Did I mention that the cast of SONS OF ANARCHY will be jumping and meeting fans during “Feet for Fener” this Saturday. Come ON! How cool is that???
Archives
All posts for the month August, 2011
There have been so many awesome donations for FEET FOR FENER since my last post, I decided a re-post is perfectly warranted.
If you would like your purchases/donations to be a tax write off for 2011, bring your check book! Remember those?? Nick’s fundraiser is being supported by a wonderful non-profit called Heart to Heart. They serve as an educational resource for families facing the tough decision of organ donation of their loved ones. Making your auction or raffle purchases with a check made out to Heart to Heart (with Nick Fener in the memo line) is 100% tax deductible!!
Here is a brief, incomplete list of new additions to the auctions and raffles:
*Gift certificate for 30 minutes of wind tunnel time at iFly Seattle www.iflyseattle.com
*2 separate gift certificates for 15 minutes of wind tunnel time at iFly Seattle
*Package of 40 jump tickets at Skydive Elsinore (thank you Benji Forde)
*Package of jump tickets at Skydive Perris (again, Thank you Benji)
*Day of freefly coaching with World Champion Andy Malchiodi of team SoCal Converge
*5 certificates for 35% off of a skydiving container system from Basik Air Concept (European company. Certificate can be redeemed through www.chutingstar.com)
*1 hour flight in Cirrus SR20 with Rochelle Price
*Actual piece of door from crashed NASCAR car, driven by Red Bull athlete Brian Vickers (Thank you Sarah Thompson)
*2 beautiful homemade baskets (Thank you Joyce LaBree and Amity Sabatino)
*First official case of Chateau Mad Zig-Mar Zin (Thank you Mad John)
*2 brand new Hyperlite wake boards (Thank you Jen and Mike Nootbaar)
*Hyperlite towable tube, Hyperlite floating “island” 11’x11’, Hyperlite towable 2-man tube, two Hyperlite waterski ropes, lots of Hyperlite baseball hats
*3 Bodyglove custom fit pool rafts
*Banzai Sharkbite waterslide
*Whiplash scooter by Waveboard (for older kids)
*Stand alone patio heater from www.patioshoppers.com (Thank you Todd Chism)
*Beautiful stand alone patio umbrella with stand from www.patioshoppers.com
*Indoor wall fireplace heating unit from Patio Shoppers
*Big overhanging shade sail for a patio area from Patio Shoppers
*Gift Certificates from the following local restaurants: Grapes and Tomatos, Don Jose, Hana Sushi
*Sun Cana single serve pod brewer (I’m told it’s a fancy smancy coffee pot!)
*Product gift baskets with the following themes: Ladies toiletries and make up, kitchen products, family movie night, dinner out and wine
*Really nice golf club (sorry, I know NOTHING about golf, but thank you Jennifur and Mark)
*Also, a correction of a previous post. Bart Rogowski will be donating a 2-day session of canopy coaching, not just 1 day)
**ALSO – Another band has been added to the lineup called Damaged Greats
There will also be chair massage and hair cuts available thanks to Mary and Gail!
Now, here’s the original Fundraiser post again:
Announcing FEET FOR FENER!!
Saturday September 3rd, 2011
3pm-10pm
Skydive Perris
2091 Goetz Rd
Perris, CA 92570
This is a family friendly event. There will be a big grassy area to lounge on, and a swimming pool to keep cool in. Suggested entry donation of $10/adult $5/child.
Food and entertainment will be provided by:
*All day taco bar from The Bombshelter Restaurant
*Local’s favorite Red Eye BBQ (absolutely delicious!!)
*Ice cream and gourmet coffee from Canyon Lake
*Elite Mobile Cigars with a huge array of cigar selection
*Inflatable Bouncy house
*Face Painting by Shani Drake
*Balloon Artist
*Bake Sale – lots of yummy home made treats
*Large Formation skydiving displays all day
*High speed parachute swooping displays
*Guess how-many-feet-in-the-jar contest to win a Tandem Skydive with Basic Video package
*Nick Fener “Get Busy Livin” Tshirts and stickers
*Live MC all afternoon and evening by Duffy Fainer and Al Nocita
Live auction begins at 7:30pm. Silent auctions going on all day, ending at 7:30pm.
Raffles will follow the live auction.
LIVE MUSIC by:
*Wine Brew (local favorite that regularly plays Kilarney’s Irish Pub in Temecula) www.myspace.com/winebrew They’re on Facebook too
*Family Jamm www.familyjamm.com
*Solo artist Ross May (Find him on Facebook)
and two other bands to be announced later
Popular L.A. resident DJ PRIEST will be spinning tunes between bands.
Celebrity guests from the hit FX series SONS OF ANARCHY will be there all afternoon. They have scheduled their 4th annual SOA skydive day to coincide with Feet for Fener. Come meet and jump with “Opie” and his crew.
If you’ve never made a skydive, come JUMP!! The owners of Skydive Perris have graciously offered to donate $25 from each tandem skydive made on September 3rd, to Nick. Call 951-657-1664 to book a jump. Skydiving appointments are from 7:30am- 3pm.
LIVE & SILENT AUCTION ITEMS:
*Two hour helicopter ride-along over Los Angeles with Commander Chuck Street while he does the traffic report live on KIIS FM
*2-for-1 Boogie package in Nicaragua with Tsunami Skydivers. The same company that did the famous Boogie in Belize for 7 years. Trip dates are March 2-12, 2012. www.skydivenicaragua.com
*Beautiful diamond pendant (valued at $2000!) from www.redlandsjewelers.com
*Autographed Skateboard deck from legendary pro skater Tony Hawk!
