Bunk’s Status

No sleep last night made for a long morning; after waking, having a bath and getting dressed, Bunk requested to stay in bed to see if he could catch up on some lost sleep. He managed a little. The furious Santa Ana winds - cold this time - did quite a job in preventing anyone from getting much rest last night or today. At 116 years of age, our family’s home is a somewhat frightening place to be in the winds - I can remember wondering, as I’m sure Bunk is now, just when those tall eucalyptus trees might come crashing through my windows, if in fact the windows were still there (it wouldn’t take much.) Fortunately, many fallen, large branches later, the trees still stand. But if necessary, anyone of us could get out of the way. In Bunk’s current, rather helpless state, he seems to worry often about things happening that he would be unable to respond or react to, at least in the physical realm; learning to cope with this is one of the more difficult things. In the short while that he slept, Linda Molyneaux, a mother of an SLDC student of Bunk’s (Heather), came by to visit and deliver some delicious roasted chicken. Not wanting to wake Bunk, shespent some timewith Mom and Dad who enjoyed her positive presence. He lost his voice yesterday, and this frustrates him tremendously since it leaves him with absolutely no way of communicating except for clicking. That, combined with mid-week Wednesday night arriving and no sign of visitors yet, as well as the cold, contributed to Bunk feeling a bit down. If it all possible, it would be wonderful to have a visitor every afternoon to break up his long day in the living room with Mom and Dad. Although it’s bound to be a regular thing, it is no less awful when he is bored, which he was today. He perked up when he decided to listen to his voice mail and was greeted with some cheerful, positive messages. If you have a moment, please give Bunk’s cell phone a call: 714/ 651-8805. One very important factor in this conundrum is the need for transportation - Dad is trying his best to get a van, but it is more difficult and involved - they don’t want to buy a new one -than expected. In the midst of the cold Santa Ana winds, the power went out. Fortunately, the battery on his ventilator was able to go the distance during the outage. Mom, as she lit candles through the house, asked Bunk if this scared him at all. “It causes me concern,” he said, “and it makes me think.” Yet one more reason to increase his efforts to get off the ventilator and breathe on his own. Earlier this summer, Bunk’s good rugby friend Sean Whaley bought him a generator as a backup for his ventilator; although today they didn’t need to use it, Dad retrieved it from the basement to have nearby just in case. Mom helped Bunk with his exercises today, getting through only about 1/5 of what is supposed to be done. It really was just one of those frustrating days. With the power outage exiling the television, Bunk read the sports page and enjoyed some nice conversation with Mom and Dad. Mom very positively, and more than a few times, referenced the two meals that Bunk managed to eat today, proof that his attempts at a routine for eating and meals are comingever so slowlyto fruition. As is always the case, the baby steps to each accomplishment have the potential to add up to great things. Please stop by for a visit if you have a chance, and thanks for your graciousness in always being open to our (many) entreaties.

After Mom told me Bunk had a great night of sleep, I began to think back on the days she and Dad have said this: it’s really no surprise thatit is always reported on nights when the night nurse stays with Bunk, allowing everyone in the family some good rest. After his 9:00 wake up, Bunk was able to appreciate for probably the first time the lack of decent window coverings in his room; (the light from the tall windows wakes him up very early) looking out the window on this fine day Bunk said, “Wow, what a nice day outside.” Indeed, the sky was blue with some soft white clouds and plenty of sunshine. Bunk hasn’t been moved to make such a comment since his injury, but today that remarkable comment betrayed an observant, positive and happy response to his surroundings that has beensubdued for some time. Needless to say, he was anxious to get outside, as they have agreed to do more regularly as part of his daily schedule that they hatched yesterday. Another positive note was sounded today with his 1:00 occupational therapy session: the therapist worked intently with Bunk on visualizing his movements, reiterating the need to constantly see himself doing these things - scratching his nose, raising his glass for a drink, fixing his hair. Furthermore, the therapist really felt that we need to be helping Bunk by putting this visualization into practice: putting his hand around a glass when we help him with a drink, lifting his hand with ours to scratch his nose. Bunk, Mom and Dad appreciated the therapist’s philosophical approach to Bunk’s therapy and recovery - he truly placed rehabilitation squarely on Bunk’s own shoulders, adding that Bunk should be asking and directing people to help with movements and little exercises and goals throughout the day, every day. Occupational therapy should be occupying his time - keeping busy with small tasks as exercise throughout the day. A little downtime was in order, so they watched one of the many movies our cousin Erin kindly sent to him to keep his spirits up in the off hours. “Nacho Libre” with Jack Black was the chosen one, partly because it sounded funny, mostly because it is probably the only movie in the universe at this point that Bunk has not seen. In any case, they all laughed long and hard for a full hour anda half. It’s nice to hear of Bunk - Mom and Dad, too - laughing. In the early evening, he read the guestbook with Mom from his iBook, and the sports page from the newspaper on his lap. The messages on his guestbook continue to sustain his spirit and keep him interested in and connected to the life that surrounds him. Thank you to everyone for making the supreme effort that you always do - by keeping in touch, writing in the guestbook, leaving voicemails, sending notes, and stopping by to visit. Things just would not be the same without the sterling support of our friends and family, and Mom asks me to mention this every night! I try to be creative in wording it, but it is really all the same thing - constant gratitude for all everyone has done to help Bunk and our family. Dad continues in his pursuit of the possible purchase of a used handicap accessible van that would need to have further conversion work done to meet Bunk’s height requirements, but hopefully there is a chance it will work and be available for purchase. This is a major factor in getting Bunk involved in his weaning, OT and PT sessions that hopefully will be taking place at St. Jude Hospital. We are all tremendously anxious to help get Bunk to that next stage, the sooner the better.
Please pray for continued good health and strength for Bunk to be consistent and strong for his therapy and weaning efforts.

