am working on my life and health license. I should have done them both at the same time, but didn't have the $$ to do both classes and tests. He is paying for my life license and test now. So I am trying to finish those this week. Then I'll be licensed for everything except securities. I'll wait on that.
The lawsuit for Sara's injuries is going pretty well. The legal team has been working for over a year on the case and we now have a court date. We are going to trial in May. We are very hopeful for a favorable outcome. Lord knows Sara deserves a win with everything she has been through and will endure the rest of her life.
Until then, we are just trying to keep everything going. I have sent in my last piece of jewelry for appraisal. Then it goes down to an auction house in SF. We've gone through everything in the house and taken pictures for an estate sale. We will probably call an estate liquidator and let them just come buy it in a single lot. Then the house will be pretty much empty, except for Sara's stuff, my mattress, all of michael's room, and kitchen stuff. I struggled over whether to get rid of my kitchen collection. I finally decided that I really wanted to keep it. I have stuff from my Grandmother, her mother, my mother, both sides of the family, silly stuff, specialty items, and they all mean something to me and nothing to anyone else. There would be so little value to another person. I can look at pictures of feasts my grandmother had prepared and know exactly what she used and where. And, although my own daughter could be less interested in cooking, she does love it when I tell her the history of something. And nothing is better to share history over than food and food preparation. Anyway, there it is.
My ex husband is still here, helping take care of Sara. He's unemployed, too, but his business is starting to pick up. He should be out of here around the first of the year. By then hopefully my business is picking up too in the insurance field. Until then he has been helping where he can and donating some of his unemployment payments to the cause. its all good. Turns out we are still pretty good roommates. If we had been smart the first time we wouldn't have messed up and gotten married. Some people can be good friends and roommates, but horrid married people. That was us. Ugh. Anyway, we are good roommates. But this is definately not a permanent thing. Do like some privacy around here.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Friday, November 13, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Friday, November 6, 2009
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Monday, November 2, 2009
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Friday, October 30, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Two Years Ago Today
24 October 2007 - Everything changed in an instant.
I have stood on the very spot that her car hit and flipped over. I have sifted through the broken glass on the ground. I have picked up every identifiable remnant from her car, hoping foolishly that it would be the one piece that would fix her. I walked from one side of the ditch to the other. One side she was a bright, happy, vibrant 19 year old with medical school, marriage and a bright future in front of her. The other side of the ditch she was a "very unfortunate young woman" who had a broken neck, split arteries and clots moving up into her brain, starving her brainstem of oxygen, killing cells, dimming dreams. I laid on the ground where she was suspended in her car, strangers trying to put the fire out, breaking windows trying to get to her. I prayed that she was already unconscious and spared the terror of knowing she was trapped and hurt. I have cried silent Thank You's to those who stopped to save her and all who have helped her since.
She has come so far since then - since that lifeless heap, barely alive. She and I finally came to terms that she is never going to recover and go back to how she was before. Anything she does now is because she has learned it all over again, sometimes in a new way. And with that, anything is possible for her. Instead of waiting for some switch to magically flip, she can focus on listening to her body and getting her mind to talk to what is listening. And then teaching it to listen regularly.
Her face no longer twists and deforms when she tries to move it. Her smile is has it has always been since a baby. She mouths the word "mom" silently to me and it encompasses "Thank You", "I Love You", and all good feelings and appreciation she has in the simplest form. She turns her head side to side, laughs constantly and blinks answers to questions with sparkling blue eyes.
We have all changed. We have learned to live with so much less than before. Priorities are different. Fears are different. Hopes are different. But one thing stays forever the same - Sara's tenacity. She has been a feisty little girl her whole life. I underestimated just how strong she truly is. She never realized just how much I love her. We both never knew just how unwavering her brother could be. He has become the anchor for our family - tethering me to the ground when I might be sucked into the tornado above our lives, and holding his sister closely to him, sheltering her from the pieces swirling around in the air. And through it all she never gives up hope. She understands what the medical minds have said and what the data says about her prognosis. But she also has heard so many times that "we know very little about locked-in syndrome, but..." and then they speak the limits as they see them.
I believe in Sara. I'll always make sure she knows what the current information is on her condition, but I will never tell her she can't do anything. I believe in Sara. And if anyone is going to find a way out of this it is her. And she has unlocked some parts already. It makes her so happy that when I crawl in bed with her at night and hug her that she can lift her head and place it against mine - hugging me back. My heart and soul swell with hope and love whenever she does it and makes it easier to get through the next day, and the next.
Who knows what the next two years will hold? I certainly don't. But I do know that I am happy every day she is alive, and she says she is too. She has the best life we can give her in the financial condition we are in. But she has so much love flowing to her she can't help but be happy. And happy is the most wonderful medicine there is.
Thank You, baby girl, for calling out to me in your thougth - for telling me you were alive - for screaming in your thougth for me - that I would hear you and not let them take you - for trusting that your Mother would hear you and save you.
Thank You, everyone, for the endless good thought, support in so many ways (financial, emotional, physical, spiritual) so that I could be there daily with her while she was in the hospital and make a place where we could bring her home. And for being there for us so that we could save her.