*Family photo gift certificate from www.amandaburgessphotography.com
*Two hot air balloon rides (you can jump if you want to!) from Above The Rest Ballooning
*Magic Castle trip for 8
*Weekend of skydiving coaching with world famous competitor, organizer, coach and author, Dan BC
*Day of skydiving coaching with world class competitor of team Perris Fury, Chris Farina www.perrisfury.net
*Day of coaching with World Champion 4-way competitor Hannah Betts
*Day of coaching with World Champion freefly competitor Travis Fienhage of team So Cal Converge
*Team 4-way jump with world class team Perris Fury. www.perrisfury.net
*Day of 1-on-1 coaching with long time Perris organizer and instructor Mark Brown
*3 individual certificates for Video and Still photos of a jump of your choice with an 8×11 print from world famous free fall photographers George Katsoulis, Steve Barker and Karen Lewis www.exitshot.com
*Video and Still photos of a jump of your choice with professional free fall photographer Joe (JoeMama) Miller
*Day of freefly coaching with -ISM athlete Paul Rodriguez www.parachute-ism.com
*Day of canopy coaching with -ISM athlete and World Cup of Canopy Piloting US competitor Bart Rogowski www.parachute-ism.com www.tstindustries.com
*2 days of professional canopy coaching with US Army Golden Knight Swooping Competitor and champion Greg Windmiller… holder of many national, state and world records. 1-on-1 coaching will need to be scheduled with Greg and will likely be in North Carolina
*Kids party magic show with Magician extraordinaire Mike Muscat www.mikemuscat.com
*Jewelry from Anita Burgess Jewelers (Pendant with silver chain, Earrings, Bracelet) three separate items www.anitasjewelers.com
*One hour tarot reading from famous witch and psychic Fiona Horne (featured on Tyra and Good Morning America)
*3 private yoga classes www.temeculapilates.com
*Pet Photography Session with Waggin Tales Photography (Find Mel’s work on Facebook)
*Swimming Lessons
*Music Lessons
*3 reserve repacks by Kenneth Gajda
*Saphire 1 108 main canopy with 300 jumps
*Stilleto 120 main canopy with 1000 jumps
*Skydiving coach rating course with James Perez
*4 certs for a 30 day gym membership to Menifee Valley Athletic Club where all the skydivers go to get fit. www.mvacelite.com
*Life Coaching Sample Session with Life coach and pro skydiver Melanie Curtis. www.melaniecurtis.com www.highcomms.com
*Two reptile/plant terrariums
*3 certificates for Chiropractic Consultation, X-rays and adjustment from Dr Jerry Raskey in Lake Elsinore
*Certificate for four repeat visits with Chiropractor Dr. Jerry Raskey
*Fender Squire Stratocaster guitar
*Private surf lessons for two with Cassie Hero
*Horseback riding and picnic for two
*Art piece from Jay Alders www.jayalders.com
*2 brand new skydiving jumpsuits from Bev Suits (One red, one white, to fit a very petite person)
*Used skydiving container and reserve
Check out whats going into the raffles:
There will be 5 different Raffles.
Raffle #1
BRAND NEW VIGIL AAD!!! www.vigil.aero
*****Tickets are $10 each, or 6 for $50******
(Dark Blue Tickets)
Raffle #2
$900-off certificate for a brand new Aerodyne ICON container!! www.flyaerodyne.com
*****Tickets are $10 each, or 6 for $50*****
(White Tickets)
Raffle #3
*$500 off Aerodyne Main Canopy certificate
*$300 off SMART reserve certificate
*30% off base price of a Mirage Container www.miragesys.com
*HD GoPro camera with LCD backpack www.gkaindustries.com www.gopro.com
*30% off the base price of a custom UPT Vector 3 container, plus 15% off all options (There are two certificates!)
*4 jump tickets for Skydive Perris www.skydiveperris.com (Thanks Moo!)
*L&B Altitrack wristmount altimeter www.l-and-b.dk
*L&B VISO audible altimeter
*L&B Optima audible altimeter
*Bonehead Revolve helmet www.boneheadcomposites.com
*Square 1 Phantom helmet www.square1.com
*Reserve repack by Kenneth Gajda
*3 “Safe from Harm” skydiving DVD’s featuring Nick Fener. By Just Jump Productions
*UPT Vector/Micron T-shirts
*The Art of VRW books by Pat Works
*Clothing items from ADRENALINE OBSESSION clothing line! www.adrenalineobsession.com
*****Tickets are $5 each, or 6 for $20*****
(Red Tickets)
RAFFLE #4 Lots of non-skydiving related items!
*$500 Gift certificate for The Yard House Restaurant (Thank you Loryn Bailey)
*2 Annual passes to Legoland park, water park and Sea Life center (Thank you Kathryn Starmer)
*Family photo session www.amandaburgessphotography.com
*Hot Air Balloon ride for two (or jump!) with Above The Rest Ballooning
*Glider Ride for two with Boyd Willat, jump pilot, skydiver and tunnel coach
*Tandem skydive with Basic video package from Skydiveperris.com
*Free Life coaching sample session with Melanie Curtis www.melaniecurtis.com www.highcomms.com
*Autographed book by KAT VON D. Famous tattoo artist, star of L.A. Ink
*Mary Kay Cosmetics Gift Basket (Thank you Sheryl Hepinger)
*Chiropractic consultation, Xrays and adjustment with Dr. Jerry Raskey in Lake Elsinore (2 certificates)
*4 repeat chiropractic visits with Dr. Jerry Raskey
*1 hour full body massage at Dr. Raskey’s office
*$50 gift certificate for Rudolpho’s Cucina Italiana in Hemet. Delicious food!! (4 separate certificates)
******Tickets are $5 each, or 6 for $20******
(Brown/Tan tickets)
RAFFLE #5
Brand new main canopy from Precision Aerodynamics www.precision.net
******Tickets are $10 each, or 6 for $50*****
(White and green tickets)
Raffle winners DO NOT need to be present to win.
Purchase raffle tickets in person at Skydive Perris from now up until the day of the event…
Or….. Buy raffle tickets online!!!
Use the PayPal link on this blog. Please specify which raffle you wish to purchase tickets for, and how many tickets you want. Your ticket numbers will be emailed to you. Winners will be notified within 48 hours of the drawing.
If you’ve actually taken the time to read this whole post, THANK YOU! Lots of love!
Nick and I are wiped out today. We’ve had a lot of really good days in a row, so inevitably, something shitty had to catch up with us. I’ve been in a funk all afternoon since we left Orange County. I can’t stand driving on the 91 freeway. It’s ridiculously stressful, even in low traffic times. The three of us all napped as soon as we got home. I’m still surprised I managed to drag my butt out of bed at all this evening. But why? There’s no visible reason to be upset. I’m just exhausted and moody. Nick’s exhausted and in a lot of pain. These trips to OC are pretty taxing on him. It’s been less than two weeks since major surgery. Sitting up for that long is still very painful for him. He’s taking a lot of pain medication to make it happen, but his tailbone just continues to give him constant grief.
