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FEB. 25, 2003 It was one year ago today that Debi was admitted into the hospital and the beginning of our nightmare. Debi’s still doing well, however things have taken another turn for us. As most of you know, we had been working with a computer mouse trying to get Debi to move to cursor in the direction we asked of her. She was doing pretty well with that, but recently started to loose the ability to move her left hand and arm. The rest of her body also seemed to be getting a little stiffer and more contracted, making it very difficult to get her into the standing frame. She washaving more and more trouble getting to sleep. While Debi was in Casa Colina, they were giving her a drug called “Baclofen” for muscle relaxation, however when she came home I decided to discontinue giving it to her because it did not seem to have any affect and I felt like it was just more crap that Debi’s kidneys would have to deal with. I discussed this with the registered nurse assigned to our case and all seemed to be going ok. As it turns out however, the baclofen was maintaining Debi’s muscles from getting any stiffer then they already were. After talking with our physical therapist we re-started the baclofen on Thursday of last week and Debi is now starting to regain some movement, however it may take a while before she’s back where she was. On a lighter note, Debi’s doing very well with speech therapy and we’ve been able to give her a little crushed ice each day for the past week or so. The plan is to try her on chocolate pudding this Wednesday, which will be the first semi-solid food Debi has had for a very long time. If that goes well, it should be just a matter of time before we can progress to some sort of real food. Once again I'd like to thank our Edison family for your recent guestbook posts, e-mails and support. I only pray that Debi and I may one day thank each and every one of you in person for all you’ve done for us…unbelievable, may God bless you all. A special thanks goes out to Phil Gerard for writing us a very nice prayer and allowing it to be posted on our home page, thanks Phil. I’d also like to thank Dave Hallock. Dave is a spiritual man that has been with us for several months and has helped in many ways. He has also offered his services to each and every one of you. I’ve included a short story about Dave along with his e-mail address on our home page. -- Posted by Nick . FEB. 21, 2003 This update is dedicated Crystal Chavez. Crystal is the fifteen year old daughter of Luis & Maria Chavez who was recently diagnosed with a tumor behind her sinus cavities. For those of you that don’t know Luis, he’s a 20 year Edison employee working as an Electrical Crew Foreman in the Victorville High Desert District, not to mention one of my best friends. I spoke with Luis earlier today and he said that Crystal is now undergoing chemotherapy to try and reduce the tumor. He also said that other than a few expected side affects, Crystal is doing very well. Luis is currently off work to be with his family and therefore does not have access to his e-mail, but if you’d like to show your support to Luis and his family, you may do so at this address crystalsprayers@debramoretta.com and I'll make sure they get your message. Please join us by adding Crystal to your daily prayers and churches prayer list. Thank you and may God bless you all. -- Posted by Nick FEB. 14, 2003  Just a quick note to let everyone know that other than having a few sleepless nights, Debi is still doing quite well and her latest blood work is still normal. Other than that, we’re continuing to work with moving a computer mouse around a screen with a series of numbers "1 thru 4", along witone large red dot in the middle. As Debi moves the mouse cursor over the numbers the computer verbalizes that particular number. Example: as the mouse passes over the number one, the computer says "ONE", very simple. We then direct Debi to try and point to each of the numbers and listen to the computers response. So far Debi’s doing better then I expected base on her limited arm movement, which is certainly very promising and hopeful will lead to some kind of consistent communication some day.
We’d also like to wish you all a Happy Valentines Day and thank everyone at Lomitas Elementary School for the very nice card. It really put a smile on Debi’s face as I read her all of your comments yesterday...very cool. Please keep your prayers coming as we can certainly use all we can get. Be sure to click the photo to view a larger version and may God bless you all. -- Posted by Nick FEB. 7, 2003  Well, where do I get started with this post? First off I’d like to apologize for not posting an update sooner, however our lives have become very hectic lately, which is also the reason I’ve not been able to answer your resent e-mails. Please just know that I read them all to Debi each and everyday as time permits and we very much appreciate them.