Hopefully, Bunk has sufficiently caught up on his sleep from his late social nights this past week; he had a good night and all three - Bunk, Mom and Dad, concurred on this point - an infrequent occurrence in its own right. A nice, quiet morning was how Bunk described the beginning of his day (we weren’t there to make a ruckus this morning), which also meant a slow routine for getting out of bed, making for a very late start to his day. Up and in his chair just in time for a visit from the physical therapist (pathetically, one of two visits his insurance will cover) at 12:30, he worked with Mom and Bunk on a sort of “˜train the trainer’ routine. If any guys are interested in helping Bunk through his physical therapy routine, please let us know; he is supposed to be doing his OT and PT routines everyday, but Mom and Dad most likely won’t have the time with his many other care needs to get to it everyday.The daily repetition of his PT and OT routines will benefit him (physically and emotionally)immensely and help considerably with his recovery. Today’s PT session was brief and hurried, the guy was out the door before Mom could make him sit down and explain further the exercises, positions and repetitions. Bunk’s high school friend Carol Kindschi called to say she would be coming by, arriving at 2:30 and keeping Bunk happily distracted and in good spirits until 6:30 tonight. They had a great visit chatting about resources for Bunk and watching a little T.V, and, as Carol’s sister arrived to pick her up, she came in to visit with Bunk for a while, too: he said he has enjoyed spending time with the chatty girls who love to just hang out these past few days (Kristen, Carol, Carol’s sister)! In a very positive step, after dinner tonight Bunk wanted to work on organizing and putting into writing his daily schedule and timeline of his daily activities and appointments (wake up, bath, dress, transfers, OT/PT visits and routines, forays outside, meals, weight shifts, medications, etc.) The desire to make a schedule and work towards meeting these daily goals is a big step, and something that Mom felt was resoundingly hopeful, as well as resourceful. Weight shifts and range of motion exercises were either very well done on his own, or responsibly directed by Bunk today, showing initiative and even a little more energy. After speaking with Mom and Bunk on the phone tonight around 11:00, Mom, Dad and Rudy were just beginning the evening transfer process back to bed, trying as best they could to avoid the many potholes on the path to a safe, smooth transfer to bed. Transfers still hold the ability to make or a break a day or night for Bunk, so all enter the transfer process gingerly and work as efficiently and gently as possible. Let’s pray for great sleep, better breathing and weaning (today Bunk agreed to another lowering of his pressure support setting), and an abundance of strength, hope and determination for Bunk.

