Staff Sgt Jason Ross - Marine

Today started off a little rough for Jason, and for a while it didn't get much better. His pain level was such that he wasn't able to come in for any of the therapy sessions he had, or any other appointment for that matter. The good part was that it was early enough in the day that he was able to call in to let the right folks know he wasn't coming in, and therefore the schedule was changed early enough that it didn't cause any problems. Jason hasn't missed many full days of appointments, so I knew he was feeling kind of bad to do this. He pretty much just stayed in bed for the entire day.  With that being said, as the day progressed the comfort level did begin to go from very bad to tolerable and then finally to able to get up in his chair. Of course that last part didn't happen until later in the evening and just from a planning point of view, I was glad to see that he had gotten better. Today is Jason's 29th birthday and not only were his godparents her...

Today started out as a rough day for Jason, as his treatment from the laser was still very tender and he was very uncomfortable. He wanted to get in early to go talk with the Urology nurse, who was to get things ready for the treatment that the doctor had explained yesterday. The treatment probably won't be happening for another week or so, but Jason needed to get in and begin getting things ready now. After that visit we went on over to PT to schedule some time with Dawn and Van, and also to get a June schedule established for PT, since May is coming to and end. Jason was beginning to feel very uncomfortable so he let Dawn know that he wasn't going to be able to stay for any treatment, as it wasn't going to work today. From there we were on our way to OT. There Jason did a quick session and then we went back home. It was relatively early in the day and Jason laid back down. He slept until Steve and Yolanda came by, and then actually slept a little longer. Yolanda had mad...

Jason had a couple of appointments this morning, with one of them being the laser treatment again - the third one. We first got the girls up and I fed them breakfast, and had to do it so that it wasn't in front of Jason. He has to go without eating because of the laser treatment (it is the same as surgery, where he is put under a general anesthesia), and I didn't think it would be fair to him. Anyway, the girls and I had Rice Krispies (its one of their favorite cereals) and then we took off for the hospital, and day care. It is really cute getting the girls into the daycare center because there is this fish tank close to the entrance. Both girls love to go over and watch the fish, and some times Stacy asks if Nemo is going to be there. They have no problems going to their classes and love to be with the teachers; yet, as I come to pick them up, at the end of the day, they always come running to me. Makes me feel pretty good. Actually today when I picked them up I had gotten J...

Today was a good day for this household - Jason was able to get up and go out to breakfast with the family, and enjoy being out and about for at least a little while. We were only out for a little more than an hour, and he needed to get back down when we got home. That was okay though, as we had a good time together and nobody had to do the cooking. Linda and I took the girls shopping and then a little later Jackie went down for a nap and Stacy played in the back yard and rode her tricycle. The new table and umbrella that Linda's parents bought for the girls, was put together (by Grandpa) and they were very pleased with it (the grownups have their own table with umbrella, and now the girls do). A couple of guys that worked with Jason over in Okinawa dropped by and visited for a couple hours. It is always good when his friends come by because he just notches his energy level up and he nearly forgets about his injuries. A little later Linda had to get packed up and ready to go back...

Jason stayed in bed for most of the day, though he did get up early this morning. It seems that he spilled water on himself and it wasn't just a little bit. The way we have it set up is that Jason drinks as much water as he wants all day long. He drinks some where in the area of about a gallon a day (maybe a little more). He does this because of all the different medications he is taking, and it helps to make the affect a little less harsh on his kidneys. Anyway, at night he keeps his water container sitting close to the bed, so he can get to it easily, and sometimes he looks like he is even drinking while he is sleeping. Well, last night I guess he did something very close to that, as he picked up the bottle, took his drink, and instead of putting it NEXT to the bed, he sat it ON the bed and then proceeded to knock it over. Thus, at 06:00 this morning he woke up and the sheets needed to be changed out. It wound up messing up some of his bandages too, so I had to take care of those...

Today started out a bit rough, but ended nice. Jason hasn't been feeling particularly comfortable in his chair, and has been dealing with different periods of pain, associated with the HO, over the past several days (couple of weeks?). Today, with Linda being home we were hoping that he would be up for maybe going out to breakfast, since we haven't done that in several months. Well, he said he would rather just have a bowl of cereal and stay in bed, and not move around too much. I understand about how he is feeling, as I have been watching him over these past several days, and I really wasn't surprised at what he said. I got the stuff together for breakfast and then Linda actually stayed in his room, while the enjoyed breakfast. It was still early in the morning so I decided to take advantage of the fact that Linda was here with him, and I went for a short (12mile) bike ride.  When I got back and cleaned up Linda and I decided that we could run a couple of errands, as long ...

