Notes from Sally: Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the Wurth family. Our morning was quiet. Our nurse assistant came and helped with Bunk’s morning routine and the Eucharistic Minister came at 9 AM to read the gospel and give us Holy Communion. I had so hoped to get to Midnight Mass but it was not to be and it was a gift to have the religious meaning of the day so physically present in our home. The afternoon was full of activity. Bunk was up to greet his sister, Erica and her husband, Eric and their children (now 3 with the birth of my newest granddaughter, Helen) and his brother Derek and Beverly and their children. It was a busy afternoon. The kids didn’t even ask to open gifts except for the gifts that Santa Claus left for Erica’s kids. They called in the morning from Eric’s Dad’s home in Solvang to see if Santa had stopped by our house with their presents.Dinner was casual, as everything is these days. We eat everywhere around the house, more oftenin the parlor with Bunk than anywhere else. We had more food than we could eat, a honey baked ham which is one of Bunk’s favorites. Later in the evening, my niece Stephanie Bermudez and her husband, James, brought over homemade tamales. What a treat! Bunk and all of us love tamales and the Bermudez tamales are great.We will be celebrating Christmas all week. Weight is becoming an issue for me, all this food plus the regular installments of See’s Candy.Bunk was strong all day checking out what everyone was getting, always with a pertinent comment or two. It was a long day in his chair but there was no thought of not being in the mix to visit and celebrate with the family. As always, I am glad the day has finally arrived and I have got through one more year, albeit a little different these past 2 years but basically the same. I thank God for His son, my family, and all of you.
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Notes from Sally: Christmas Eve! Traditionally the busiest day of the year for me due to my procrastination with getting Christmas shopping done and leaving Christmas Eve as the day to wrap usually into the early morning hours. Although we have simplified Christmas a great deal, I haven’t changed too much. I was finishing off the family gifts until Bunk’s midnight meds. Better than 3 AM I guess.I rushed out to get some last minute gifts for my granddaughters and bring Bunk back some Teriyaki Beef Ribs from the Hawaiian Barbeque. Bunk is eating 2 good sized meals a day. Daily, he has lunch when he gets up and dinner after 6 PM. My legs are getting old and tired of standing during feeding. I am planning on getting a low bar stool that will put me at the same height as his chair and then I can sit and have better staying power. As far as the Tipsy goes, they are working on the siding today. Red and Bunk got down to check on progress. Bunk motors out onto the lawn to look up at the second floor and try and see as much as he can. The elevator will be such a gift for him to actually get to the Tipsy’s living floor. Access, Access, Access. Work crews have been here all last week and today, Christmas Eve. I wish there was some way I could personally show our gratitude to all those contributing to the construction and completion of the Tipsy. I can only continue to say thank you to all of you who are so generous. We are at a loss on how to adequately express our deep appreciation for this endeavor, as well as the support given to purchase the Van, provide nursing support, and the many, many other services, supplies and equipment for which we have utilized contributed funds. Being on the receiving end of so much generosity from so many people has caused me to question whether I would measure up if I were in your shoes. Derek, Bev and the kids came over after their 5:30 PM Mass for Christmas Eve Dinner, another delicious Dream Dinner. It was a lovely night and we (Red, Bunk, and myself) were all grateful to have family around to truly begin our celebration of Christmas.We pray for blessings on you and your families.
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Notes from Sally: We started the day with the Eucharistic Minister from church. He told us that they would also be bringing the Eucharistic to us on Christmas, which will be a wonderful blessing. Besides the Eucharist, the highlight of the day was a visit from Kristen Bean. She is down from Portland for Christmas with the Bean family. Kristen is a breath of fresh air, chatting with Bunk non stop. She stayed the afternoon and evening and was a huge help. She helped me finish with Christmas decorations, put away groceries and fixed the Dream Dinner selection of Bunk’s: Chicken breast with lemon and artichoke sauce (it was really good and Bunk loves artichokes) and fed him as well. Angels are known to come around at this time of year. Thank you, Kristen. I tried to get out shopping (11PM) but the stores were closed. I was hoping for some to be open until Midnight but no luck. I did sneak in the door before they locked it and got one thing purchased. All was not lost. We’re close. It’s getting harder to remember to light the Advent Wreath every night. I’d better shape up. Love from all the Wurth’s.
