The Stark Family

Team Tym Stark - ABI Walk 2009

Thanks to all those who walked with us, donated to the cause and supported us in the 2009 ABI Walk! We had a great time and were so glad to have such a large team of walkers this year. Enjoy the pictures

Hello everyone!

It sure has been a long time since the last blog entry. Things have been very busy. It has been an entire year since the last ABI Walk:

http://stark-family.com/2008/03/23/tym%E2%80%99s-recovery-day-184/

Tym has been attending Coastline College for almost 1 year now. He continues to make great progress and is doing most everything on his own, needing very little help with anything. Tym’s speech and comprehension have improved greatly. Most people that have never met him before swear that he couldn’t have had a brain injury because he seems perfectly normal. Tym still loves to golf, and plays about twice a week.

I can’t write everything here (ok won’t). So if you want to catch up with Tym and family, come out and walk with us at the end of the month.

ABI Walk Information:

The 3rd Annual Walk for Brain Injury Awareness will be held at Mile Square Park in Fountain Valley from 8am to 12pm on Saturday, March 28th. It’s about a 3-mile walk and dogs are welcome!

Location: Mile Square Park
16801 Euclid Ave, Fountain Valley, CA 92708
Map: http://www.coastline.edu/walkforabi/directions.cfm
Check in time: 8:00 am
Walk Start Time: 9:00 am

You can register online here:

http://www.coastline.edu/walkforabi/registration.cfm

If you are planning on walking with us, please RSVP to tym_stark@yahoo.com by Friday March 13 and sign up using the team name “Tym Stark”.

Tym and I (Jeremy) got to visit his Santa Maria home this weekend. It was a short trip, but we had a good time, and we picked up Tym’s truck. He’s a little stressed out about all the work that has to be done, but I know he’ll do just fine. Here are some pictures of our trip…

We had some maintenance to do…

Some things got out of control…

Tym got to drive his truck, watch out!, whew! ok.

We met up with Joe Wambolt (Tym’s Boss)

We got to play around on the 50

(someone had too much fun)

We had some good food!

 We had some more motorcycle fun, then headed home

As you can tell we had a good time. Unfortunately we forgot the “number one priority”, the golf clubs Sorry Dad!

Day 184 - Tuesday 04/01/08

We recently received notice that Tym has been accepted to Coastline Community College’s Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) program! We went to an orientation on Sunday (03/30/08) and are very impressed with what the program has to offer. They have placed Tym in a group with peers that have the same setbacks and challenges that Tym does. Tym started school this Monday (03/31/08). He has to be there from 8:30am - 12:30pm every Monday - Thursday. We have an appointment at the DMV for Tym’s license test in 2 weeks. In the meantime, he will be taking the Access Bus to school.

Tym has been accepted to the Coastline ABI Program! Congratulations!

Dinner with the family. Thanks for visiting Grandma and Grandpa!

Starting school is going to present quite a challenge. The routine is rigorous and pretty unforgiving as far as absences are concerned. The classes focus on adaptations, strategies, and goals. Tym has a new notebook, his journal (aka - memory strategy), and will be receiving a PDA which they will teach him how to use. One of Tym’s classmates spoke at the orientation. She has been in the program for over 2 years. She was very positive, articulate, and encouraging for all the new students. We are grateful to be involved in such a quality program.

We also had the opportunity to visit with Tym’s parents as they wanted to come down for the orientation. Thanks for coming out, we hope you enjoyed your time down here.

Day 184 - Sunday 03/23/08

Last Sunday we participated in the annual Coastline ABI walk for Brain Injury Awareness. There were many people walking for the cause, and it was a perfect day in the park. Unfortunately I had to travel on business shortly after, and just now have the chance to make the update. I’ve been trying to get my Dad to make some posts on the blog, because he’s doing much better (as always ) but you should encourage him if you want to hear about his views.

Coastline’s ABI Walk for Brain Injury Awareness

Warming up with some Frisbee and snacks

Starting off the walk…

The finish and then lunch with Steph

Our sister/daughter Stephanie wanted to walk with us, but she had to work. Luckily, we got to meet her for lunch right afterwards. The ABI Walk is a great event, and it is really easy to do. If there’s enough interest, we can get a team together next year and walk and/or raise money for the event. This year it just came up on us too fast to get everyone involved. Hope you all are doing well. Happy Easter!

Day 156 - Sunday 02/24/08

So we went bowling again. This time we cannot post the scores to protect the innocent, so we’ll let the pictures do the talking…

Everyone Seems to Enjoy the Roll

But, Some People Hide Afterwards

Others Get Mad and Ready to Fight

And Some Just “Dance” Their Way Back to the Seats

We had a great time bowling again. Tym has been staying at home taking care of Doctor’s appointments, and college applications (Coastline ABI Program). He has also passed his Hospital-Administered Driver’s Evaluation. Congratulations Dad! It’s a 3-hour course that tests all aspects of driving, recognition, cognition, and reaction. This shows that Tym has made and continues to make great progress in his recovery. He still has to work with the DMV to get his license back and may have to take the drivers written and driving tests again. This process can take up to two months!

Classes at Coastline ABI start next month, so Tym is working on keeping his skills up in the mean time. Please feel free to call, e-mail, or visit as he will be very busy once classes start. Hope everyone is doing well. It’s great to hear from you in the comments. Thanks for the encouragement and care!

Day 142 - Sunday 02/10/08

Tym is out of rehab now, and waiting for the next semester to start at the Coastline ABI program. He is doing very well, and is having a great time with his friends and family. He has gotten to do more and more things on his own and is making good progress in his speed and accuracy with all tasks.

