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 This is a must see video titled Keep the Faith Debi. A very special thanks goes out to Rosemary, a Bon Jovi fan, who made a very touching and amazing video that pays tribute to Debi. Words cannot express how wonderful we think this video is. The file is just under 5 megs, so download times should be reasonable even with a dialup connection. Thank you so much Rosemary. We will always treasure it.
JUN 12, 2005 It's been nearly a year in a half since my last update. A lot has happened since then, but we still have an incredibly long road ahead of us. Debi and I have been working hard ever since our nightmare began, not breaking for more then a day at a time. Unfortunately even then it's not really a break, as there's always something that needs to be taken care of. Debi's current condition: well most importantly Debi's leukemia is still in remission. That's pretty hard to believe when you conceder that two Fontana Kaiser Permanente Oncologists, "Dr. Rajendra Prasad" and "Dr. Sunil J Patel" diagnosed her with Acute Myeloid Leukemia over three years ago. For those of you that don't know, this is an extremely serious disease that typically requires several rounds of high dose chemotherapy, followed by a bone marrow transplant. Even then it sometimes returns. In fact, my sister Karen just lost her battle with AML. She was diagnosed in April 2004 and underwent several rounds of high dose chemotherapy. The drugs she was treated with were so toxic that they'd leach though her body and burned her skin. Karen was forced to shower twice a day, but even then she suffered from incredibly painful chemical burns. Finally on November 22nd, 2004, the months of chemotherapy ended and Karen was given a bone marrow transplant. The procedure went well and she was said to have been reborn. The hospital staff even through her a birthday party. Unfortunately Karen relapsed about five months later and passed away on May 13th, 2005. Debi on the other hand was only given one round of induction (low dose) chemotherapy, nothing more. Her doctor proscribed a chronic leukemia drug called Gleevec after she suffered her brain injury and she's been receiving it ever since. At any rate, Debi's doing quit well. She's alert and tries to do pretty much everything that's asked of her. That's not to say that she's always successful, but she does try. Debi's therapy: Debi continues to use her standing frame and quadriciser six days a week, and we've just added hyperbaric oxygen therapy five days a week as well. At this point Debi has only had fourteen of a scheduled forty treatments, but I believe she's really going to benefit from it. My career: where do I start? If you've been following our story you know that approximately 300 of my co-workers donated vacation time. This was nothing short of a gift from God, as their generosity allowed me to stay with Debi for nearly two years...what a blessing. In fact, some of these same individuals occasionally pass the hat for us to this very day...how nice is that? Unfortunately the company wasn't quit as generous. You see once my vacation was exhausted, I started receiving short-term disability benefits, which amounted to about 60% of my normal pay. I was also forced to seek physiological counseling in order to continue receiving these benefits. From there I was diagnosed with extreme depression and forced to taken ant-depressants...nice! Ok, so after receiving short-term disability for a year, the company reviewed my situation and denied my long-term disability based on that review. At that point I appealed their decision and was therefore examined by one of their doctors. Based on his examination, it was decided that it would be too dangerous for me to return to my normal occupation, but that I could return to work at a safer capacity and therefore did not meet the requirements for long-term disability. I guess they just expect me to set Debi up in front of the TV for eight or nine hours each day. Well, long story even longer, I'm now receiving a benefit they call extended pay, which amounts to less then $10.00 an hour for a maximum of eighteen months. I'm sure the company sees me as someone that's just trying to work the system, but that couldn't be further from the truth. The fact is, Debi and I paid into LTD insurance for over 20 years and we need it. As for my job, the people that know me know that I really loved it. I worked hard everyday and was really proud of my accomplishments. Not to mention it's where all my friends are. That being said, I'll soon be off to the welfare line...unbelievable! Anyway, I've attached a couple of videos that I thought might be worth sharing, and I've added 12 new photos to our gallery. Be sure to check them out. Note: Slower internet connections, Dialup and some DSL will not allow you to stream these videos. Therefore the videos will need to be downloaded and ran from your own system. To do this simply "Right click" the link and "Save target as" to your desktop. Once the video has been downloaded, play it straight from your desktop. You can simply delete them when you're done.
