Bunk’s Status

Increased pain in his jaw prevented Bunk from getting much sleep last night; he and Dad finally got some sleep around 5:00 this morning. When Mom arrived at 9:00, both guys were still fast asleep, and everyone was very accommodating in letting them sleep as long possible. Yvonne Bergeon Brewer (Rosary ‘89) arrived at 10:00 to do some manual therapy on Bunk’s neck and jaw, which helps his tension and neck pain tremendously. He is very grateful for Yvonne’s friendship and professional expertise. Being Sunday, they were happily interrupted by the Eucharistic Minister who stopped in about 10:30 to offer a “˜shortened’ version of the readings and Eucharistic prayers since they were in the middle of a therapy session, but did not want to miss out on Communion. They were interrupted briefly once more to start Bunk on his CPAP breathing, which continued for a whopping ten hours today - until 9:00 this evening! After his manual therapy session with Yvonne, Mom asked how his neck felt, “It feels great,” he responded. Bill Seitz arrived at 11:15 as Yvonne was leaving, just in time for Bunk’s bed bath. The shower chair arrived on Friday, so he is really hoping for a shower as soon as possible this week. Billy chatted with Dad until Bunk was ready to go, and they eventually all made their way out to the patio around noon where Bunk spent the entire day. Mom went to the local taco stand that Billy scouted out on his way to Casa Colina - with instructions for Mom to check the public health rating - anything in the D/C range; however, usually the lower the rating, the better the food! Bunk enjoyed his carne asada taco, which Mom had sliced up extra fine to make for easier chewing and swallowing for him. Marti and Priti Franco, along with Jim Arabia and his girlfriend Kayla Carino and Sylvia Avila arrived around 3:00 with a great presentation of the money they made at their fabulous lemonade stand - $433.93 - as well as all the pictures that went along with it. Marty and Jim also brought Bunk a signed boxing glove from Gabriel Ruelas, who is a WBC world champion, a Mighty Ducks hat signed by JS Guigerre, and - most importantly - a Washington Redskins Cheerleaders swimsuit calendar, signed by each girl on her particular month. Sylvia brought Bunk more of his golf tournament flyers and some great bumper stickers she had made. Billy left Bunk and Casa Colina after a wonderfully long and fun visit, and Marti, Priti, Jim, Kayla and Sylvia stayed until about 6:30, when Brian and Amanda Wolf and their two boys arrived for nice Sunday night visit, stopping by Marie Calendar’s to bring Bunk his favorite potato cheese soup and cornbread. Needless to say, Bunk ate very well tonight. It was a day filled with great friendship, conversation, and discussion of Bunk’s goals (breathing, Project Walk, rehab, etc.) The conversation with Brian and Amanda revolved around the day of Bunk’s injury and the few harrowing weeks immediately following it from their perspective, and they provided incredible encouragement and moral support for Bunk. The Wolf family said goodbye around 8:00, Bunk was helped back into bed, and according to Mom the transfer went very well tonight, which was a relief. Bunk was beginning to get chilled, so he requested his usual Patagonia blanket from cousins Rachel and Nate, as well as the new “Elvis Viva Las Vegas blanket” given to him by Ryan and Corrine Owens. Hopefully, he was comfortable and warm and ready for sleep; Dad certainly was. Bunk’s looking forward to a goal this week of maintaining his CPAP breathing for twelve hours, at which point the therapist can begin to lower the pressure support on the ventilator. Tonight, as the respiratory therapist was disconnecting the vent for a short period of time to correct the settings, she reminded Bunk to breathe when she switched him off the vent; he said, “That’s my plan!” Please pray for this plan to come to fruition for Bunk sooner rather than later, for the spasms in his neck and jaw to lessen, and for him and Dad to be able to get some solid rest. Thanks as always for your continued love and prayers for Bunk and our family.

