Staff Sgt Jason Ross - Marine

I know it has only been a couple of days, but I wanted to let everyone know that Jason did get out of the hospital, again today, and he is back in his house. There was some excitement with the "new" wound care nurse, as she made a few mistakes in changing the dressings, but Jason was able to handle it and everything got done well, in the end. Jason actually told them to, "...get her out of my room and find me someone who knows what they are doing!" And, knowing Jason, my guess is it wasn't in a nice pleasant voice. He is a Marine after all. Anyway, things seem to be going well for him right now and he is getting used to being on his own. We let the girls talk with Daddy, twice today, and they thought that was pretty exciting. I think Jason enjoyed it too. We were going to be setting up SKYPE, but there were a couple of technical glitches (Jason's laptop doesn't have a microphone) so it will have to wait until tomorrow. Take care and stay positive and p...

Originally, Linda, the girls and I were supposed to be headed back up to Livermore today and Jason was to take over ALL aspects of his life. As it turned out though, Jason was feeling some significant pain at about 21:30 (9:30pm) last night and wanted to get in to the ER - so I took him. By the time all was said and done they determined that he should be going back in to the hospital, where they could get a better handle on what it is, causing Jason so much discomfort. By the time I left from Jason's hospital room it was about 05:10, and I went straight back to the house. I was getting pretty tired at that point, since I'd been up for almost 24 hours, and by the time I did get back in bed, it was 24 hours. We checked in with Jason and they were working to control the pain, and it seemed like they were doing a good job of it. Jason had his pca, so that he could get the meds as needed and stayed on top of the pain. The challenge is that they don't know what is causing this ...

Today we made some preparations to travel back up to Livermore, and let Jason be more on his own. It is a step we are taking with trepidation and concern, but know that it is the right thing to do.Originally we had planned on leaving tomorrow morning, and made arrangements to have all our things packed and ready to roll in the morning. As it turned out though, Jason's temperature went up again and he was complaining about shooting pain again. Linda and I discussed it and decided that the best course of action would be to either leave later on Saturday, or early Sunday. We want to be sure that Jason is feeling better before we depart. It is hoped that his fever goes back down and that his pain level drops significantly. There is no hurry to be out of here anyway, so it works for all of us. Besides, it gives us another day to finish our packing and see how creative we can be in getting all our things in to the Explorer. Well, today started with the idea that the only reason we were...

Jason had two appointments today, yet he ended up staying at the Naval Base Hospital campus for nearly five hours. He was attempting to get a few things corrected, as well as find out the status of some supplies. I requested supplies about 4-weeks ago and still nothing has shown up. The  "stop-gap" supplies keep things going and he is okay, again for a few days, but I will need to head over to pick up a couple more tomorrow, when we take the girls to their appointments. From what we have been told, the supplies are coming, they just haven't gotten here yet. Linda is doing most of the packing, as she wants to have some level of organization to the stuff we'll be driving back with. I told her I could get the packing done in a matter of a couple of hours, and she said she would rather do it, and let me stick to the heavy lifting (moving boxes to the truck). Anthony Netto is helping us move some of the stuff up when he comes up a couple of days after us, so that makes i...

Not 100% sure about receiving an update in the next day or two, but I am sure there is one coming. There was a bit of a meeting today, between Jason and a point of contact at Balboa. Jason did not hold back in anyway this time and the point of contact (leaving out the name on purpose) was appreciative of his candor. There was a desire, by some of the Balboa Medical Staff, to sit down with Jason and go over some options that he has, if he remains in Balboa. Jason flat told them that he is tired of waiting on these meetings that seem to continually get scheduled and no update or information comes from them. Jason said he wasn't interested in any of their meetings, or the results now; he is ready to go back to Bethesda and let them do the surgical procedures that it appears he needs. The point of contact simply said the meeting, which was set for Friday, will now, not be taking place and instead there will be an effort to coordinate Jason's transition to Bethesda. Jason will be ...

Jason's "new" support team is doing a little better today, though I still had to take care of his wound dressings. I am optimistically hopeful that by the end of the week they will collectively have their act together. I still have some questions on how he is to be fed dinner in the evening, and how his clothes are to be laundered. If there is no one else around he is unable to do these things on his own. Tonight Linda is doing the laundry and she also made him dinner. David, his brother, is coming in for a short visit tomorrow, so that should be a good day for him. The cool thing about this is that Jason doesn't have any appointments tomorrow, so they should have some time together. Linda and I are going to spending some time packing, and see if we can get everything done by the end of the day tomorrow. Not really that much to pack, but we would like to keep it organized.  Take care and stay positive - Thank you, for all your continued support and continued prayers...

