HOPE for my PARENTS

-THE FACTS ABOUT THE SUV, MY DAD, THE DOG, AND MY MOM- ( slightly revised 2/17/04)

• .....On Tuesday JULY 8th 2003, My parents were driving home from Durango,CO. The rear driver tire separated and the Ford 2000 Explorer rolled several times off the highway. My mom and dad both had thier seatbelts on. The EMT took my dad to Gallup and my mom to Alberqueque, New Mexico. Five days later they were both transferred to St. Joe's Hospital in Phoenix.
• THE DOG - Had no injuries except a scratch on his nose and he is doing just fine with his daily walks.
• MY DAD- he was discharged from the hospital on July 15th with a fractured pelvis and separated shoulder along with 5 broken ribs. He has been using a walker.. but now can walk without the walker.... which means he is starting to do some of the chores around the house. He also can drive when needed... and bosses my brother around less frequently. HE has been working out in the pool and he is healing very well!! yeah!
• MY MOM- Her injuries- my mom got the shitty part of the accident. Her main injury is DAI ( diffuse axonal injury). It's a type of a closed head injury. The head tramua is what WAS causing her to be in a coma state. SHE STARTED AT A GCF level OF 4, BUT HAS MOVED TO 13 OUT OF 15!!!! also a shunt was placed in her head. normally our heads recycle fluids in our brains.. and she can't anymore. So the shunt allows her brain t function. it's pernamant... but you can;t even tell it's there. she is moving her arms, legs , hips, and opens her eyes, face, and mouth, and moves her tongue and talks. She had a few stable fractures on her spine, jaw, left arm, and ribs... but they are stable which are self-healing. all her internal injuries(the liver, intestine) have been healing very well. A Tracheostomy was placed in her thoat to help her breathe... BUT she is now off the ventilator!! Physical therapy is working with her a few hours a day and she gets cleaned alot. She has been doing so well... and we only expect her to just keep getting better.
• VISITS TO SEE MY MOM- oh my gosh... she has moved to BARROW'S NUERO REHAB AT ST.JOES HOSPITAL. located at thomas and 3rd avenue. Her room is on the first floor, number is room 15 bed 1. Don't worry about staying long.. a 20 minute visit is good... it's enough to visit and keep her in your thoughts... but you can always stay as long as you would like! thanks!
• SPECIAL MESSAGES- Send all special messages and gifts for my parents to thier home: < 24401 N 81st street, scottsdale az, 85255> thanks

THINGS TO LOOK UP TO BETTER UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING

diffuse axonal injury
feeding tube
VA SHUNT
BRAIN INJURY INFO
RANCHOS LOS AMIGOS COGINITVE FUNCTIONING SCALE
Centre of Neuro SKills/BAKERSFIELD, CA

........................................The NEW Stuff ........................................... monday june 20th 2005- well we just got back from vistiting peggy and she is still making great progresss! she played basketball with us for hours ans he was making more baskets then us! she also likes to go walking for miles... yes miles. we took a 3 mile walk! can you believe that! so she is getting stronger! she is getting good! she is having fun with all the activies over there... infact they took her to the beach! peggy went walking on the californiz beach! and she is going on a camping trip at bear lake in july. they have waterskiing, kayaking, hiking, and other fun stuff. Ken is also going to go with her! so that should be fun! but peggy still can't wait to come home... so call her up, write her and even visit her and see the remarkable progress. she will probably be coming home sometime in late sepetember or october...phone # is 1-661-836-2500 and her address is Peggy jacobson 2500 Gosford Rd. Apt#612 Bakerfield, CA 93309 thank you so much. love the jacobsons