Bunk’s Status

The Eucharistic Minister from St. Norbert’s came early today ( the Feast of the Epiphany) with Holy Communion and some positive fellowship to share with the family. In spite of receiving communion at home every Sunday, it’s still nice to be able to get to Mass whenever possible, and today Mom was grateful for the opportunity. Otherwise, it was a very typical Sunday for this time of the year: Bunk watched football the entire day, never even managing to get outside, although it was his plan to do so. While Bunk was otherwise occupied with football, Mom spent the better part of the day taking down all the Christmas decorations and ornaments, which seem like they had an unbelievably short life this year. Bunk was especially looking forward to the pouring of the concrete paths and patio tomorrow by McCarthy Construction – at last, he will have access to the yard and garden. Thank you McCarthy Construction! The positive nature of tomorrow’s happenings had the added benefit of being a bright spot in what was somewhat of a difficult day for Bunk as a result of his increased spasms. While he always spasms, the larger more violent ones throw his usually collected nature off, often knocking his trach tube out of whack and causing Bunk greater distress. Mom said it was nice to have the house back to normal; it amazes me that she thinks her house – with its many, many challenges, is normal!

Feeling well in the morning and through the day, it was a fine time for the Cal State Fullerton Rugby Alumni Club to stop by for a visit and their fist official meeting. Bunk’s friend and former teammate, Mother (what a nickname!), is the president of the club and requested that all meetings be held at Mom and Dad’s so that Bunk will always be included. They also nominated Bunk as Vice President to be sure that he’ll show up! They had a great time swapping stories, watching sports, having some drinks and getting just a bit of true alumni club business done. It was a fun afternoon for Bunk, and when Dave Jacobs, a good friend from Servite, called to plan a football party for Thursday at Mom and Dad’s with all the guys, it was great. Friends, football, beer, laughter – perfect.

A slow, uneventful morning served as a buffer between all the activity with the family visiting and the quiet household of just Mom, Dad and Bunk. He was interested in tracking down a collection, just like the one we grew up with in Mom and Dad’s house, of books on the world’s great artists. We all loved the books, and Bunk wanted the very same collection for himself in the Tipsy. He spent a good part of the afternoon online tracking them down – Ebay and Craigslist have been the go-to websites for many things for his new place. He’s obviously looking forward, more each day, to setting up camp in his new home. When not otherwise busy planning some of the details of his future life in the Tipsy, the college football bowl games filled the air. A great conversation with cousin Pup on the eve of his departure for the FBI academy made his day – all their talk of sports and nonsense always fits the bill! A quiet but good day it was.

The New Year began for Bunk calmly enough, with a fairly good night of rest with very few requests for itching, scratching, sips of water, etc. Dad was able to rest a little during the night, too. It was a long morning for Bunk and Mom since it was just the two of them trudging through the routine (we helped when and where we could) but once he was finally up in his chair Dad put some carne asada on the grill and we made a great scramble for Bunk and the rest of us. Eric was busy from 8:00 on installing the conduit for electrical wiring in shallow trenches that he had dug before the concrete is to be poured on Monday. Since we are leaving today, he had until late this afternoon to get this done so there would be a way to light the pathways and patio for Bunk and everyone else, as well as provide outlets for Bunk’s ventilator at a few locations other than the garage. Otherwise, Dad would have found himself trying to rig some sort of flashlight to Bunk’s wheelchair as a solution to the darkness, and tethering Bunk’s wheelchair to the outlet with a very, very long extension cord across the lawn, or wherever it is that Bunk wishes to go. Eric did a great job and made sure there were provisions for plenty of lighting to be installed by him and Dad at a later date. Bunk, Mom and Dad were very grateful, and we will all be excited to celebrate with Bunk once his digs, and the infrastructure to it and around it, are completed. Without a doubt, it will be a great day for Bunk! Thanks to everyone for your continued help in this ongoing endeavor (Miller Construction, PR Construction, McCarthy Construction, Ganahl Lumber, Kurt Winter, Mike Killeen, Mike Moore Electrical, Dave Valentine, Brian Trujillo, Hardy Windows, Kenny Dinkleman, Ware Disposal, Arizona Tile and the many wonderful and kind subcontractors to Miller, PR and McCarthy who have so generously donated their time, talent and financial support.) Thank you and God bless you. After we said our goodbyes around 5:00, things quieted down significantly. Bunk said he wasn’t sure if this was good or bad -“I can use the rest, but I like having all of you around to keep things crazy.” It was quiet from the moment we left; it was great when Israel, Bunk’s regular night nurse, reported for duty and 9:00, and Bunk rested on and off through the evening watching some movies.

