Bunk’s Status

In the morning when Bunk is transferring from bed to his wheel chair, we also switch him from his bedside ventilator to the vent on his wheel chair. Bunk practices short stints of breathing off the ventilator when we switch from one vent to the other. Today, he breathed on his own for 5 minutes. I don’t watch the clock anymore. It is all up to Bunk on how long he wants to continue. He also is the most accurate of time keepers. It was a good lung day as he got the vibrating vest in twice as he did the Power Lung. Good work, Bunk!Megan was here in the afternoon. Bunk was outside and she and Bunk spent the afternoon downloading his CDs onto his computer. God love Megan. I could never have done it and she is techy. Bunk was in heaven having someone he could easily communicate with what he wanted to do and how he wanted to do it. They worked diligently all afternoon and into the evening. WOW!Bunk’s days are in general becoming more varied and more productive. It is going to be hard to keep up pretty soon. Bunk has become very good at giving direction about how to meet many of his needs and requests.

Keep those prayers coming. I prayed for you all today.

Julie Langhorn, the visiting nurse, came for wound care. We are to do wound care and dressing changes twice a day. He was on the vibrating vest and did his Power Lung. We are not having to suction him as much as the first 3 weeks he was on the vest. He is feeling good, his voice is strong every day now and his stamina and strength are definitely better.
Today we returned to St. Jude’s Outpatient Rehab to start Bunk on the standing frame with Val, the physical therapist he had previously. Megan was with us and Stephanie Djang, Bunk’s home visiting physical therapist, was there as well. Both Megan and Stephanie are tall and when Bunk was standing upright they could not believe how tall he was. After so long with Bunk either in bed or in a wheel chair, even I had forgotten how tall Bunk was. We were all looking up at him. He stood in the standing frame without any problems and loved it. He felt better and reveled in the fact that he was at standing height as everyone else. He had no dizziness or drop in blood pressure. Everything was accomplished smoothly. He stood for about 15 minutes. Upon returning to his wheelchair he said “That sucks” relating to being at sitting level again.
On the way home, Bunk wanted to stop by the storage unit again to pick up his CDs that we did not bring home when he was there picking up his CD player last week. We went through more of his boxes and he found some more treasures from his home that had been packed up. We brought home many, many CDs and need to figure out how to store them. We took off with his treasures and returned home.
Billy Seitz came by in the evening. It was good to see him. Never a dull conversation when Billy is there. He stayed for a few beers and was off.
A very productive day. Thank you, God.

After the Eucharisitic Minister, Bunk was up and anticipating a visit from Colleen Malmberg who was down from Portland for her niece’s high school graduation. Colleen is always a great visitor with Bunk. You can leave them to chat it up all day and she stayed until she had to leave to catch her flight home.

It was such a nice day Bunk was outside all afternoon. John Daly and his family stopped by for a brief visit. His son is going to the Merchant Marine Academy in King’s Point in New York as John had done. John brought T shirts from a dinner that was held on his ship for the new midshipmen going to the academy in July, his son being one of them. John has been a loyal visitor and has helped Bunk in many ways.

Megan, the LVN that cares for Bunk some afternoons each week came to stay with Bunk while Red and I joined Lisa Winter and Joanna and Ted Luthin and the girls to visit the grave site of Lisa and Joanna’s parents and spread some ashes of their brother John. God bless the Winter family. We all came back to the house to barbeque. We joined Bunk outside and had chicken and ribs, salad and corn on the cob, the beginning to summer barbeques. In the evening, Vivienne, who had initiated the fund raising effort for Bunk of Annual Lemonade Sales, presented Bunk with the funds that she and her sister Ava had raised with matching funds from her parents. Bunk gratefully received the donation. It was such a wonderful gift. All the gifts to Bunk from children are treasures.

Our children are true gifts themselves. God Bless.

