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DEC. 18, 2002 Sorry, no photo this time. As I mentioned in the last update, Debi has entered another hypersensitive phase, however this one is quite different from the others in where she seems to be very sensitive to certain voices and startles more easily. In other words, she reacts almost like the sound of certain people’s voices is painful for her. I know that may sound ridiculous to some of you, but that exactly the way it seems. The worst part is that one of the voices Debi seems more sensitive to is her speech therapist. As I’m sure you can imagine, this makes things very difficult for both of them. I’ve been working with Debi to try and push through this phase as our 45-day clock is ticking away. Please keep your prayers coming and maybe add a little something extra to get us through this difficult time. Happy Holidays and may God bless you all. A special thanks goes out to Glenn & Tina Wolff. They’ve been very good friends of ours for many years and I just want to say thank you for all you do. -- Posted by Nick DEC. 11, 2002  Well as promised Debi’s therapy was restarted on Monday 12-9-02 and so far so good. She’s
been spending about 40 minutes each day in the standing frame and seems to be doing quite well with it. She’s also made
unbelievable progress with moving her head the last few days and is now able to turn it almost completely to the right pretty
much anytime she wants.
As for the latest change, Debi seems to be entering another one of her hypersensitive phases, for lack of a better description. She’s been through several variations of this during the last several months and we’ve noticed that she’s always made some type of gain once she has passed through it. I pray this one brings us speech. That would surly make for a nice Christmas. Please keep your prayers coming and don’t forget to click the photo to view a larger version. -- Posted by Nick DEC. 7, 2002  I don’t quite know where to start with this one. Debi continues to make very slow progress
mainly in the areas of turning her head and trying to speak, however she’s also becoming slightly more relaxed in her arms as
well. She’s been working extremely hard and I really believe she’s very close to being able to talk given the proper
therapy. As most of you know however because of insurance issues Debi’s therapy was cut off on the 25th of November which
meant that from that point on I was back to doing all of her therapy again. I filed an appeal with our insurance company, but they quickly
denied it based on exhausted benefits. The fact remains however; whatever caused Debi’s brain damage took place in their hospital under the care of their doctors. Debi drove herself to the doctor, they diagnosed and treated her. Unfortunately
they'll never admit responsibility and therefore under our health plan Debi was only eligible for 100 days of
rehabilitation.
Just as we thought we had reached the end of the line, we met with Casa Colina’s President & CEO, Felice L. Loverso, PhD. Several of Debi’s caregivers had told me to speak with him as he was a very kind man that would make sure Debi received the care she desperately needs. Going into the meeting we were all really worried about where it might lead, but as we sat there listening to Dr. Loverso speak, it became clear that he was truly a good man with a kind heart. By the end of our meeting he had reinstated all of Debi’s therapy for the next forty-five days with the hopes that she’ll make significant progress and be able to go on. Needless to say we all left his office with huge smiles on our faces and to top it off, today Dr. Loverso sent Debi a beautiful basket of flowers…very cool. Please keep your prayers coming, as it’s imperative that Debi makes significant progress in the next forty-five days. Thank you all and be sure to click the photo to view a larger version. A special thanks goes out to Joseph Uzel. Joseph is himself a leukemia survivor that to this day suffers ill affects from his chemotherapy. During his treatments Joseph would listen to classical music. He said that he felt like he could actually hear Gods voice in the songs. He suggested a particular CD that he felt Debi might find great comfort in listening to. I purchased the CD and can certainly understand why Joseph felt the way he did, very relaxing. Debi was listening to it as she fell asleep this evening. -- Posted by Nick NOV. 28, 2002  Thanksgiving seemed to take on a special meaning for us this year. For the past several
years we’ve hosted Thanksgiving dinner at our house as Debi really enjoyed getting the family together. Even though this was
not to be this year we were still able to give thanks that Debi is alive and continues to move forward. As for how to spend
the day, the kids and I decided to pick up a couple of movies and chill out in front of the DVD player. Debi had a great day
and clearly enjoyed our movie selections, "Glory" and "The last of the dogmen". She’s still working very hard on trying to
talk and from time to time she seems to actually form small words. I think her biggest accomplishment lately has been more
consistently being able to shake her head “no” when necessary. Not much luck with up and down movements for “yes” yet, so for
now we’re still using eye blinks for that. Be sure to click the photo to view a larger version.
Debi’s Therapy: As of 11-25-02 Casa Colina cut off all of Debi’s therapy, Physical, Occupational and Speech because they said MEDI-CAL would not pay for licensed therapists. Personally I find it hard to believe that MEDI-CAL would pay for anything other then licensed professionals and hopefully we’ll get this resolved soon, but for now I’m back to doing all of her therapy again. A special thanks goes out to Dave Hallock and his 111 Angles. There’s no question that Debi has made noticeable improvements since they’re arrival. Thanks Dave, you’re a good man! I’d also like to thank the Jordan family for writing us a very nice prayer, which I’ve posted on our home page. Thank you all and please keep your prayers coming. -- Posted by Nick NOV. 20, 2002  Today Debi spent about one hour in the standing frame and did very well with it. She seems
to be gaining a little more control of her neck and as you can see she was able to hold her head pretty straight while I took
this picture of her. She’s also been able to shake her head "No" a little better and did so for me two or three times today,
however I believe she really meant to say "Yes", but has not been very successful with up and down movements as of yet. Be
sure to click the photo to view a larger version.
As for moving to another facility, MEDI-CAL told me they'll cover Debi's needs at the sub acute level for as long as necessary, therefore we should be able to stay at Casa Colina and continue with her therapy, however our case worker said she doesn’t think MEDI-CAL will cover the cost of licensed therapists. She said she’d check on it and get back to us. Sure hope they will, as Debi really needs the therapy if we’re ever going to put this nightmare behind us. Please keep your prayers coming! I’d like to thank everyone for keeping Debi in the loop with your e-mails as well as the recent guest book posting. Debi is clearly touched by you all and often cries when I read your messages to her. I’d also like to thank Maryanne for taking the time to write us a very nice prayer and allowing it to be posted on our home page...very cool. -- Posted by Nick
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