Omaha Update - Rachel's Post Surgery Status 3-3-08

A real quick update for everyone on Rachel's status, post K&K (Knees and Knuckles) surgery on Friday. Both surgeries went extremely well, and they were able to clean out a significant amount of scar tissue and loose cartilage out of the knee. The doctor was very pleased with the results, and thinks that Rachel will have few issues with the knee after she has a little rehab.

Her knuckle surgery was also a success, and the doctor was able to get her large knuckles (knuckles closest to the palm) to flex almost 90 degrees, which was about an 70 degree improvement on range of motion. She had to have the fingers splinted so that the knuckles remained flexed over the weekend, but will be going in for some PT Tuesday morning to begin th eprocess of moving the knuckles and regaining the motion. This is very important, as the sooner she is able to move the knuckles, the sooner she will be able to gain some dexterity in the fingers, allowing her to be able to do things like use a pen, and pick up small objects.

Overall, the surgeries went well, and she seemed to be feeling pretty good.

Omaha Update - Leah and Rachel's Status - 2-28-08

I wanted to post a quick little update on Leah and Rachel's continuing recovery. Both of them are continuing to make great strides towards a complete recovery, and are in very good spirits. Their hard work and stubborn will to get back to normal is shown in the latest results!

At the end of January, Leah met with the orthopedic doc, and was told that she no longer requires formal physical therapy, as her shoulder has made almost a complete recovery. Her clavicle had formed bone and was meshing completely, which means that the clavicle should heal without requiring surgery. Leah has returned to work full time, and no longer has to go into physical therapy 2 times a week.

Rachel continues to improve, with her skin grafts looking very healthy, and continued gains in flexibility in her right ankle, right hand and right shoulder. She had surgery on her right shoulder in January to clean out scar tissue and resolve a "frozen" shoulder. Prior to the surgery she was unable to move the shoulder more then a few degrees, and no further gains were being made in physical therapy. After the successful surgery, Rachel started PT on the shoulder the very next day, and very quickly saw gains in her range of motion. Just last weekend she demonstrated her ability to now get her arm above her head by "wall walking" her arm up. Walk walking is where you face the wall, place your hand against the wall, and pull your arm up the wall by "walking" your fingers upwards, while taking steps forward towards the wall. This moves the arm upwards, and stretches out the joint, and also helps to develop arm strength. A good side effect of this is that it helps strengthen her fingers as well!

Rachel did have another delay in her recovery however, as she kept noticing that her knee was very sore. She was diagnosed with a torn meniscus in her right knee, which requires surgery to repair. She also continues to have issues with flexibility in her large finger joints (the ones closest to the palm) which prevents her from gaining much more dexterity in the fingers. After consultations with the orthopedics it was decided that it would be good to have a combined surgery, and repair the knee and clean out the scar tissue in the hand at the same time. Rachel will be going in for surgery on the afternoon of 2-29, and will begin PT very quickly after.

We would like to thank all the folks who continue to pray for us, and keep us in their thoughts. Your encouragement and prayers help all of us to continue to improve.

Update 10-15-07

Today was a long day, back to work after a busy weekend. As many of you know, Leah returned to work at St. James United Methodist in Bellevue last week, and we took one more step on the road to recovery. Leah was very pleased to get back to work, not only to once again use her brain, but also to start to give back to the folks at St. James who have been so wonderful to us. Going back to work was a bit of a challenge for Leah, as we had to work on getting her back behind the wheel, getting up early, and finding the stamina to stay at work and be active all day. She came home many nights last week, looking tired, but she seemed very pleased to be back.

Returning to work was also a bittersweet event for Leah as well. As many of you know, Leah and Renee spent many hours emailing and chatting with each other in between the various documents and phone calls, and many times would come home and call each other up on the phone to laugh and talk some more. The two of them spent so much time talking and laughing that Zack and I really never had much to talk about, as the girls had filled us in on the goings on so much that we had nothing new to share with each other. The time that the girls spent chatting with each other helped pass those days when the bulletin was done, newsletters printed and the phone was quiet. So as Leah returned to work, she was returning to a place where she and Renee had had many happy moments, but where now the little chat window would stay blank, and the email box empty...

Leah continues to attend PT sessions, and continues to show marked improvement towards a full recovery. She increased all her range of motion measurements by another 15-20 degrees, and has added some strengthening exercises to her 3 times daily routine. We now have different colored thera-bands (giant rubber bands of varying levels of resistance) hanging from the banister and door knobs, a hammer, and an assortment of various contractions such as pulleys and peg boards for her to use. She has almost completely recovered full range of motion in her wrist, and only has about 5 more degrees of rotation before she would have full range. She is slowly gaining strength in the hand, and each day is more capable of doing more.

Rachel is also continuing to make great strides down the road to recovery. Her skin grafts continue to heal, and are beginning to look a little less red, and more pink. The swelling continues to go down in the hand thanks to vigorous Occupational Therapy and lots of interesting little contraptions like her "bionic hand" which is a computer controlled machine that randomly flexes her fingers and hand to start to force the edema out of the hand and down into the arm. One of the areas of concern for the doctors is that there may be some vein damage under the area where the skin graft is on the wrist, and that may be preventing some of the fluids from being removed as quickly by the body. Her PT and little devices have really helped however, and the swelling has begun to go down, in fact enough that her fingers are beginning to look normal. Her foot continues to heal, and she was cleared to discontinue use of the walking boot. She is able to walk fairly well, in fact she and Dad resumed walking at the lake every day, although the walk is much shorter. Her more active movements helped to reduce the small clot in the leg, and at her screening last week, it was found that the clot had completely been absorbed. She was able to be removed from the blood thinners she was on.