Today we had a home health nurse visit. It was the same nurse that had followed Bunk for so long with his pressure wound and we’ve since become friends. We started a regimen of wound care for both his heels. There isn’t much tissue room on the heels and we will once again be diligent in his wound care.

It was a hot, hot day. We scheduled an appointment for St. Joseph’s Home Health visit tomorrow. Bunk accomplished his vibrating vest and his Power Lung. With all this heat, Red put the air conditioner in bunk’s Bedroom window and he needed to be sprayed with water regularly since his internal thermostat doesn’t work so it is necessary to keep him cool.

Derek brought Jack and Kate over andhe visited with Bunk and Dad while I took the kids to the beach at Los Alamitos Bay. Vivienne and Ava Luthin were in town with their Mom and Dad. I picked them up on the way to the beach and we met my sister and my niece, Stephanie, and her family. They got lots of water and sun. It was a lovely day that will be repeated on Fridays during the summer.

The big news was that we started the removal of the elevator today. Red had been in touch with the manufacturer and he referred Red to this group.

Dave Baxter was over for dinner and he worked on the Mac Speech Dictate for Bunk and they watched rugby into the early hours.

We have been dealing with blisters on Bunk’s heels since he started using the Flexiciser. The first time on the flexiciser he was in shoes that were over a size too big and blisters resulted from that time. Well, we subsequently protected his heels and put him in his running shoes that fit well. The blisters did well for a while then their borders started changing and expanding. The Home Health Agency that provides Bunk’s nursing support has referred him to wound care. Once again we will be having wound care in the home which will get the healing on target. Bunk also determined that he would have to stay off the Flexiciser until the blisters are more firmly on the mend.

We went to the lab in Ted Lawton’s office to have a serum calcium level drawn prior to Bunk starting on the standing frame and we scheduled 2 appointments with St. Jude’s outpatient therapy for next week to begin the standing frame. On the way home Bunk wanted to stop by the storage unit to pick up his CD player to put outside and play tunes when he is outside. We found the CD player and went through a few other boxes and found some clothes that he wanted to bring home.

Getting out and about is becoming a more efficient operation and one with which Bunk is increasingly more skilled andtolerant. He can motor out of the house, down the ramp and connecting walk to the van and driveway where Red has the lift ready. He rides up onto the lift, goes up and powers off into the van and drives over the locking system that secures him. We then clip the wheel chair down on the floor and put his shoulder harness on. Then we are off! The time it takes to get getting is getting much briefer.

Bunk is thinking more and more about what he needs for his daily activities that reflect his patterns prior to his accident.

Thank you all for your prayers. They are truly making a difference.

God bless.

Bunk had gotten blisters on his heels from his shoes and the flexiciser. He is still getting on the flexiciser for 40 minutes. We then take off his shoes and socks clean the blisters, put on flip flops and leave his feet open to the air. He was outside on Saturday, traveling all over the yard during the afternoon while listening to his books on CD. He watched golf, The U.S Open on TV and later his latest Net Flix. He did his duty on the vibrating vest and the Power Lung.Sunday, Happy Father’s Day Red and all you good fathers. The Eucharistic Minister came at 10:30 AM to bring Bunk Holy Communion. Red, Bunk, and I were all present with special prayers for Father’s Day. Bunk’s brother, Derek, wife, Beverly, and kids, Jack and Kate came over for a BBQ of steak, chicken, corn on the cob and salad. We hadn’t such a good summer BBQ for a while. Bunk had watched the U.S. Open all day long and watched the Laker came with his brother. It was a good family day as most days here are when our family is present.

