Staff Sgt Jason Ross - Marine

Well, we've all made it to the end of the 4th month of this "new" year, and the time continues to just move on by. I really assumed that Jason's wounds would have been just about all healed up by now, and am sorry to report that they are in fact, not making much progress at all, right now. In fact they have gone a little on the reverse direction. Still, they are much better than they were a year ago, and Jason is still in very strong spirits. I believe the biggest issue is the seating challenges he is dealing with, and I am hopeful that the different teams that are looking at the problem will be able to come up with some solution. Now on with the days activities. We got the girls up this morning and though it was a little on the unusual side, to have them here on a Thursday, it all felt very much like it was a Tuesday or Wednesday (maybe even a Monday). They both got up, a little slowly and we were out the door with the time needed to get to school on time. The funn...

Another day of life in the fast lane for the Ross family, down in San Diego. We got up to get the girls ready and out the door, for school. As usual, it was organized chaos, and the girls had great fun (as did Grandma and Grandpa). We got to their respective classes and then came right back to the house, so we could get breakfast for Jason. It was also a good time for me to get out on my bike, again, and get in a nice little 19+ miles. It was a very nice ride out to the beach and then around Fiesta Island, then back to the house. While I was on my bike ride Linda took Jackie to her weekly Wednesday speech therapy. Jason wanted to take care of some errands he has been wanting to get done for the past week or so, and so once he was done eating he brought out Gracie's bedding and decided it was time to get it down to the laundromat, so that it could be cleaned. With Kojak being sick, I guess Jason wanted to be sure he could provide the cleanest of environments for the new puppy, as ...

One of the things that we were dealing with over these past several weeks was making sure we had the right amount of medical supplies for Jason. I have written about it a few times, and as an update to that small drama - we now have plenty of supplies, and in fact, some items that we don't need, and fortunately, those are only a few. I am hopeful that going forward they have been able to iron out the kinks and we won't run into those supply gaps as we had in the past. Today was a bit like yesterday, quiet and comfortable for the most part. It is Taco Tuesday, so we had that to look forward to, for most of the day, and the girls really like their Taco Tuesday. The one thing that has happened that is a little more on the concern side, is that Kojak is not feeling well, and we had to take him to the doctor. Actually, Jason had made the appointment already, for a well puppy check up, only this time the puppy wasn't well. He is now on some antibiotics and we are expecting him ...

Today has been one very relaxed and quiet Sunday. About the only thing we did, or maybe I should say, "didn't" do was go to church. I got up at about 06:30 and got out on my bike. I wanted to get in a few miles and managed to do 16+ miles. I returned to the house and fixed some breakfast for Jason and I, and then went up to see what Linda was doing. It was almost 09:00 and I figured she needed to get up, so that there would be plenty of time to go to church. What I didn't plan on was that she wasn't feeling well. I checked her out and she didn't have a temperature we needed to worry about, just that she didn't feel right, and she wanted to just stay down, and she did. By the time everything was settled it was well past going to church, so I just didn't go. Other than a quick trip to Target, where I picked up a few things, and Jason taking the dogs for a walk, we all just stayed home. Kojak, Jason's new pup is still a little on the nervous side, t...

Got up this morning with the full intention of going out for a bike ride, and maybe getting in 25 miles or so. Didn't happen though, I got busy doing some things around the house and before I knew it, it was nearly 10:00, and that didn't give me enough time to do anything but a very short ride, and then I decided to just head over to Trader Joe's, to pick up a few things. Jason and I were expecting some guests at about 13:00 (1pm) and I realized that I had no munchies or drinks - other than water and milk. Linda was still out with Karen, and though Karen was leaving today I didn't know what time she was going to be getting back home. After getting back from Trader Joe's we were ready and there was still plenty of time, so I kicked back and started watching some T.V., Modern Marvels was on, and they were showing the top 100 things that impacted the development of humans on Earth. Some of them were very interesting, like the Rosetta Stone, and Tesla's earthquake...