She did receive a little bit of discouraging news last week, as it was found her ribs are not healing nearly as fast as they would like. Some of this is due to the other damage her body is having to repair, but some of it is also a result of her inability to use her right arm a great deal. As the muscles in the torso get used, they tend to move the rib bones back into position allowing them to heal. Her relative lack in motion in that arm is not allowing the muscles to pull the bones into place as effectively, therefore not allowing the ribs to calcify.

I would like to take a moment to pass on our condolences to the Duethman family who lost Terry earlier this month, and let them know that all of us in the Hall family are praying for you and are here for you should you need anything at all.

I would like to give a quick shout out to our dear friends Paige and Marc, who were married this past weekend in Oklahoma City. Congratulations you guys, I hope that you will have a happy, loving and joyous marriage, and Leah and I look forward to seeing you guys soon!

I would like to end tonight with a quick little thought about Renee. Tonight we had dinner with my parents and my aunt Kathy who is visiting from Florida, and while we were sitting around the table sharing stories, laughing and enjoying the wonderful meal my father prepared for us, I remembered how we always used to sit around the table with Renee and Zack when they would come and visit, laughing and talking long after the meal was over. That simple act of companionship and love personified and defined Renee. She was always one to share a smile and a laugh, lend a helping hand, or just be there for you. She celebrated life, and helped all of us live just a little bit more.

Thanks to all of you out there who help us, support us and pray for us. You keep us strong and with your help we will get better. We can never express our gratitude enough for the overwhelming support and generosity our family, friends and complete strangers have extended to us.

J

Update 9-11-07 Omaha Update - Rachel Makes it Home

Very quick little update here... Rachel and John are safely home and resting comfortably. The flight was very smooth, no problems at either airport, and even the landing was smooth as silk. It was a little emotional as Jerry, my aunt Cheryl and Grandma Hall met me at the airport to welcome them home. Mom looked wonderful, was in good spirits, and when she saw us had a huge smile for us.

Grandma Kunc will be providing dinner for tonight, and then I am sure it will be an early evening for them, as travel can really take it out of you.

Thanks again for all the prayers, they seemed to have worked to get them home safely!

Homecoming Day 9-11-07

Mom and Dad will be arriving at 1:03 PM at Eppley Airfield today. Leah and I are very excited and are ready for them to be home as soon as possible. We went over to the house last night, and Bill and Judith helped me prepare some areas so Mom can navigate around the house, and sit in the living room (also known as her new bedroom) and be entertained etc...

Leah did get her cast off of her right forearm and wrist, and the orthopedic said that she is making good steady progress towards full recovery. She was fitted with a splint, which is much more comfortable then the cast, as she can actually scratch sometimes! This is also positive, as she can now get that arm wet, so can finally wash that arm really well, and we don't have to put plastic bags all over her arm to prevent the cast getting wet. Her arm looked pretty good for being in a cast for nearly 6 weeks, as she didn't appear to have significant muscle loss or a lot of weakness in the hand. She must have been faithfully doing her finger flexing exercises...

Leah and I would like to extend another thanks out to our friend Mary, who came over and worked both of us over on the massage table. the massage session helps work some of the tension out of the muscles, and really lets us relax. This was especially good for Leah as it helped work some of the new muscle tightness that resulted from her doing her active PT.

Speaking of PT, Leah will now also be starting physical therapy for her wrist and fingers, along with the active PT for her shoulder. She continues to make progress, and is very determined to get full functionality back in her right arm. The active PT is very painful, but she is tough and works thru the pain and continues to make small steps towards recovery.

Thanks again to all of you for continuing to care about us, and thanks for all the prayers and generous support.

Jay

Omaha Update - September 9th, 2007

Sorry about the long delay in between posts, but I haven't really had the inspiration to blog much in the last few days, and each time I have been inspired, I haven't had the time due to dealing with technical issues, or my most important priority, helping Leah. I do however have the time right now, and will give everyone a quick little update.

Leah and I had a good week, her sister Julie, brother in law Robert, and their two children came to visit us late last week. They stayed at the house, and Julie had the opportunity to have a nice chat with Leah, and do some big sisterly duties. The two kids were adorable and very entertaining, and it wasn't long until Uncle Jay was crawling around on the floor with them.

We did take a short trip down to Hiawatha, Kansas, where we spent some time with Leah's family. We had planned on having a quick family reunion before the accident, and as this is the first time that Leah's whole family had been together since our wedding three years ago, Leah and I decided that it would be a good thing to attend. We took the trip in small chunks, stopping regularly to let Leah walk so she didn't become stiff, and before we knew it we were there in Hiawatha. We were staying in some small cabins on a lake down there, and her brother Bill and his family, sister Julie and her family, and Leah's folks were all there. We had the chance to get a bit of a change of scenery which for Leah was very welcome, as basically all she really has been doing was hanging out in our house, which after a while can start to create some cabin fever!
It was also a good opportunity for me to have a lot more people there to help me out with Leah, and to get to talk to some family who I haven't had the chance to really get to know.