As Bunk was resting in his bed this morning around 8:00 after a long, difficult night, we awoke to a knock on the door from our first lemonade stand customer. Jason Rees, (Servite’88) a good friend of Bunk’s from high school, arrived early to make certain he was the first to obtain what was, because of his generosity, one very expensive cup of lemonade! Hopefully, we will be posting the pictures Sunday night, and we encourage everyone who held their very own Lemonade Stand for Bunk to email the pictures along with a little commentary - Bunk and we are all very enthused about seeing the photos and hearing your special stories! Since Bunk was unable to get any decent sleep last night, in large part due to the recurring pain in his jaw and neck, he rested in his bed for a fair amount of the morning. On weekends at Casa Colina therapy continues, although in a lesser, modified format; physical therapy began at 10:30 with mostly range of motion exercises and some massage work on his neck and jaw. Pat Riley, a good friend of Bunk’s from both St. Norbert’s and Servite, arrived at 11:30 with lunch for a great visit, joined a few hours later by Eric Fischer (Fishpie.) Between the two of them, they kept Bunk in stitches for almost the entire day, with Eric leaving around 6:00. Although this morning Bunk required lots of airway suctioning, he improved significantly when he was finally up in his chair, with his main doctor, Dr. Lee, stopping by for a visit to say that Bunk looked good. Day two of his antibiotic course found Bunk feeling better and the infection on the run; he was well enough to tackle about two hours of the CPAP breathing exercises while out on the patio with Eric Fischer and Mom, which he managed very well. After stopping by our lemonade stand at Mom and Dad’s on their way to visit Bunk, Greg and Rana Schirmer and their son Michael arrived at 5:30 with dinner and as always, were jocund, supportive company for Bunk. Eric, Evelyn, William and I arrived around 7:00, just before Greg and Rana left, which enabled us to have a nice visit together. William and Evelyn were very excited to present their day’s earnings to Uncle Bunky: a grand total of $311.25 (not including the matching funds from the lucky parents!) Special thanks go out to, of course, Jason Rees, as well as our other big customers Aunt Mary Catherine, Uncle Ron, cousin Julianne; our friend and neighbor of 34 years Leo Paulsen, friend and neighbor Sally Debevec, Greg and Rana Schirmer, and neighbor Judy Kelly, whose son Sean is also a C4/C5 quad. Sean is looking forward to meeting Bunk upon his return home. Our business was brisk and infused with the spirit, energy and positive attitude that Bunk brings to each day. A very huge thank you to each family who participated in the Nationwide Lemonade Stand for Bunk: those we know about so far are our cousins in Phoenix, AZ Tommy and Debbie Schilling and their daughters Brianna and Jessica; our cousins the Fetzers in Napa, CA; our friends Rob and Lora Easley and their children Will and Ella in Lafayette, CA; Michael and Michelle Kurland and their children Griffin, Tanner and Paige in Placentia, CA; and Marty and Priti Franco in Newport Beach CA. We want to mention everyone, so please let us know about your weekend adventures in the lemonade sales business if in fact you gave it a try - Bunk would certainly be thrilled to see any and all photos of the kids! And finally, a big thank you to Vivienne and Ava Luthin, who, along with the support of their parents Joanna and Ted, pioneered the Lemonade Stand for Bunk and provided us with a very special working model of Christian stewardship and devoted friendship. We forgot to mention yesterday that Harriet, the vice principal at the SLDC, brought with her a bracelet of Karma prayer beads, uncertain if Bunk would actually wear it. Mom said he requested her help with putting it on that very night, and hasn’t taken it off since. Also, Aunt Roselind sent many family photos from the 70th wedding anniversary celebration of Aunt Sully and Uncle Earl (celebrated July 2, but their anniversary date is July 4.) We all enjoyed looking over them, since Bev, Derek, Jack and Katie were the only ones in our immediate family who were able to attend. We were sad to have missed the very special occasion, but are grateful for the wonderful example that Aunt Sully and Uncle Earl have been for all of us over the last 70 years, and wish them a multitude of God’s blessings. Bunk asked to listen to his voice mail messages and read his guestbook messages; clearly he derives so much happiness from them that it consistently makes each day even better. I’m not privy to all the voice messages, but he did mention getting great calls from Kristen Bean, Amanda Wolf, and little Michael Killeen. We ask for your continued prayers for Bunk as he overcomes each hurdle on the road to recovery - especially breathing, and that he will begin feeling better each day as he overcomes his latest infection. Bunk had a good day and is looking forward toa Sunday with friends and family, and maybe even a little more improvement.

Hi everyone, it’s Beverly Wurth subbing in for Erica. Bunk slept through the night for the first time since arriving at Casa Colina, easily falling asleep after each turn period. He woke up for good at 8:30 with a request for water. His OT session occurred bedside with range of motion exercises. 11am was supposed to be Speech Therapy but Bunk had many visitors arrive so his therapist, Melea, rescheduled for later this afternoon. Dawn O’Connor and Harriet Hassan, SLDC Principal and Vice Principal, arrived for a treasured visit with Bunk. They had a nice time catching up on students, graduation and sharing endearing “Bunk Behavior” stories to Sally’s great delight. It was confirmed that the folks at SLDC know and love the same Bunk that we do. Steve O’Donnell was to arrive with his family but his oldest boy came down with chicken pox so he came solo. He happily took orders for In-n-Out for lunch (Peggy Taylor worked some magic with the corporate offices who provided gift certificates for Bunk). Charlie, Lisa Butler and their son Nathan arrived for a final visit before their return to Colorado. All had a nice lunch and visit. At 1pm Sally and Bunk were resting on the patio outside when the Respiratory Therapist, Michelle, arrived and arranged to have Bunk on CPAP, which he tolerated well and would continue to do so for quite some time. Bunk’s Aunt Judy (Red’s sister) and I arrived to find Bunk napping on the patio just before his 3pm PT session. Aunt Judy brought a chocolate cream pie for Bunk but it had to wait. Suzanne in PT worked the muscles on Bunk’s neck, shoulders and jaw.We could visibly see the relief the massage brought him. 4pm had Bunk heading to the rescheduled Speech Therapy session. Malea worked more of the muscles around Bunk’s jaw and mouth. Bunk was able to do 4 sets of GPB breathing (guppy breathing) with over a minute completely off the vent. He maintained his oxygen saturations very well. These were his best breathing results so far and he stayed on CPAP breathing during GPB. Aunt Judy and I were present for the last of the 4 sets and it was a thrilling experience to see Bunk work so hard and see the results. Back in Bunk’s room he finally tasted the chocolate cream pie, watched some TV, napped and heard some Guestbook entries. Erica, Eric, Evelyn and Will Plam arrived around 8pm with Mexican food and then Marie C’s Potato Cheese soup for Bunk. Kevin Traut arrived around 9pm and happily facilitated Bunk’s eating. Thanks to everyone for your continued Friday 12:30 prayer dedications. Please remember the National Lemonade Stand tomorrow, 7/29; Evelyn and Will Plam will be selling refreshing lemonade at the Wurth’s house tomorrow if you are in the neighborhood. If you are doing your own stand, please e-mail pictures to me and I will post them on the website. We’re closing in on the Junk 4 Bunk sale so check the Events page for updates. At 9:30, Sally, Erica and the kids left Bunk in good hands with Red, Eric and Kevin watching the first 4 episodes of Entourage. Please channel your prayers for another restful night, continued improvements in breathing and a return to good health.