I’d also like to say that one of the things we really worried about when deciding to bring Debi home was her ongoing therapeutic needs. I’m very happy to report that we honestly could not of asked for better, more knowledgeable therapist then the ones we’ve been blessed with. Our physical and occupation therapists both work for our insurance company and have been very helpful in making sure that we get the things we need in order for Debi to archive some kind of normalcy one day. They were also responsible for finding our speech therapist, which from what I’ve seen so far is worth her weight in gold. As for what’s been happening lately: Debi continues to make very slow progress, but has just recently made unbelievable strides in several areas. First, she’s acquiring significant ability in moving her left arm, enough in fact that we are now working with her trying to move a computer mouse while asking her to point to certain areas of the computer screen. To make it easier for Debi to see, I’ve piped the video signal from our desk-top computer through our homes cable TV coax, making it possible for her view the computer screen on our living room television. The mouse we’re using sends a radio signal back to thcomputer, making it possible for it to be used in any room in our house. While Debi is still very much in the learning stages of this, we’re seeing some very promising progress which may one day enable her to not only communicate with us, but also give her the independence of being able to operate a motorized wheelchair. Something else worth mentioning is that Debi now has the ability to roll from her left side to her back, which was completely out of the question until a few days ago and she does it when asked with very little hesitation…very cool. Once again, thank you all for your prayers, kind words and taking the time to check this site for updates. I’m told there have been several studies to show that patients seem to do much better when people pray for them. I think we can all say without question that Debi’s continuing success is proof positive that these studies are in fact true. Debi’s most recent blood tests have been very good, her white blood count is still within normal limits at 4.8 and her vitals signs are fantastic as well. Be sure to click the photo to view a larger version and may God bless you all. -- Posted by Nick JAN. 29, 2003  Debi’s adjusting to home life quite well and has made significant progress in several areas. She can now move both of her legs from a ninety degree bent position to almost straight out in front of her when asked and she’s also been moving her arms slightly more lately, which as most of you know is how her leg movements began. As for her head, she can now turn it to the right nearly as well as the left and you can often see her attempt to answer questions with yes – no type movements.
As for Debi’s continuing therapy and medical needs: Since we’ve been home, our insurance company has assigned an RN that is scheduled to visit us once a week. This is very important because Debi has already had a small problem with the tube she receives her food and medications through. I called the RN; she assessed Debi’s condition and contacted the doctor who prescribed an antibiotic. We also have a physical therapist as well as an occupational therapist that come to our home once a week. They’re looking into possibly injecting “botox” into specific muscle groups to relieve some of the spastic problems Debi’s been dealing with. As for speech therapy: we’re looking into having a therapist assigned to us and met with a social worker late last night to try and make this happen as soon as possible. Blood tests: Each and every Monday we have a person that’s contracted to our insurance company come to our home and draw Debi’s blood. The blood is then taken to a lab in Fontana, Ca and the results are sent to Debi’s hematologist in Los Angeles. We then get the results faxed to us on Tuesdays. Yesterday we received the best test result we’ve seen in several months. Debi’s white blood count is finally within normal limits at 5.1. Normal is between 4.0 and 11.0. Debi’s standing frame arrived on Monday and it works quite well. As you know its been several days since Debi has stood in one and because I’m worried about her muscles getting sore, I’m only getting her into it for about 30 or 40 minutes each day. I’m sure she can go longer within a week or two, but for now we’re taking it easy. This is a fantastic tool and used in conjunction with the proper wheelchair, one person can easily get her into a standing position with very little effort. The weather here has been fantastic, which has made it possible for us to spend time on our front porch getting some fresh air and enjoying the snap dragons that a couple of good friends "Diane" & "Carol" planted to greet Debi when she returned home...very cool! As always we’d like to thank you all for your continued prayers. There’s nothing more powerful in the world and as I’ve said many times, I’m convinced that Debi is alive today and continues to move forward because of the strength she receives from each and every one of you. May God bless you all. Be sure to click the photo to view a larger version. -- Posted by Nick
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