The weekend at the cabins also provided a nice escape out into nature, where the quiet Kansas night let me reflect on the happenings of the last few weeks in a very peaceful and spiritually refreshing environment. I have always loved the outdoors, and having the opportunity to think about Renee while looking at the stars was a nice way for me to let some emotions go. I also did have the opportunity to take advantage of the picturesque setting, and exercised my camera skills on a number of different subjects. The weekend flew by faster then Leah and I expected, and we found ourselves having to return home, feeling happier having gotten to see the nephews and the niece, the siblings and the parents. I really have been blessed with a wonderful set of in-laws, and this weekend only reinforced that opinion!

Leah did start active PT this week, which means that she will be doing the majority of the work on her exercises. Previously we had been doing passive PT, where I would support the weight of her arm, and do the range of motion exercises with her with me providing the muscle for movement. Leah now us to do some of these motions on her own, and use some new tools such as a pulley system to lift her own arm. This is a big step, as active PT will make her begin to take big steps in recovery, and will help develop her muscles so that she will be able to do the normal movements that are required in everyday life. This is a big step on the road to recovery, and for her being able to get back to a more normal life, which she is really looking forward to. As all of you know, Leah is not one who is real big on sitting around doing nothing, and as a result is going slightly stir crazy right now!

We have a orthopedic appointment Monday to look at how the healing is progressing, and hopefully to remove the cast that has been on her forearm and wrist for the last few weeks. Leah is really hoping for the cast to be off, so she can scratch some itches, not have quite so heavy an arm for doing her active PT and maybe even take a shower with out having to have a trash bag taped over one arm! Of course, if we do happen to get the cast off, we will probably have to start PT for the wrist, so we maybe learning a lot of new exercises in the next few days.

We are really looking forward to getting Mom and Dad back home. Hearing that they are officially coming home was very exciting news, and both Leah and I are looking forward to being able to hug them, talk with them, and just see them.

Thank you all of you wonderful people who have been sending emails, cards, flowers etc to us and my parents. All of your prayers, love and encouragement have been very instrumental in getting us this far. We cannot express enough our gratitude for all that you have done, and will do in the future. I promise I will do a better job of keeping all of you updated and keep passing out the thanks.

Jay

News from the Denver Outpost September 8, 2007

Hi Friends,

The Denver Outpost has been suffering technical problems, as the laptop succumbed to effects of the vehicle rollover and experienced it's own need for therapy. But with a little judicious cussin and swearin and help from Jay, we finally are up and running again after three days of frustrations and disconnection from the world outside Swedish Hospital.

However, progress has continued and we are definitely on track to return to Omaha on Tuesday, September 11, 2007. We have made arrangements with Rachel's cousin, Beverly, to get us to the airport, and with Jay and Leah to get us home to our house. With a little bit of luck, we will be getting a good nights sleep without the sounds and intrusions of a night in the hospital. We definitely will not miss the early morning visits from the phlebotomists and respiratory therapists. Friday, the first blood draw was at 6:10 am and the second two hours later. Today, we were allowed to sleep in, and had the first blood draw at 6:37 am. I suspect the first blood draw next Wednesday will be around 10:50 am and that will be in Omaha at the family physician's office. Still have to check the ole rat poison levels.

Rachel has regained a great deal of her walking strength. She went outside to walk on the grounds of the hospital three times in the last two days. We practiced curbs, slops, and uneven surfaces. We walked in grass, parking lots and along flagstone paths. Tuesday, she will be walking in airports, up and down curbs, and in and out of airplanes. All new adventures for us in this state.

She will be wearing her new going home clothes too. Not wanting to alarm the traveling public, she has decided to wear long pants to cover the skin graft donor sites on her right thigh. The shorts we kept here would just not do that job. So we bought her a new pair of loose fitting slacks and a shirt to go with them. She also needed a new shoe. The swelling in both feet has made it impossible to put her normal sized shoes on her left foot. Subsequently, she has been wearing a men's 9 1/2 athletic shoe with the initials PT on her left foot. I found her some women's athletic walkers withVelcro closures like those her children wore until they went off to grade school and had to learn to tie laces. Her swollen foot can fit into these as well, because theVelcro allows for the expanded area. I asked her if she wanted to write PT on either new shoe. The right one so she could donate it to PT here, or the left one so she knew which foot to put it on, but she said she would keep them clean and bring both home so she had an easy shoe to wear when the big walking boot finally comes off.

Britanie continues to thrive in Boston. She is enjoying her professors, the new students she has met, and the intense conversations and discussions generated in the classrooms. She has also found some new restaurants and new foods there in Boston. We talk with her for a few minutes every day between classes or while she is en route to or from classes. However, she had to call today and tell her two parental units that they were overusing the cellphone minutes we share in common. She was a little concerned that in only the first 12 days of the billing month we had used up over 80 percent of the allotted minutes. She called the cellphone minutes provider and worked out a deal to get more minutes, and in the process got them to credit the account for the overusage we had in August. She might just have the makings of good lawyer yet!

Jay, Renee, Britanie, Zach and Leah's Dad

Update from Omaha - 8-30-07

Just wanted to put up a quick update here as it has been a few days since we last posted. As you probably have read in Dad's post below, Britanie has departed Omaha for Harvard, which lead to quite the emotional day for all of us here in Omaha. We really felt like we had just got Brit back home, and here she was taking off again. We are very excited for her, and are very proud and happy that she decided to take the challenge of heading off to Harvard Law head on. We miss her already, but can't wait to hear all the adventures that Boston and HLS have to offer. She did ask me to put up her address so that people can write to her if they so desire:

Britanie Hall
5107 HLS Holmes Mail Center
Cambridge, MA 02138-5107

Leah had another good PT session, and we managed to get the arm all the way up to 120 degrees. Basically this is making the elbow go above the shoulder! She was also told that for around the house, she should not wear the sling, as she needed to start stretching the shoulder and elbow out, and letting the shoulder take a bit of weight, so it gets stronger as well. This is a pretty painful experience, but Leah is being tough, and manages to keep a brave face on.