I haven’t seen it in person, but I’m fairly certain this photo doesn’t do it justice. Here is the diamond necklace my friend Brian Ahlers from Redlands Jewelers donated to the Feet for Fener auction. I love it! And I’m told it’s worth over $2000!
I got Nick ready for bed last night, tucked him in, gave him a few kisses and left him reading a book before falling asleep. I went out to the kitchen to type my blog entry and return a few emails. Twenty minutes later I receive this text message on my phone:
I am so madly in love with u my queen. I love u. Goodnight.
He really makes it easy for me to keep pushing on, day after day!
Benji arrived today, bearing gifts! Custom FENER shirts that he designed and had made for Nick.
“Extreme Athletes Foot”
Seriously, does it get much funnier than that?
Nick’s story made the front page of today’s edition of “The Californian” newspaper. Thank you Jim Rothgeb for writing such a beautiful piece about us. I love that he focused more on Nick, his attitude and recovery, than the “daredevil stunt” that hurt him. Of course, he didn’t use the term “daredevil stunt” but that’s the kind of shit you usually read when the news reports about skydiving incidents. So, thanks again Jim, we really appreciated meeting you. The online version of the article can be found on www.californian.com And since I’m not computer savvy, my suggestion is to just type FENER into the search bar. It’ll come right up. That’s how I found it anyway.
Excellent news! Actually I don’t know which is more exciting, the fact that Nick started up his hyperbaric oxygen therapy again today, or that Benji Forde is back in town! Okay, I think I’m a lot more excited about seeing Benji! He came all the way across the planet to visit us. The best part? He walked in the front door just as Nick was rolling onto his belly on our therapy table while I was cleaning him up. Benji was greeted with a lovely shot of Nick’s bare butt. We really know how to treat our house guests like family! And of course Benji came with us to Orange County to Nick’s hyperbaric appointment. We did a little shopping while Nick was in the chamber and had a super fun time catching up. Nick’s wounds look incredible now. The doctor got rid of the last bits of nasty scabs on his stumps. He cut them off with scissors. It was pretty gross and hard to watch. But you know me, I tried to get video, but the doc just wouldn’t let me. We are really on a roll now with these wounds healing up so nicely. They are so close to being completely healed and it’s so exciting. We’ll be going to the chamber everyday this week. Then on Friday, the doctor will reevaluate his nubs and we will decide if he needs to do the chamber for another week or not.
When we got home tonight, Benji made us the most incredible meal. I’d say it was quite comparable to the bacon wrapped asparagus in teriyaki sauce I’ve been thinking about all day. He was the grill master for us. Steaks, eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, brussel sprouts. I made some couscous. He treated us like royalty tonight. Thanks dude!
I think I’ve fallen in love again. The intense feelings I’m having are real and undeniable. I haven’t felt this way since I got my puppy. I LOVE bacon wrapped asparagus in teriyaki sauce! It is absolutely my new favorite taste bud experience. I’ve been driving Nick nuts because I can’t stop talking about it. He had to finally go to sleep to escape my elation. The asparagus spears were crisp and the bacon was cooked just right, not too soft, not too burnt. The teriyaki sauce really pulled it all together. $9 for four of these. That’s ridiculous. But of course that’s what all our friends are raising money for. Bacon wrapped asparagus… and a gym membership to work it all off so I can have more! I got these delicious little buggers at Hana Sushi in Canyon Hills. The people are so nice there. They’ve donated two gift certificates to the Fener raffles. I’m going to put a clause on the certificates that states the winner MUST get bacon wrapped asparagus in teriyaki sauce otherwise the certificate is not valid. They’re THAT good.
The group anticipating the excitement of the ball drop. They’re enjoying the last few minutes of the Sun’s amber glow before it dips below the Ortega mountains in a brilliant display of beautiful orange and pink hues. Links at Summerly is a gorgeous place.
It’s been a whirlwind two days! Man, yesterday was just incredible. Yesterday was exactly fourteen weeks since Nick got injured, and he said he was feeling the best he’s felt in a long time. And by the way, I’ve stopped keeping track of how long life has been like this. I had to look at a calendar. This means we are adjusting. So anyway Nick’s pain was minimal yesterday, even though he spent a lot of time up out of bed.
We did a killer workout in our living room. Together. We lifted weights together, did some boxing style upper body cardio, a leg workout and full stretch. And he felt great! What a blessing it is for his body to finally get to move again.
Last night was the very fun, super successful fundraiser event at Links at Summerly in Elsinore. Wow guys!! That was very flattering. THANK YOU. A very classy, yet casual scene with an excellent band and amazing company. I met some incredible people who really love Nick! Stan from Summerly, Dave Knip, who came up with the idea, and Lob from Skydive Elsinore really worked hard to pull this off. There were so many other contributors, I don’t really even know who to thank or where to start!! The jumpers put on quite the show by flying their fast little parachutes virtually overhead, releasing over one hundred balls each, then making a big swoop to a downwind landing on the rolling, uneven golf course. Very impressive! Thank you Andy Malchiodi and Damien.
Jam Kwest was the shit too! What a cool, groovy band. It was perfect, all ages, fun, happy music with a heavy raggae twist. Very cool. I loved it when the kitchen announced last call for food, and the singer started ad-lib singing about it. He didn’t miss a beat.
The ball drop event raised over $2000 for Nick!! Awesome!!!!! Thank you so much everyone!!! And Links at Summerly is a really beautiful place with delicious food. My girlfriend was telling me that she’s so excited to find a new, great place to eat nearby. Check it out!
Oh, did I even mention that Nick Fener, like a champion, sucked it up and went out to the fundraiser? Yeah, he hung out for about three hours, shaking hands and kissing babies. Everyone was so thrilled to see him, hug him, talk to him. He even spoke on the mic in front of the crowd to say thank you and accept a giant check from the fundraiser. We’ve got a bonafied local celebrity on our hands here folks. Watch out Oprah.
Now, today was a bit strange. I went to bootcamp with a hangover this morning. I’m so proud of myself but… yuck!!!! At least the evening before was good fun! Going to the gym gave me an opportunity to hang with some of my bestest and most favorite girls during class and over an iced tea at Starbucks. Then I spent over five hours working on a computer project for next weekends party. Friends came over for dinner, then we watched a hilarious movie (Bridesmaids. Thank you Shazza). Basically, I ignored Nick all day, and don’t feel very good about it. But he is such a sweetheart (shhhh, don’t tell anyone). When we got a moment to talk this evening he told me he missed me today because we didn’t really get to talk much. Sappy, I know, but so special. I felt the same way too. It’s beautiful and unique that we can spend an ungodly amount of time together, and still want more, all the while dealing with the challenges of living with a new disability. His spirit is full of love and gratitude, and he has a watchful eye to see anything, and everything, as humorous. I think that’s probably how we do it.