What was to be a tough day for Bunk began at 3:00 this morning, brought forth by more intense spasms than usual, and some serious pain in the back of his head and behind his ears. He was unable to sleep or even rest, so they helped him out of bed and into his chair very early this morning in order to keep his head upright and alleviate some of the pressure. The suspected UTI is now indeed full blown, and they started Bunk on IV antibiotics because the strain is resistant to any type of oral antibiotic available. It is a case of the slippery slope, with the UTI causing fevers, which seems to cause more violent spasms, which causes tension, which causes pain, which prevents Bunk from sleeping, eating, attending rehab.or breathing and weaning. Today was a day for Bunk’s battered body to try to recover from an onslaught of maladies, and he had just enough energy to do only this. He passed on the CPAP exercises all day, required quite a bit of airway suctioning, was unable to attend his therapy sessions, and could not drink his fluids or eat anything. Each of his therapists came anyway, at the very least to work with Bunk’s tense jaw muscles, and the relief of the pain in his jaw was immediate - so obvious that Mom decided to learn how to do it, and instructed Dad on the massage of Bunk’s jaw and neck. I imagine we will all be learning the finer details of this manual therapy since its positive effect on Bunk is immediate and so comforting. Aunt Mary Catherine and Uncle Ron arrived just before lunch time, and together with Mom accompanied Bunk outside to the patio in an attempt to prevent Bunk from getting the chills following his high temperatures. Mom described a scene which seems to perfectly illustrate what would best be described as Bunk’s generous spirit. Bunk, barely able to keep his eyes open and in very real pain, nonetheless asked about, and was genuinely interested in, details from Aunt Mary Catherine and Uncle Ron’s recent visit to Hawaii. It nearly wiped him out, and when Bunk’s friends Gilbert and Andy called to say they were on their way to have lunch and a nice visit with Bunk, he asked if he could take a rain check and see them another day. Between visits from the infectious disease doctor, nurses, therapists, and a cardiologist (as a result of his high pulse) he managed a little rest. Dad arrived at 7:00, and is asking for prayers for Bunk to be able to sleep and get some valuable rest, because, as he succinctly stated, “We both need it.” Please add to these prayers a quick recovery from this most recent setback and for Bunk’s pain to subside. Tomorrow is another day of opportunity for healing, health, CPAP exercises, and some positive PT and OT sessions. Please don’t forget this weekend’s Nationwide Lemonade Stand for Bunk! You can hold your lemonade stand wherever you may find yourself this Saturday or Sunday. We are all looking forward to it, and since I am typing this in the car on the drive down from San Francisco, we and the kids will be holding Bunk’s lemonade stand at Mom and Dad’s - we’re hoping for some brisk business in this ridiculous heat! Also, please remember the Friday Prayers for Bunk at 12:30 PST - tomorrow. Chin up, Bunk - we love you.

What was to be a tough day for Bunk began at 3:00 this morning, brought forth by more intense spasms than usual, and some serious pain in the back of his head and behind his ears. He was unable to sleep or even rest, so they helped him out of bed and into his chair very early this morning in order to keep his head upright and alleviate some of the pressure. The suspected UTI is now indeed full blown, and they started Bunk on IV antibiotics because the strain is resistant to any type of oral antibiotic available. It is a case of the slippery slope, with the UTI causing fevers, which seems to cause more violent spasms, which causes tension, which causes pain, which prevents Bunk from sleeping, eating, attending rehab.or breathing and weaning. Today was a day for Bunk’s battered body to try to recover from an onslaught of maladies, and he had just enough energy to do only this. He passed on the CPAP exercises all day, required quite a bit of airway suctioning, was unable to attend his therapy sessions, and could not drink his fluids or eat anything. Each of his therapists came anyway, at the very least to work with Bunk’s tense jaw muscles, and the relief of the pain in his jaw was immediate - so obvious that Mom decided to learn how to do it, and instructed Dad on the massage of Bunk’s jaw and neck. I imagine we will all be learning the finer details of this manual therapy since its positive effect on Bunk is immediate and so comforting. Aunt Mary Catherine and Uncle Ron arrived just before lunch time, and together with Mom accompanied Bunk outside to the patio in an attempt to prevent Bunk from getting the chills following his high temperatures. Mom described a scene which seems to perfectly illustrate what would best be described as Bunk’s generous spirit. Bunk, barely able to keep his eyes open and in very real pain, nonetheless asked about, and was genuinely interested in, details from Aunt Mary Catherine and Uncle Ron’s recent visit to Hawaii. It nearly wiped him out, and when Bunk’s friends Gilbert and Andy called to say they were on their way to have lunch and a nice visit with Bunk, he asked if he could take a rain check and see them another day. Between visits from the infectious disease doctor, nurses, therapists, and a cardiologist (as a result of his high pulse) he managed a little rest. Dad arrived at 7:00, and is asking for prayers for Bunk to be able to sleep and get some valuable rest, because, as he succinctly stated, “We both need it.” Please add to these prayers a quick recovery from this most recent setback and for Bunk’s pain to subside. Tomorrow is another day of opportunity for healing, health, CPAP exercises, and some positive PT and OT sessions. Please don’t forget this weekend’s Nationwide Lemonade Stand for Bunk! You can hold your lemonade stand wherever you may find yourself this Saturday or Sunday. We are all looking forward to it, and since I am typing this in the car on the drive down from San Francisco, we and the kids will be holding Bunk’s lemonade stand at Mom and Dad’s - we’re hoping for some brisk business in this ridiculous heat! Chin up, Bunk - we love you.

