The Stark Family

Day 58 - Sunday 11/18/07

Tym had another great weekend at home (Jeremy’s) with his family and friends. We picked him up Friday for dinner with his parents and kids. We ate at home this time to try and save some money. We played Apples to Apples again, and Tym showed a lot of improvement. He scored much better this time, and didn’t need as much help understanding the game.

Saturday’s big plan was to go to the LA Auto Show, but we decided against it at the last minute. We also considered Miniature Golf, but we went shopping instead. Tym had fun at the stores, and was pretty good at acting appropriately, although I had noticed that his Speech Therapist was right, he talks too much. It’s not that he shouldn’t talk to others, but when he speaks, he says too many words to get to his point, and often repeats himself. Saturday night we went to the Friends Becoming Family (FBF) monthly birthday dinner at Claim Jumper (pic). We had a great time with Tym and his wonderful friends from church. We came home and watched the end of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), but it was pretty lame.

Sunday we woke up and Tym and his daughters, Rebecca and Stephanie, went to church. Everyone was excited to see Tym, as usual. A really touching moment was when everyone was going around giving thanks for things and Tym stood up and said, “I’m just thankful, cuz it was really close there. I’m glad those guys were running behind me and saved my life. I’m just thankful to be here.” After church, Tym was treated to lunch by his friends Alan and Sandy (thanks!) at Mimi’s Cafe. Tym came home and worked on his journal and read all about his implanted defibrillator. We had another home-cooked meal, then went back to the rehab center.

Tym is doing much better this weekend. He is more helpful and more aware of his environment. He will take actions when appropriate instead of waiting for someone to ask him. He even figured out his own medications correctly while I was cooking, and I double checked before he took them. We can’t wait to celebrate Thanksgiving with Tym, we are so glad to be able to enjoy the holidays with our dad, brother, son, and friend. Thank you all!

Day 53 - Tuesday 11/13/07

I visited Tym Tuesday evening and brought him some gifts. My girlfriend Jessica was kind enough to buy him some easy reading books. We read some of The Far Side and Calvin and Hobbes with Tym. We think that because of the minimal amount of sentences, and the context of the pictures, he will be more motivated to read.

I also taught Tym how to use his cellphone (no calls please). I tried to simplify it as much as possible as he has a Treo, and there are many functions and buttons that often confuse him. He can check his email, make calls, and receive texts, but he usually needs prompting to get to the right application.

We also tried some cognition tests with Tym. We picked some simple objects from around his room, and asked him to describe 5 attributes about the object. We needed to prompt him to think bigger than just the object’s color, and instead what it feels like, how much it weighs, etc. We tried this with a few different objects, and he got all the answers correct with a bit of prompting. Hopefully he’ll be able to expand his cognition to think slightly bigger next time.

Day 51 - Sunday 11/11/07

Tym’s and his Friends Becoming Family (FBF) Family.

Tym finished out the week at Winways and appears much happier that he’s in a home setting, and close to his family and friends. This week, he got to see Bee Movie, eat In-N-Out, and go to the mall. Best of all, Tym got to spend his first weekend with the family (at home) and not in a hospital or rehab center. We had a great time having him around.

Saturday he was visited by some friends from his original church, 1st EV Free. We took him out to lunch, then over to Jeremy’s for the evening. We finally had dinner at Tym’s favorite restaurant, Red Robin. We came home and had a lot of fun playing Nintendo Wii. We played all the sports games. Tym was quite good at tennis, golf, and bowling. He was very competitive, and laughed and cheered himself on.

Sunday morning we woke up early and got cleaned up and dressed up for church. Tym and his whole family went to surprise his friends at 1st EV Free. We had a great time, and everyone was so happy to see him there. Thank you for all the kind prayers, hugs, and praise. After the services, we went to lunch at BJ’s restaurant in Brea with the family. We tried to test Tym on what he got out of the Pastor’s sermon, but he could not really remember anything specific.