Days like today baffle me. One minute it’s 9AM, the next minute it’s 9PM. This morning I jetted out of here in a hurry to run a urine sample down to his doctors office. We’ve been suspecting an infection these last two days. I’ve forced him to drink unfathomable amounts of water and pure cranberry juice. That might be working.
Nick laid on the couch for the first time since we’ve been back home. Up until now, we were afraid he wouldn’t have the strength to get back into his wheelchair once he got on the couch. It was pretty smooth though. No worries.
I am really really really enjoying this time at home right now. It feels good. I know we will be ridiculously busy starting next week, so I’m very happy to just be addressing life as it comes at me, from my own home.
Nick: You know what’s a weird sensation?
Me: No. What?
Nick: Two nubs touching each other.
Me: What do you mean?
Nick: My brain can’t make sense of what I’m feeling. It’s like each one is touching something foreign, but it’s just the other nub.
Geez, these healing days of laying around and resting make for some boring blogging. So, to keep it fresh, I’d like to write about some things I’m getting extremely excited about.
*Tonight I’m going out to celebrate the life of a dear friend who recently passed away. It’s his birthday today. Happy Birthday Pat. This will only be the third time I’ve gone out to spend time with friends since Nick’s accident. I’m very excited!
*Friday night I will be going to a fundraiser for Nick at the golf course in Lake Elsinore, Links at Summerly. I’ll be listening to some tunes, having a cocktail and enjoying time with some good friends, old and new. The “Ball Drop” should be interesting too. Since I’ve always sucked at golf, I figure the only way I’ll EVER get close to the hole, is to drop the ball out of the sky! They’re selling balls for $20. The one closest to the hole-in-one wins will split the pot 50/50 with Nick. And I just found out that you don’t have to be present to win. Stan, the manager of the golf course, is selling balls. 951-674-3900 Or you can buy one on this blog, by clicking donate, and then specifying it’s for the ball drop.
*This Saturday, the 27th, a GREAT company, Adrenaline Obsession is donating 50% of their online sales to Nick. They have a bad ass banner on their homepage too. So, Saturday, I’m going shopping on www.adrenalineobsession.com to get my friend Shannon in Hawaii a shirt for her birthday!
*Next week a GREAT friend is coming to town from Dubai to be here for Nick’s fundraiser. Can’t WAIT to see Benji!!!
What else?
*Next week Nick gets the staples out of his belly. Yay!!
*Next week Nick will be going to the hyperbaric chamber again everyday. The sooner we get these stump and belly wounds healed, the sooner he can start water therapy. He’s been dreaming of swimming and being weightless!
*Saturday September 3rd is the BIG party for Nick at Skydive Perris, Feet For Fener! Oh my God this is going to be such a FUN day! So many new prizes and vendors have been added to the event. I can’t wait to update the list and re-post. The new additions are definitely worthy of a re-post! We have so many amazing friends and family coming to the event from out of town, or who we just haven’t seen in a while. I am just so overwhelmed by the love.
*The week AFTER Feet for Fener, Nick’s cousin Mike is coming to visit us from Ohio! We haven’t seen him in over three years.
*The week after Mike is here, our friends Doug and Kim are coming back to visit us. They actually just left. But I never laugh so hard in my life, as I do with them. They are the ones responsible for the picture of Nick with the two wrong feet!
*The beginning of October is when Nick will be getting fitted with prosthetics, provided everything continues to heal in a timely fashion. And when he gets some feet, you know what that means! There’s no stopping him now!
See? There is so much to be grateful for, even when life turns you upside down. Fuck getting depressed. Get happy. It’s really a matter of choice. Now, that was just a list of things I’m getting excited about. I could make a list 10 times as long about things I’m grateful for. But I’ll save that one for another day.
Much better day. Nick was awake all day. Lots of reading and resting. He got up once. This is a start. We both feel like tomorrow will be more active for him though. Hopefully he gets a good nights sleep and has a lot of energy tomorrow. All in all, we are doing well and adjusting nicely to being home. We are just so grateful to be here instead of the hospital.
I’ve managed to get to the gym twice now since we’ve been home. After completely neglecting myself for three months, I can really see the aftermath of Nick’s accident. And now that we are finally past this surgery, I can begin to divide my attention between the two of us. Besides, if I don’t start now, I will never fit into my jumpsuits when I’m ready to go back to work!
Nick slept terrible last night, but he’s been sleeping soundly all day. I woke him up to feed him breakfast and sponge bathe him. Then I woke him up to feed him lunch and change his wound dressings. Now he is back asleep. Exciting day in the life of The Fenwalters.
I might have been a testy, hormonal bitch all day, but at least we made it home!! We are back at home! I’m exhausted. We’re home after only three full days in the hospital. I can’t believe how strong willed this man is. I can’t believe how quickly he is recovering from such a serious surgery. The first time he practiced sitting up today, he wasn’t even strong enough to physically scoot his body over a few inches. Then the next time he sat up, he was able to lift himself up completely off the chair to adjust his shorts. This was only a few hours later. He wants his life back, and he wants it bad. Nick’s like the damn honey badger. Nothing can stop Nick when he’s hungry!
Well, Nicks going to have another scar to brag about. It’s healing nicely, but it really throws off the symmetry of his belly.
Nick was feeling SO much better today! He was more like himself, with a lot less pain. When I got to his room this morning, he was sleeping on his side. We were able to rotate him several times throughout the day. There was talk of sitting up today, but Nick thought it would be better to wait one more day. He is no longer in excruciating pain, and doesn’t want to be either. The bottom edge of his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle back brace is right where his new incision is. So to prevent the brace from digging in, they ordered him a brand new one. Now Nick has three braces, and only one back. A sexy new brace for every occasion, with matching accessories and man purse. You know how I know you’re….?
Today started off rough. Nick barely slept last night because of the pain. Well, pain mainly, coupled with nurses visiting every hour. That makes it impossible to feel rested the next day.