What turned out to be a very good day began on the iffy side, with Bunk waking up at 5:30 this morning with a temperature of 101 and climbing.They were unable to kick off the marathon four hour CPAP session at 6:00, and instead did various CPAP sessions for 1-2 hours each throughout the day. Bunk’s normal doctor called in an infectious disease doc to find the source of the fever; fortunately his chest x-rays looked good today and they don’t seem to think pneumonia is the culprit. Most likely, it is another UTI; Bunk is awaiting the culture results to find out for certain. In the meantime, Bunk usually had been placed on IV antibiotics in the past, but they would rather wait to see what grows out of the culture, and, ifhe must,he will have antibiotics orally, not via an IV. Bunk felt well enough to get to his therapies and push through them all: his 11:00 occupational therapy session focused on the e-stim exercises in conjunction with the deltoid aid to work his shoulder and pectoral muscles, and his 2:00 physical therapy session again employed the FES bike andpractice with slide board transfers. Throughout his therapy sessions, Bunk was able to hold onto his own breathing and continue with the CPAP mode for a total of six hours today -he did phenomenally well, despite his fever, possible infection, and little sleep. Dad decided not to return home today but rather stay with Bunk, and when Derek arrived around lunch time to stay a good portion of the afternoon, the three of them had a great time together. Derek brought lunch, and they ate out on the patio - until it became just too hot forcing them to return inside. Since Derek and Dad were with Bunk this afternoon, it gave Mom a nice break and some time to run errands, pay bills, and get to the supermarket. While Dad and Derek were with Bunk at PT, they trained on slide board transfers, which Bunk prefers, but which are also a bit riskier than sling transfers, since Bunk could slide off the board at any given moment if the person carrying him isn’t careful. After OT, Derek left for the long drive home while Bunk was getting his hair washed and cut. The infectious disease doctor arrived to further investigate Bunk’s temperature and possible infection, even though he made it through most of the day without a fever after this morning’s episode. Monty, his two brothers Travis and Adam, as well as their friend, arrived around 6:00 with dinner for everyone, and they all made their way to the family room to enjoy it. Bunk was very happy to see them; they had a great conversation and naturally Bunk loved it. When the guys left around 8:00, Bunk, Mom and Dad went back to the room to help Bunk prepare for his return to bed. Although fairly tired, once in bed his first request was to listen to his voice mail messages. We knew it was a good daywhen Bunk’s eye’s immediately crinkled due to a large smile upon hearing the robotic voice tell him “you have twelve new messages.” Among many others, cousin Nate called from Europe to check in, Pup called and left such a long message he had to finish it on another one, Rana Schirmer called, Amanda Wolf called - three times! - as well as the entire Wolf family, as did Steve O’Donnell. Thanks to all of you who phoned to leave Bunk an awesome message - he was very happy indeed. Also, many thanks to all of you who continue to inspire, encourage, and comfort Bunk via the guestbook messages - he looks forward to them and reads them everyday without fail. Your support and love for Bunk is immeasurable and invaluable. As Bunk and Dad settled in, they queued up a movie Derek brought, “Roadhouse 2″; yet another great B movie from Derek’s vast vault of such movies. Although Bunk and Derek are very different in many ways, their keen eye for the world’s worst movies and their fondness in bringing them out of obscurity remain the same. Bunk was thinking tonight of his friends, old and new, in Denver - Owen Gonder, Andy and Penny Behr and their children, and of course, Charlie, Lisa and Nathan Butler. He said although he misses them, he is still very glad to be back in California. Mom mentioned that since things are finally starting to settle into a schedule, the visiting times that seem to benefit Bunk the most are between 12:00-1:30 (lunch time) and after his therapies between 4:00-7:30 (around dinner time.) Of course, any visit from anyone, at any time, is always a wonderful thing, and Bunk really loves to see everyone.