With the warm weather continuing, it was another day out of doors with work on his pathways, the patios, and the tree house. When not busy with all of us outside, or soaking up some sun, or doing his therapeutic workout with Dr. Xi, or eating, Bunk squeezed in as many college football bowl games as possible. Dr. Xi did a great job of putting Bunk through the paces, even though his vision became dizzy and he started seeing spots. She coached him through this latest low blood pressure episode and he recovered nicely. It’s always a bit scary for Bunk and anyone witnessing when this happens because you can never be sure exactly what is happening, or what you should be doing to help. We planned a nice dinner for the whole family to celebrate New Year’s Eve, and since the nurses backed out for tonight or tomorrow, we were all busy helping out with Bunk’s routine. Derek, Bev, Jack and Katie arrived in the late afternoon, and Derek did well to provide Bunk with his daily dose of sports talk and football viewing. Mom had been after us for at least a few days to watch “Mamma Mia” since Bunk had ordered it from Netflix for her. The viewing choice chased more than a few people from the room, but Mom, Bunk, Evelyn, and I enjoyed it while Dad caught up on some sleep since he would be staying up with Bunk through the night. Bunk and I had a short conversation about him wanting to get William a ‘Play Like a Champion Today’ poster for his birthday. I told him I would hang it over his bedroom door, to which Bunk rejoined, “Make sure it is over his doorway so he can jump up to touch it on his way out, not over the closet door where Mom put mine!” Poor Mom will never hear the end of hanging the ND poster over the dead end closet doorway. In any case, he can contemplate it from his bed (his least favorite place to be), which may have been her noble motivation anyway. As we turn the corner into a new year and all the positive possibilities it may hold for Bunk and our parents, we humbly ask for your continued prayers for his good health and spiritual and mental wellbeing, for positive strides to be made in his breathing efforts (he’s still trying), his recovery and rehabilitation, for Mom and Dad to find peace, comfort and the rest they need as they remain ever steadfast in their love and care for their son, and – still – for a miracle. Thank you to all friends, family, and the vast support network that help Bunk and our family every single day. Wishing you all a blessed and happy New Year.

The days have been warm and sunny – late December no less – and have provided us with some great days outside. Bunk, when not at the gym or in therapy, has been outside with us, too. Access is limited because of the work that is being done on the paths and patios, but Bunk just takes the long way around and takes his time checking out all the work that is being done. He has a clear vision and sensible ideas of how he would like to access the yard, the patio, his van, his new apartment and the inside of it as well, and isn’t afraid to lend his opinion. Bunk, Mom and Ruben went to the gym, where Mom managed a little time to work out while Ruben helped put Bunk through the paces. He felt good upon returning home, but clearly was dealing with a large mucus plug blocking his airway as his oxygen saturation levels were decreasing and he began feeling somewhat lousy. After nearly thirty minutes of airway suctioning and some major efforts on Bunk’s part, Mom made the excited and loud announcement – as she always does in this situation – “Wow, Bunk, you just coughed up your largest mucus plug ever!” I recall at least four times when she has said this in my presence, and many more times she has happily retold the story of the other instances. The thing to remember, and the reason Mom is always so excited in these situations, is that it is a good indicator that Bunk is coughing on his own and managing to clear some of his own secretions – a very huge improvement and a positive sign in any regard. Dad, Eric and the kids worked hard on the tree house, while Bunk observed from the large window. He had many compliments as well as suggestions, naturally.