We also had a visit with the neurovascular surgeon consultant here in Omaha to review the carotid injury. He felt that she could begin to move of of the coumadin and switch to baby aspirin. This is a good step, as now some of the bruises will begin to heal more quickly, and she can also stop having to go to the doctor a few times a week to get her blood checked. This does however mean that she will no longer be sporting sweet Snoopy or Sesame Street band aids on her fingers...

I did also start doing a little silversmith work again. Many of you are new readers to the blog, but I have been working with my Grandma and Grandpa Kunc to learn how to do some silversmithing from them. This was a way for me to spend some time with them, and also a way for me to express my creative side. Our weekly lessons grew to be something I loved to do, and was a wonderful treat for my grandparents. In an attempt to begin to establish a bit of normalcy, and also a good way to cheer up Grandma, I begin trying to keep my appointments with them, and last week restarted doing some silver work. I wanted to take the time to give a little thanks to Dee out there in Denver, so I decided to make a little project for her, that I hope she will enjoy as a small token of my gratitude for taking care of all of us while we have been out Denver. I made a simple pin of Chinese Turquoise set in sterling silver. I scribed a quick thank you from the Hall family, along with the year that we gave it to her. I will be sending this out to her with Leah's sister and brother in law when we see them tomorrow.

Chinese Turquoise in Sterling Silver Pin

Thanks again Dee, I hope you will enjoy this.

Be sure to check out Dad's update below, lots of good news about Rachel. We would like to once again thank everyone for their continued prayers, thoughts, and generous acts of love towards us and those out in Denver, Boston and Stillwater. All of your support makes it possible for us to be strong, and to continue down the long road to recovery. Thank you very much.

J
halljw@gmail.com

Omaha Update - August 25, 2007

Quick little update, mostly as a chance to send out some quick thanks out to some folks. We had another good day today, as Leah has decided to completely stop taking the Percocet and transition over to taking ibuprofen. This is a positive step, as that means Leah's overall pain level has dropped, and she has decided that she is tired of the side effects of the Percocet. She seemed very upbeat today, and slept very well last night.

We had a big night Friday night, as Britanie got back into town, so we had Grandma and Grandpa Kunc, my aunts Marsha and Karen, and Britanie over for dinner. We had a good dinner provided by Grandma, and lots of good conversations between everyone. We were all thrilled to see Britanie, and she was very happy to see us. It was a good chance for her to unpressurize a bit, and start thinking about going to Harvard. Karen brought a really good Bundt cake for dessert and it was enjoyed by all. Marsha brought us some fresh sweet corn from Columbus, and some more home grown potatoes. Jay and Lori and their boys stopped by later in the evening to deliver some fresh drawings that Thomas and JJ had drawn for Leah. The drawings helped her feel even better, as did watching the boys tear about the yard. Thanks to all of them!

We did load Karen up with some stuff to take out to Mom and Dad in Denver, as she was heading out that way for a workshop. She planned on stopping by to visit with Mom late today, and promised to give them all a hug or a squeeze for us. I did get a call from Dad this evening saying Karen had safely made it to Denver, and she and Mom were happily chatting away. He even sent us a picture to prove it!

Karen and Rachel chatting away...

Here in Omaha, we had a very busy day with lots of visitors from my work EDM. Jayne stopped by early in the afternoon to give us a few more meals for us, which we sampled gladly at dinner this evening, and I am sure we will enjoy the coffee cake tomorrow morning. She also spoiled us by baking some of her famous cookies, which prompted Leah to remark that "Jayne sure did know how to bake!" after sampling one of the white chocolate macadamia nut cookies. Just as Jayne was taking off, Barb stopped by to visit, and she was carrying a wonderful ice cream cake for us. We had a very nice talk with her, and are very glad she could stop by. We are looking forward to that Ice cream cake tomorrow as well. I figure I might gain some of the weight back that I lost while not eating at the hospital! So once again, thanks to those two wonderful ladies for taking care of us, and bringing a bit of cheer into our day.

Right after Barb left, Mary stopped by with her massage table. We managed to get Leah up on the table and relaxing comfortably while Mary prepared to give Leah a nice relaxing massage. Nearly an hour and 15 minutes later, Leah was having to be helped up off the table, a relaxed look on her face, and a big smile lighting up the room. She said that this was the best she had felt since before the accident, and her shoulder was completely pain free! It really is amazing what some gentle touch in the right spots can do for eliminating discomfort. Right after Leah was finished, Mary told a semi-trepidatious Britanie to jump up on the table, and worked some of the tension and knots that come from sleeping in a hospital room right out. Brit got up with a pretty happy look on her face, and said that she was going to have to look into this massage stuff more often! Mary receives a big thanks from all of us, especially from the girls for helping relax them!

I promised pictures of the famous "bearometer" so I am following thru :

The whole Bearometer...

The grumpiest Teddy bear I have ever seen...

This guy doesn't get used much!