I spent all morning by his side just rubbing his head while he tried to sleep. We gave him a quick sponge bath of his front side in the afternoon. Not his back though. We can’t even get him rolled enough on his side to prop a small pillow under his ribs. The pain is intense. We talked the doctor into upping his dose of morphine some more. Finally, after that medicine adjustment his pain level dipped down to the five and six range. That’s a level five or six out of a ten maximum. Ten is the most intolerable pain you could ever imagine being in. He was at a nine this morning. He was at a ten last night. So, a five sounds real good right about now.
He is on a soft/liquid diet only. Tomato soup, chicken broth, yogurt, pudding, juice, etc. His insides need to settle down a bit before sending anything solid down there. They’re trying to prevent nausea as well, with the all liquid diet and certain drugs. Getting nauseous and vomiting would be outrageously painful. No, we don’t want that right now!
I can’t tell you how I acquired this photo. And I’d like to say I’m sorry if this offends anyone, but I’m not. We are just fascinated by this incredible healing machine called the human body. We are lucky to get this rare view inside of Nick’s belly. Enjoy. Hopefully you’re not eating right now.
Nick is in tremendous pain tonight. It really makes me so intensely sad to see him suffer like this. Ugh, and I can’t even be next to him while he sleeps tonight. Hoping tomorrow will bring some relief.
The day we’ve been waiting for has finally arrived. Somehow we managed to get to the hospital a half hour late, then proceeded to go through three and a half hours of pre-op waiting games. Typical. So we didn’t feel bad for being tardy. We came here on Monday to pre-register, but still had to answer all the same questions again today. We met with both of his neurosurgeons and the general surgeon. The general surgeon’s job is to make the incision across Nick’s abdomen and then move his guts out of the way in order to expose the spine. The spine guys take over from there. When they’re done, the good old general surgeon puts Nick’s innards back where they belong and staples him shut. Easy money. He was quick to tell us that he’s done over 2500 of these surgeries. That’s a ton. Literally.
They took Nick back at 12 noon today. He was all smiles, not nervous at all. I wasn’t nervous either. His surgeons are a real class act. Also, when I say we’ve been looking forward to this, I really mean it. We were excited!
I got the call from spine guy numero uno at 4:45pm saying that everything went according to plan, that Nick did great and that he was waking up slowly in the recovery room. I got there just as he was being admitted into his regular hospital room.
His eyelids were sticky, mouth was parched dry, and his face and hands were swollen. Yep, just got out of surgery. He was immediately complaining of intense abdominal pain at the incision site. They sliced him horizontally from outer-left lower ribs to center pubic area. With the bandage on, it’s hard to tell exactly how long the incision is though. I’m guessing it’s quite a doozy.
He’s been pretty out of it ever since. In and out of sleep. When briefly waking, he pushes his morphine pain pump, then complains that it isn’t doing shit for him. I believe him, too. PCA delivered morphine didn’t help him last time either. So after some coercing, the nurse is getting him back on his usual pain medicine in addition to the pump. Ironically, that includes morphine as a long lasting, continuous release pill. It used to work for him. Hope it does now.
As far as a hospital is concerned, I have mixed feelings about this place. The staff is wonderful! We’ve really been treated well here. But the rooms are tiny! His room is the size of my bathroom. That would be fine if he wasn’t sharing it with another patient. In this modest little room they are squeezing in two beds, lots of medical equipment, adjustable food trays and chairs for visitors. I feel like an over grown dog in a cage with no room to turn around. This is a far cry from the huge private room with two beds we had at Ballard. I think I’m spoiled. The other guy in Nick’s room likes to watch movies with the volume on level 6000. So Nick is using my headphones to listen to soothing meditation music on his iPod. He did this before today’s surgery, and often times when we are waiting in noisy doctors offices. It makes all the difference in the world for him, to be able to relax and get centered.
I’m staying in a cheap little motel (they call it an Inn, whatever) less than a mile away. I expect to be putting in long hours bedside here, so a quick hop to bed is essential. Nick should only be here less than a week. I’m counting every single second until we’re back home.
Pre-Op. They gave him little booties to keep his feet warm. The fun NEVER ends!
Taking a quick break from packing up to go to the hospital tomorrow. Everything we’ve been doing these past few weeks has been to prepare for this surgery tomorrow. Such a huge build up. I know it will be anti-climatic. By that, I mean that surgery will be a breeze. They’ll cut him open, close him up, watch him a few days, send him home and BAM!!! On with our lives. It’s totally going to be that simple.
Today he was interviewed and photographed for an upcoming article in ‘The Californian’ newspaper. One of their staff writers, Jim, happened upon my blog by accident. He contacted us asking to do an article. And, of course we said YES! So he came over this afternoon to do the interview. What a nice guy. I like his way. He says he strives to do at least one nice thing for someone everyday. I wish everyone lived like that. I think the story will be out in one of the papers next week. He will be letting us know.
It’s funny, this life thing. Despite how challenging daily life is, we’ve been having an excellent time. Nick is definitely in pain, but our bad moments are so few lately. In fact, I can’t remember the last time either one of us cried. It’s been at least a week I think. This is huge! Maybe I’m keeping us too busy to be having bad moments. Or maybe we’re getting better at living. Either way, it’s all good.
Today we met with the wound doctor just before going into the chamber. He said he doesn’t think the huge increase in healing is due to the hyperbaric treatments. He said it’s from the compression dressings they’ve been putting on Nick’s stumps each day. We find this hilarious! The compression dressings that he was wearing for two weeks prior to initially seeing the wound doctor were “shrinker socks” prescribed by the prosthetist to shrink his stumps. Nick says they were significantly tighter fitting than these new compression stockings. Oh brother!
Nick and I attribute his rapid healing to a combination of hyperbaric treatments and using prescription strength anti-bacterial ointment to keep the wounds moist. And sure, compression. Compression relieves the stump of swelling, allowing more oxygen to get to the wounds. But really, who gives a fuck what the reason is?!? They nubs are looking good these days!
We had to pre-register for his surgery at the hospital today. This will now be the fourth hospital we’ve stayed at in three months. I could write a Lonely Planet book about So Cal hospitals by now. But this place seems great. Although I guess we will actually find out once he’s there.
This is what Nick’s spine looks like for the time being. If it wasn’t for this damn spinal injury, everything would just be so much simpler. Just slap on some feet and get running. But no, he still has some nerve damage and plenty of healing to do.