We left home early this morning to return to San Francisco, and didn’t have the heart to wake Bunk since he was sleeping so soundly after a night with more suctioning needs and head, neck and general physical adjustments than usual. We all said goodbye last night just in case, and at that time he was still in some fairly significant pain because of the tension and stiffness in his neck, shoulders and face. Early this morning, the Eucharistic Minister from St. Norbert’s arrived to offer communion and a prayer service for Bunk, Mom and Dad, which always seems to equate to some very real moments of peacefulness and hope. Bunk fell asleep again and rested for some time, waking later in the morning when Mom and Dad helped him with getting dressed and into his chair. Steering clear of the outdoors again today, he spent most of the day in the living room instead, watching the Sunday football games with Dad. Dad said it was a quiet day of rest and recovery from the many eventful days Bunk has had this past week, but he happily received a visit from Al Amato, his wife Stephanie and her daughter, who dropped Al off to visit and watch a little football with Bunk. After Al said goodbye, Bunk decided he’d had enough of the persistent pain and stiffness in his neck and, in his ongoing effort to combat it, decided to begin doing the range of motion exercises for his neck on his own - it’s slow going and isn’t comfortable, but after a few hours of “˜ranging’ it did help to increase the mobility range for his head and neck and aleviate some of the tension. Bunk, Mom and Dad are all looking forward to some sleep tonight; they are hanging on until the night nurse returns tomorrow (he comes nights on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.) We need to discuss with Mom the possibility of a few more nights with a caregiver to help with Bunk’s turnings and his needs at night. We humbly ask for prayers to help with a laundry list of items which need our immediate attention and focusfor Bunk: acquiring transportation, securing real, lasting and regular physical and occupational therapies, coming up with a winning and valid weaning and breathing goal program and sticking to it, getting Bunk on a regular schedule of activities and responsibilities both in the house and outside of the house around town, and figuring out a reasonable, affordable nursing schedule that isn’t so reliant on Mom. At the end of this very eventful, exciting week, Bunk’s health is still in good stead, his CPAP breathing is going strong, and we’re all looking forward to his next step in the weaning process, perhaps yet another lowering of the pressure support setting. Thank you to everyone whose love, kind words and deeds, generosity and hopeful, positive thoughts and actions keep Bunk and our family on the healing path.

Sleep was a bit better Friday night, and surprisingly, he woke up wanting to hatch plans for a steak / chop house style dinner that night. The weather has begun to chill slightly, so being outside isn’t tops on his list; we are working on getting a few outdoor heaters to help make this a positive, daily occurrence. All the activity of the past three days began to catch up with him, so resting and watching college ball with Dad filled a good portion of the day, as they waited patiently for the 5:00 Notre Dame game. In the evening, Kristen and Michelle Bean arrived for a wonderful visit, as we all watched the game and tucked into Bunk’s requested steakhouse dinner. Derek, Beverly, and Katie had also arrived, so, in spite of yet another disappointing favorite team loss for Bunk, it proved to be a special night together. Kristen brought Bunk the last of her incredible baked goods platters that she made to sell at her well organized, well executed, but unfortunately not superbly promoted (by us) on the website, Bake Sale. Her very thoughtful effort - organizing, baking, and then pounding the pavement with all the baked goods - was warmly received, successful, and especially helped raise awareness of Bunk’s injury and subsequent trials. Aside from the evening game and the visits, it was a quiet day for Bunk as he caught up on just a little rest. All weekend long - and all week, too - in case I didn’t mention it, Bunk’s CPAP breathing went very well, with no supplemental oxygen needs and his cuff deflated always. We need to be very encouraging with prayers and support for his breathing efforts, since at the moment this remains his biggest hurdle,but also an attainable goal.