I have stood on the very spot that her car hit and flipped over. I have sifted through the broken glass on the ground. I have picked up every identifiable remnant from her car, hoping foolishly that it would be the one piece that would fix her. I walked from one side of the ditch to the other. One side she was a bright, happy, vibrant 19 year old with medical school, marriage and a bright future in front of her. The other side of the ditch she was a "very unfortunate young woman" who had a broken neck, split arteries and clots moving up into her brain, starving her brainstem of oxygen, killing cells, dimming dreams. I laid on the ground where she was suspended in her car, strangers trying to put the fire out, breaking windows trying to get to her. I prayed that she was already unconscious and spared the terror of knowing she was trapped and hurt. I have cried silent Thank You's to those who stopped to save her and all who have helped her since.
She has come so far since then - since that lifeless heap, barely alive. She and I finally came to terms that she is never going to recover and go back to how she was before. Anything she does now is because she has learned it all over again, sometimes in a new way. And with that, anything is possible for her. Instead of waiting for some switch to magically flip, she can focus on listening to her body and getting her mind to talk to what is listening. And then teaching it to listen regularly.
Her face no longer twists and deforms when she tries to move it. Her smile is has it has always been since a baby. She mouths the word "mom" silently to me and it encompasses "Thank You", "I Love You", and all good feelings and appreciation she has in the simplest form. She turns her head side to side, laughs constantly and blinks answers to questions with sparkling blue eyes.
We have all changed. We have learned to live with so much less than before. Priorities are different. Fears are different. Hopes are different. But one thing stays forever the same - Sara's tenacity. She has been a feisty little girl her whole life. I underestimated just how strong she truly is. She never realized just how much I love her. We both never knew just how unwavering her brother could be. He has become the anchor for our family - tethering me to the ground when I might be sucked into the tornado above our lives, and holding his sister closely to him, sheltering her from the pieces swirling around in the air. And through it all she never gives up hope. She understands what the medical minds have said and what the data says about her prognosis. But she also has heard so many times that "we know very little about locked-in syndrome, but..." and then they speak the limits as they see them.
I believe in Sara. I'll always make sure she knows what the current information is on her condition, but I will never tell her she can't do anything. I believe in Sara. And if anyone is going to find a way out of this it is her. And she has unlocked some parts already. It makes her so happy that when I crawl in bed with her at night and hug her that she can lift her head and place it against mine - hugging me back. My heart and soul swell with hope and love whenever she does it and makes it easier to get through the next day, and the next.
Who knows what the next two years will hold? I certainly don't. But I do know that I am happy every day she is alive, and she says she is too. She has the best life we can give her in the financial condition we are in. But she has so much love flowing to her she can't help but be happy. And happy is the most wonderful medicine there is.
Thank You, baby girl, for calling out to me in your thougth - for telling me you were alive - for screaming in your thougth for me - that I would hear you and not let them take you - for trusting that your Mother would hear you and save you.
Thank You, everyone, for the endless good thought, support in so many ways (financial, emotional, physical, spiritual) so that I could be there daily with her while she was in the hospital and make a place where we could bring her home. And for being there for us so that we could save her.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Ok. The reason the blog is now private
We have a lawsuit against Caltrans. The ditch that Sara's car flipped in was classed as unsafe back in 2004 and never fixed. Our lawyers have advised us that keeping the blog open gives Caltrans access to information about Sara they don't need and can try and use against her. (lawyers twist lots of stuff.)
I have to ask that if you are now in the private part of the blog that you do not share things or forward any entries outside of this circle. We need to protect her from those who would minimize her injuries and prognosis, or who would harm her being made as "whole" as she can be.
I couldn't take the blog away from her. She has worked so hard to communicate and has come to rely on those people who respond to her posts. She doesn't feel as alone as she did before. She has an outlet, and expression, of her thoughts. I didn't realize how important that was until she explained it to me. It's almost like being trapped in the dark. Her communication is her light, and you are the rays of sunshine that come through the windows to warm her face.
You will now get to see stuff nobody else is allowed to see or know about her. If you can't keep our confidence I ask you to let me know and I will gladly remove you from access.
Kristina
I have to ask that if you are now in the private part of the blog that you do not share things or forward any entries outside of this circle. We need to protect her from those who would minimize her injuries and prognosis, or who would harm her being made as "whole" as she can be.
I couldn't take the blog away from her. She has worked so hard to communicate and has come to rely on those people who respond to her posts. She doesn't feel as alone as she did before. She has an outlet, and expression, of her thoughts. I didn't realize how important that was until she explained it to me. It's almost like being trapped in the dark. Her communication is her light, and you are the rays of sunshine that come through the windows to warm her face.
You will now get to see stuff nobody else is allowed to see or know about her. If you can't keep our confidence I ask you to let me know and I will gladly remove you from access.
Kristina
Blog is now Private
We will be moving it to her site in a couple of weeks. Then it will be a forum type where users can also post up things to Sara.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Friday, October 9, 2009
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