A good night’s sleep has been out of Bunk’s grasp for some time now, and the cumulative effects of a consistent lack of sleep are adding to his general exhaustion. He mentioned to Mom and Dad that he dreads going to sleep - not a lot going on to divert his attention away from his inability to sleep. This morning Bunk was up fairly early to begin his CPAP at 8:00, although his pulse rate was high, and remained so for longer than the doctor liked; they will be keeping a close eye on it. Bunk had his cuff up, which prevents him from talking, but helps to keep the air in his lungs longer. He did very well this morning - his tidal volumes never dropped below 500 and he was going strong, but they decided to cap the CPAP exercise at two hours so he could get to his first therapy session. Elmer, Bunk’s respiratory therapist, is coming in tomorrow, which is his day off, in order to keep Bunk’s progress moving forward. Bunk and Elmer’s goal for tomorrow is to breathe for four hours - beginning about 6:00 in the morning since he can’t do the CPAP routine during rehab sessions. Occupational therapy began at 10:00; the therapist did the range of motion exercises with Bunk and worked with him on his mouth stick and reading table. Dr. Farrell, the psychologist, came by to talk with Bunk at 11:00; they spoke some about Bunk’s recent harrowing experiences, and she asked how it made him feel. “Mad”, he said. She countered by asking if it made him scared, to which he responded: “no, it just makes me really mad, not scared!” Brian Wolf and his son McKinney, Bunk’s godson, stopped by to check in on Bunk and bring some lunch. They were joined by their teammate Monty, who is planning on visiting again tomorrow night, bringing his brother as well as dinner. Brian, McKinney, Monty and Mom all accompanied Bunk to his physical therapy session which began at 1:30. Suzanne, his physical therapist, went over to the outpatient clinic and hauled the FES bike all the way back to the inpatient gym since he isn’t allowed to use it where there isn’t a crash cart. She kindly brings it to him so he won’t miss out on the fantastic opportunity of using the FES bike. He “pedaled” for 25 minutes and worked on some range of motion exercises. His 3:00 speech therapy session arrived, but Bunk was too tired to do his GPB (guppy breathing) exercises, so she worked on his jaw and neck muscles since he feared they were clenching and about to really tighten up. At 4:00, back in his room, Bunk pulled off another hour of CPAP - this time with his cuff only partially deflated - and again, he did very well. Dad arrived around 5:30 with a pastrami sandwich and a malt to share for dinner, they rested and all three settled in to watch “Dirty Jobs” which they all love. Tomorrow Bunk is looking forward to a visit from Derek and further improvement on the breathing front. When Mom left tonight at 10:00, Bunk was already asleep and we ask that you please pray for a few peaceful nights and some real rest for him. Sleep and true rest haven’t been hadfor so long now, that it’s surely contributing to his overall exhaustion during the day - it’s not just the weaning that is making him so tired. Bunk is doing extremely well, feeling good, and is truly ready to breathe! Mom and I needed to remind ourselves tonight how long we have waited, prayed and hoped for this moment, and how beautiful it is to witness answered prayers.

Today was a very full day for Bunk in terms of therapy and his ventilator weaning program. He needed all the rest he could get, but didn’t manage much last night before waking up at 7:00 to start his day. He was up and in his chair by 9:30 for a visit from his respiratory therapist who arrived to work on the ventilator settings. The therapist jump started this week’s weaning activity by altogether skipping a step since Bunk has managed so well: he decided not to do the SIMV (Synchronized Intermittent Mandatory Ventilation), which allows for partial participation from both Bunk and the ventilator in the breathing effort. Instead, he took Bunk straight in to CPAP mode (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) which gives only pressure support, allowing Bunk to breathe entirely on his own. It is necessary for Bunk to sustain a tidal volume of 400 cc’s or better to remain on this setting; he began at 10:00 and was able to breathe for one hour before the therapist switched him back to ventilator support. This was a major feat, and something that would exhaust anyone in Bunk’s situation. Instead, our cousin Bobby, his son Tyler (they were visiting from Hawaii), Aunt Roselind and Dave and Pat Valentine where all in his room visiting with him throughout the process, then joined him in the gym afterwards for his physical therapy session. The physical therapist had done range of motion exercises with Bunk in his room while the weaning exercises were being done, and Bunk puffed his way to the gym all by himself today to finish the PT session with some shoulder exercises. During PT, Mr. and Mrs. Valentine kindly offered to get lunch for everyone; they brought it back and everyone enjoyed lunch together in the family / day room. Aunt Roselind fed Bunk his lunch, which reminded Bunk of a pseudo promise he made to himself to “never let mothers feed me, since they just try to get as much in as they can - they never let up!” Fortunately, as far as mothers and feeding go, Aunt Roselind was somewhat more laid back than the others. Bunk really enjoyed the chance to visit with Bobby, whom he hadn’t seen since Grandma Mary’s funeral in February. Aunt Roselind, Bobby and Tyler said good bye and were on their way around 1:30. Mr. and Mrs. Valentine accompanied Bunk to the occupational therapy class at 2:00 in