We had a chance to go bowling with some of our friends. Tym did very well, he even beat us seasoned veterans. Although, we were taking it easy on him

Tym, Jeremy and friends go Bowling

Day 114 - Tuesday 01/13/08

Tym with sister Marty, brother Mitch, and parents Norm and Barbara

Tym is doing progressively better with his rehabilitation. His short-term memory is slowly getting better, as are his occupational skills. Last week Tym was approved by his therapists to be independent in the community (walks, shopping, visiting friends, etc.). This also means that he can stay home alone for short periods without direct assistance/supervision. This has lifted a large weight off of the family.

Unfortunately, as it seems to always happen, as soon as one weight is lifted off, another heavy and awkward weight is carefully slammed right back on. Ahead of our family lies many hard decisions for Tym’s care. We found out just as soon as Tym was cleared for independence that his Non-Residential care will be over February 1st. Although surprising and exciting, this does not mean that he is “better” or ready to go home. As you all know, Tym’s Speech Therapy (cognition and expression) is the most troubling since his accident. Tym has been cleared of his Physical Therapy and is very close to clearing his Occupational Therapy. He will be taking an evaluation to see about taking a driving test (3.5 hours) early in February. If his responses are accurate and timely he will be recommended to take the driving evaluation. Speech Therapy however, can present a life-long struggle.

We have been referred to a community college program called Acquired Brain Injury (ABI, just like Anoxic Brain Injury) at Coastline Community College. It is a 2-year program that helps students (victims of Brain Injuries) overcome their disabilities, negative emotions, and frustrations. You can read more about the program on their website:

http://www.coastline.edu/departments.cfm?LinkID=418

The program looks very good, and we haven’t found much like it around the Southern California Area. We also had the pleasure of meeting one of the professors on staff at the ABI program. He was very nice, and helped Tym and family understand the concept of Injury vs. Disability vs. Handicap. Basically, the injury has happened and is out of your control. The disabilities are a result of the injury, and you can only help re-train your brain while it physically heals for about 6 months. Minimal improvement continues until about 2 years post-injury. From now until forever, Tym’s attitude and adaptations will help him overcome his disabilities, and those things become his handicap(s). We are confident that there are many other strategies and concepts taught throughout this program that will help Tym make the best recovery possible.

We are all for Tym’s to enrollment in the ABI Program. However, the problems presented are of residence (Tym and family), transportation, and finance (mostly real estate). We will need to shuffle the living arrangements around due to availability. This shuffle will hopefully help ease the burden on our friends and family as well. As far as transportation is concerned, we hope that Tym will be able to drive safely by the time the next semester begins. Lastly, we have to consider the possibility of Tym needing this program for a full 2-years, and the cost it will be to maintain his home in Santa Maria for that time along with rent around Orange County.

Tym has enjoyed his time since New Years. We got to go to opening round of Supercross, the Family Dinner at Winways, and this weekend Tym is up near Yosemite with his parents and brother. They are all visiting with Tym’s sister that he hasn’t seen for many years. Everyone is having a great time up there. It’s clear weather, and not too cold (62ºF). It was a very special time for everyone, and it brought my Grandma to tears (sorry Grandma).

Day 102 - Tuesday 01/01/08

Happy New Year! Hope everyone had fun celebrating Christmas and New Years! We sure did.

Christmas with the Starks in Garden Grove

Visit to Tym’s Santa Maria Home

Pismo Beach Run

Lunch in Santa Barbara (La Super Rica!)

As you can see we got to take a trip up to Tym’s house between Christmas and New Years. We all had a great time, and Tym was overjoyed to get to see everything again (finally). He was overwhelmed about how much work there is left to do to completely move-in to his new house. He says he’ll be busy for a long time when he finally gets to return home.

After we got a few things gathered and taken care of at the house, we took a trip up to Pismo Beach. Since it was a holiday weekend there were many people, bikes, trucks, and cool things to see. We walked the Pier, then went back home to have lunch, tie up some things around the house, and watch “As Good as it Gets”. Tym related well to Melvin’s quirky behavior even though he had OCD, and not ABI.

We came home in time to “Rock Out!” for New Years Eve by throwing a rock-theme party at home in Garden Grove. Unfortunately our camera battery was dead by that time. However, even Tym joined in and sang some songs for Rock Band (an xbox video game). Thanks to Rebecca, Stephanie, and our friends who came through at the last minute to get the party together.

Day 91 - Friday 12/21/07

Steph and Dwight compete in their first ever Dachshund Race

Last weekend we went to cheer on Dwight (Steph’s wiener dog) in the Old World Dachshund Races.

http://www.stockteam.com/dachshund-races-huntington-beach.html

Dwight did very well for his first time racing, and the whole family had a great time. The weekend was packed with Christmas Parties, shopping, wrapping, etc. I’m sure you all are doing the same things.

Tym is continuing rehab in the St Jude CRC. He likes the activities alright. Last Wednesday they got to go bowling, and Tym came home to brag that he beat everybody there. He bowled around a 150, but I didn’t tell him that’s only 1/2 the possible score. Tym is continuing his Physical, Occupational, and Speech Therapy as well as working on the computer doing email, driving simulation, and games. He still can’t wait to go home (Santa Maria) and to get to drive again.

Thank you for calling and always thinking of Tym during the holidays. He has a very large family at home as well as church. We are very busy, but enjoy every time we can be a part of your celebrations. Thanks for the invites, calls, prayers, and warm wishes. Have a Merry Christmas!