Three months ago they put in these two rods from the T12 vertebrae down to his pelvis. These are permanent. This Thursday he goes back in for surgery to build a cage (or two) where his L5 (and L4) vertebrae burst. After that surgery his spine Xrays will be truly impressive. Because, right now, they’re a bit weak. Don’t you think? Only TWO metal rods? Pffft!!
I wish I had something epic and exciting to write about today. Actually, I do! I FINALLY posted information about all the cool events our friends are putting on for Nick. FINALLY!
Nick and I are just floored by all of this. Really, really, just, impressed. And a little baffled. We never asked for any of this, yet, our friends, family and community have all joined forces to help lift us up after Nick’s accident. It’s surreal. And we are so incredibly grateful. To the core grateful. It seems lately that atleast once a day, we get word of yet ANOTHER cool donation, or vendor, or detail that has been added to the fundraisers. FundraiserS. Plural!! Oh my God!!
THANK YOU to everyone for your support. These upcoming events are going to be some seriously fun parties. Nick and I will be there. Please, come say “hi”!! If you don’t have anything but a hug to give, perfect, we’ll take it!! Oh, and hugs are free too!
So, scroll down and read the next few blog posts, because I’ve posted five of them in the last half hour. The long, long lists of prizes, and donated items is dizzying… and exciting!
We feel the love, people, we really do! Near and far, we know you’re rooting for us. Life may have knocked us down, but it didn’t knock us out!
Wow! ANOTHER amazingly fun event to raise money for Nick Fener. Seriously, I cannot believe the outpouring of love and support from our friends, family and community. I guess I’m not the only one who loves Fener!
Friday, August 26th, we will be partying at Links at Summerly, the golf course next to Skydive Elsinore in Lake Elsinore.
There will be food and drink specials and live raggae music by Jamn Kwest.
The fun starts at 6pm
At dusk, Skydive Elsinore will be diving onto the golf course and dropping pre-purchased balls! Closest ball to the hole-in-one wins! Each ball is $20. All proceeds will be split 50/50 between the winner and Nick Fener.
Winner must be present to win… So… Come party with us! It’s sure to be a super fun evening!
Links at Summerly is located at:
29381 Village Parkway
Lake Elsinore, CA 92530
For questions, or to purchase your golf ball for the “ball drop” contact Stan (951)674-3900 stan@linksatsummerly.com
Balls can also be purchased through the paypal link on this blog. Just specify it’s for the Ball Drop.
Thank You Links at Summerly and Skydive Elsinore! This is going to be wicked FUN!!
Dude!!! Check out this website! They are THE latest badass thread company, making killer shirts for adrenaline junkies.
On Saturday August 27th, they will be donating 50% of their online sales to The Nick Fener Project!
WOW!! Thank You guys!
Now, go support a cool company, shop at their super easy online store, and click “purchase now” on Saturday August 27th.
They will also be giving away t-shirts at the “Feet for Fener” raffle on Sept. 3rd.
Awesome!!!
“Feet for Fener” Party at Skydive Perris on Saturday Sept. 3rd
Announcing FEET FOR FENER!!
Saturday September 3rd, 2011
3pm-10pm
Skydive Perris
2091 Goetz Rd
Perris, CA 92570
This is a family friendly event. There will be a big grassy area to lounge on, and a swimming pool to keep cool in. Suggested entry donation of $10/adult $5/child.
Food and entertainment will be provided by:
*All day taco bar from The Bombshelter Restaurant
*Local’s favorite Red Eye BBQ (absolutely delicious!!)
*Ice cream and gourmet coffee from Canyon Lake
*Elite Mobile Cigars with a huge array of cigar selection
*Inflatable Bouncy house
*Face Painting by Shani Drake
*Balloon Artist
*Bake Sale – lots of yummy home made treats
*Large Formation skydiving displays all day
*High speed parachute swooping displays
*Guess how-many-feet-in-the-jar contest to win a Tandem Skydive with Basic Video package
*Nick Fener “Get Busy Livin” Tshirts and stickers
*Live MC all afternoon and evening by Duffy Fainer and Al Nocita
Live auction begins at 7:30pm. Silent auctions going on all day, ending at 7:30pm.
Raffles will follow the live auction.
LIVE MUSIC by:
*Wine Brew (local favorite that regularly plays Kilarney’s Irish Pub in Temecula) www.myspace.com/winebrew They’re on Facebook too
*Family Jamm www.familyjamm.com
*Solo artist Ross May (Find him on Facebook)
and two other bands to be announced later
Popular L.A. resident DJ PRIEST will be spinning tunes between bands.
Celebrity guests from the hit FX series SONS OF ANARCHY will be there all afternoon. They have scheduled their 4th annual SOA skydive day to coincide with Feet for Fener. Come meet and jump with “Opie” and his crew.
If you’ve never made a skydive, come JUMP!! The owners of Skydive Perris have graciously offered to donate $25 from each tandem skydive made on September 3rd, to Nick. Call 951-657-1664 to book a jump. Skydiving appointments are from 7:30am- 3pm.
LIVE & SILENT AUCTION ITEMS:
*Two hour helicopter ride-along over Los Angeles with Commander Chuck Street while he does the traffic report live on KIIS FM
*2-for-1 Boogie package in Nicaragua with Tsunami Skydivers. The same company that did the famous Boogie in Belize for 7 years. Trip dates are March 2-12, 2012. www.skydivenicaragua.com
*Beautiful diamond pendant (valued at $2000!) from www.redlandsjewelers.com
*Autographed Skateboard deck from legendary pro skater Tony Hawk!