the gym, where he used the e-stim in conjunction with the deltoid aid in the ongoing effort to get his arm to move across his chest by way employing the sheer force of his newly strengthened shoulder muscles. Bunk appreciates the special support and love of the Valentine family; in particular Mr. Valentine’s daily quotes on the guestbook, and today he was happy for the chance to visit with them. As the Valentine’s were leaving near the end of Bunk’s therapy session, Argo arrived for a brief visit with a smile, a Joe Jost’s pickled egg and a Joe’s special sandwich for Bunk, undoubtedly leaving Bunk with visions of a nice, cold beer to accompany them. Argo, Mom and Bunk went out to the patio nearest Bunk’s room and warmed Bunk up a bit prior to his 3:00 speech therapy session. Argo and Bunk parted ways as Bunk proceeded to the speech therapy office to work on his GPB and for some manual therapy of his jaw and facial muscles. Unfortunately, a decision was made to use an in line (breathing tube from the vent to his traech) speaking valve on his ventilator to help direct the flow of air. It seemed to backfire, causing some very distressing and uncomfortable issues for Bunk and it resulted in lowering the oxygen saturation levels in his blood. Bunk asked them to stop; they had expected it to be helpful, but instead was quite the opposite. Bunk and Mom returned to his room to give him an opportunity to recuperate from the mishap, before the respiratory therapist returned to put him back in the CPAP mode on the vent to breathe on his own for yet one more hour, and again, Bunk did very well. Dinner arrived and he picked up a bit; he and Mom were joined by Dad who arrived to settle in for the evening. As Dad was reading Bunk the sports page, they were pleasantly surprised by a visit from Aunt Kathleen and Uncle Ray on their way home from visiting with our cousins Nate and Rachel. Naturally, Uncle Ray was very interested in how Bunk’s weaning process was progressing, as Aunt Kath and Mom managed to catch up on a few things. Their visit reminded Bunk of the framed photograph that Aunt Kath and Uncle Ray brought on their last visit, whose story began when Bunk was still at Craig Hospital in Denver. Uncle Ray was on his return flight from Denver after visiting Bunk, and sitting next to him on the plane was the David Payne, the captain of the OMBAC (Old Mission Bay - in San Diego) Rugby Football Club - who coincidentally beat the Bucks at their last meeting! Uncle Ray mentioned the reason for his visit, and upon his return, David had a photograph of the team matted, signed with notes from the entire team, and framed for Bunk. He gave this to Uncle Ray with the request to please deliver it to Bunk on his next visit; Bunk was awfully pleased and quite touched by the thoughtful gesture from those he has not yet met in the dedicated fellowship of the rugby community. To David and the entire OMBAC team, Bunk says thank you, and he is really looking forward to meeting all of you soon! Aunt Kath and Uncle Ray said goodnight since they still had a long drive ahead of them back to San Diego, and Mom and Dad helped to get Bunk ready for bed. Bunk was exhausted and ready to get some sleep in order to tackle another day of big changes tomorrow. He and Dad were watching a movie together when Mom left to return home, but she didn’t seem to think either would last long. Mom did mention a few reminders that I would like to include in tonight’s update: Bunk asked today to listen to his voice messages and have his mail read to him, but unfortunately, both came up empty. In addition to the many other very serious requests we ask of each of you daily, we would also like to include the more minor requests of leaving him a message or dropping him a line in the mail - if we haven’t already worn out our welcome! These relatively minor things make all the difference in Bunk’s day and help immeasurably in sustaining his hopeful, positive attitude. His face lights up when he listens to his messages, and he consistently looks forward to the mail call each afternoon, the reading of the guestbook entries, and the blackberry messages. Thanks for always answering our call to arms with dedication, humor and love in your hearts. Bunk’s cell phone number is 714/ 651-8805 - call as often and as you like! If you would like to drop Bunk a note, please send it to our parent’s house at 8571 Ocean View Avenue, Orange, CA 92865 - they will get it to him that same day. Lastly, some fundraising topics: the Junk for Bunk sale is approaching and we just want to make certain the word gets out! Without customers it won’t succeed: publicize and let people know as best you can. The registration flyer for the Golf4Bunk tournament is now posted on the “golf4Bunk” button under the Events section of this website. Please print the form, fill it out and send it to Dave Daly as soon as you are able. The Nationwide Lemonade Stand for Bunk is still set for this weekend, so please check out that button under the Events section, too. Our good friends Vivienne and Ava Luthin have helped engineer the page and have even shared their best tips for a successful lemonade stand for Bunk - which they have pulled off a few times now! All the information you need for these fundraising events should be on the Events page, but should you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us on the email addresses listed on the Contact page. As ever, we are especially blessed with your strong and generous prayers, day in and day out. Bunk’s recovery and breathing abilities to date are a direct result of God’s love, Bunk’s constant efforts and determination, your constancy of friendship, and your devotion to prayer for his healing - thank you.