Today was a very interesting day, and a change to the Ross household. We have a "new" member, and I'll get to that in a little bit. First, it began with me getting up and going down and checking on Jason, to see what he was interested in, for breakfast. It was going to be a busy day, so a relatively quick and easy breakfast would be best, and we both had a bowl of Cheerios. We had to get ready for the flight up north. Neither of us really knew where the plane was taking off from, though we did have the address. Because we hadn't been there in the past we wanted to leave a little on the early side, and we did. As it turned out, we found it despite the directions the GPS was giving - it wanted us to go in the opposite direction of where it was, and I attribute that to signal interference, since we were right next to an airport. Anyway, we got to the building for Crownair, where we were to meet up with the pilot and crew for our trip ... we just happened to get there 1...

I'll start this post off with a minor disclaimer - I don't have my regular editor (Linda) looking at my post tonight. She is off with a friend, Karen Ryan, and will be gone for a couple of days - sort of a girl's weekend out. We did get up this morning and I took off for a quick bike ride, I got a total of 14 miles in and managed to get it done in an hour, even with all the traffic stops, so I was pretty happy about that. I was also quite exhausted and out of breath.  I just don't have that same level of stamina as I used to, when I was in my 20's (or 30's, or 40's...). I got home with enough time to cool down a little; take a quick shower; get dressed, and then go pick up Karen at the airport. Actually, the timing was pretty close to perfect, as she had just gotten out to the curb as we drove up. We drove up to the construction site of Jason's new house and the progress is coming along very nicely. The sheet rocking is just about completed, and they...

It has been another good day for Jason, and the Ross family, here in San Diego. We did have to take the girls to school this morning, and now won't see them again for five days, then the cycle all begins again. Over the past few weeks we have been running into some difficulties getting wound care supplies and making sure that we have all that is needed to help Jason. I think, as a result of working with Dr. Sheu and Sarah with the V.A. most, if not all the issues have been addressed and by the end of this week we will have the supplies rolling like they're supposed to. That makes me feel much more comfortable, and I think it makes Jason feel better as well. Tomorrow Karen Ryan, a family friend, will be coming down to spend some time with us, and she and Linda plan to take off for a couple of days for some "girls time" together. We will be getting up a little on the early side and I'll take off for a quick bike ride. At about 10:30 Linda and I will head over to t...

This has been a nice day to transition back in to our regular routine of living down here in San Diego. We got up this morning and went down stairs to get the girls up and ready for school. The big surprise was that both Stacy and Jackie got up and were moving with little encouragement from Linda. We both expected that they were going to want to stay in bed and rest, since the last few days have been pretty busy. I went to the kitchen, while Linda was with the girls, and I got their breakfasts ready as well as their lunches. At about 15 minutes before the school bell we were out the door and on our way. The girls were both feeling great and literally ran to school. Linda and I had to walk much faster than we usually do, and needless to say, we got their a little early. Fortunately there were no teacher meetings this morning (or at least none we know of) and getting there a little on the early side worked out just fine. Linda had a few errands she wanted to take care of and I wanted t...

Not much to write about for today, other than we had a great time in Livermore (and San Jose and San Francisco). Our host, Debbie Vargas, was wonderful, and we do owe a big thank you, to her, for allowing us to stay with her, it really makes our trips much easier. The day began with a breakfast at IHop, with Marilyn Carter, and we finally got to visit with her for just over an hour - Her schedule is almost as crazy as ours (maybe more). We drove back down to San Diego with a quick stop at Linda's folk's place. It is always great to see Joe and Jess, and this time we had the girls with us, so there was a special treat for everyone. Jess made a great dinner and I ate too much, again, then we finished the drive on home. Jason was resting in bed and the girls ran in to say, "Hi! and then good night!" to Daddy. Linda and I talked with Jason for a few minutes to make sure everything was okay, and that was pretty much the end of the day. Thank you, for all the continued supp...

A great end to a wonderful weekend - We came down, primarily to help celebrate a couple of birthdays, and we did. Yesterday was fun and we got to see and visit with a bunch of folks we hadn't seen in a while. Today, we started off by going to our old church and we were well received, by everyone. We were here a couple of weeks ago, and the minister was gone, as well as a number of the parishioners we know. Today, everyone was there and we felt special.. We could barely take three steps without having to stop and talk with someone. It felt very warm and loving, to have all these people welcome us back, even knowing that we were only there for a visit. Unfortunately, I believe it is our last visit for a few months, and maybe even longer. We stayed with a friend, Debbie, and she has been a wonderful hostess. Debbie has felt the loss of her nephew who served with the Marines in Afghanistan. She can relate to some of the emotional stress associated with a combat loss.She allows us f...