Continuing with the trend of very busy and social days, Friday began with an early morning visit from Bunk’s good friend and rugby mate Jello (Mike) Cobley, who arrived while Bunk was still in bed around 9:30. It was a nice morning, and after a little rest and a great visit Jello we took more time than usual choosing his outfit for the day since it needed to carry him through the day and into what was sure to be cold evening at the Servite playoff football game. Looking sufficiently sharp, we helped him out of bed and into his chair, taking him into the sunny living room where he read the sports page and was surprised by a visit from his friend Corey Lancaster (Servite ‘87) who was in town for the long Thanksgiving weekend. Bunk said he hadn’t seen him in over three years and really enjoyed catching up with him. Not napping much, eating a little but drinking well, Bunk’s day was filled with friends, family and plenty of good cheer: Carrie Haupert Ware, Kim Carlberg Mangini, and Leigh Spalding Wilksen (all good friends from of St. Norbert’s / Rosary) dropped in around 3:00, taking good care of Bunk while Mom managed to get out to run a few errands and we all worked outside to clean up from Thanksgiving. The main event of the day - going out to the ballgame, dealing with the cumbersome transport van, but especially hanging out with his great group of friends- was in full swing by 5:00 with the arrival of Al Amato, Jeff Zabarowski, and Eric Fischer, who came early to help Bunk and our parents with what is often a rather involved process of getting out of the house and into the van. The move down the thigh busting ramp and path was made much easier with the help of the three guys, slowing down his chair on the steep slope in the dark (no landscape lighting and the lights were burned out on the inside of the van.) The guys made all the arrangements for the evening, transportation and all, and when Bunk arrived at the field he was met by many of his great friends: (in addition to Eric, Al and Jeff) Chris Kent, Dave Jacobs, Kevin Traut, Kevin Brennan, Jason Reese, and Dan Maher. Dave Lauder helped in making this a very memorable and special event for Bunk, too, and introduced him to both the new president as well as the new principal of Servite. Derek, Dad, Mom, Evelyn and I were all with him as the guys kept him in stitches, enjoying, and gaining great inspiration from, the many Servite alums who visited with him down on the field: Todd Hart, Jim (Moose) Faley, Matt Monnig, Kevin Daly, John Daly and his son Connor, and many, many others. In spite of the cold, (he was sufficiently bundled) Bunk had a great time at the game, managing to ward off the chills and stay comfortable, in spite of a disappointing loss.
After the game, since we needed a few of the guys to help at home with getting Bunk back up the path and ramp, they all decided to come along and returned to Mom and Dad’s, staying on for a what was left of the evening for more of their usual entertaining, roasting conversation and some of Mom’s vintage Betty Crocker style snacks. The living room was comfortable for Bunk, but hot for us, after we cranked up the heat to defrost him just a bit. Kristen Bean arrived to visit with Bunk and his friends, and was kind enough to hang out until after midnight giving him a head and neck massage since he’s experiencing some persistent pain, and Yvonne will be unable to come this Sunday morning. Bunk became tired, as is evident when he becomes quiet, the guys all said goodnight around 11:30, and he eventually fell asleep as Kristen managed to work some of the tension and stiffness out of his neck, jaw and shoulders. Bunk, my parents, and our family are so grateful for the (always successful) efforts of his genuinely dedicated and kind friends - thank you to everyone these past few days for bringing happiness and your positive energy to Bunk’s days. Thank you also for the continuous support you provide through prayer for Bunk, his breathing and healing.

Thanksgiving Day got off to a good start on Wednesday night, with Bunk getting some good rest, and experiencing a little less pain than usual in his head, neck and face. He is doing incredibly well considering he is on so few medications, which, in itself, was a hard won battle. Early in the morning friends began to arrive to say hello and wish him an especially peaceful and good day: Mrs. Peggy Taylor brought some home baked pies from the parishioners at St. Norbert’s and shared some special words of encouragement with Mom; our old childhood friend Alfredo Ybarra stopped by to everyone’s surprise, and they enjoyed an easy, fun visit for about an hour, all while Bunk was still in bed. Shortly after Alfredo said good bye, Al Amato (Servite ‘88) and his wife Stephanie came by to say hello and make final arrangements for Friday night’s big Servite Football playoff game. He, Dave Jacobs and many of Bunk’s good friends from Servite made all the arrangements for this special event for Bunk: the transportation, field passes, and the myriad little details that go into getting Bunk out and about. Things settled down just a bit before the storm of Thanksgiving, and we took the brief opportunity to finally help Bunk get dressed and up into his chair. Our entire Schilling and Schweizer families, who celebrate Thanksgiving together every year, began to arrive around 12:30, for what seemed to be our largest turn out ever, clocking in at 95 and family members and friends! Although sadly, it was our first Thanksgiving ever without Grandma Mary, it was a special, hopeful day filled with thanks, despite it being such a difficult year. A departure from our usual Thanksgiving, this year Aunts Mary Catherine and Roselind arranged to have the entire occasion catered - allowing us all much more time together out of the kitchen and outside under the heat lamps and tent. Bunk was kept nice and warm, enjoying the day, his family, and his relative good health. By an unusually early 8:00, things wound down and eventually Bunk, Eric and I watched ” The Break Up” - which threw Mom into a bit of a fit because it shifted his entire schedule (evening transfer) two hours later into the evening. She and Dad remedied this by falling asleep and waking up again when we needed to get him back to bed. Unfortunately, during the busy day, we didn’t get around to helping Bunk with his range of motion or any other PT/OT exercises. The unwanted result of this lack of movement and motion is some fairly bad swelling in his feet, ankles and legs, which we haven’t seen for quite some time. Thank you to everyone