*Family photo gift certificate from www.amandaburgessphotography.com
*Two hot air balloon rides (you can jump if you want to!) from Above The Rest Ballooning
*Magic Castle trip for 8
*Weekend of skydiving coaching with world famous competitor, organizer, coach and author, Dan BC
*Day of skydiving coaching with world class competitor of team Perris Fury, Chris Farina www.perrisfury.net
*Day of coaching with World Champion 4-way competitor Hannah Betts
*Day of coaching with World Champion freefly competitor Travis Fienhage of team So Cal Converge
*Team 4-way jump with world class team Perris Fury. www.perrisfury.net
*Day of 1-on-1 coaching with long time Perris organizer and instructor Mark Brown
*3 individual certificates for Video and Still photos of a jump of your choice with an 8×11 print from world famous free fall photographers George Katsoulis, Steve Barker and Karen Lewis www.exitshot.com
*Video and Still photos of a jump of your choice with professional free fall photographer Joe (JoeMama) Miller
*Day of freefly coaching with -ISM athlete Paul Rodriguez www.parachute-ism.com
*Day of canopy coaching with -ISM athlete and World Cup of Canopy Piloting US competitor Bart Rogowski www.parachute-ism.com www.tstindustries.com
*2 days of professional canopy coaching with US Army Golden Knight Swooping Competitor and champion Greg Windmiller… holder of many national, state and world records. 1-on-1 coaching will need to be scheduled with Greg and will likely be in North Carolina
*Kids party magic show with Magician extraordinaire Mike Muscat www.mikemuscat.com
*Jewelry from Anita Burgess Jewelers (Pendant with silver chain, Earrings, Bracelet) three separate items www.anitasjewelers.com
*One hour tarot reading from famous witch and psychic Fiona Horne (featured on Tyra and Good Morning America)
*3 private yoga classes www.temeculapilates.com
*Pet Photography Session with Waggin Tales Photography (Find Mel’s work on Facebook)
*Swimming Lessons
*Music Lessons
*3 reserve repacks by Kenneth Gajda
*Saphire 1 108 main canopy with 300 jumps
*Stilleto 120 main canopy with 1000 jumps
*Skydiving coach rating course with James Perez
*4 certs for a 30 day gym membership to Menifee Valley Athletic Club where all the skydivers go to get fit. www.mvacelite.com
*Life Coaching Sample Session with Life coach and pro skydiver Melanie Curtis. www.melaniecurtis.com www.highcomms.com
*Two reptile/plant terrariums
*3 certificates for Chiropractic Consultation, X-rays and adjustment from Dr Jerry Raskey in Lake Elsinore
*Certificate for four repeat visits with Chiropractor Dr. Jerry Raskey
*Fender Squire Stratocaster guitar
*Private surf lessons for two with Cassie Hero
*Horseback riding and picnic for two
*Art piece from Jay Alders www.jayalders.com
*2 brand new skydiving jumpsuits from Bev Suits (One red, one white, to fit a very petite person)
*Used skydiving container and reserve
OK. Enough already!!!
Yeah Right, that’s just the auction items.
Check out whats going into the raffles:
There will be 5 different Raffles.
Raffle #1
BRAND NEW VIGIL AAD!!! www.vigil.aero
*****Tickets are $10 each, or 6 for $50******
(Dark Blue Tickets)
Raffle #2
$900-off certificate for a brand new Aerodyne ICON container!! www.flyaerodyne.com
*****Tickets are $10 each, or 6 for $50*****
(White Tickets)
Raffle #3
*$500 off Aerodyne Main Canopy certificate
*$300 off SMART reserve certificate
*30% off base price of a Mirage Container www.miragesys.com
*HD GoPro camera with LCD backpack www.gkaindustries.com www.gopro.com
*30% off the base price of a custom UPT Vector 3 container, plus 15% off all options (There are two certificates!)
*4 jump tickets for Skydive Perris www.skydiveperris.com (Thanks Moo!)
*L&B Altitrack wristmount altimeter www.l-and-b.dk
*L&B VISO audible altimeter
*L&B Optima audible altimeter
*Bonehead Revolve helmet www.boneheadcomposites.com
*Square 1 Phantom helmet www.square1.com
*Reserve repack by Kenneth Gajda
*3 “Safe from Harm” skydiving DVD’s featuring Nick Fener. By Just Jump Productions
*UPT Vector/Micron T-shirts
*The Art of VRW books by Pat Works
*Clothing items from ADRENALINE OBSESSION clothing line! www.adrenalineobsession.com
*****Tickets are $5 each, or 6 for $20*****
(Red Tickets)
RAFFLE #4 Lots of non-skydiving related items!
*$500 Gift certificate for The Yard House Restaurant (Thank you Loryn Bailey)
*2 Annual passes to Legoland park, water park and Sea Life center (Thank you Kathryn Starmer)
*Family photo session www.amandaburgessphotography.com
*Hot Air Balloon ride for two (or jump!) with Above The Rest Ballooning
*Glider Ride for two with Boyd Willat, jump pilot, skydiver and tunnel coach
*Tandem skydive with Basic video package from Skydiveperris.com
*Free Life coaching sample session with Melanie Curtis www.melaniecurtis.com www.highcomms.com
*Autographed book by KAT VON D. Famous tattoo artist, star of L.A. Ink
*Mary Kay Cosmetics Gift Basket (Thank you Sheryl Hepinger)
*Chiropractic consultation, Xrays and adjustment with Dr. Jerry Raskey in Lake Elsinore (2 certificates)
*4 repeat chiropractic visits with Dr. Jerry Raskey
*1 hour full body massage at Dr. Raskey’s office
*$50 gift certificate for Rudolpho’s Cucina Italiana in Hemet. Delicious food!! (4 separate certificates)
******Tickets are $5 each, or 6 for $20******
(Brown/Tan tickets)
RAFFLE #5
Brand new main canopy from Precision Aerodynamics www.precision.net
******Tickets are $10 each, or 6 for $50*****
(White and green tickets)
Raffle winners DO NOT need to be present to win.
Purchase raffle tickets in person at Skydive Perris from now up until the day of the event…
Or….. Buy raffle tickets online!!!
Use the PayPal link on this blog. Please specify which raffle you wish to purchase tickets for, and how many tickets you want. Your ticket numbers will be emailed to you. Winners will be notified within 48 hours of the drawing.
How awesome is this!!??? Seriously, we have THE best, most giving, TALENTED friends in the whole world. What a beautiful testimony to the richness of the skydiving community.
We love you all.
Thank You!
Look at all the little feet!!!
Buy raffle tickets online here at nickfener.com
Use the paypal link above, and specify which raffle you want tickets for, and how many you want.
Your ticket numbers will be emailed to you. Winners will be notified within 48 hours of the drawing.
Come on! Look at all the super awesome prizes that our friends have donated!
AHHH We are soooo excited!!
Everybody is getting excited for the big “Feet for Fener” events!! Thank you for your support Peter Wolfe!
T-minus three days until Nick’s final surgery. Actually it’s three days, six hours and nineteen minutes. But who’s counting?
We are! We can hardly wait.
Recovering from this next surgery is “it”. That will signify a return to real life. Or the beginning of a new one anyway.