Today was a very full day for Bunk in terms of therapy and his ventilator weaning program. He needed all the rest he could get, but didn’t manage much last night before waking up at 7:00 to start his day. He was up and in his chair by 9:30 for a visit from his respiratory therapist who arrived to work on the ventilator settings. The therapist jump started this week’s weaning activity by altogether skipping a step since Bunk has managed so well: he decided not to do the SIMV (Synchronized Intermittent Mandatory Ventilation), which allows for partial participation from both Bunk and the ventilator in the breathing effort. Instead, he took Bunk straight in to CPAP mode (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) which gives only pressure support, allowing Bunk to breathe entirely on his own. It is necessary for Bunk to sustain a tidal volume of 400 cc’s or better to remain on this setting; he began at 10:00 and was able to breathe for one hour before the therapist switched him back to ventilator support. This was a major feat, and something that would exhaust anyone in Bunk’s situation. Instead, our cousin Bobby, his son Tyler (they were visiting from Hawaii), Aunt Roselind and Dave and Pat Valentine where all in his room visiting with him throughout the process, then joined him in the gym afterwards for his physical therapy session. The physical therapist had done range of motion exercises with Bunk in his room while the weaning exercises were being done, and Bunk puffed his way to the gym all by himself today to finish the PT session with some shoulder exercises. During PT, Mr. and Mrs. Valentine kindly offered to get lunch for everyone; they brought it back and everyone enjoyed lunch together in the family / day room. Aunt Roselind fed Bunk his lunch, which reminded Bunk of a pseudo promise he made to himself to “never let mothers feed me, since they just try to get as much in as they can - they never let up!” Fortunately, as far as mothers and feeding go, Aunt Roselind was somewhat more laid back than the others. Bunk really enjoyed the chance to visit with Bobby, whom he hadn’t seen since Grandma Mary’s funeral in February. Aunt Roselind, Bobby and Tyler said good bye and were on their way around 1:30. Mr. and Mrs. Valentine accompanied Bunk to the occupational therapy class at 2:00 in the gym, where he used the e-stim in conjunction with the deltoid aid in the ongoing effort to get his arm to move across his chest by way employing the sheer force of his newly strengthened shoulder muscles. Bunk appreciates the special support and love of the Valentine family; in particular Mr. Valentine’s daily quotes on the guestbook, and today he was happy for the chance to visit with them. As the Valentine’s were leaving near the end of Bunk’s therapy session, Argo arrived for a brief visit with a smile, a Joe Jost’s pickled egg and a Joe’s special sandwich for Bunk, undoubtedly leaving Bunk with visions of a nice, cold beer to accompany them. Argo, Mom and Bunk went out to the patio nearest Bunk’s room and warmed Bunk up a bit prior to his 3:00 speech therapy session. Argo and Bunk parted ways as Bunk proceeded to the speech therapy office to work on his GPB and for some manual therapy of his jaw and facial muscles. Unfortunately, a decision was made to use an in line (breathing tube from the vent to his traech) speaking valve on his ventilator to help direct the flow of air. It seemed to backfire, causing some very distressing and uncomfortable issues for Bunk and it resulted in lowering the oxygen saturation levels in his blood. Bunk asked them to stop; they had expected it to be helpful, but instead was quite the opposite. Bunk and Mom returned to his room to give him an opportunity to recuperate from the mishap, before the respiratory therapist returned to put him back in the CPAP mode on the vent to breathe on his own for yet one more hour, and again, Bunk did very well. Dinner arrived and he picked up a bit; he and Mom were joined by Dad who arrived to settle in for the evening. As Dad was reading Bunk the sports page, they were pleasantly surprised by a visit from Aunt Kathleen and Uncle Ray on their way home from visiting with our cousins Nate and Rachel. Naturally, Uncle Ray was very interested in how Bunk’s weaning process was progressing, as Aunt Kath and Mom managed to catch up on a few things. Their visit reminded Bunk of the framed photograph that Aunt Kath and Uncle Ray brought on their last visit, whose story began when Bunk was still at Craig Hospital in Denver. Uncle Ray was on his return flight from Denver after visiting Bunk, and sitting next to him on the plane was the David Payne, the captain of the OMBAC (Old Mission Bay - in San Diego) Rugby Football Club - who coincidentally beat the Bucks at their last meeting! Uncle Ray mentioned the reason for his visit, and upon his return, David had a photograph of the team matted, signed with notes from the entire team, and framed for Bunk. He gave this to Uncle Ray with the request to please deliver it to Bunk on his next visit; Bunk was awfully pleased and quite touched by the thoughtful gesture from those he has not yet met in the dedicated fellowship of the rugby community. To David and the entire OMBAC team, Bunk says thank you, and he is really looking forward to meeting all of you soon! Aunt Kath and Uncle Ray said goodnight since they still had a long drive ahead of them back to San Diego, and Mom and Dad helped to get Bunk ready for bed. Bunk was exhausted and ready to get some sleep in order to tackle another day of big changes tomorrow. He and Dad were watching a movie together when Mom left to return home, but she didn’t seem to think either would last long. Mom did mention a few reminders that I would like to include in tonight’s update: Bunk asked today to listen to his voice messages and have his mail read to him, but unfortunately, both came up empty. In addition to the many other very serious requests we ask of each of you daily, we would also like to include the more minor requests of leaving him a message or dropping him a line in the mail - if we haven’t already worn out our welcome! These relatively minor things make all the difference in Bunk’s day and help immeasurably in sustaining his hopeful, positive attitude. His face lights up when he listens to his messages, and he consistently looks forward to the mail call each afternoon, the reading of the guestbook entries, and the blackberry messages. Thanks for always answering our call to arms with dedication, humor and love in your hearts. Bunk’s cell phone number is 714/ 651-8805 - call as often and as you like! If you would like to drop Bunk a note, please send it to our parent’s house at 8571 Ocean View Avenue, Orange, CA 92865 - they will get it to him that same day. Lastly, some fundraising topics: the Junk for Bunk sale is approaching and we just want to make certain the word gets out! Without customers it won’t succeed: publicize and let people know as best you can. The registration flyer for the Golf4Bunk tournament is now posted on the “golf4Bunk” button under the Events section of this website. Please print the form, fill it out and send it to Dave Daly as soon as you are able. The Nationwide Lemonade Stand for Bunk is still set for this weekend, so please check out that button under the Events section, too. Our good friends Vivienne and Ava Luthin have helped engineer the page and have even shared their best tips for a successful lemonade stand for Bunk - which they have pulled off a few times now! All the information you need for these fundraising events should be on the Events page, but should you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us on the email addresses listed on the Contact page. As ever, we are especially blessed with your strong and generous prayers, day in and day out. Bunk’s recovery and breathing abilities to date are a direct result of God’s love, Bunk’s constant efforts and determination, your constancy of friendship, and your devotion to prayer for his healing - thank you.