Getting back into the swing of the updates hasn’t been easy: the last few days have been incredibly busy around Mom and Dad’s. Wednesday was filled with many more visitors than expected, and happily so. A much needed, but randomly occurring physical therapy appointment began late at 12:45 and only lasted about thirty minutes: although this was too little time to get much accomplished, it was enough time for the therapist to get a very positive message across to Bunk. Encouraging in many ways, he reinforced to Bunk the very real opportunity of working to get himself off the ventilator; he felt Bunk had both the drive and the disposition, as well as great, albeit slow going, chance of breathing on his own. It was a great conversation for Bunk, something that eventually segued into his desire to make another daily schedule and goal chart (excellent!) The mood was upbeat and sunny, especially after his friends Gilbert Salazar, Jeff Woertink, Scotty Griffin, and Sonny arrived to enjoy the warm afternoon, sports, a few beers and a especially some great camaraderie. Around midday, Aunt Mary Catherine, Uncle Ron, Uncle Phil, Aunt Roselind, cousins Julianne, Christopher, Bobby, Cecilia, Tyler, and Amanda arrived to help with the preparations for our rather large (95 people) Thanksgiving celebration on Thursday. It was wonderful to have everyone around, helping and visiting; and Bobby stayed on to hang out with Bunk after everyone said goodbye. It was a good day in terms of eating, drinking fluids, health, and mood, and although he didn’t get much sleep on Tuesday night, Bunk still felt his day was respectable, and is always the case, he truly enjoyed visiting with his friends and family.

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

A very warm and somewhat quiet day began, unfortunately, in a rather restless manner, with fitful sleep until 4 a.m. Bunk finally fell asleep about 5 in the morning, but Dad was so exhausted from his “shift” of 12-4 that Mom had to relieve him from 4 - 8 a.m. Having slept until 9 in the morning,Bunk was up and in his chair, breathing on CPAP, ready to have a shave and have his hair washed. Mom was happy to have the chance to work in the garden while Aunt Mary Catherine visited with Bunk for a few hours this afternoon and Dad assisted him for a good part of the day, all while out on the back porch enjoying the comforting warmth of the day. Aunts Mary Catherine and Roselind sent along some of Bunk’s favorites: beef jerky and Jolly Rancher hard candies for Bunk to enjoy today, and by the sound ofsuch adiet, anyone would assume Bunk was back in the saddle. Dad eventually helped Bunk back into the living room before things cooled down outside, where he requested to go back on A.C breathing instead of CPAP. Dad originally assumed he was tired, but actually Bunk commented that he was unable to find his breathing rhythm for almost the entire day, and felt he was having difficulty breathing on CPAP today. Bunk’s awareness of both his breathing and breathing attempts is increasing, and just like anything - at times when you think too much about it, there is a tendency to trip things up. Please pray for a good day ofbreathing tomorrow for Bunk. Just after 5:00 tonight, Bunk’s good friend Scott Ziemer arrived to watch Monday Night Football, followed soon after by Gilbert and Gabriel Salazar and Art Greco. The guys took great care of Bunk tonight, helping him with his weight shifts and suctioning needs, but especially just by being present and positive. Dad had made arrangements to look at a modified accessible van for sale in the area, and his long time friend Dan Copp arrived at 5:30 to join him on his mission. At the time of my writing, I haven’t heard if Dad thought the van was acceptable in terms of meeting Bunk’s needs, but Mom asks for everyone to keep the prayers coming and your fingers crossed that we might soon get the transportation dilemma settled - for Bunk’s sake. While Dad was out, Dave Jacobs called to do some preliminary planning on getting Bunk to the Servite vs. Edison football game this Friday night. We’ll see what happens with the van / transportation that Dad is working on. There is an obvious need for some regular occupational and physical therapy sessions to begin again, which hasn’t occurred since Bunk was admitted into the maze of ICU’s and then returned home. The routine and physical work they provide is invaluable, and Mom continues to pursue getting these therapies established at home in lieu of transportationto and fromOT / PT sessions at the rehab hospital on an outpatient basis. Quite a lot hinges on Bunk’s transportation these days. At the day’s end, after talking with Bunk and Dad about Thanksgiving in a few days, Mom said they “are looking forward to Thanksgiving with many thanks for all our family and friends who support us. We have so much to be grateful for. God bless all of you and your families.”