In conclusion we ask that you please add us to your daily prayers. Thanks and may God bless you all -- Posted by Nick JAN 13, 2004 Now that we're through the holidays, I thought I'd post a quick note to let you know that Debi is doing fine. As mentioned in our last post, she is still working with her quadriciser and standing six days a week. Other than that, she had a little congestion that hung on for a while, but that seems to be passing now. A special thanks goes out to Dave Hallock for posting our last update. I simply haven't had it in me. Thanks for all you do Dave...you're a good man! As always, thank you all for keeping us in your daily prayers and may God bless each and every one of you. -- Posted by Nick DEC 30, 2003 Hello All, I am posting this note to ask you all to redouble your prayers for Debi, Nick, John and Kristina. I am not a family member, just a friend who cares deeply about these people. Nick says, Debi is doing fine, progress is still very slow. Exercising 6 days a week. Nick is out of vacation time and soon to be out of sick time. It is a very stressful time. I ask you all to pray for a miracle for the Moretta family. As always Nick puts a brave face on a difficult situation. I do not know how he finds the strength to go on. Nick wants to thank his friends, co-workers & neighbors for their generosity during this very difficult time. I ask that each of you post a message on this site, to encourage Debi, Nick and the kids. Let them know we care, let them know they are forever in our hearts, and let them know they are not alone. That no matter where circumstance takes them that they have our love and support. There but for the grace of god could be a member of our immediate family. Tell your friends and let's see if we can raise such a powerful prayer that a miracle will come very quickly. if you have a fat wallet then shake out some and give it to these folks! I know Nick's co workers have been so generous. It's hard but I am asking them to again dig down and offer up more of their vacation time to help out. Sometimes we have to pay forward to recieve later. Thanks for reading. Lets make 2004 the year the "Dreams come True" humbly, dave hallock -- Posted by Dave SEP 25, 2003 I know its been a very long time since our last update and for that I’m sorry, but the truth is life around here has been very difficult lately and I just haven’t had it in me to post anything. We’d like to thank each and everyone of you that took the time to e-mailed us and let us know that you were still out there praying for us...God bless you all! Let me start off by saying that Debi is doing fine, however progress is still very slow. She continues to use her Quadriciser and has only missed one day since its arrival several weeks ago. Although we haven’t seen any miraculous changes yet, I’m sure Debi’s benefiting from it greatly.  We’ve also tried pool therapy, however the transition in and out of the pool proved to be very risky and over all I think Debi was really pretty uncomfortable with the whole idea anyway.
As for Debi’s rehabilitation at Casa Colina: Just as we were getting back into their program, Debi started struggling with her emotions again. The drive to Casa Colina is approximately one hour each way and some of the vans that have been contracted for our transportation are in poor condition, over heating and air conditioning problems, noisy, bumpy and even nonfunctioning loading ramps. I voiced my displeasure with their equipment several times, both to our insurance company as well as the van company, but nobody seemed to care and nothing changed. It was simply to difficult for Debi to make the trip and on top of all that waiting for possibly two hours in the hot sun for a ride home. I had hoped to purchase a van of our own, but unfortunately that was not to be either, so Casa Colina is on hold for now. Some of you may remember that I had been feeding Debi pudding, yogurt and Popsicles for quit some time. All seemed to be going well, when all of a sudden Debi developed a nasty cough that hung around for several days. I actually had to turn Debi on her side more times than I care to remember and suction out her throat so she could breath. Needless to say we had some very scary moments. Anyway, as a result we’re no longer working with pudding and yogurt at this time either. I’ve been concerned for several months that even if Debi leukemia did not return, other vital organs may shut down as a result of the continued use of the "Gleevec" that Debi’s receives to keep her in remission. My thought was that if we could go forward with a bone marrow transplant, we could put all these worries behind us once and for all. I then spoke with Debi’s oncologist and he made the necessary arrangements with the City of Hope. Since the City of Hope is well over an hour from here, I decided to rent a van that would allow Debi to sit up front with me. This proved to be money well spent as Debi handled the drive without a problem. Anyway the doctor examined Debi and performed a bone marrow biopsy and blood test, which Debi handled very well. He said that he’d be presenting our case before a panel of doctors and get back to us in a few days. On Wednesday 9-17, Debi’s doctor called and I was told that there was no sign of leukemia in her bone marrow, but she would not be a candidate for a transplant at this time because of her neurological condition. He also recommended continuing her on the Gleevec.  On a lighter note, having the van for a few short days was fantastic! We finally had the freedom to get out of the house and just go for a drive. I took Debi to see places I felt she might connect with, our daughters cheer gym, the place she worked and over to see a couple of friends. We were able to visit family and even took her to get a hair cut...very nice, like I said before, money well spent!
