It's finally Spring!!

Hello, All,

     We are very glad that the good weather is finally here.  The last few months have seen us continuing to go to work daily, going back and forth to several medical appointments and tests, and generally trying to get a handle on all the little curves that are thrown our way.

     Brad was home for Christmas break---complete with a broken ankle he suffered the week before finals.  He was able to rest up during the few weeks he was home, and our stairlift provided him an easy way to get up and down the stairs also!  He had a cast on for almost two months, then he had four weeks of physical therapy at school, but he was healthy for his Spring Break at home.  So nice to see him without the crutches!

     Dana continues to do well in school.  She was chosen as a last minute replacement for one of the flute players in the pit orchestra for "Fiddler on the Roof", and although she was nervous about trying to learn all the music in two weeks, she managed to do just that and thoroughly enjoyed being in the pit playing music she's been listening to for years!

     Rick has a wheelchair evaluation scheduled for tomorrow at Helen Hayes Hospital.  This is the next step we've been eagerly awaiting in the "van purchase process".  It seems like this process has been going on forever, but we're trying to be patient.  We want to be sure that the van we purchase is going to meet all our needs.

     Thank you all for your continued prayers and good wishes.  We do appreciate them!

Lyn

Happy Thanksgiving to All!

Hello and Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! We hope you all have a relaxing and safe holiday. We will soon be enjoying a feast at our house. Brad arrived home from college yesterday and we are looking forward to a few days together! My mother will be coming to our house, after preparing most of the feast at her house. Tomorrow, most of Rick's family will be here for the day to visit. Our house has certainly changed since the last time they visited!

We really need to give big thanks this year to all of the people who have helped us. As I've mentioned before, there have been fundraisers and lots of work done to our home. At the risk of leaving someone out, I'd like to acknowledge the help of a few angels:

Cindy and Tim Johnson, our next door neighbors, mowed our lawn until Brad was finished with school and could do it. They continue to offer to help with any lawn or house maintenance we may need. They also provided some delicious meals for us!

Mike Rice established this website and taught us how to use it.

The D'Alberto and Fischer families were instrumental in the spinal cord ribbon sales, the yard sale, the golf fundraiser, and the car wash.

The Paquette/Ausanio family donated Yankee Tickets for a fundraiser which was VERY popular with people all around the county.

The Sipperley and Ehmann families put together the silent auction which was not only a huge financial help, but also a tremendous emotional help--we loved being able to see so many friends in one place!

The Ehmann family has been an ongoing source of support and information as we navigate these new waters.

MaryAlice Schleuderer, who came to our rescue with her invaluable nursing services when we really needed them!

Dana and Phil Gisiano, of Gisiano's Restaurant in Glasco, for cooking not only for our family, but also for several fundraisers.

Maria Finger was instrumental in alerting county employees to Rick's situation and making fundraiser information available across the county.

Karla Wainwright, Kathleen Grable, and Lena Serrano organized the Casual Day fundraiser throughout the county offices.

Rich Gillette came out of nowhere and organized all the projects which needed to occur in our home and yard. Thanks to his contacts in the community, and his perseverence, he made all of these necessary events happen for us:

Dave Durkin from Pacama Bluestone donated beautiful big pieces of bluestone in order to widen our sidewalk to accommodate the width of the wheelchair.

Mark Giamichele installed the bluestone (in the heat of late August!), and also planted beautiful flowers in the area. I promise to do my best to keep those flowers going from year to year!

Mr. Beesmer was also slaving away in the heat of late August to build our beautiful ramp.

Gary Arold from Arold paving sent a crew to remove what we lovingly have been calling our speed bump at the end of our driveway. It was proving to be very difficult for most cars to get over safely and we worried that an accessible van, with the lowered floor and other modifications, would not be able to get into our driveway.

Ryan Bradley has coordinated all of the construction labor involved with our projects and has very kindly offered to come back for anything we may realize we need help with in the future.

Johann and John Huelatt from the Woodcrest Bruderhof have made arrangements to cover the costs of labor for Ryan Bradley's crew.

Jimmy McGowan from McGowan masonry sent a crew to raise our back patio several inches in order to accommodate the ramp and a smooth entry into the house.

Bill and Patty Stote from Anaconda Sports have covered the cost of bathroom materials from Lowe's--tile, hardy board, etc......I'm not even sure of the names of all the items.

Todd and Brad Jordan from Herzogs have been very generous with regard to supplies for the ramp as well as fixtures for the bathroom.

Jim Noble and his brother have worked on the plumbing for our new bathroom.....our original pipes and fixtures were circa 1929, so we've certainly modernized quite a bit!

Terry McWeeney updated the electrical wiring, switches, etc. needed for our new bathroom.

A group of retired teachers from JWB have been providing at least one meal a week for us for weeks--Pat Koyon, Pat Stegmann, Mary Ann Avallone, Ruth Pettinichi, Elsie Kemble, Joanne Donnaruma. Bruce Abrams, Kathy and Don Kachmor, Karen Aune, Jan Regan, and Kathy Sheehan.

Craig Paquette has offered to repair/install garage door openers so that our winter weather transportation will be smoother.

The Cohen family allowed Rick and his driving instructor to try out their van in order to see if its features would work for Rick.

My colleagues from the Kingston City Schools and Rick's colleagues from Ulster County have been so helpful and supportive.

And, most importantly, our family--Dana and Brad continue to provide us with unending reasons to be proud of them. My mother is always there to drive/cook/run errands/or do whatever is needed. Rick's family will be coming to visit tomorrow, and they have been keeping in regular contact and offering their help from Pennsylvania.