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Notes from Sally: Carol Woodman and her sister Joanie Dornbach stopped to deliver a holiday breakfast roll. Carol bakes this breakfast roll for me and I don’t know how many others. It has become part of our Christmas tradition. It was wonderful to see old friends even though I was in loungers, no make up and bags under the eyes. Their visit was followed by Sally Debevec (the 4 of us always celebrate each others birthdays together) not knowing that Carol and Joanie had been by earlier. Sally brought 2 pounds of Sees Candy just to make sure that Bunk gets his share.I told her when I opened the box, Bunk would pick out all his favorites and I would stash them away for him. We have been receiving wonderful Christmas notes from so many. Thank you dearly for remembering us and thank you for the contributions to Bunk’s Fund. We are truly blessed and at a loss for words so thank you all again and again for your generosity. Bunk received a card from one of his students. He was most impressed with his printing and the fact that he had written and sent a card. We look forward to Bunk getting back to SLDC for a visit. Today Bunk decided he was tired of wearing sweats every day and we are back to his more normal attire of jeans. They are not as easy to get on but sure look alot better and alot more like the real Bunk.
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Notes from Sally: Friday started with a telephone call from Australia. Bunk’s good friend and rugby mate Mark Bezuidenhout called. It was great to talk to Mark and catch up. Bunk and Mark had a great conversation catching up on rugby, old times and friends. Mark’s cell phone was low on battery and when it would go out, he would recharge for a little bit and call back. He was very determined, what a dear (I don’t think Bunk would use that term, only Moms do). It would be wonderful to see him and his family again. Bunk’s brother, Derek, came by in the morning for a brief visit and came back around noon when Bill Sietz also stopped by and after a good visit with Bunk they went off to the pub. Dr. Xi was here for her Friday session with Bunk. She is working on his movement of his abdominal muscles. His shoulder strength in moving his arms is much improved since she started working with him. Bunk’s Aunt Roselind and Uncle Phil came bringing Christmas cheer and a frozen batch of her Sonora Chicken to have on hand. Roselind helped me wrap presents (usually not even started until Christmas Eve). What a gift for me. The gift to Bunk was Uncle Phil. He brought a Soduko puzzle out for Bunk to work and boy, did that capture Bunk’s mind. He worked on the puzzles all afternoon and into the evening. He even had me pull up the Soduko web site on his computer so he could read up on it. A great change in the mental activity of his day and an indicator of Bunk’s interest in expanding his daily activities. Late night shopping continues. No panic yet.
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Notes from Sally: The days are very busy now with regular activities and trying to get ready for Christmas. Bunk is great. We had the respiratory therapist out from the ventilator and respiratory support company and he brought a replacement ventilator for Bunk’s wheel chair and some other supplies. Then the wound care nurse came. His wound is small but just not closing up. What a Christmas gift it would be to have this stage close. The nurse drew blood for some regular panels to check how Bunk is doing from that perspective. In the afternoon, Stephanie Djang came for physical therapy. Bunk’s neck and base of his skull where the muscles attach has been very stiff, tight and painful. She is an expert at working out the knots. Today, she used ice on specific muscle points and it seemed to work. Now let’s see if I can find the same spots with equal success, usually not. Tonight we had our first Dream Dinner that my grandson, Jack, had prepared. Bunk asked for the Pesto Ravioli with chicken. It was really good and Bunk ate 4 big raviolis. I loved it, as well, but the best part for me (those of you who know me well will understand) was that without skill nor great effort, I “cooked” a great meal. The day ended with me grabbing some late night Christmas shopping at Macy’s from 10 PM til Midnight. I did make some strides. I’m trying to stay focussed. God Bless.
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Notes from Sally: Norma and Mike Toohey came over with a Christmas basket full of edible goodies. Bunk liked her “special” pretzels. We all sat in the living room and ate In and Out burgers they brought as well. Bunk’s appetite continues to be good and he is more sustained in his interactions with visitors, a reflection of his growing strength. He is also talking more about how he can access things, particularly the computer. He is thinking and talking about ways he can do more; he’smore confident in many ways. He initiates direction on his care and certainly explains things better than I do. I have totally lost my vocabulary and poor Bunk has to listen to me bumble through trying to find the correct word to explain myself. He could write a book just about his Dad and Mom as caregivers. I am sure it would have alot of laughs and embarrass the hell out of me. In the evening he asked to be suctioned. After suctioning, Bunk continued to cough on each exhalation. It sounds more like a wheeze but it usually indicates something is in his throat and his cough is trying to work up whatever is down there. After a bit of suctioning and trying to clear his throat, Bunk had a good spasm that must have contracted his diaphragm because he immediately brought up a mucus plug from down in his throat.His voice came back stronger after getting his airway cleared. We’re learning what are subtle indicators for suctioning.Tonight was my first foray out into the world of Christmas shopping. I hit T. J. Maxx from 9:30 to 11 PM. I closed the store of course and at least got a start. Wish me luck.We are constantly aware of how blessed we are to have such a vast support network in all of you. We are so humbly grateful for all your contributions that have helped sustain Bunk and us in so many ways.Bunk is a constant, quiet warrior each day.
