Update: Limping Along, Slow and Steady!

August 23rd, 2011

I apologize for the delay in updates, between computer problems and general life happenings we haven't had very much time online as of late. Here's the latest :)

Ray's not officially cleared to work yet, but he's been taking any job that he can physically manage and that's been a huge boost to his state of mind, as I'm sure you can all imagine. Things like site surveys and basic installations aren't as taxing on his weight bearing, so that's been a nice change of pace. Physical therapy is going as well as possible, although he cut back considerably to save costs. Ideally he'd be going 4x a week right now, but that's not something we can afford so he's down to once a week and making due with working his home program as much as possible in between appointments. He's mobile for about an hour or two at a time with minimal pain, and any longer than that he regrets it pretty quickly...not that it stops him from trying LOL! Whenever he's pushed it too far he really pays for it the next couple of days, but he tends to think it's worth it in the long run if it means grabbing a job when he can manage it.

We have another post-op check in a week or so, with xrays to make sure all the screws are still intact and doing their job. The idea that they might have broken is one we don't even talk about, so far so good and it needs to stay that way! The necrotic areas seem to be resolving slowly, which I'll spare everyone the details of, but suffice it to say it's not spreading and that's been the ultimate concern. He's still in a walking boot and he's supposed to be using both crutches to stay below 100% weight bearing, but he's pushing himself pretty hard and tries to limp along independently whenever he can. Those of you who know him are probably not surprised at this revelation :)

While we realize we might not reach our fundraising goal, every bit really does help. Our first priority is paying the mortgage through the next several months while we return to a full time client load. After that we're focusing on paying down the $48,000 in medical bills, if we're lucky enough to have reached our fundraising goal. Hopefully there will be a big enough push in the next week that we'll come close to raising as much of the $15,000 as possible so we can make some headway in that area-the fundraiser ends on August 31st. 

Help us Get Halfway!

July 14th, 2011

What week this has been so far!

He's in pain tonight after several days of PT exercises. Still, he's glad to be doing something instead of not allowed to do anything. Great perspective! We're at 22% raised-we only need to raise $4274 to reach 50% of our end goal, which we'd like to do by tomorrow night. Seems tough, but really that's only 43 people donating $100, or 100 people donating $43! We can DO this with YOUR help!

The post-op appointment went fantastic. All the plates and screws are where they belong and intact...whoohoo! He will be able to put weight on it fully in about six weeks, and they'll do more xrays and do a final suture check then. They did have to dig out some sutures, which was painful, but all in all it was a very encouraging appointment and they said everything looks great.

Physical therapy started this week, with range of motion exercises and a home program developed. He's working on his home program three times a day, and since we're self pay he's only going in to PT twice a week until we can close out the fundraiser and afford more frequent appointments. Ideally he'll be going 4x a week to rebuild strength and mobility, and work towards walking, running, and jumping (right? We're being optimistic!) like he was before. His Physical Therapist thinks it's a realistic expectation that he be close to normal functioning in about a year, which would be AWESOME. We're aware a lot of people with this injury have problems long afterwards, so we're hoping with a lot of hard work he'll be in the crowd that walks away from this with little fallout.

Thank you so much for the ongoing support and encouragement. Please continue to share the GiveForward link with your friends and get the word out. The outpouring of kindness is overwhelming and deeply appreciated. Thank you!

Help us get Halfway!

July 13th, 2011

Ok folks, YOU helped us raise 19% of our goal in 13 days! One MAJOR goal is to reach 50% by the middle of the month. That means raising $4635 in the next two days. Sounds impossible? Well, if EVERYONE donates $10 we'll make it! If 300 people donate $15, we'll make it! And if ONLY 100 people donate $45...we'll make it. Help us get halfway however you can! www.giveforward.com/suddenstop

Let's Have a Raffle!

July 9th, 2011

Dear friends and supporters,

We're excited to announce that beginning today, July 9th and ending next Saturday, July 16th, we're raffling off a 4GB MicroSDHC card complete with adapter! These are the tiny cards work in phones, video cameras, digital cameras, and PC/laptops. 4 Gigabytes is TONS of storage space, that can hold thousands of pictures, songs, videos and data. Every donation of $25 or more is automatically entered to win this cool prize. Please share this raffle with your friends, as we're working hard to reach our fundraising goal as soon as possible. Thank you so much for your ongoing support and encouragement. We are genuinely blown away at the positive responses we're getting from friends and complete strangers all around the country.

Stay tuned for more raffles in the near future, and if you would like to donate something to raffle off please let us know! We're also in search of a business, company, or organization that would be interested in a matching funds drive. If you know of anyone please send them our way.

Thank you so much!
Ray and Family