I apologize to anyone I've left out. Please know that you are all constantly in our prayers. To anyone who has cooked for us, made a donation, said a prayer, or sent a positive thought our way--we are truly THANKFUL. We will never be able to pay you all back, but please be assured, we will look for every opportunity to pay it forward.

Lyn

November news brief

Hello, All,
So sorry I haven't updated in a while, but as you can imagine, things are pretty busy for us here at home since Rick came home. We have been settling into our new routines, and are constantly looking for (and sometimes finding) better ways to accomplish simple tasks.
Rick returned to work immediately after his discharge and worked mornings for the first week, then he worked 5-6 hours a day for the next several weeks, and now he has gotten the approval from his doctor to work full time. We have hired a woman who helps him get ready for work in the morning, and get his breakfast. The Kingston para-transit bus picks Rick up at our driveway and takes him to work. At noon our helper visits Rick again at work in order to address some of his physical needs, then I pick him up after work. For a while, he was doing physical and occupational therapy 2-3 times per week, but the insurance company has been reluctant to allow more than one visit per week recently. Hopefully they will re-assess his case and approve some more frequent therapy. Rick has made tremendous strides since he first arrived at Helen Hayes and we'd like to see the progress continue as much as possible.
Rick had a driving evaluation in October through VESID, and was thrilled to be behind the wheel again. It was determined that the standard hand controls would work for him, so now we are awaiting notification about when his driving instruction will begin. We will look for advice from the driving instructor regarding which van would be best to purchase and which types of modifications will best meet his needs. One of the big pushes in therapy will be to work on Rick being able to independently transfer from his wheelchair to a van seat so that he might be able to drive on his own at some point.
We were able to get to Hobart to see Brad in early October for Parents' Weekend, and during the last weekend in October we travelled to Syracuse to see Dana participate in the last two marching band competitions of the season. During our Syracuse trip, we stayed in a hotel with a truly accessible bathroom and Rick enjoyed his first shower since being discharged from Helen Hayes in August. We are eagerly anticipating our own bathroom modifications and hope that they will be underway soon.
Again, we thank everyone for their prayers and contributions. The retired teachers of Bailey school have been cooking up a storm and those meals were truly appreciated. Many people participated in a Casual Day fundraiser through the county offices--some were people we don't even know! The golf tournament fundraiser in September was a lot of fun for us to watch and we hope the participants enjoyed themselves also.
Please continue to keep us in your prayers.

Lyn

Rick's home!!

WOW!! The last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind of activity. We had the stairlift installed, the ramp installed, a couple of doors removed, one doorway widened, our back stoop raised, and our sidewalk widened. The army of volunteers did a beautiful job on all these projects, and we are so thankful for their help and expertise. They seemed to have thought of everything. Rick was so happy to see the changes that enable him to rejoin the family.
We are busy figuring out our new family routines, and we learn a better way to do things every day!!

We will all be taking Brad to Hobart on Friday...thank you again to the Ehmann' family for the use of their van. We are very excited for Brad to begin this new chapter in his life. We hope to get an update every once in a while about campus life!! Parents Weekend is in early October and we're already looking forward to that event!

We hope to start looking for a van soon. We've been so busy running here and there in the few days that Rick has been home, that we see now the van should be a big help.

We'll try to update as often as possible. Thank you again to all who are praying for us, thinking of us, cooking for us, and making donations.

The Car Wash sponsored by the Band Boosters was a great way to welcome Rick home on Saturday. We stopped there even before we went home!!

Lyn

What a weekend!

WOW!! Saturday night's fundraiser at the Ehmann's was a terrific evening. It was great to see so many friends all at once! We are SO appreciative of all the hard work and planning that went into this event. The Ehmann's and the Sipplerley's and all their friends and families did a terrific job...the setting was beautiful, the food was delicious, and the chance to speak to so many friends was wonderful!
Rick has made a lot of improvement in his upper body strength, and is now able to transfer from chair to car with just a little assistance. Each week there are little improvements to his abilities. The staff at Helen Hayes is constantly thinking of new or different ways to help Rick accomplish as much independence as possible, and we are learning a lot!

At home we are busy getting ready for the modifications to the house. Rich Gillette has organized an army of angels to complete as many of the modifications as possible. We will be forever thankful to him.

Thank you to all who attended the fundraiser or contributed items and food. We will keep you all in our thoughts and prayers.

Lyn

Tuesday, July 29

The staff at Helen Hayes has added another dimension to Rick's therapy. He is now working out in the pool two days a week. This activity is designed to help strengthen muscles and improve balance. Plans for modifications to the house are picking up speed. We'll need to put in a ramp, do some major bathroom modifications, widen a couple of doorways, and have the stairlift installed. Our next challenge is to find a van--does anyone have a wheelchair accessible van they're not using? We would be happy to provide it a nice home.
Thank you again to all who have prayed, cooked, and volunteered on our behalf.

Moving right along

Hello, All,
Rick's therapists continue to be pleased with his progress. He will probably be discharged from speech/breathing therapy in the next week or two. His occupational and physical therapists are constantly trying different techniques and modifications as his abilities improve. We are moving ahead with plans for modifications to the house. Next weekend I'll be spending a night in the "transitional living apartment" at Helen Hayes with Rick so that we can practice living on our own. This apartment is an oversized room on the spinal cord injury floor, close to the nurses' station, where families do a practice run prior to discharge. If we come across any challenges, the staff will still have time to work on those challenges before the patient returns home.
Again, thank you to all for your thoughts, prayers, and contributions. Rick has enjoyed the visits from family and friends, and we really appreciate the efforts of those involved with the various fundraisers happening this summer--the Yankee Ticket raffle, the yard sale this weekend, and the silent auction August 9th.
We hope to be able to return the favors in some way in the future.

Lyn