 We’d like to thank those of you that have been trying to get Jon Bon Jovi to call Debi. Unfortunately it hasn’t happen yet, but we’re keeping the faith anyway.
Good Morning America: Anyone that saw our GMA interview knows that this was a very difficult time for me, but I’m thankful for the opportunity we were given to express our extreme gratitude to everyone at Southern California Edison. We can’t say enough for all they’ve done for us. I was however disappointed in the fact that we were told we’d have more time and be able to thank everyone that has supported us through this web site as well. I don’t know why the interview was cut short, it just was. Possible because of my struggle to keep the tears in, or maybe even the barking dog in the back ground…who knows! I will say however that it’s been our unfortunate experience that the media has only wanted to cover the vacation donation aspect of the story, which leave the viewing public to believe that all is well. Our most recent example of this is on page thirty-eight of the October addition of Readers Digest. They called me shortly after our GMA spot and said they’d be doing a short story on us. I asked them to please include a request from our family for prayers and possibly a link to our web site with the hopes that someone would feel compelled to help, but for whatever reason neither was included. Once again, please keep your prayers coming as we need them now more than ever and may God bless you all. Be sure to click the photos to view larger versions. -- Posted by Nick JULY 12, 2003  Much has happened since our last update and fortunately it has all been very good. First off, Debi continues to make very slow progress, mostly in the areas of leg movements and eating. As Nick mentioned in his last post, he had just started working with Debi eating pudding again. Well since then Debi has finished an entire Snack-Pac size cup of pudding nearly everyday. This is not to say that Debi is able to eat with any great speed or ease, but with coaching, she is able to finish an entire cup within about 30 minutes or so. This is a tremendous accomplishment given the fact that Debi still tends to have trouble concentrating and Nick is certainly not a professional speech therapist.
Next up, Nick met with Dr. Loverso, the CEO of Casa Colina Rehabilitation Hospital, asking for their help in donating services for Debi’s therapy. Dr. Loverso generously offered more than we could imagine! They are going to send a van to pick Debi up twice a week and bring her to the hospital for therapy in their new state-of-the-art facility, which is an hour away located in Pomona, Ca. Her first day of therapy begins on Monday, July 14. Thank you so much Dr. Loverso for this blessing! Another great thing that happened this week is that Debi’s story has finally gotten out to the public in a BIG WAY! Nick’s brother, Monsignor John Moretta, contacted the Los Angeles Times newspaper about Debi’s story. They decided to do a story about her and how the Edison employees donated vacation time so Nick could stay at home and take care of Debi. That article appeared in the paper on Tuesday, July 8. It also included three photos to go along with the story. That article led to the television news media wanting to do a story as well. The Channel 7 ABC Local News (Los Angeles) came to the house to interview Debi, Nick and some Edison employees. That story, told by Bob Banfield, aired Tuesday night on the 5:00 evening news. Fox 11 News also came to the house later that day to do a story as well. The reporter, Christina Gonzalez, interacted very well with Debi and showed us all so much compassion. That story aired on the 10:00 news Tuesday night and then again on the Wednesday morning news. Their station also posted a link to Debi’s website on their Fox11 website. The really fantastic news is that Good Morning America called and wants to do a story. They’ll be interviewing us all on Wednesday, July 16 at 5:00 AM. This will be aired live at 8:00 AM on East Coast and between 7 & 9 AM on the West Coast as part of a new segment called "Home Town Heroes".  On the last update, we told you about a device called the Quadriciser that has been used by several brain-injured patients with very favorable results. This piece of equipment costs over $10,000 so we asked for your assistance in donating to pay for it, as Nick & Debi's insurance would not cover any of it. Because of your donations, we were able to collect about $3000 with an additional $2000 in pledges. With that money, Nick took out a loan so he could purchase the device immediately, as time is a factor in Debi’s condition. Well, we got Debi going on her new Quadriciser today and I got to tell ya...I'm impressed! She did great! It's a little tough getting her in and out of, but other than that...very nice! We'd like to thank everyone that helped us with the purchase of this device; I really believe Debi will benefit greatly from it.