Today was a good day for Jason, and not because he only had one appointment (with PT), though that was kind of nice. It was because after the appointment with PT was done we headed over to the galley and had lunch; we leisurely headed back to the house; and, just relaxed for a couple of hours. Afterward we headed back over to the day care center, where the girls are enrolled, and watched a performance that Stacy was in. I got a couple of good pictures, so I will need to get those on the blog, but for right now just know that she looked great and in just a matter of a couple of days of being part of the class, she was one of the better performers. Jason was a very proud Papa watching his little girl do the Hula and sign to the audience (the audience was about 10 parents). I have to give credit to those teachers, they put a great deal of effort into getting the kids to do the dance, and making it coordinated. After the dance was over I got Jason back to the house and then headed over t...

Jason started the day off with a shower and a dressing change. The wounds don't look any worse and unfortunately they don't look any better. We won't be going in to see the dermatologist until the end of next week, so we have to just wait to see when the hyperbaric chamber work starts. I am hoping that it does fulfill all that we are being lead to believe it can do. On the other hand, I won't be too surprised if it does not. Jason was up in his chair after the new dressings and within a short time he was getting uncomfortable. We had some time before we had to go to his first appointment so I asked him to go lay back down, and he did. I got the girls fed breakfast and finished getting them ready. After they were ready we started to get ready ourselves, including Jason - and then we headed on over to the hospital. There were three appointments and that alone would be enough to wear him out. As it turned out, by the time he was done with his first appointment he was start...

Today Jason was up and moving at a nice early hour, and though I was happy to see him get up and want to get going, it concerned me based on his last few days of elevated discomfort and pain. We got the girls over to their day care, and even Jackie went running down the hall, to her class room. It was great to see this because it showed me that both of them are fitting in nicely there, and they're both happy to be there. Once we had the girls settled in to their class rooms we headed on over to the hospital for Jason's appointment. He only had the one appointment today with Physical Therapy, so it wasn't too complicated. While at PT we were told, by Dawn, that Van had come by to work with Jason on his chair, yesterday. I told Dawn that Jason would not have been able to attend any extra meeting because of how he has been feeling, so we're going to have to push it again, and perhaps we'll get a chance next week. The good thing about PT is that Jason gets to get off ...

Today was an exciting day, in that it started early with Jason wanting to take a shower and get clean dressings on his wounds, then immediately after that the girls were up and running around. It was actually very rewarding to me in that Jason was effectively taking care of his daughters on his own, while I was doing laundry and cleaning up some things. By the time I was done he had gotten breakfast for them and was feeding Jackie some cereal. I still hadn't eaten breakfast, so I started to get my stuff together, at about the same time both Stacy and Jackie were finished and then found out that Jason hadn't eaten either. With that being said we sat down together and had our breakfast while the girls were having a great time "reading" to each other in the front room. Neither of them can read, but Stacy has a general idea of what the stories are about and can tell them to Jackie. When Jackie starts it is usually just a bunch of sounds since her vocabulary is still devel...

Today was a little tough on Jason. He woke up early this morning with a significant level of pain, but apparently not enough that he thought he should wake me. It kept him awake for a few hours, even after taking some pain killers. As a result he was tired for a good part of the day. I saw how he was so I decided to take the girls over to their day care earlier, rather than having them come to the hospital with us. If they came with us they would have also been around the house, and if I needed to work with Jason I didn't want to have to take care of two little girls at the same time. Fortunately Larry came over at about the same time I was ready to take the girls so we didn't have to wait too long and it was comfortable knowing that Jason wasn't alone. Getting them into day care was actually pretty easy, considering it was their first day at this new center. I had anticipated that I was going to have to deal with extra paperwork or something else. As it turned out there wa...

Not much going on today. We had breakfast with the girls, and it was a little different from most of the rest of this past week. Jason typically has his breakfast without getting out of bed, and then only gets out when he has to. Today he got up at about 06:30 and decided he wanted to take a shower. After the shower he had new dressings put on his wounds, and by the way, they're looking better. In fact, all of the area is looking better, and I'm pretty happy about it, considering I've been the one to see it every time. Anyway, after the shower the girls got up and were full of energy as they always are, and Jason decided to get dressed, to come have breakfast with the girls. In hindsight, I think this may have been an error because by 09:00 he was feeling uncomfortable and needed to get back in bed, which lead to us not going to church today. Well, we don't need to attend every Sunday, we just like to attend regularly. The rest of the day was spent doing some laundry ...