We went to Costco to find Tym a nice recliner to sleep in, as he can’t sleep comfortably in a normal bed due to his surgery. Unfortunately it was a bust, but we did get some food for next weekend because going out to eat everyday is becoming expensive. We continued on home, and packed up. I tried to get Tym interested in reading because he’s currently less than motivated to read. I picked some Calvin and Hobbes books because they should be short and easy reading, and there are pictures to help explain the context. He struggles reading the comics without help, but hopefully he’ll be more willing to read. Later, we ordered pizza (ok, we are cooking from now on) and played the Apples to Apples board game. In the game you are supposed to relate your noun cards to the adjective cards read by the judge. This gave Tym a chance to test his cognitive skills. He seemed to have fun, but was not nearly as worthy of opponent as he was on the Wii. Then it was back to Winways for another week of therapy.

NOTE TO DAD:
READ Dad. READ, READ, READ! It’s your middle name, remember?
Ok, so it’s REED, but they both sound the same right?

Day 46 - Tuesday 11/06/07

Tym has been successfully transfered down to Winways Post-Acute Rehabilitation Center in Orange. We could not be happier that he is so close to his family and friends. He will enjoy being in a familiar community and in the great home-like atmosphere of Winways.

Tym packed up all of his belongings last night with the help of his parents Norm and Barbara. He was anxious to leave when Steph, Becca and I (Jeremy) arrived this morning to pick him up. We had a little sign-out procedure to wait through, and then we were off. Luckily there was minimal traffic, and we got down to Buena Park just in time for a nice lunch at Claim Jumper. We used to meet there for dinner with the family quite often. Then it was off to the pharmacy for his laundry-list of medications, and then to Winways. We had a great time meeting all of the staff, and showing Tym to his room, and then he was quickly wisked off to Physical Therapy. This is no place for slackers, that’s for sure.

The next couple of weeks will be a learning experience for Tym, and he will still be under some restrictions as a result of his surgery. He was in very good spirits today, and I know he will be much happier to be close to his family and friends. You all are welcome and encouraged to visit, so please post a note on this page as to when you’d like to go (after 4pm weekdays, or anytime on the weekends), and we will provide directions and make sure that Tym is available that day. We will also coordinate with others as to not have too many visitors at once, because the facility is limited on space being that it is a shared ranch-style home.

A big THANK YOU goes out to all of those people who have been involved in getting Tym this far in his recovery. We cannot do this alone, and all of your support does help!

Day 44 - Sunday 11/04/07

Today Tym had a very special visit from Harvey Wynne from the Lompoc Valley Distance Club (LVDC). Harvey was very proud and honored to be able to present Tym with a Valley of the Flowers Half-Marathon t-shirt along with his finisher’s medal! The LVDC also has been documenting Tym’s progress on their website:

http://members.impulse.net/~lvdc/Stark.htm

They have also mentioned Tym numerous times in their newsletter which you can navigate to on their website.

On behalf of the family I would like to thank Harvey, and everyone else at the Lompoc Valley Distance Club for keeping everyone updated on Tym’s progress. Thank you for presenting his finisher’s medal and for the very kind words and prayers. Harvey, you brought a tear to all of our eyes Sunday. Thanks!

Tym has a sling on as a reminder to not move his left arm around. He is healing well from the surgery, but does have a bit of pain in his shoulder and arm. He complains about trouble sleeping, and wishes he could get stronger drugs before bedtime. Tym will have restrictions for a couple of weeks on his left arm, but will return to his normal level of physical activity (post accident of course) very shortly.

Tym finished Sunday evening with dinner out on State St, “the strip” of downtown Santa Barbara. He was joined by his mom and dad, his Aunt Zanita, his son, and his daughter Stephanie. We had a nice time out, despite the cold weather. We are glad he got to spend his last weekend with his Aunt Zanita, who has been so supportive and generous by providing the family a place to stay. Thank you! We hope to get together for a family reunion as soon as Tym is up for it.

Day 42 - Friday 11/02/07

Tym is going in for an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) this morning. His surgery is scheduled for 7:30am. He will be staying in the hospital overnight for recovery. The surgery is fairly routine (especially in these cases) and he should be on his way down to Orange County early next week. We were hoping to move him before his surgery, but at this time, surgery seems like the most expedient process.