Well, today was supposed to be the first day of me totally stepping away from supporting Jason's needs for his recovery. It didn't quite work that way. I asked him if he had contacted Maxim (the company contracted with) and he said he had sent them a text message last night letting them know he needed someone here by 06:30. By 07:30 I had gotten his breakfast; helped him get his clothes together; and, assisted him in getting out of his bed. There was no transportation so I took Jason to his appointments and it happened to be the same time we needed to get the girls to day care, so that was no big deal. The challenge was connecting up with the Maxim folks. It took five phone calls and three trips back to the house before we were back on track. It was also noon time, so at least they were there to help with his lunch. Jason was feeling pretty good today, so that was a big plus, as well as very helpful in getting beyond the frustration of their stumbles. Tomorrow we are again lo...

Not much to report on today, other than Jason being uncomfortable last night and not sleeping much until today. I think he is learning more on how to position himself so that he can better deal with the pain, and last night was a major lesson for him. I went for a bike ride, and did some aggressive hill runs. I need to build up the stamina so I can do this up coming ride and those hills are a part of that. The only other thing that really happened today was that Linda and I were able to go see Wicked and the San Diego Civic Center. We enjoyed the play and actually a little sorry we didn't go see it when it was in San Francisco - oh well, we've seen it now. Tomorrow is a big day for some of the medical teams  here, and we are anxious to hear what comes of those meetings. Jason is pretty sure they won't have anything new and is going to request he get to go back to the Naval Hospital at Bethesda, Walter Reed. Otherwise Monday begins the end of the regular blog updates and a...

Another great Saturday for all of us down here in San Diego. Jason and the girls are having a good time spending time together and, if nothing else, learning how good a reader and story teller Daddy is. I got up early this morning, at about 04:00. Anthony Netto needed a ride to the airport, so I was happy to help. Once I got back from the airport I went and laid back down and, of course, woke Linda up so we talked for a short while. I then decided to go for a bike ride. I wanted to go a little farther than I have in the past, and also wanted to challenge some hills, so I went exploring. I ended up with a ride that was less than 30 miles, though the hills were very much the challenge I was looking to find. As it turned out I ended up a little past where Anthony lives, and that both surprised and pleased me. I ended up riding back and headed out to Ocean Beach, and by the time I was up that hill I decided that I should have brought more water. The next ride will be accompanied with more ...

Wow! I would not have believed that I was going to be putting up 500 posts, over the coarse of 17months, but here it is. Jason has made some amazing strides in these 500 different entries, with some of them better than others, and Jason consistently demonstrating a positive outlook. It makes me very proud of him, though I guess Linda and I have always been very proud of him - and all of our sons. Today was a good day for Jason, in that we were able to get with Dr. Pyo and talk about some of the progress that Jason has been making and some of the ideas of what else can be done. We also spoke about the things that didn't work so well, such as the hyperbaric chamber; some of the early first wheelchairs; even some of the early wound care, and despite the set backs, how it all has come together in a positive way. There have been some significant positives and successes along the way as well. Such as Jason being able to transfer himself sooner than they thought would happen; Jason beat...

What an amazing kind of day, today was. Jason had a couple of appointments at the hospital, with one of them being at OT. Now ordinarily going to OT would be focused on working with the hands, arms or some combination, with the target of being better use and strengthening. Today was a little different in that there were the activities associated with strengthening and use, AND cooking! There was this great spread of food set up so that we could have breakfast burritos in multiple ways, although I only had one. Jason, on the other hand, fixed himself a couple of different burritos and enjoyed them immensely. The only thing that was wrong with this picture was that Linda didn't come with us this time and so she missed out on the great food. Shortly after I was finished with my burrito we had to head out so that Jason could get over to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD). They were having a "Family Day" celebration and he wanted to see what was going on, and he was hoping ...

Jason had a couple of appointments today, and he wanted to get his hair cut (after all, it has been two weeks since his last one, and he was beginning to look shaggy - at least in his eyes). I needed to get over to meet with Anthony Netto, so after I dropped him off at the hospital, and saw him on his way to his appointment Linda and I took off for our meeting with Anthony. Before getting there I received a call from the PAO (Public Affairs Officer) of the hospital, Mike. Mike and I are frequently giving each other a hard time, since he is a Yankees fan and I support the Giants; it started almost the second week we were here. Needless to say, we get along well, and enjoy the banter back and forth. Well, when he called he asked me where Jason was, and if he could speak with him. I told him he was welcome to talk to him, but he wasn't with me, he was at the hospital. I gave him Jason's phone number and then asked what was so urgent. Apparently Gary Sinise was back at the hospital...