We had a great day today, and got to visit with a bunch of different friends we haven't seen in quite a long time. First it was a 90th birthday for Isabel, a wonderful woman who helped me through some times as a teenager, and NEVER said an angry word to me or anyone that I saw. She is the mother of a very good friend of mine and he and I have stayed in touch over the many years. Even though I kind of disappeared for a while, she still calls me her second son, Larry, my friend is an only child. Anyway, it was great to see her and to get to spend some time with Larry and the rest of the family, including cousins and other extended family. Linda and I had to keep helping each other remember people's names and partners. Stacy and Jackie stayed with us, during this event and behaved themselves just as we would have expected. We even received complements on how well they were behaving. The second birthday was the 70th birthday for Russ Greenlaw, and he was as cheerful as he ever wa...

Today was a nice day, and we managed to get a few things done, including a trip up to the new house. We did take some photos, though I won't be posting any of them today. The progress on the house is moving along very nicely, and I remain hopeful that we will be in it sometime around August, and be able to get things set up there, before the new school year. Jason, is working on this, and I am very proud at how he is handling it, with very little intervention for either myself or Linda. I did get a chance to get out on the bike this morning, and it was kind of a strange ride. I felt like I was working very hard, and I did mange to get in 17 miles, but it felt more like 30 when I was done. I was breathing harder than I typically do and my lungs were definitely feeling it. After a little while I was feeling much better and I just went on doing the same old things I normally do, like coordinate a flight to Yolo County (for those that don't know, Yolo County is in California, and...

Happy Tax Day! Then, again, I guess every day is tax day. Today was a good day, in that we got the girls off to school on time and then Jason and I headed off to the hospital for his appointment. Linda had her own appointment to get to, so she was not able to go with us. We met with the doctors for internal medicine and general surgery and they examined Jason, three different times. First it was the Lieutenant and she came in and did the basic exam and I guess she wanted to have a more senior guy come in, so the Lieutenant Commander (also a doctor) came in and took a look at Jason, while asking questions. He felt compelled to bring in his boss and the Navy Captain came in and he was definitely the guy in charge. He also asked some of the same questions, again, and had a good look at Jason and the issue, and this time there was no mention of any kind of alternate option. He just said this needs to be corrected and surgery is the only way to do that. We now have a date for surgery, May...

Today turned out to be a very nice day for us. Not because we had the girls with us or because I was able to get a 28 mile ride in. Not because the weather was great or that Linda and I visited our stored things. All those things are really nice and all, but today, this evening after the girls had gone to bed, Linda and I were able to just have a wonderful conversation with Jason, in the kitchen. We must have talked for a couple of hours and we went over all kinds of topics, from the girls to his recovery to the people he has been able to help in their healing process. Most of our conversations don't last much more than 30 minutes, and those are good conversations, it is just that to have that much time in an engaged conversation was a special treat. The rest of the day was just a normal day and not really that much to write about. We got the girls up and took them to school. Linda had a couple of errands to run, as did Jason, and I went out on a nice ride out to Cabrillo Nationa...

Well, I guess Friday the 13th came on a Monday, this month. Only it hasn't been a bad day at all for the Ross clan in San Diego. It has actually been a rather nicer, almost relaxing kind of day with Linda getting a chance to catch up a little with our niece Katie and Jason and I having a nice visit at Balboa. We got up this morning and kind of piddled around slowly getting ready, and not really knowing what we were going to see today. Linda had a more focused view, and in a relatively short period she was ready to go and Jason and I were still finishing our breakfast cereals (we had Cheerios today). Linda initially had some trouble with the GPS (it insisted that she was up in Laguna) so I just printed the direction out from Google Maps, and she was on her way. Funny thing is, when she was returning she found that the GPS was now working correctly... go figure. Jason and I had to get down town to get some documents notarized and that was actually more fun than I anticipated. The...