I hope this bear get used a lot more!!

Thanks again to everyone for the continued emails, calls and cards. We can't thank all of you enough. Please continue to keep Zack and his family in your thoughts and prayers, and keep praying that the girls will be able to continue to improve. Thanks again for your generosity, your love, and your support. To use the words from a card that was sent to us by Bill and Judith's good friend Jan that pretty much sums up the way we feel, "We have a circle of friends surrounding us, constantly lifting us back up, never letting us fall. Their support is a pillar of strength that keeps us strong, even when we are feeling weak." This phrase pretty much sums up what Leah and I feel about the love that we are constantly receiving. Your help and love allows us to have our weak moments; the moments where we need to cry, to be overwhelmed, to question, and to mourn, so we can heal our spirits. your love and support has provided us a safety net that will not let us fall.

Jay

Update from a Rainy Omaha - August 23, 2007

Omaha has been rainy the last few days, but despite all the gloomy weather, the mood around the Hall house is pretty sunny. Leah is doing quite well, making good strides in her recovery. We have been busy with lots of PT, keeping Bill and Judith busy, and me making a return to work.

Leah and I went to the orthopedic consultant on Monday, and he took a good look at her forearm and shoulder. We had a bit of a surprise when he told her that they were going to take off her forearm cast so they could take some X rays, but Leah was brave, and managed to get the arm looked at with out even screaming. The doctor also took a look at the shoulder, and thought that everything looked very good, and we were seeing good healing. We did however find that Leah's fractured clavicle had become more displaced, and was now causing a bit of a bump on her shoulder. The doctor said we will be having to make some choices about whether she will go back under the knife to get some more metal put in to repair the clavicle. We do however had a few months to try to let it heal naturally, so this decision doesn't have to be made today.

Leah did also get a new cast for her forearm and wrist, this one only a half length cast, which not only is far more comfortable for her, but also significantly lighter. This helped her shoulder to feel a bit better, as she wasn't lugging around a 5-6 pound cast, but rather only a 3-4 pound cast. She also enjoys this cast more, as she can now scratch her elbow, which is something she has wanted to do since the first cast got put on. Her new cast is also a much more exciting bright Orange (I know, surprise surprise) so she can not only exhibit her bold personality, but also support her alma matter in style!

We also did get Leah a new set of glasses. Her glasses were lost in the accident, and she has been managing to live in a very blurry world. Thankfully her eyes are not horrible like mine, so she was able to function fairly well! We had ordered the glasses last week when we got back, but unfortunately her prescription was complicated, and required a special lens, so the process took longer then usual. She was very excited to be able to see clearly again, and is looking forward to reading some of her library books with more ease.

I did return to work late last week for a little bit, just to start getting my feet wet, but returned mostly full time this week. Leah's folks are here during on the weekdays, and are helping out around the house with Leah, and doing all the little things that probably would have fallen by the wayside had they not been here. We have been very fortunate to have Bill and Judith here, and they help they have provided is absolutely fantastic. I am able to go to work and start getting some sense of normalcy back, which is a positive step in the healing process. I also feel that getting back to work helps, as it gets my mind thinking about other issues, and the outpouring of support from my coworkers is wonderful.

Britanie comes home from Denver tomorrow, and Leah and I are both looking forward to seeing her. We are going to have dinner with Grandma and Grandpa Kunc, and hopefully them getting to see each other will be good for both parties.

Well Leah is having a bit of a rough night tonight, so I am going to cut this short and go be with her. Thanks again for everyone's love and support, generous offers, and kind smiles. Please continue to keep sending the love our way, and especially to those out in Denver, who really are going to need a lot of it the next few weeks until we can get them home. Keep sending the swede mail ( http://www.swedishhospital.com room 6135) and let them know you are thinking about them. Please also give a thought to Zack and his family, who need all the love and support they can get as well.

We love all of you, thanks again so much,
J

Update from Omaha - 8-15-07

Real quick update, as I have to get Leah ready for bed so we can do the doctor circuit early tomorrow. Bill and Judith came up to help out, and will be staying at Mom and Dad's place. We had a fairly quiet day in regards to Leah, mostly a lot of resting and talking. We had visitors trickling in, Kenny and Karen this morning, Dr. Joe, Vinny, and Grandpa and Grandma (who brought dinner!)

Dr. Joe brought over the prayer shawl that St. James made Leah, and she loved it. She put it to good use not to long afterwards, and had herself wrapped up in it. He also had a chance to meet my grandparents, which was nice, as they all got an opportunity to hear the latest from Denver and from here in Omaha.

I was quite busy, had lots of little errands to attend to, dealing with insurance, and working on getting Mom and Dad's mail taken care of. I did stop by work today, and said hi, and plan on using the fact that Bill and Judith are here to sneak in for a bit tomorrow to hopefully take care of some stuff, and start getting my feet wet again. I figure it is going to be hectic the next few weeks, as we will be spending a lot of time working on doctors, PT and various insurance issues. Thankfully Pat and the folks at EDM have been very understanding, and have let me know that they will be flexible with me. This means a lot to Leah and I, as we will be able to continue to get Leah the best care possible.

Since we are in the picture sharing mood, I figure I will share one or two with you folks...

Brit and Dad in their lovely living quarters

Brit and Leah in her room. That is the high tech fan
used to keep Leah cool in Brit's hand.

Mom and Leah in Mom's room.