Today was a very challenging day, from the very beginning of the day. Last night, after I had laid down to go to sleep, Jackie started to cry. She was running a very high fever (103+) and that meant I needed to get her to the ER. The good news is that we were only there for a few hours, and I was back in bed, well before 02:00 (2am). The other good news is that the doctor recognized what was wrong and prescribed an antibiotic for us to give Jackie for the next week. This works, as we will be leaving in about a week, so we're hoping all works well together to get her well. I turned around and was up at about 07:30 again, as Jackie was again uncomfortable so Linda went down to see what she could do, and I needed to get up anyway. I wanted to get Stacy over to the day care to limit the amount of time she was spending with Jackie, right now. I was actually hoping to get in a bike ride today, but the way my head was feeling and the need to go back and forth between the hospital and Ja...

For those of you that don't already know... Today is my birthday. I turned 60 today, and I'm being told that 60 is the new 40. I'm not really sure what to do about that, since I kind'a liked the "old" 40, whatever that was. Five years ago I had no idea that I'd be doing this blog every night, and doing my best to keep people aware of what is going on, with the life of one of my sons. Yet, here I am and it looks like I'm finally coming to a close, of at least this chapter in the lives of the Ross family. But, instead of taking a walk down "reflective lane", I'm just going to stick with the regular and tell you about the day. I woke Jason up this morning, at about 06:30 because he had an appointment at 07:30. At the time I wasn't aware that he had had a rough night sleeping, all I knew was that I needed to get him up and going and that he wasn't going to get to eat anything, because of the procedure. Linda stayed back at the house...

Good day for Jason, though there is the on going battle of pain management. We went to breakfast, early this morning, with some friends, and we actually went to the Original Pancake House. For those readers who have been with me for over a year, you should recognize the name as one that we frequented while back in Bethesda. I knew they were out here, but just had not taken the time to locate until now. Actually it was at the request of our friends, and it was where they wanted to go have breakfast. It was good they wanted to go early too, since by the time we left there was a long line out the door. I think we might have stayed a little longer except that Jason was uncomfortable and needed to get out of the chair, or as he likes to say, "off my feet." It was good getting with Larry (for those that don't know Larry, he and I have known each other since high school and he was the best man at my wedding - heck, he's the reason Linda and I met) and his family. I hadn...

Jason spent most of the day in bed. He got up twice, for two different reasons. First he wanted to take a shower, and obviously there is a specific need for him to be out of the bed for that one. I changed the dressings on his wounds and they are looking okay, though the smaller wound has actually gotten a little bigger, and there is a "new" wound on his right side. Jason said he might want to talk with the dermatology folks to see if he should have another laser treatment. There was some progress with that, even if it did seem a little worse after the treatment. A few days afterward and the wounds looked to be healing up a bit. The other reason for Jason getting out of the bed was to come to the backyard. Linda had organized a birthday party for me, though my birthday isn't until Monday. It turned out nice, and we had a good turn out of people and the social gathering was better than I initially expected. I guess I should sometimes listen to her... ;-) I grilled up som...

Jason had some difficulties today with his pain management, and as a result did not attend his hyperbaric dive today. In the past the medical staff at UCSD was able to help him deal with it, and there was no significant delay in getting the session, or dive, underway. Today was a bit different in that there was a new doctor there, and he seemed to not be able to deal with Jason's condition and therefore offered to send Jason down to the ER. This would not have been a good idea, considering Jason is military, and the Naval Hospital is only a couple of miles away. The doctor in charge, in the past, as always been able to prescribe something for Jason and he just went forward, this time it didn't happen. To say the least, Jason was a bit frustrated with the personnel at UCSD and basically suggested today was being staffed by the second string team. We really didn't have much new going on, other than Jason had a couple of early appointments, and we had to get the girls up a l...