ICD information:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Implantable_cardioverter-defibrillator

UPDATE - The surgery went very well and Tym is on track for release back to the acute care rehab center tomorrow morning. Tym says, “I’m not perfect, but I’m better than I was!”

Day 39 - Tuesday 10/30/07

Hi this is Tym! It is great to hear from you all! I’m getting better with a long way to go. I am planning to get down to Orange County this week. But I’m wating for them to do a defibrillation implant to my heart before I can move down. 

Thank and bless you all! And I want to thank you for the CPR you did for me to keep me alive!!!

Love Tym

Day 36 - Saturday 10/27/07

Tym is now considered a “Phase 2″, as you can see from the pictures, that means he can be signed out by a family member and taken off-site for short outings. We couldn’t be more excited. Neither could Tym. We tried to surprise him and let him pick what he wanted to do or eat, but he’s so amenable that we ended up picking for him. We picked Red Robin, one of his previously favorite restaurants, but the location had been closed down. That’s why we were standing around at the mall. We ended up at Elephant Bar instead.

We had a great time out at dinner, and Tym enjoyed having real food, and getting out of the rehab institute. We had good conversations and a lot of laughs. Tym laughed so hard that his face was beet red, and he claimed his ribs were hurting (they were broken during CPR). He participated well in the conversations, and was very polite and well mannered at the dinner table. We asked him about where he planned on going for his post-acute care, and he said that he thinks Bakersfield is “too far” and he’d rather be in Orange County.

Tym did exhibit memory problems, which is normal. He continued to ask where his wallet was, and where his “new” truck was. He was however, very aware of his current situation and surroundings. We jokingly offered Tym the keys to drive home with, and he said, “No, I can’t drive. I’m not allowed to drive.” Also, when Tym’s brother Mitch was pulling out of the parking lot, Tym said “Be careful, there’s a guy on a bicycle. Don’t hit him.”

Tym later asked about his cellphone, and whether people were trying to reach him. I explained that everyone knows he’s in the rehab institute and that they are leaving messages for him on the website. He does read your messages, so please keep it up. You can address Tym directly if you want. Please keep the messages for Tym short and simple.

Reminder - If you plan to visit, please post a note here, and we will coordinate your request so as not to interfere with therapy, evaluations, and other visits.

Day 32 - Tuesday 10/23/07

Monday (10/22) we visited the 3rd and final post-acute rehab center under consideration for Tym’s care. Post-acute means care given after the care he is currently receiving. Acute care, like at the rehab center, is generally given to get a patient back to self-sustaining mode, but not necessarily independent.

Post-acute care on the other hand has the specific goal of getting patients back into their home, and mostly independent. All brain-injury patients are expected to require some level of oversight. Like I mentioned, we visited 3 centers, all in the Southern California area. We feel now that we have a pretty good idea of what each center can offer. As a family, we have to decide where Tym will have the best benefit.

Family plays a big part in neurological rehabilitation, so having Tym close will both be easier on the family and be more comforting for Tym. It may also motivate him to make a faster recovery. On the flip side, the center with the most experience, and the most thorough program, is not nearly as close. The insurance carriers negotiate care based on days, not on cost, so coverage/price are not an issue. Each center is conducting its evaluation to see if they will recommend Tym for treatment.

I provide these links only if you are interested more in knowing about Post-Acute care. Please do not feel that you have to evaluate or make a decision about this.

Southern California Post-Acute Rehab Centers

Casa Colina - http://www.casacolina.org/

CNS - http://www.neuroskills.com/

Winways/Solutions - http://www.winwaysrehab.com/

Day 30 - Sunday 10/21/07

This is Mitch. I’m sitting here with Tym at that computer and though we’ve tried in the past to read your comments to him, today is the first time he has really connected. We’ve been reading them together and he’s been overwhelmed. He keeps saying, “Why haven’t I read these before? I must have been unconscious and didn’t get a chance to get to my computer…” - and then he laughs out loud.

I’m turning over the keyboard to him now, because he wants to say something to you all. Here he is…

I’m glad to see all your names. I’m finally able to thank every one and I’m grateful for you all. Love Tym