Sunday night Bunk did not sleep well, catching up on sleep Monday morning. I have come to accept his lack of sleep that visits him all to frequently. The doctor at St. Jude’s Rehab. clinic has referred Bunk for a sleep study. I will be following up with how we will coordinate that procedure. This morning I was able to get away to a graveside burial of the husband of Irma Anthony, my secretary of many years at the County. I saw many nurse colleagues and Irma’s children whom I haven’t seen in quite a while. Remember irma and her family in your prayers. Thank you. In the later afternoon, I was able to get off to Long Beach to visit with Nancy Brown, a good friend from college and a colleague in our nursing program at CSULB. She and her husband, Thane, were in town and invited me down to visit with them in Belmont Shore. What a nice afternoon. We walked around the shore and ate out on

I’m trying to catch up with Bunk’s activities. Have faith, I will get there. Keep prayers coming in as we are moving forward because of your generosity and Bunk’s constancy.

God Bless.

Friday the 13th and an auspicious day for Bunk. He returned to his school, Speech and Language Development Center, for the first time since his injury. We were greeted by Harriet Hassan, his supervisor, Dawn O’Connor, the Director of the school, and many of the faculty and staff. Several of whom had visited Bunk over the course of his hospitalization and his time at home or kept in touch with messages to him on the web site guest book. The students and faculty have been so very supportive to Bunk and now he was back where he has spent so much of his time for many years.

The school had put together an informal reception for Alec (as they call him). There was a welcome back cake, a slide show specifically for Bunk, and a performance of patriotic songs (Bunk’s favorites) by the student group known as the High Tops. Red and I were able to meet staff and students and sit back and watch our son in his environment. Harriet and others took Bunk on a tour of the grounds to see changes that had been made. Students came out to say hello. Having seen Bunk with his students prior to his accident, I can say that he was much the same in greeting and talking with them. We went back to the multipurpose room for cake, the slide show, and the performance. Alene, the founder of the school, came out to talk with Bunk. What a supportive environment. It is probably not a surprise that such a caring attitude would exist at a school that supports children requiring special education so effectively.

Red and I had gone on field trips with Bunk and his class when he was teaching and we were amazed at the quality of the programs and at how wonderful our son was with the students. When I was on an outing to the LA Zoo with Bunk and his class, I saw better behavior and discipline from Bunk’s students than in all the many other school children from mainstream classes that were on field trips that day. It was very rewarding as a mother to see how effective my son was with his class. God has truly given him a gift. I apologize for bragging but parents don’t always get the opportunity to see their children in their professional life outside their role as son.

Bunk enjoyed himself thoroughly. He said he missed the school and hoped to come back. The last thing he requested was to visit his classroom. He powered his wheel chair down the walk and up to the door to peek in. I was told that SLDC is Alec’s home and that classroom was his home for sure. It was hard to leave. I think he would have stayed longer but he had to get home for therapy. Thank you SLDC for the special day for Bunk and your continued support.

We got home just in time for Dr. Xi and his acupuncture. She had changed his time due to his trip back to SLDC. She was waiting out in the garden when we got home. A good session with Dr. Xi, then his vibrating vest, and a visit from John Daly.

Dave Baxter had dinner with us. We had Zito’s take out. One of these days I’ll slip in a Dream Dinner or other home cooked meal but you know not to hold your breath.

It was a significant and happy day. Thank you for your prayers. God Bless.

Bunk got all the required activities in today, the Flexiciser (40 minutes), the Vibrating Vest, and the Power Lung (twice). On the Power Lung,

Bunk does a series of 3 sets for each session. Today on the last set of the second session, he asked me to take him off the ventilator to do the last set. I removed his vent tubing that attaches to the trach and plugged his trach opening while he breathed away on the Power Lung. He managed it all without distress. It surprised me to see how well he managed doing the resistance breathing totally independent from his ventilatory support. A big thing to accomplish.

Dave Valentine came over this afternoon to go over with Bunk, Red and me as close as we could a final check list on what needs to be done to finish the Tipsy. We all went down to the garage and as usual all of us except Bunk were able to go up to the Tipsy. Bunk was still very involved in the process though and his input is more constant.

Today, my Uncle Earl passed away, a wonderful man who will be greatly missed by his family and friends. Please remember him and his family in your prayers. Thank you.