Staff Sgt Jason Ross - Marine

Turned into a great day, even though we got sweaty and dirty around the house. We had a clean up detail from the church come over and we got a great deal of work done, as well as relocate our possessions from a large storage unit to the next size down. Then after we were done we were able to sit down and have a great phone call with Jason, Bridgette and the girls. They all sounded great and it sounds like Jackie is talking more. Jason said he is doing well, and that he is going in for another procedure on Tuesday, to have the wound vac moved/changed. He was also pretty up because he got out on his prone cart and was scooting around all over the hospital. When I was at Bethesda, with him, I always went with him so they didn't have to send anyone along; now they have to send someone along to make sure he is safe, and that is a good thing. The funny aspect of it was that Jason was going to places at the hospital that the corpsman wasn't familiar with and Jason actually had t...

Well, a bit of an update for all those out there who are wondering what is going on with Jason and his recovery. He had a major surgery several days ago, and most of you, I believe, already knew that. What most of you don't know is that as a result of that surgery he had to go through another series of smaller surgeries that were (are?) for the replacement of the wound vacs and general clean up of the existing wounds. Fortunately these are much shorter in duration, though they can still take a couple of hours, and he has to endure a general anesthetic. Afterward he is usually uncomfortable for the rest of the day, and quite sleepy (probably a good thing), and the next day is much more tolerable for him. The thing is that he has to endure these "short" surgeries every couple of days, with the pattern being something like three days, then clean, two days, then clean, three days, then clean, then two days and so on, until the next major. It is a bit of a pain for Jason to to...

Seriously, there really isn't much of an update, since I didn't get a chance to talk with him today, and yesterday it was only for a short minute or two. He sounded fine and his spirits seemed pretty positive. I think him having the girls there have done him some real good. I'll be talking with him tomorrow and then I can provide a little more information. Otherwise, please remember to keep him in your prayers and thank you, for all the prayers that have come our way. Take care and stay positive.

Jason had a procedure today, to clean out his wounds area and to reset the wound vac. It was later in the morning, so he wasn't too happy about having to go without eating, but it was something he is getting more accustomed to (Not sure if that is a good thing). He got back mid afternoon and fortunately we had stopped to get him something to eat, courtesy of one of the Yellow Ribbon fund folks, Laura K. ( I didn't ask her if I could put her name in, so that's all you get). We also had a great visit with the mother of one of the other patients, and I think she got as much out of the talk as we did. Not much else going on today, and we're leaving tomorrow. I will be continuing with the blog posts, as I have information to provide, though I don't think it will be on a daily basis. Not sure when the next time we will be able to get out here to be with Jason, but I hope it isn't too long. I would like to thank everyone for all the help, support and prayers for Jaso...

Well, I finally made it to a place where I can get a decent signal. The "Free" wifi at the Navy Lodge doesn't work in our room, for some reason. I even went on a 30 minute phone call with their network support people, and the guy determined that my laptop and their network are both working fine so it came down to simply the location, our room, just doesn't get good signal. I am currently in Jason's hospital room and the signal here is excellent! Okay, on to the blog post... Jason is doing great. His spirits are up and we have had some very positive talks. We got to meet with Dr. Malone for an extended visit, about 30 minutes or more, and we talked about everything from Jason's wounds to playing guitar. Jason received another gift today, a "cigar box" electric guitar. Dr. Malone also has some experience playing guitar and banjo, so she said she would like to have her teacher come by and give Jason a few pointers as well. I'm pretty excited about...

Jason had a pretty good day today, though I am sure he would like to get off of some of the meds, antibiotics, and other things - but generally a good day. He had some nice visitors, one of whom was President Obama, again. Jason said he came in and gave Jason one of those "Good Old Boys" kind of punch on his shoulder. Jason thought it was kind of amusing that the President considers him more on a personal level now. I think this is he third visit, so maybe he is... ;-) His other special visitor was Kelly Carlson, an actress who has learned of Jason via Bob Hamer. Bob is a friend and also noted author, that has gotten to know Jason and me, over these past several months while down in San Diego. Jason will be going through a number of procedures, along with the surgeries he is having to endure, so he is quite anxious to get all this done, as he would like to be able to get out of his room. The folks are all being supportive and doing what they can to make him comfortable, but...