If you would like to help Nick and Debi pay for this device, please use the secure link provided below. We are also trying to find a dealership that will donate a handicapped van to us so Nick can take Debi places, including her doctor appointments. Currently, our insurance company provides transportation to her doctor appointments (which is 45 minutes one way). However, I can personally testify what a hassle it is with this service! I helped them the other day with their appointment and we had to wait over an hour for the van to pick us back up after the appointment. Nick says that’s common...sometimes they have to wait 2 hours! Besides going to the hospital, there is no way for Nick and Debi to leave their house without owning their own handicapped vehicle. I recently posted on the Bon Jovi message boards about Debi’s ordeal and hundreds of people have read her story and added her to their prayers. Thank you all for being there for us and signing her guest book. I went through her guest book to see where people lived and I noted the following -- Since last year, over 200 people have signed the guest book, and there are 16 different countries represented, ranging from Argentina to the Ukraine! There are also 36 states represented in the U.S., ranging from Alabama to Wyoming. That means that people from literally all over the world are praying for Debi! Debi gets a big smile on her face whenever Nick reads her your messages. I know it helps Debi to continue the battle she started a year and a half ago. It also helps us as a family to know that people out there do care and are praying for her. I wanted to share the following passage that someone just wrote to me on the message board that we all can find comfort in: God makes angels and then uses them in ways we will never understand, even though it is painful at times, your sister has a place in this life...and if she ever questions that, she should not. Look how many lives she has already touched. She has brought tears to my eyes and hope to my heart. I wish you and your family the very best and look forward to seeing you at a concert someday-won't that be something. My thoughts and prayers are with you. God Bless. Bon Jovi fans forever...  A special thanks goes out to the Hesperia City Manager, Robb Quincey, for sending Debi some lovely flowers. That was such a wonderful surprise...thanks Robb.
 Another special thanks goes out to Lisa Lowery from Reflections Hair Salon in Victorville, Ca. Debi was in desperate need of a hair cut, so Nick called a few salons in the area looking for someone willing to come to their house and cut her hair. Unfortunately he was unsuccessful, so he called one of Debi’s oldest and dearest friends, Diane Carlon. Diane in turn called Lisa, who was nice enough to come to their home and did a wonderful job styling Debi’s hair. And if that's not enough, she also refused to accept payment...way cool, thanks Lisa
We’d also like to thank Peg, AKA PegJovi. Peg is a fellow Bon Jovi fan from Texas who was kind enough to send us a wonderful poem titled "The Cross Room", which we added to our home page…very nice, thanks Peg. The following are a couple of posts we’ve received in the last few days that I’d like to make sure don’t just get buried without everyone getting a chance to read them…truly remarkable! Name: Mimi Reyes Where are you from? Switzerland How do you know Debi? Backstage w/ Jon Bon Jovi Date: 11.Jul 2003 Hi there Debi! I remember that big day we all had at the LA Forum in December 2000 & I could still remember very well when my brother & I saw you & the other girls getting out of the limo...(there were 6 or even 10 limos there that night!!).. we were running to have our tickets changed at the box office & there you were girls blocking our way! You won't imagine how surprised I was to see your picture & your sis Sheila on this website.. I still clearly remember your faces on this brief encounter! Keep the faith & rest assured that you will be in our thoughts & prayers.. sincerely, mimi Name: JacKie Tortoriello Where are you from? New Jersey How do you know Debi? Heard about u from the backstage board and was moved to tears literarly Date: 12.Jul 2003 Hi Debbie, I don't know you personally god i wish i did you sound like an amazing person. I am in a wheelchair myself afflicted with CP and have faced some of the same struggles you have faced. I gotta honestly tell you that today i was having a hard day, and i came on my computer and read your story. Debbie today you INSPIRED ME TO BE A BETTER ME!!! I said to myself God look at her she's facing her problems with so much grace and with a smile on her face to boot. So if you ever get down and wonder if there was ever a silver lining to this illness you remember me and the 1000's of other you are touching and inspiring everyday. Good luck on your luck on your GMA spot. Smile pretty for the camera, ( Although you're already an old pro at the tv thing) and do us Bon Jovi fans proud. You never know Jon and the boys may be watching!!!! FINGERS AND TOES CROSSED! I will be praying for you and your family from now until forever! And checking in on this website to see your amazing victories, yet to come and seeing if i can do anything to help u. God's Peace to u and your family. Thanks to your sister for writing your story And thank you to you Deb for being an angel on Earth and inspiring us all. Love Jackie And last, but certainly not least, we’d like to once again thank Cathy Costino, from New Jersey, who single handedly manages to keep Debi smiling during some of her toughest battles...thank you Cathy, you’re a Saint! As always, thank you all for keeping us in your daily prayers and may God bless each and every one of you. Be sure to click the photos to view larger versions. -- Posted by Sheila
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