Today started off with a bowl of oatmeal and raisins - you know, one of those comfortable days that just can't get in a hurry. We went to church and it was the youth service, and they did an excellent job of it. as well as the social gathering afterward. I was glad we went, though it would have been fun to have had the girls with us, they always enjoy Sunday School. Other than taking care of a few things around the house, and finishing up some tax preparations (yeah, we still haven't filed for 2014) it has just been a basic easy day. This evening we were invited to a meal with Bruce and Rosemary R. of the Carrington Corporation, a memorial for Bruce's father who passed away recently. Hal was just shy of 90 years, and died of cancer, he will be missed. Linda and I were very pleased at being invited, as we got to see some friends we usually don't see very often, and the meal it self was wonderful. The drive up to Mare (the restaurant where we ate), in Laguna Beach was...

A very nice day, for us, though there were enough challenges to keep us on our toes. We got up at about 07:30 and each of us had a goal we wanted to get done. Jason wanted to get Gracie over to a training session; Linda wanted to go to a Blue Star Mothers meeting; and, I wanted to go for a longer bike ride. I was the first one out, and that was almost 09:00 when I left. I had no idea where I was going to go, but I knew I wanted to get some miles in, and attempt to ride where there was less traffic to deal with. I got up to the Pacific Coast Highway and turned to head toward Mission Bay. I knew there was a good 14 miles where the traffic was relatively lite. However, as I was making my way in that direction a car passed me. It was an older, restored car, in very good shape. Then there was another one and then another, and this caused me to take a look behind me. There was now a line of these different cars all heading somewhat in the same direction as I was. That would have been cool, e...

This has been a couple of busy days for us, for multiple reasons, and kind of taxing as well. Yesterday was a memorial/funeral of a fallen Wounded Warrior we had gotten to know over the past few years. Artem Lazukin was laid to rest and will be sleeping in his blues until the end of time, and then today we learned of another death, of a father of another friend of ours. Hal Rose had been fighting liver cancer for the past 20 years, or so, and he finally succumb to it. He was almost 90 years old. Artem was 27 years. Hal also served his country and will have an honor guard at his funeral, on Sunday. We did manage to have some enjoyable things to do, like today we went with the builder, of Jason's new house, to look at tile and counter tops. We picked out some very nice colors and designs, where I put in my opinion, and then let Jason and Linda do all the serious picking. A real nice aspect of it was that it was relatively close to our current residence, so we didn't have to d...

Today was a good day. We took the girls over to their mother's home and dropped them off. They both gave us big hugs and then we were on our way back to our house. Jason had an appointment this morning, though it wasn't for a couple of hours, and I had some things to do, like communications with the builder of Jason's new house, as well as with some other folks. Jason and I are planning a trip up to Northern California to pick up his new puppy. This puppy is going to begin training to become the next service dog, and Jason wants to be there to pick up the dog. There is a big challenge though, and that is that Jason has a difficult time with traveling long distance. I think we have that issue behind us now, and once we have confirmation that it is resolved I will put more about it, here in the blog. We got to the hospital at Balboa, where Jason needed to go into Wound Care, and the good news is that the wounds are looking better again, and I am feeling much better as a r...

It is Tuesday, and the last full day of Spring Break, for the girls to be with us. We decided to go to the zoo, and spend a few hours there, and just have a nice time - which we did. I got up pretty early, so that I could get a short ride in, and managed a 14 mile ride in just over an hour. I had hoped to go farther but traffic lights were not cooperating with me, and then there was the train. Anyway, I knew I only had about an hour and decided to cut it short and still made it back in a reasonable time. Linda was getting the girls going, and dressed and since I was still a little on the sweaty side she asked me to get the girls breakfast while she got ready. I was happy to do so, and in a little while the girls were done eating and I had cooled off, and we were ready to go to the zoo (I managed to get my shower in before we left). The zoo was packed when we arrived, and since we're members it is much easier to just walk to the entry turn styles, and the girls wanted to get u...

A very nice day for us today, as we all got up a little on the early side and decided to head up to take a look at the new house. First though, we needed to get some breakfast, and Joe and Jess (Linda's folks) wanted to take us all to breakfast at the local waffle house. It provided a chance to just sit and relax, and have some good conversation before the drive up - we were taking two vehicles - and after the stop at Jason's new house, they were heading on home, back to Lake Forest. The drive up to the property was much easier than anticipated, though we already knew the traffic would be reduced some, because of the people on vacation. We targeted 10:00 as our arrival time and we managed to get there by 10:05, so we didn't take too long at the restaurant after all. The progress on the house looks great and they are now working on the roof as well as the electrical. I am still very hopeful that the house will be ready before the end of August, and we can get all moved i...