We didn't get a chance to speak with Jason today, though we did yesterday. There is definitely a challenge with getting Skype working in Bethesda, though we are still pushing to make it work right. Jason looked great and he was able to talk with his girls, as well as Bridgette got a chance to speak with them too. He is sort of looking forward to his next surgery next week, as well as Linda and I coming out to visit with him. I just hope he gets to move away from the pain a bit more with the new surgery. Not much else going on, other than the Undefeated EOD Ride coming up and I've crossed the $4K fund raising. I am hoping that I can get a bit more, and  maybe even make it all the way to $5K. Otherwise things are going well and we're looking forward to this weekend. Thank you, for all your continued support and prayers.

Okay, no update from Jason today, so I'm going on the old adage, "no news is good news." We have all the flight information together for our trip out to Bethesda, and all four of us are getting ready to fly back on an early morning flight. We will be there from the 15th until the 19th and Linda and I will be spending an inordinate amount of time with Jason, as long as he allows us to stay in his room. We'll also be getting some time to visit is some of the other folks we know from our previous stay, so it should be good all around, for us. @Laura, I hope you get a chance to read this, as we would like to spend a little time with you and your family while we are out in Bethesda. I can't find your contact information, so I don't know how else to get in touch with you right now. I will watch for your comment and see if there is a method you would like to use for us to connect up. If you know how to use LinkedIn you can check out my profile... Just a thought. ...

Jason is having another rough time with the treatments, though the infection seems to have been cleared up. Not sure where the infection has come from, and I understand that there is going to be a continued "search" to see if they can determine what happened. In the mean time he got worn down and turned in earlier than usual. This just meant that the girls didn't get a chance to see and speak with Mommy and Daddy, we can always go again tomorrow. Thank you, for all your continued prayers and support, and stay tuned for developments.

Jason didn't have a great day today, in that some sort of infection has gotten in, again, and they have him on antibiotics. The antibiotics are causing him to feel ill and as a result he isn't eating much, and doesn't want to do much of anything. Tomorrow he has to go in for a procedure, though I don't know what kind. My guess is that it is to clean out the dressings and wounds from this most recent surgery. I'll find out for sure tomorrow. The only communication I got from him today was a relatively short text message. Not much else to update on, other than the 50 mile ride I did today. I got a chance to get out and ride with a buddy of mine, Rob, and we headed out to Danville, a city about 20 miles north of here. I actually didn't get the full 50 miles in, but it was close enough for me (49.62 miles) that I didn't feel I needed to go any farther. Besides, my legs were tired... ;-) Thank you, for all your continued support and prayers. Please be sure to ask...

I've noticed a significant drop off in the number of readers of my blog, and I suppose that stands to reason, considering the number of updates I've been posting. Well, today's post isn't going to have any earth shattering news or updates. Jason is still dealing with some major discomforts and getting very anxious to be able to get out and about again. In his words... "This room is VERY boring." He has been in a hospital room for a total of well over a year and in that time it just doesn't get any better. You get tired of TV, tired of playing games, and tired of yelling at the support staff. Visitors are so very important to break up some of the monotony. Linda and I are going to do our best to be back there on September 15, with the girls, and stay for a few days. We really can't stay very long this time, as I need to get back to work. Funny thing happens when you're out of work for nearly two years - you run out of money. Anyway, as development...

Today is the first of September, so it seems like a good time to provide an update on Jason's progress, and just a general idea of how he's doing. He had his surgery; he spent his time in the ICU; he moved back up to the 4th floor; and now he is working with the medical team to get a good balance on the pain management. I say balance because it is a balance of the amount of medication he will be taking vs. the level of pain as he regains comfort. He is getting better but still seems to be a bit too strongly influenced by the drugs to maintain a good conversation, though we are hopeful that tomorrow it will be close to normal. The girls would really like to have a good skype call with Mommy and Daddy. We are trying to pull together plans for getting the girls back out to Bethesda, and towards the middle of September is when we were looking to have it done. Thank you all, for all the continued support and prayers - even if I'm not updating every day... ;-)