Jason spent the day at home and just relaxing. Being that it is Saturday there are no appointments, and we really didn't have any place we needed to go. I did go for a bike ride that took me over to Ocean Beach, and there were a couple of hills that caused me to work up a bit of a sweat, and on the really good side was the bicycle shop I found. I've been looking for one since I've been here, semi-actively, so to come across this one was a real nice way to cap off the bike ride. Tomorrow is going to be a day similar to this one, though there may be more laundry that has to be done, and otherwise I'm not sure what is going to be happening. With that I'll sign off now and thank you, for all your prayers and continued support.

Today was a nice easy type day, that started out slow and really never got going fast - it might have gotten up to a medium pace, somewhere along the line, but not for too long. Jason had the one appointment with PT, and it wasn't until 11:00. That meant the girls got to sleep in, and didn't get up until almost 08:00 and Grandpa (me) was able to play with them while getting breakfast and getting dressed in a much more relaxed manner. We were on our way to take Jackie to her day care center (today was her last day there) a little later than I originally wanted, but that was okay as it was still plenty of time to get to the Naval Base. It just meant that I had to take Stacy into the "drop-in" day care center by the hospital in stead of Jason being able to do it (it was Stacy's last day there too). Next week we begin to take them both to the same day care center and that will make it much easier on everyone. Anyway, Jason went in to his PT session and he found that...

Today Jason had just one appointment, and then a hair cut. The appointment was with the OT folks, and, again, they worked his right hand and arm, doing their best to improve his range of motion. Other than that, there really wasn't much else done today... well, except I did manage to get a small update on his treatment... not that that is important... ;-) First, you have to appreciate the fact that I was with Jason, just after he had gotten his hair cut. The barber shop is in the lower level, below the first floor, and if it were on the first floor it would be directly across from C5, so it is pretty close to where his appointment was. Now, having said that, Jason finished his appointment and I asked him if he would like to go to the C.A.R.E. folks, and get an update (I honestly don't remember what C.A.R.E. stands for, but if anyone should want to know I can get another flier), since the woman in charge there is our point of contact for updates. He said yes, so we headed over...

Crazy day today - It was supposed to be an easy day that had been coordinated with the Marines, but for what ever reason, the ball was dropped. Today I had a couple of errands to take care of, as well as my own medical appointment, over at the VA. Because of this I made sure that Jason had contacted the Marines to let them know they were going to be needed to transport him to his appointment, and to make sure they had the times for all his activities. I told Jason that because of the way his appointments were set, and my appointment was set I should be able to come pick him up when he was all done and bring him back to the house.  Well, I got out at a reasonable time and took the girls to their respective day cares (I will be so glad on Monday because they start to go to the same day care then), and then I had time to take care of a couple of errands I needed to get done. As far as I was aware, everything was running smoothly and I even had a great appointment with my new doctor at...

Today was a pretty smooth day, though we didn't get to speak with Dr. Pyo, like I had wanted to. I even called before leaving the house and left a message on his phone. The problem is that I had forgotten that he told me he was going to be gone this week, so it was my own fault for making that plan. Oh well, we will have to just wait until next week to get an update on what the next steps are. Right now the laser treatment is still moving along, and there has been some progress, though it seems to have slowed significantly. Jason has a dermatology appointment a little later this week, so we'll talk to that doctor then. The overall desire, right now, is simply to make it possible for Jason to be more comfortable while in the chair. The next step, once that is accomplished is to be able to have Jason fitted for a prosthetic, as right now he can not be. It is a little frustrating, sort of just going through the motions, but we both know it is important to have his upper body stren...

Jason had three appointments this morning, but only two of them were originally scheduled. The first one, with Urology was kind of a walk-in, just to get an update. Jason asked the doctor about some tests that were done last week, and wanted to know the results, we figured on a 10 to 15 minute visit at the most. Well, about 75 minutes later we were leaving the office for the next appointment. As it turned out the doctor had not yet looked at the results, and when Jason asked he brought up the information (as it turned out it had only arrived about an hour before we got there). The result showed that there was now a fungal type infection that Jason was now dealing with and so that created a new need for different action, as well as another prescription. The new meds will run for two weeks, and the doctor is confident that the drugs will get rid of the fungus, and it is good that it was caught early, as it was. The challenge is to figure out where it came from in the first place, so as a...

Had a great day today. We got up and had breakfast, and then all of us went to church. The message was about forgiveness, and just seemed very appropriate. Jason is feeling like he is making progress, and his wounds are looking pretty good, though the smaller one seems to have stopped shrinking (the bigger one has not). The one thing that troubles me some is that he doesn't seem to be able to be in his chair as long as he used to, without the level of pain starting to go up more quickly. I will be speaking with his doctor tomorrow about that and see if they have any new information to share. I am aware that there is supposed to be another of those meetings this coming week, so I am hopeful that something is going to be shaking free. Otherwise we spent the rest of the day at home. Jason took a pretty good nap this afternoon (I actually got a short nap in). Then this evening I spent a little time on the web, catching up on the news and then I was going to start reading a new book, ...