Well, for a July 4th celebration, we did have an unusual ending to the day. Actually, we had all just gone to bed last night, and didn't see too many fireworks. What we did experience though, was what happened to the local fireworks display. Apparently there was a "mis-fire" and a rather large explosion happened and it shook the house to the point that it felt almost like an earthquake. I went out side to see what was going on, and all I saw was glowing skies, that in itself was quite exciting, and we didn't even see it! Well, on to today... Jason had a couple of early appointments over at the Naval hospital, before heading over to the UCSD Hyperbaric chamber. Linda and I were scrambling a bit to make sure the girls were up and ready to go, so we could get them over to their day care, and then Jason over to his appointments. Jason was done with his Naval Hospital appointments in time to get over to the UCSD center, where we had to work with the doctors, prior to the...

Today being a holiday, there were no appointments, and as a plus, Jason was feeling pretty good today. When I first got up, at about 07:15, I simply went down stairs and check on how he was doing, and he said he was fine. I asked him if he needed anything, or if he wanted breakfast, and he said, "No.I'm okay." Then I told him I was off for a bike ride - still need to get in shape for that two day event coming up. BTW - I am now the number two fund raiser so far - I'm hoping to be number 1, but the guy in first place is $3K ahead of me right now. Anyway, I rode out to Cabrillo National Monument and had a great time. I was tempted to ride farther but decided to just get back to the house, since Linda was probably starting breakfast and I promised to help. We had pancakes and eggs for breakfast, and it was very enjoyable just being able to cook without having to worry about the clock. Stacy even helped with the breakfast, and both the girls were having fun with it this...

Well, today was definitely different from yesterday. Jason went to the hospital again today, though he didn't have any appointments this morning. Actually, what happened was that Jason and I had breakfast at the house with Linda and the girls, then the two of us headed off to the hyperbaric treatment center at UCSD Medical Center. We did get a bit of a late start because Jason wanted to take a shower this morning, and then I did a dressing change. Once that was accomplished we were ready to have breakfast, and so was everyone else. The girls had gotten up and Linda (a.k.a. Grandma) was getting breakfast for the girls. We all had cereal for breakfast, and we had fun doing it. Both Jackie and Stacy kept coming up to me eating my Rice Krispies, because Grandpa's is always so much better than their own. Jason finished first and then me, and then we were off to UCSD. Afterward I came back to the house and got Linda and the girls and took them over to their daycare. I received a ca...

Well, today started out like just about any other day, for the past couple of weeks, with Jason needing to go in to the Naval Hospital at Balboa, with an early appointment, and then over to the hyperbaric chamber. The appointment went well, and actually, just prior to that, we took the girls over to their day care center, so that when Jason was done at the hospital we made a quick stop at the pharmacy (that was an interesting journey for Linda and I, and I'll possibly talk about it some day) then over to the hospital at UCSD. Apparently there was some sort of schedule disruption, and Jason's dive didn't start until almost 11:00, and that means he didn't finish until just after 13:00 (1pm). Of course I wasn't aware of the delay because I just dropped Jason off this morning and when he is down in the basement there is little to no cell reception, so he couldn't call me. Anyway, we came back to pick him up at the "regular" time, and found the elevator was...

You know, if someone would have asked me, even a year ago, if I thought I'd still be with Jason on July 1, 2012 I think I would have said, "I hope not. I would hope he would be well beyond that, and I would be back home." Well, now it looks like I am going to be going home, and the best date we can come up with is July 16th, the first Monday of trying to get things a little closer to normal. We actually had planned on making the 13th our last day, but I ended up with tickets to Wicked, and it shows on the 15th. Jason is totally okay with Linda and I staying a couple of extra days, and I think he actually wants us to. Sort of a chance to take a couple of days unwind before driving back to Livermore. Yep, I said driving. Jason has a Ford Explorer that we both recognize he will never be driving again. The cost of converting it over so that he could drive it would far exceed the value of the truck. As a result he is "giving" it to me and I will be loading all my s...

Just a quick note about today, since it is getting way past my bed time... Jason was having some difficulties, off and on for most of the day, and then right after dinner he really started to feel poorly. His temp went up and he was very uncomfortable. He fear was that it was another infection so he wanted to get in to ER. They did some checking and ran some test and nothing was found. His pain came back under control and we were told to go back home, as long as Jason was feeling well enough to do so - and he did. We just need to check back in on Monday, to find out about the other lab tests, the ones that take several hours to complete. I think Jason was relieved to be able to get back home, and I know I was. I just hope he has a better day tomorrow (today?). Thank you, for all your prayers and continued support. Oh, and one more thing... while we were waiting in the ER, I was able to finish the book by Bob Hamer, Targets Down - I recommend it. I had a hard time putting it down.