Please keep Mom in your prayers tomorrow as she will be having some surgery done in the afternoon to clean up some of the large wounds.

We love all of you guys, thanks so much for all of your help, words of encouragement, thoughts and prayers.

J and L.

Update 8-13-07 1215 AM - Half Way there

Just a quick note to update all of you. Today we managed to get half way to our initial goal of getting the girls safely home. There is still a long road ahead for the other half of this goal, but I fully believe that it is only a matter of time. Leah and I arrived safely into Omaha at 5 PM, just beating a large and powerful thunderstorm that dumped 2-3 inches of rain onto Omaha. This storm probably chased us all the way from Ogallala, NE, as the drive home was filled with lots of torrential downpours which made the rule of letting Leah walk around the car for 10 minutes every hour quite interesting. We managed to stay slightly ahead of the worst of it, and still got Leah the exercise she needed.

Our home is a huge relief as we are surrounded by familiar smells, our own comfortable bed, and our own non hospital white walls. Leah said that just being home made her feel better, and having that kind of attitude will go a long way towards healing all of us. It brightens my day to see her smile, and hear the determination in her voice while she does PT, as her desire to heal and live is very apparent. I know that both of us will have a significant amount of healing yet to accomplish, but being at this point feels like a major accomplishment.

I am sitting here with Leah writing this today, and she wanted me to pass on a few words to all of you.

"Thank you all so very much for all of your thoughts, prayers, and your concern for all of us this week. I can not express to all of you how thankful I am for your generosity and outpouring of love, and it is difficult to even try. I am on the way to recovery, but my heart is still with Rachel in Denver, and I hope that she will be able to join me in this first step to recovery. My heart is still very heavy, as I mourn the loss of my dear sister Renee, who was not only my best friend, but someone who brought joy to my every day life. I struggle with this part of my healing everyday, but know that I have to trust in God's plan for me, and hope that He will help me heal in everyway, physically, emotionally and spiritually. I mourn for the pain that Zack is suffering, and want him to know that I love him, love him very deeply. I wish that I could help him make this pass, and will pray for God to help Zack through this trying time. Mom Dad and Britanie, Jay and I love you very much, and wish we could still be there in Denver to help you heal.

Thank you and I love you all very much. My gratitude can't be expressed enough,
Leah. "

Obviously I typed that for Leah as she dictated that to me. Her typing hand is a little out of commission, and having to try to type, operate the mouse and wipe away some tears is a bit difficult, especially when you are right handed, but the only one that works is your left. I know that many of you will want to stop by and see her, and we would welcome that, but only ask that you call ahead, and check with us to see whats going on, as to much excitement can be a bit hard to handle. We also need to try to figure out some semblance of a routine, so that we can figure out what we may need from all of our friends who keep offering to help us.

We can be contacted at:

402.321.4167 - Jay's cell, always on.
402.598.0612 - Leah's cell, but probably not going to be heard unless it is next to her
402.991.8577 - Home phone.

We did have some visitors today, our friends the Schubert's stopped by, and my Grandpa and Grandma Kunc and Aunt Wendy and Uncle Karl and their kids. It was nice to see all of them, and was good to hear laughter in the house from all the kids. I could tell that Grandma and Grandpa were hurting a lot, but hopefully seeing Leah and her smile will help their hearts to feel a little lighter.

I did talk to Mom today, and she sounded like she was making some improvements. As you probably read in the article by my father, John, she sat up a lot today, talked a lot more, and meet with the doctors to start working on pain. She sounded better, but I know her heart is still very heavy.

I want to thank Bill and Judith for driving us home, and getting us here safely. They did travel back to Missouri earlier tonight to take care of some stuff at home, but will be back soon. Their help over the last week has been instrumental in getting the girls back to where they are. It was amazing to see that they not only cared for the two of us, but also took care of Mom, Dad and Britanie. They also had enough compassion and love to talk to some of the other families, and helped to care for them as well. I don't think I could have asked for any better in laws.

I would also want to thank Julia for coming up to help us. I don't think I have given her enough credit for just jumping on a plane and coming to our rescue. She helped us all by smiling, sitting with us, hugging us, and running little errands. She might have felt like she didn't do much, but her just being there for us helped us more then I can even say.

I would also like to thank my uncle Jerry. He just jumped on a plane, and wished he could have gotten there sooner to be there for us. He was a rock for my dad, Brit and I. He just quietly took care of us, making sure we ate, making us talk about our feelings, and just sitting there with us. He took care of the girls for us, letting us go take care of Zack and Renee. His unquestioning help, quiet calm talks, and strong hugs helped us all to begin to heal.

Thanks again, I must now go dose some meds out to Leah.

We love all of you, and look forward to seeing you.

J and L

Thank you to everyone

Dear Friends,

Thank you all for your messages, prayers, thoughts, offers of help, tears, and especially the outpouring of love. Our family has suffered a great tragedy, which only time and encouragement from family and friends will be able to overcome. Renee was super special to us, and we are going to miss her more than menial words can ever describe. Her joyous demeanor, beautiful smile, and optimistic outlook on life meant that she lit up a room upon entry. Her leadership style was totally unassuming. You never could fully explain when she took command of any group, but one day you noticed that she definitely had full control. You always wanted to please someone who worked that hard to please you. Our family has lost a significant cog in our life wheel that will forever make that wheel skip a beat.