Bunk, Mom and Dad had been planning for a meeting with McCarthy for about a week, and today Jim and Chris arrived from the company’s headquarters in Missouri, along with Michael, who works with the company here in Southern California. The crew was there separately working on the framing for the pathways and patio that they will be constructing next week. McCarthy Construction had asked if Bunk, Mom and Dad wouldn’t mind being interviewed and filmed in order to get Bunk’s inspirational story made into a brief video to share with their entire company. They have been so patient throughout their share of this large endeavor to get Bunk into an accessible home – many thanks to everyone at McCarthy for all your help. The visit lasted the whole afternoon, and even outlasted a visit from our good friends Kristen Bean and Michelle Kurland and Michelle’s children Griffin, Tanner and Paige. Kristen was on her way to the airport and wanted to stop by to see Bunk on her way out of town; he was happy to see them and took them on a short tour of the Tipsy (is there any other kind?- it’s small but perfectly sized for his needs) and enjoyed the brief time they had to catch up. Bunk’s daytime nurse, Megan, was sick today, so Mom had double duty all day until the night nurse arrived at 9:00. Fortunately, Bunk was feeling well and his needs, outside of his regular airway suctioning, medications and hourly care, weren’t overwhelming, and we always help out as much as possible. The sunny, warm day provided him with a chance to stay outside and soak up some sun after Michelle and Kristen said goodbye, and the rest of the day was spent tuning into college football. Thank you to everyone for your prayers, support, phone calls and visits.

It was a leisurely morning around the house for everyone; we enjoyed the Daly’s cinnamon bread, a visit from good friend Tom Brand, who was also today’s Eucharistic minister, and the opportunity to begin the day slowly. Eric helped Bunk with his final round of football picks for the season, and they enjoyed the last day of games in the regular season before the playoffs. Bunk usually has a good day when he has a guy to watch the games with, even if he is feeling sub-par, so it was great that Eric was as eager as Bunk to hang out and tune in to all the games and then discuss it all ad nauseum. His good friend Kendra called to make sure it was okay to stop by for a visit – of course it is-always! – she even brought a friend along. He enjoyed their company for a few hours, and when they said goodbye, it was more football. Bunk’s many pressure wounds continue to trudge their slow and lowly path to recovery – it is absolutely ridiculous the time it takes for one of his wounds to heal, if it ever fully does at all. They are a constant threat to his wellbeing, and almost everything has the potential to become or be the cause of a wound. Mom is ever vigilant, as we all know the consequences can be dire. She continues to change and pack his wounds, if not every day, then every other day; it is a time consuming process.

Tonight we were expecting Bev, Derek, Jack and Katie for what was to be, at long last, our entire family’s Christmas dinner together. Bunk was busy working on his physical therapy routine with Stephanie Djang, Eric, Dad and the kids were busy building a tree house where Dad’s famous 3 storey tree house stood when we were kids, and I was in the kitchen getting ready for dinner. Mom had about an hour to sit down. Bunk enjoyed a great visit with his good friend Steve O’Donnell, who stopped by with his boys for a fun visit with all of us, and provided Bunk with some much appreciated guy company while watching the bowl games. It was a lovely day with family and friends, and Bunk was feeling fine. After dinner, the kids played Wii in Uncle Bunk’s room – the favored venue now – until Bunk finally had to give them the boot when he needed to get back to bed. After all, it was past 11:00!

A cold but sunny day greeted Bunk this morning, as did the very devoted Dr. Xi, who wouldn’t miss an appointment or an opportunity to help Bunk through a strong workout. After his therapy with Dr. Xi, Bunk headed outside to get a bit of sun – he rarely misses a trip outside anymore, unless it is raining – and await, in his last few moments of peace, our raucous arrival and another Christmas celebration. Evelyn and William brought the Wii that Santa brought, and Bunk, in the center of the room in his large wheelchair, wore the hats of commentator, umpire, referee and audience with good humor and energy as we all looked ridiculous throwing punches into thin air. It was a great night to be together – happy and hopeful.