Not much else happened today, other than I did get out for a bike ride and found some hills to ride up and down. I was only gone for about an hour, and in that hour I was able to generate enough sweat to soak my shirt pretty well. I'm going to be doing as much riding as I can now, so that I can get back in a little bit of shape - not that I'm out of shape, well, okay, maybe I am. We're all going to church tomorrow, so I'm looking forward to a nice Sunday afterward. I went and did the shopping at Costco today, so there really isn't anywhere we need to go - at least as far as I am aware. Thank you, for all the continued prayers and support.

This is my 440th post to this blog, and I've tried not to miss a day, though I did take a couple of days off, not too long ago to spend some time with Linda. Even then, there was only one day that I didn't see Jason. Today was a typical day, that had us going to the base, and going to appointments, and it also was a time to go visit the Child Development Center (C.D.C.), as both girls will be going there for their day care. Right now Jackie is over at the Patrick Wade Center and will transfer over at the same time Stacy starts, on May 21, just 10 days from now. It will be so much nicer having the girls at the same place where Jason goes for treatment. This weekend is going to be a time to do a few things around the house and maybe visit with some friends. I'm hoping to get in another bike ride, today's ride was kind of short, but it had some hills that worked me hard, so I think I may for a different ride tomorrow. Not much else to go over tonight, so I'm going to...

Today was another good day for Jason, though there was some extra bleeding from his wounds, I think he put a little too much pressure on them, when he was doing his PT exercises. He has gotten into a mode of when he is working out there he gives it his all, and perhaps I need to get him to ratchet it back, just a little. Otherwise, he had a short visit with Urology, where they determined that they needed to redo his infection culture (seems no one did the last one, and as a result they have no data), and that should take another few days. We'll probably hear the results early next week. He is feeling better, but then he has completed the regimen of the antibiotic, and it is a very strong one. We were also supposed to pick up some more supplies today, but it is unfortunately becoming more typical for just about anything that is done with Jason. He is a unique case, and as a result the technicians don't readily see the orders that are place. For example, I worked with his case ...

Jason had a pretty good day today, in that yes we had appointments to  attend to, and they were all done without event. In the middle of them, however, Jason and I were able to go make a couple of pens. There is a group of retired vets who work with the AS/YMCA, or Armed Services/YMCA. They have set up a little wood working shop where the patients can come and turn wood on their lathes. You can make a number of different things, but the main item is to make pens out of wood. The mechanical workings, inside are from Cross Pens, so the quality is pretty good, and when you need to get a refill all you have to do is go to a Cross dealer and buy a new one. This isn't the first pen that Jason has made there, but it was my first, and I'm happy to say it came out looking pretty good. I got a couple of pictures of Jason turning the wood and working on the lath, so you get to see exactly what he is doing. One we were done with the activity and with the appointments we headed back home....

Today started off with Jason taking a shower, and me changing his dressings out. His wounds look like they have kind of hit a stall point. They haven't changed, or shrunk, much - though they haven't grown any either. Along with that, there are no new areas to worry about, so over all it was a positive. He had an earlier appointment (09:30) than usual, but not so much that it was a challenge, that is until I went out and locked the car keys in the van. Of course that didn't happen until just a few minutes just prior to when I wanted to leave. Well, we both (Jason and I) got on our respective phones and called to see if the Marines could get over here quickly so he could get to his appointment, now subject to being late. Funny thing is, we both got through to different people at about the same time and they ended up sending the same guy to come pick up Jason (and Larry). I stayed back so I could get the van opened up by a locksmith. Jason made it to his first appointment on...

Not much to report about today, other than he had some appointments (three) and we were back home before noon - and that's after going to In-N-Out Burger for lunch (my stomach still has not forgiven me). Maybe I'm just not a good fast-food kinda guy, or perhaps we haven't been going often enough to keep my stomach conditioned for that food. Don't get me wrong, I know their burgers are generally pretty good, and I have been able to eat them easily in the past - maybe I'm just getting too used to eating at home most of the time. This getting healthy stuff is messing with my diet... ;-) About the toughest things Jason had to work on were the exercises that Dawn put him through at Physical Therapy. All the trainers there like Jason, mostly because of his positive attitude, with a secondary issue of him being able to talk with them. He loves to tell them about some of the things he does, and also things the girls do, when they're with us. But then, he is a proud pa...