As Jay wrote, Leah is on the way home with Jay and her parents, Bill and Judith Voelker. We are extremely happy to have her gone from Swedish Hospital. However, we will certainly miss Jay, his strength and his support. We definitely will also miss Judith and Bill. They provided meaningful support to all of us, not just Leah and Jay. As a pastoral couple they professionally retired three weeks ago, but were counseling and praying with us and many other unfortunate families here at Swedish Hospital.

Rachel is improving by the hour. We started here at Swedish with one word answers, many unintelligible, and have progressed to lengthy conversations. Now for those of you that don’t know Rachel, you must know that Rachel has never experienced a quiet moment in any conversation, since she won’t allow it to happen. So Jay, Britanie and I have been expecting a flood of words once the dam broke. We’re slowly getting to the breaking point of the dam. We see longer conversations, longer attention spans, and more perceptive answers to our queries.

Rachel sat up twice, out of bed, yesterday for about 30 minutes each time, and once today for about 22 minutes. She is definitely also beginning to manage her care. The docs and nurses are about to experience the Rachel we know and love. I wish them luck.

We also have experienced a few minor setbacks. The affects of her concussion are receding and memories of Renee and the accident are surfacing more regularly. Last night Britanie and I took shifts consoling her through her nightmares. Britanie put her on music therapy with Britanie’s Ipod and tried to catch some sleep. Shortly, she was in the throes of another dream and it was my four hours of guard duty from there. As a step forward though, she began questioning her doctors and seems to understand each one’s role in pain control rather than making each responsible for her complete pain control. With 18 broken ribs, pain control is our priority, and every day on the epidural pump is a great day.

Thank you everyone for all your support of my immediate family and your continued prayers and blessings you send our way. We are truly blessed in every way with your love and compassion. I will continue to attempt to keep you informed of our progress in Denver, please continue to pray for us, especially Renee and Zack.

Our sincerest love for all of you,

Jay, Renee, Britanie, Zack and Leah’s Dad

Renee... Update August 9 /10 2007, 130 AM

Today we will lay Renee to rest in Stillwater, Ok. Stillwater is where she and her husband Zack and their dog Bosco made their home. Stillwater is where Renee met Zack, fell in love with him, and made him the happiest man in the world. Today I will have to see and feel the pain that Zack, my dad, Britanie and I have in our hearts.

Earlier today we had a visit with Renee, where she was surrounded by flowers from so many wonderful people, so many flowers that the funeral home ran out of room in the visitation room, and had to begin putting them around the waiting area. The colors were so bright and cheery, so like Renee, who in life was the most caring, kind hearted and bright person I have ever known. I am so fortunate to have had her in my life, as my sister, and as a best friend. Our lives were so intertwined, Leah and her best friends and truly sisters, Zack and I brothers. We could always get together, and it was like we had never been apart. I am going to miss her and her dumb jokes, I am going to miss her and her bright smile, I am going to miss her wonderful hospitality, but mostly I am going to miss her wonderful laugh, the laugh that made me forget my troubles, and see the funny side of life.

Renee I love you, and will miss you. There will always be a hole in my heart and soul where you used to be. I know that you are with me in my memories and in spirit, and are looking down on me from heaven, laughing at me right now, knowing that my tears are watering those memories so that they will grow. I love you so much, and I promise that I will do my best to take care of Zack for you.

Today was a hard day for all of us. We had to leave those that we love, and who need us to go and take care of two other members of our family, Zack and Renee. We flew out of Denver to Oklahoma City, had the usual misadventures with flying, but safely arrived in Stillwater, where we were met by many anxious family members. We hugged a lot, cried a lot, and comforted each other. We went over to the funeral home, where we saw Zack for the first time since the accident. Each of us hugged Zack and his family, and the tears flowed freely. We gave Zack the cookbook that his mom had hand written for Renee with all of her recipes that the two of them loved. Zack asked that it be given back to Renee, and we had taken it upon ourselves to find it, and make sure that this request was fulfilled. It was good for us, as this gave us something to do to help Zack. We cleaned it, dried it as it had been wet, and repaired the emblems on the front.

The visitation was good, lots of hugs, tears, talking and even some laughter. I had the chance to meet Zack and Renee's wonderful friend Mario, who lived, laughed and loved them, and who Renee made sure was always well fed and cared for. We always teased the two of them that Mario was like of like their adopted son, and having had the opportunity to meet Mario, I can see why Renee and Zack made him a part of their family. Mario is strong, loving and compassionate, and is now turning the tables and is caring for Zack. Zack and Mario were going to spend the night at the house that Renee and Zack called home, and hopefully the night will be one filled with peace and healing.

I saw Leah for a short time this morning, and she looked much better. She and I had a chance to talk, and I managed to steal a kiss or two from her before I had to leave. I left her in the capable hands of her father and mother, and I knew she would be fine, as we all know who we really want when we get sick or hurt, and that is our Mom. Leah told me on the phone that she had worked on her walking PT, and had passed with flying colors, so much so that they told her that she did not any longer need walking PT. She did walk down the hall to see my mother, and walked almost 200 feet before she tired and needed to have the wheelchair to spell her a bit. Once she reached the room, she walked over and stood by mom's bed and she and Mom had a conversation. Leah told me that it was an actual conversation, with give and take from both parties, which is a good sign that Mom might be starting to put some of the pieces back together again. Leah stood until she got to hot, and then sat in the wheel chair and talked. Leah also said she did all of her PT for her shoulder and managed to get all 10 repetitions completed of all the exercises. The nurse also told her to get ready to go home soon, but Leah said that she would be sure to wait until I get back.