Easter Sunday, and a nice relaxing day, as it should be ... I got up a little after 07:00 this morning and found Joe and Jess (Linda's parents) down stairs having a nice conversation. Jess asked me if I could make her a cup of coffee (Linda received one of those new style coffee makers from Jason, so we don't have a regular coffee maker. I've learned how to use it, even though I don't drink coffee. Every now and then the knowledge comes in handy.) so I did. We were still deciding on which church service to go to, so we either had to get moving quickly, or we had a little extra time to get ready. We ended up with a little extra time ... Actually we thought the first service was at 08:30 and later found out it was at 08:00. We would have been horribly late, rather than a little early, as we were. The pews were all full, AND there were extra chairs set up on the side isles. I understand the first service was almost full, as was the third, and the second service, the on...

A nice day and a day for a personal best on my bike. I rode out to Santee this morning, and that was by way of Mission Gorge. Getting up over that hill was a little more difficult than I thought it was going to be, yet I was still able to get it done. I did ask Jason to come pick me up because of the time. I was afraid that it would take me another two hours to get back up over the hill again, for the return trip, and there were too many things to still be done ... though, I am getting ahead of myself. I woke up at 06:15 this morning and decided that a bike ride was in order. The girls had not come up yet, so I just went and brushed my teeth, and cleaned up a little, then got dressed for a bike ride. As I was heading down stairs both of them came up and I asked them to go in and just lay down with Grandma (Linda), and I thought that was all I needed to do. Jackie had different ideas and wanted to not only lay down with Grandma, she also wanted to play and discuss anything and everyth...

Today was a much more relaxed kind of day, though still plenty busy. We didn't have to get up to take the girls to school, so instead they came up to get us out of bed. They were up to our room at just before 07:00, and it was Jackie first, this time (Stacy came up a couple of minutes later). It was fun and we did manage to lay around for a short while then I announced I was going down to make some pancakes and eggs for breakfast. This announcement was well received and in just a few seconds the girls were following me down. Of course this left Linda up in bed and she decided to take advantage of the opportunity and got a little more sleep (I don't think she got more than an hour - but still it was nice for her). Shortly after breakfast, which, by-the-way, was quite good, I took care of some things and then the girls and I were off to the park, to ride their bikes. Well, first we went to the school, where they could ride in the parking lot - always nice when no one else is ar...

One of our busier days and right now I am pretty tired. I felt I needed to get this post in just the same, otherwise I'd be likely to forget what happened today. We started out by sleeping in - neither Linda or myself got up before 07:00 this morning, and that is really sleeping in for us. I wasn't going to go for a bike ride but then Linda said she was going to do some of her exercises and I figured I'd better go for the ride - I need to keep up with her. For those that don't know, she is looking great! She has been exercising and eating healthy and ... looking great! I got out before 07:30 and decided I didn't "need" much of a breakfast, and that was a mistake. I ate a banana and was on the road. At one point I was peddling on a relatively flat area and able to maintain a consistent 21 mph or higher pace, for about half a mile I was hitting  25 mph. I did this for just a little over a mile and then slowed down. I didn't know there was a group of yo...

This morning started out a little on the kookier side - as you might expect with it being April Fools' Day. About every 5 seconds one of the girls would attempt their best joke, and of course Grandma and Grandpa had to play along. After about a dozen of these they started to get a little worn, from my perspective, but it did make the girls happy so we continued. Finally I said they had to eat their breakfast, or they might be late for school, and it helped. We walked the girls to school and came back to the house to begin a little bit of a clean up and also to help Jason get ready for his appointments. Actually he was headed over to Balboa to visit the folks in the PT area and then later, about 13:00 (1pm) he had an appointment to see the dentist at the VA. The only thing I wanted to do was to get in a bike ride, and so at about 09:00 I took off on my bike. It was a nice ride and I put in just a little over 24 miles, and it felt pretty good. I had a good workout and as I was cool...