Staff Sgt Jason Ross - Marine

Jason had a good day today, and he got out on his cart this morning, just like he wanted to. He cruised the hall ways, moving along at a pretty good speed. Because of the recent visit to the O.R. he was not able to get out in his chair this weekend, so it will be one of the activities he is looking to accomplish early this week, starting with Monday. Of course there is also a problem with his existing chair, it is too small for him and they will be getting another one, either Monday or Tuesday. Once his "new" chair comes in he will be more comfortable as well as be able to move around a bit more easily. As for visitors today, MGSgt Todd came by for a short visit with Jason, and that is always a good thing. He also had a visit from Lt. Col. Tarter a short while later, and that too was a welcomed visit, since they are both from EOD, and Jason feels best talking with them, since they do seem to speak the same language. Another visitor Jason has was from the current Miss Americ...

Folks, sorry for the short post today, but I'm just a bit tired and with that I'll simply say that Jason is doing well, and I'll provide more information tomorrow. He didn't do too much in the way of activities to day, and has said he wants to get out on his cart tomorrow, so I'll write about that. Take care, and thank you, for your continued support and all your prayers.

Jason went down to the O.R. today, and as a result he crossed a major milestone. He received a specialized treatment, that is intended to promote natural skin growth over his wounds. The doctor who did the procedure is considered one of the premier experts with this, so we are all very hopeful for the out come. The original plan, as explained to us last week, was to do this and then allow him two weeks "rest." The plan now is to monitor more closely with check ups every 2 or 3 days, depending on a few outward signs they also monitor. A check every couple of days is a lot better than daily trips to the PACU, so we're pretty happy with it - as is Jason. For the next two days he will be limited to what he can do, and that is rolls in his bed and getting out on his cart. He won't be able to get in his chair until Monday or Tuesday at the soonest. That's OK though, as he will still be able to do other things for his PT. Jason went down at about 06:00 this morning and...

Jason began the day, as he has often done, with an early visit to the PACU, and was on his way down before 07:00 this morning. The big difference with this one is that it might be his last visit down to the PACU for several days. Tomorrow he goes to the O.R. where they are going to do a treatment of his wounds and then he won't have to have any other actions for two weeks, while this part heals. We are all excited about what this means, and look forward to the next phase of his healing to take place. Once he was back from the PACU the folks in audiology let us know that they wanted to do a hearing test on him, and it had to be done with his bed turned off. It also had to be done close to his room, where there was still some access to the meds he needs, just in case. The hearing test went well and they found that he had only a slight, high level hearing loss, that most of us have anyway. In other words, his hearing is fine. What we had to do for the testing was get him out of his ...

Jason had another quick visit with the PACU, and the doctor said he is looking better all the time. He is also feeling better, more and more each day and today he not only wanted to get out in his chair, he also wanted to go get a hair cut. He really wasn't getting too shaggy, but from a Marine's perspective his hair was too long and he felt he needed to get it back to regulation. Besides, it gave him somewhere new to go and he wanted to get a little more exercise. We got down to the barber and went right in and were next in line. You might think that it was because of his "patient" status, or because of his injuries, but I can honestly tell you right now, it was because there were no other folks waiting, so he was simply next. On top of the haircut he also received a nice shave and the barber even trimmed up his mustache. I did take some pictures and I need to ask Jason if he would like to have them posted, so you won't see them just yet. After the haircut we w...

Jason went down to the PACU today, and he left about 08:15 this morning. Now that in itself isn't remarkable, however there were a couple factors with it that make it notable. First of these was that we ALL got up early (Mom, Dad, and God Parents)and went over to see him before he went. We arrived about 06:45, so that he could say, "good-bye" to his Nino and Nina, as they had to catch a plane around 14:00 (2pm) which meant that we needed to leave for the air port at about noon. Like I said, he went down around 08:15, and this is the second notable factor, he was back in his room before 11:00. I think that was the shortest visit to the PACU that he has had, and it allowed him time to visit with his Nino and Nina again (and say, "good-bye" again). There was no new development with his treatment and he is still progressing at a consistent pace, and he came back feeling pretty good, so all-in-all it was one of the better trips to the PACU. It was great having his ...

Jason had another good day with the PACU, though he came back with some minor issues like a pulled muscle in his back. He was given a muscle relaxer and shortly felt better, and then spent the next few hours visiting with the people who came to see him. There was a Warrant Officer, Team Extreme, and of course his God Parents. The Warrant Officer (I apologize that I don't remember his name) talked with Jason for about 15 minutes and Jason enjoyed him being there, however Jason didn't know who he was actually and it may have been a case of the W.O. coming into Jason's room, thinking he was attached to a different part of the Marines. Like I said, it was a relatively short visit yet enjoyable. The Team EXTREME folks came in and talked with Jason about getting one of those hand crank bicycles and Jason was pretty excited about it. What they told him was, there were going to be some of those bikes in the race, and once the race was over one of them was to be given to Jason, for ...