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Bunk had a telephone call this morning from Paul (Pablo) Gomez, a friend that had been a roommate of his cousin Adam’s down in San Diego. He is now living in Texas and called to visit with Bunk. We have not perfected telephone communication so we just held the portable phone to his ear and it worked out fine. We do need to get speaker capability or I have to learn if we have one already. Jeff Wertink stopped by on his way to work and he had Bunk look out the window as he drove away so Bunk could see his restored car. We were on schedule to get to St. Jude’s for his physical therapy but the door installers for the Tipsy arrived and we needed to stay home to make sure all the hardware was what was needed and to see what went where. I had to cancel St. Jude’s (it was Okay with Bunk). I ended up going out to get more door handles and brought back a cheese enchilada for Bunk, with sour cream and hot sauce of course. Dave Valentine came byto check on doors, kitchen cabinets, and other things to keep us on target for completion of the Tipsy. We still have no elevator access for Bunk to get up and see what is there. Dave struggles mightily with that particular part of the project along with everything else. Stephanie, the physical therapist, came in the evening working with Bunk’s legs to try to even out his high tone. His neck has been very tight and she worked out a few good knots in his muscles. Bunk was on spontaneous breathing for 40 minutes after her session. Today I was more exhausted than I have ever been. Red kindly let me go to bed for a few hours before his midnight meds and then back to bed following so I could catch up. No Christmas shopping yet, no time and no energy. Keep us all in your prayers as you are in ours.
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Notes from Sally: Our usually scheduled Monday Physical Therapy appointment at St. Jude’s had been rescheduled to Tuesday so we had an open day. We need to explore kitchen cabinets from a different source so we talked about looking at Ikea. When I asked Bunk if he wanted to go along, he said “sure”. That was a first at going out into world of shopping. Pubs, special events, medical appointments and friend’s homes he has been to but this was different. We finally got going after 2:30. It was smooth sailing into Ikea, up the elevator, Bunk motored himself around looking at all the kitchen layouts and some of the adjustable work tables. He decided he didn’t like any of Ikea’s offerings and we will look for ready mades at Home Depot next.I had plugged his ventilator to the wheel chair vent battery when we left but when we were driving home on the freeway his vent started alarming that it was on low battery and started to shut down. I had to get out the Ambu bag (it looks like a football and is filled with air that can be squeezed out), attach it to his trach and start to “bag” him (push air into his lungs by squeezing the ambu bag). It took me a minute or so to get everything situated, as I was standing up in the van as Red was driving down the freeway. Bunk remained calm and was taking breathes on his own until I got it all together. Red pulled off the freeway and into a parking lot so we could evaluate the situation. The problem was in the wiring connection to the vent battery on the wheel chair. One of the wires was not connected. Red remedied the problem. We turned the vent back on and it worked fine. We reconnected Bunk back up to the vent and proceeded home none worse for wear. All in a days work I guess. William Morrison, Bunk’s Servite friend who has helped us with landscape architecture (and is now the Senior Project Manager for Irvine’s “Great Park” at the El Toro Marine Base) had called and came by at 6 PM to watch Monday night football with Bunk. We had Zito’s sandwiches for dinner. Bill showed us a schematic of the plans for the Park and brought me information on the Conservancy that has been formed. The Park has a free balloon ride that goes up about several hundred feet so you can see the surrounding area. Bill said it was accessible to the disabled and asked Bunk if he was up to the challenge. We had a bit of a discussion on rocking and rolling up in a basket, albeit a sturdy metal one. The football game didn’t cooperate with Bill’s fantasy football goals but it was a great visit anyway. It is always better to watch a ball game with a friend.
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Notes from Sally: The Eucharistic Minister came to give Communion andtold us that they would also be coming on Christmas Day which is nice. I would love for Bunk to get to church on Christmas but it is such a crowded time. There is “no room at the Inn” hardly so it will be nice to have the Eucharist brought to the house to celebrate Christmas. Bunk watched football most of the day while I was out continuing to buy door knobs for doors in the Tipsy. He and Dad watched a DVD I had brought home about Canadian Hockey called “The Rocket 9.”I was told by Bunk to stick to recent releases and not to get creative in my selections at the video store. I keep trying.
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