A nice relaxed day for us, though there were a number of minor challenges, mostly related to ants coming in the back door. I have to admit, I have not been mopping the floor everyday, like I should. Especially with the fact that Stacy loves her apple juice, and some gets on the floor. Jackie like apple juice also, but not near as much as Stacy. The ants around here are very small, and that kind of surprised me, as I thought the ants up in Livermore were already pretty small; these guys are about half the size of the Livermore ants. Anyway, I spent about 30 minutes cleaning up and doing my best to get rid of them, and will be talking with the Gateway Housing folks in the morning. We took the girls to church this morning and they both had a great time with Sunday School. We're getting to know some of the folks at the church, since we've been there a few times now, and actually, the family that lives across the street from us also goes there - though they're new too. Because...

Not a bunch to write about today. Jason spent most of the day in bed - in fact, except for one short stint where he went to the bathroom in his chair, he didn't get out of bed at all. I took the girls down to the park, a short while after we had breakfast, and let them play for about an hour. There were a few other girls (not sure where all the boys are) playing there also, though they showed up several minutes after we got there. Jason did play with both of them while in his bed, and read to them - they like it when Daddy reads to them, but he didn't get out of bed. Not much of a Cinco de Mayo, from a celebration stand point. Otherwise we just stayed home all day and it was very nice. Jackie loves to get outside, so I was letting her run around out on the patio, and she enjoyed that. There were a couple of birds hopping on the fence and that was a special thing for her. She was quite excited to see them, and also the air traffic that is constantly going by. They will be head...

Today was a good day for appointments, in that Jason only had the one with the dermatology folks, and then there was a quick visit with urology (it wasn't an appointment though). When we got to the Naval Base we took the girls over to the day care center and dropped them off. Stacy loves going there, and especially likes Ms. Nancy. I don't know if Jackie has a favorite because she gets along with just about everybody and goes to just about everybody - as long as Grandpa isn't around. If I'm around she wants to be with me, but hey, she's got good taste in people... ;-) Anyway, while Jason was at his appointment I received an email and it said both Stacy and Jackie would now be able to go to the CDC (Child Development Center) for day care, located right there on the Naval Base. My first reaction was excitement and then concern because Jackie is already enrolled at the Wade Parker CDC, that's close to the house. Besides, Jason has already paid for the first half ...

When I began this blog, over a year ago, I had no idea that it was going to be still going on as much as it is. Typically there are about 150 views every day, and seldom is there a post that doesn't get some comments. It has been rewarding, in that it has let me have an outlet for some of the challenges that have been faced by Jason, and to a lesser extent, me. It has also allowed me to keep a chronological record of what has happened in Jason's recovery and rehabilitation. I hope all those that have been reading it have enjoyed following along, and will continue as long as I am able to continue posting, and now, with that said, here is some of what happened today. As I said yesterday, all of Jason's medical appointments were cancelled today, so that he could focus on some of the other stressful areas that have been impacting his life. As it turned out, it was the right thing to do. By the end of the day Jason seems to have regained a great deal of focus on what he wants ...

Today was one of those days that kind of got away from us. We had appointments and then had some other personal issues come up that required Jason to go in a different direction. He did manage to get in to Occupational Therapy, but the other appointments were just cancelled. We ended up having to take another side trip to go retrieve his cell phone, since it apparently dropped off his chair last night. Fortunately for us Anthony Netto found it and it is only about a 20 minute drive to get out to see Anthony, and then another 20 minute drive to get back. Jason needed to get in contact with a couple of folks, and their contact information was on the phone, otherwise we wouldn't have needed to retrieve the phone so urgently. Once we got back from picking up the phone we immediately headed over to the Patrick Wade Child Development Center, where Jackie is to start day care this coming Monday. Today was the orientation for new parents, and it was important for Jason to be there. We go...

Okay, I'm back... I know it was only a "one-day get-a-way" for Linda and I, and it did cross two nights, so that is why I missed two days of updates. As it is, there really wasn't a bunch to write about, since Jason didn't go anywhere (other than to church on Sunday), and Monday there were no appointments, so he didn't go anywhere that day either. When we got to the house this morning it was just as the Marine bus had arrived to pick up Jason, and get him to his appointments. It was a bit chaotic at first, with the girls running around saying, "Hi!" to Grandma and Grandpa, and poor Monica was exhausted from trying to keep up with everything, and on top of that she didn't sleep well last night. I told her she could have gone up to my room and slept on that bed, but she worried she wouldn't hear the girls if they woke up; so, she didn't sleep much at all. She wanted to do a good job, and she did. The girls really enjoyed having her here, pr...