I talked with Jerry as well, and he said that Mom had a good day today. She had the Occupational therapist in, and the psychologist who was going to help her get her brain back to a more normal state after the concussion. Jerry said that her appetite was good, even to the point of asking for an additional cup of ice cream. He also stated that she and Jerry had an hour long conversation, and that in his opinion she was in the best condition she had been in since we got here.

We just wanted to thank all of you for keeping the encouragement going. Every little bit helps, and all the prayers and the thoughts have to be helping, as we continue to see small little baby steps of improvement, each one a victory.

Jay

Update August 8, 2007 1150PM plus a note from Britanie

Just wanted to drop a quick little update on here before I go to bed. It was a bit of a roller coaster day today. We had the bittersweet moment of Leah and Rachel heading upstairs to the MTU. It is a big step, but kind of like high school, you can't wait to leave, but once you do, you really miss what you had. The nurses on the MTU floor have been wonderful, but there was something about being cared for like we were in the ICU.

The emotions are really hitting hard today, its hard to decide to leave our loved ones who need us to go care for another loved one who needs us. This morning we had to tell them we had to leave them, and they told us we needed to go, to serve not only as their representatives, but also to help heal ourselves and lay Renee to rest.

Dad has really been struggling, its hard to realize how much he wants to protect his children, and how hard it has been for him to be able to let her go. He is being so strong for all of us, actually we are all being strong, with moments were one of us is overwhelmed, the other two step in and help shoulder the burden. Dad really made my day this morning while we were traveling to the hospital this morning, as he pointed out a Magpie to me, and made a comment about how they always fly a bit drunkenly. This gave me a bit of cheer, as those of you who know my dad know that he is an avid birder who never misses an opportunity to point out an interesting bird. He has not pointed out birds, never even looking at them since the accident happened. The fact that he pointed one out to me, helped me know that he is working thru the pain, and that we will be able to get thru this with a lot of prayer, a lot of sweat, a lot of tears, and a lot of love and help from all of you.

Leah did manage to eat a bit of the supper Dee prepared for us, and especially enjoyed the stuffing . She also had an odd craving for thinly sliced ham, and her old ICU bed that was far more comfy. I left her as she was just barely able to keep her eyes open, as she was tired from all of the PT and the many trips to the bathroom (the trip to the bathroom in the MTU is about twice as far as in the ICU.)

Rachel had a long day, lots of PT and lots of visitors, and the discovery of the concussion helped explain lots of things that we had experienced. She did eat a lot today, but when we tried to get her to eat dinner, she said she was full, and was tired of eating. She also told dad that she just kept eating to be nice, cause everyone wanted her to eat so much, she felt she needed to.

I need to get to sleep, running on 3 hours a day is hard, and tommorow is going to be a long long day.

The funeral information is as follows:

10:00 AM
Friday, August 10th
St. Francis Catholic Church
601 S. West Street
Stillwater, OK 74074
405-372-6886

There will be a quiet visitation on Thusrsday evening. Zack let me know that Renee is now safely in Stillwater. She is surrounded by a wonderful collection of memories from their home, and is bathed in music from a recording of her senior recital from Texas Tech.

The funeral home coordinating the service is Strode Funeral Home of
Stillwater. Their web address is www.strodefh.com.

I did want to send out a little message from Britanie as I think a lot of her friends are reading this page as well. Below is from Brit:

Tomorrow around 12:24 pm, Dad, Jay and I will be boarding a flight to
Oklahoma City, OK, leaving our girls behind in the capable hands of my
uncle Jerry and Leah's parents, Bill and Judith. While we know they
will be well cared for, it is incredibly hard to be apart from them
for more than a few hours... and so far it has only been those few
hours we have needed to sleep when it becomes to hard to do anything
else or grab a quick bite to eat when our stomachs finally growl
louder than the thoughts in our heads. Fortunately both the girls
moved out of the ICU and into the Multiple Trauma Unit today, so we
know they are making small steps forward... particularly in Leah's
case as she is able to get out of bed on her own now, though still
only for a few steps and with much pain.

We return to Denver at 7:40 pm on Friday, August 10th, and will be
heading straight back to the hospital. We are hoping for Leah's
release by early next week or this weekend, but were told today that
Mom will be here for at least 3 more weeks, "a conservative estimate"
according to her doctors and physical therapist. Her left lung
partially collapsed again today, and they discovered 3 more broken
ribs on the right side and told us she definitely had a concussion -
thereby explaining the double vision, seeing red and blue, and not
being able to remember or follow commands. The extreme tiredness can
also be partially attributed to this, in addition to her pain killers
and the psychological trauma. We were so excited to move upstairs
today, but her spirits were kind of low and she keeps talking about
how much easier it would be to just give up. We told her she can't
talk like that. I really need my mother. My dad needs his wife.

So 3 more weeks in Denver. And I leave for Harvard in 2.5 weeks. My
mother says I have no choice, that I have to go.


I'm sorry to sound down today. I just really miss my sister and my
mom. I'm proud of Leah, but sad for her pain and wish she were better
even faster.

I love you all and will see some of you this weekend.

Britanie

Once again for all of you, here is a bit of contact info:

Rachel is in room 4435.

Leah is in room 4267.

You can contact me at halljw@gmail.com, Britanie at britanie@gmail.com or my Dad, John at jwhall2@gmail.com