Mom arrived at the hospital this morning at 9:00 to make certain Bunk was being assisted in, primarily, waking up; secondly in being dressed and ready to go. Sunday morning began on an incredibly positive note as Yvonne Bergeon arrived at 10:00 to work on the manual therapy of his neck, jaw, face and head; not only is she a wonderful therapist, she is a fantastic friend and conversationalist, too! Bunk enjoyed the visit very much, and greatly appreciated her generosity and efforts in contributing to his healing. Yvonne’s visit was a wonderful gift. Whereas yesterday was a very quiet and restful day, today scored enough visits for Bunk that his spirit had no choice but to be optimistic, hopeful and sunny: all of you must know by now how Bunk loves those visits! In the late morning, the physical therapist came to Bunk’s room to work on range of motion exercises with him while he was still in bed, and during that time Bunk’s former student Matt Tarr and his stepfather Dave Glavas arrived for a cheerful visit with Bunk, complete with Matt’s freshly baked chocolate chip cookies - a sure fire way to endear yourself to Bunk for a lifetime. Matt is enjoyable to have around; indeed, he is a very special person. Without question, Bunk is always glad for time he is able to spend with students or former students, and he really enjoyed seeing both Matt and Dave, who has been very supportive of Bunk, this afternoon. The visits from Bunk’s friends today segued nicely from one to the next, allowing many of them to meet each other as they overlapped. Brian Criss entered the scene shortly after Matt and Dave’s arrival; Bunk always makes a point to introduce each of his visitors to each other, and Bunk, Brian, Dave and Matt had a nice conversation together before they left around 2:00. Prior to that, though, Marty and Priti Franco arrived, along with Dominic and Kendra Cotuli and their two children. Bunk has known Marty and Priti since his days at Cal State, and plays rugby with Marty; he and Jim Arabia were the creators and organizers of the Herculean Poker Night for Bunk back in March. It was a delightful visit with the four of them; Priti and Marty stayed with Bunk for a fair amount of the afternoon, leaving a short while after Aaron Hill, who is another rugby mate of Bunk’s, and his girlfriend Sarah dropped in to check in on Bunk and say hello. Obviously, it was a great afternoon for Bunk - he was literally entertained the entire day: throw in the British Open, the Tour de France and an Angel game, and it all added up to an exceptional Sunday. By 4:30 the steady flow of visitors had not diminished as his friends and softball teammates Art Greco and Billy Michaels arrived with another batch of warm, homemade chocolate chip cookies! The guys wasted no time in settling down to watch the Dodger game and devour the cookies. It is sometimes difficult to make the litany of Bunk’s therapies and visitors sound interesting and fresh - I often feel like I am just trying to find new words to employ as I remark on the loving friends and family and rehab events of the day. To that end, I am always asking Mom to garner (and remember!) as much valuable information as possible about Bunk’s day - especially the unique and insightful things that he says when he thinks Mom isn’t forwarding it to the family journalist. Mom dutifully reported a wonderful little comment Bunk made to Art and Billy about trying his best “to be off the vent in two weeks and out of here!” Whether or not that is even possible remains to be seen, but if it doesn’t quite happen, it certainly won’t be for lack of Bunk’s tenacity and great effort. Most likely, it would be due to his weakened muscles and their need to be made strong again since they have been dependent on a ventilator for five months. Whether spiritually lazy or not, I’m not certain - but I’m always reinvigorated when I get a glimpse of Bunk’s absolute faith in his recovery and healing, as ifto takemycue from his own fortitude and hope. He also commented to the guys that he now knows it will be a very long healing process - maybe even two years (!) before he will regain enough movement and strength to learn to walk again. What remains for Bunk clear and without question, and something all of us ought not to forget, is Bunk’s uncommonly firm belief that he will walk again. When Art and Billy said good-bye, the “˜tropical’ rainstorm that persisted for a good part of the day finally ceased and Bunk got a chance to go outside with Mom and Dad around 6:30 to avoid the chills and enjoy dinner. Upon returning to his room, they met up with Bunk’s pulmonologist (who first commented that his lungs were holding up well so far and looking good) to discuss the ongoing process of weaning and what Monday will bring in terms of the next step in this process. Mom, Dad and two nurses helped Bunk back into bed without incident or injury tonight, and, thinking it was a time to start winding down, was pleasantly surprised by a visit from his fellow ruggers Doc and Anthony who arrived around 8:30. They brought with them a nicely framed rugby shirt signed by the entire US rugby Sevens team, which Bunk really appreciated, and, despite its massive size, he plans on hanging it in a very prominent location. Thank you to all of the friends and family who visited Bunk today, prayed for Bunk today and remembered him in your thoughts through the course of your own busy schedules. You are special indeed to attach yourselves to Bunk in such a way that will foster his healing and bring about a renewal in faith, hope and service in all of us.