A new life with a clean slate. One that would not otherwise be possible unless we experienced this extreme challenge. At this point we have no idea what life will look like a year from now. But in my heart, I KNOW it will be full of love, happiness, adventure and gratitude. My life is full of gratitude now. Geez, how much more could i possibly be grateful for? I have amazing friends, the skills to do the most incredible job in the world, good health, a roof over my head still (thanks to my amazing friends, again), and the love of my life right by my side. There is more to be thankful for, than fearful of at this point. Phew! Life really IS good.
Nick has been in a lot less pain these past two days. Thank you morphine sulphate. Earlier, he said it felt like he drank two beers. But that’s not so bad if it means his pain is tolerable. The long hours in the car are extremely uncomfortable for him (and me). But with the morphine, he can stand it. A temporary solution, but a necessary trade off to receive the oxygen treatment.
This is what his stump wounds looked like a few days before beginning hyperbaric oxygen therapy. This is his “good” leg. They looked like this for weeks, healing at an unnoticeable rate. Then, six days ago, he began spending ninety minutes a day under pressure, breathing 200% oxygen.
And….Drum roll please…. After only six days of hyperbaric oxygen therapy the scabs have come off and lots of healthy pink tissue is present. It’s working! His healing has accelerated exponentially. There has been more healing in these last six days, than in the last five weeks since his sutures were removed. Our excitement is barely containable. The sooner we can get these wounds healed up, the sooner he can get in the water. And more importantly, the sooner he can begin learning how to walk again. This is so important. We couldn’t be happier!
Well, it’s been twelve weeks now, living like this. My exhaustion is catching up to me. In fact, Nick and I are both so tired today we can barely function. We just need a few evenings of rest after all this non stop activity. It’s been a week now since we’ve done a proper physical therapy session. What?! I know, it’s ridiculous. So much for all that excessive free time we thought we would have to read books and learn to play guitar.
Nick and Jay.
Ahhhh it’s so awesome to have something to look forward to right now. Like I said before, I really needed to be able to visualize what Nick will be like with prosthetic legs. They are going to look so cool. And they will completely revolutionize Nick’s current situation. We can’t wait! We loved hanging with Jay. He is a true hero. And a genuinely great guy!
Another long day. Driving back and forth to Orange County is stressing me out. People driving on the busy freeways of Southern California are nuts! Apparently there is a closer option for a hyperbaric chamber, but we’ve decided to stick with these guys for the duration of this treatment cycle. Nine days. Until next Thursday. Three down, six to go. Today his wounds actually looked better than the past few days. This oxygen therapy might be working!
Nick had his pre-op physical today in a rinky dink doctors office in Riverside. This is the general doctor he will be seen by during his hospital stay next week. They printed out his EKG on a long roll of paper. I haven’t seen that since the 1990’s. The doctors lab coat also looked like it was from the 90’s. Totally rad dude!
Big Dog loves the nubs.
I miss the beach already. The rolling brown hills of The Inland Empire just can’t compete. Ahhh, but we’re home.
We woke a bit early this morning to eat brekky on the beach and take a little morning walk before heading out. Just after I set my meal on the table and walked inside to get Nick’s plate, a brave seagull swooped in and grabbed my muffin. Reminded me of a funny story involving Big Dog and a giant ribeye steak.
Anyway, we had to leave early in order to get to his wound consultation and hyperbaric chamber appointment. We have committed ourselves to a crazy schedule of appointments and therapy for the next eight days leading up to his final spine surgery. 8 days!! We will be driving to and from Orange County each day to do hyperbaric oxygen therapy. We will drive to Murrieta for physical therapy every other day. And we have three separate pre-op appointments in Riverside, on three separate days, with three separate doctors. We sweet talked the wound clinic into opening specially for Nick on Saturday and Sunday, due to our scheduling time crunch. The doctor prescribed ten sessions. Nick will get nine in before going back to the hospital. Wish we had heard of this sooner.
Now that was a long day. We were gone from 9:30am to 5:30pm. Two appointments took us all day. Nick was absolutely miserable toward the end. The good news is that he finally established a primary care physician today. He prescribed a different pain medicine that will hopefully be a better fit for Nick as he gets more and more active. Being miserable makes it extremely difficult to get through the day.
We met a super cool dude this evening. His name is Jay, and he is a bilateral amputee as well. One above the knee, one below the knee. He lost his legs twenty years ago serving our country. What an inspiration it is being able to spend time with him. He has now lived half his life with prosthetics. It’s just part of who he is now. Nick and I are appreciative of this journey we’re on, but we can’t wait until we are used to our new life the way he is used to his now. It was really neat seeing Jay standing in our living room on two prosthetic legs. It helped me to visualize Nick standing and walking again. I’ve grown so accustomed to seeing him in a chair, it’s become challenging to imagine him any other way. But not anymore after hanging out with Jay. I can see it clearly. And I’ve got to say, bionic legs are pretty sexy. They’re like the ultimate scar. And we all know that chicks dig scars.
The view from our balcony, looking down on the patio where we ate breakfast for two glorious mornings. I could get used to that!
He was in the hyperbaric chamber for over ninety minutes. Nick used to be extremely claustrophobic when he was young. He said he was okay in the chamber today while the movie was on to distract him. When the movie ended, he started to realize just how small the tube is.
I couldn’t resist this hilarious photo op. So here he is, about to go into a Hyperbaric chamber to accelerate his wound healing. Thank you to a random blog reader, Jenn, for suggesting it.
He’s now being seen by a special wound care center, and having his wounds monitored daily again. They told us that nothing is abnormal about Nick’s wounds, only his progress. Despite having shrunk a noticeable amount, his stumps still have quite a bit of swelling and inflammation. This is inhibiting oxygen from getting to his tissue down there. The hyperbaric oxygen therapy will force oxygen into his cells, allowing for a faster recovery.
Being in the chamber is roughly equivalent to diving 33 feet. No problem. Nick’s been SCUBA diving for years, and has routinely gone two, three, and sometimes four times that deep. But instead of swimming weightlessly in the ocean, witnessing the unique and beautiful undersea plant and animal life, he watched Austin Powers, which is almost just as good.
Fat Face Fenner’s Fishook Fishack.
Even though they misspelled Nick Fener’s name, we really wanted to eat here. Too bad there is no way to get his wheelchair up to the second floor where the restaurant is.
Monday August 8, 2011
I am so proud of Nick Fener. He is absolutely amazing in so many ways. I see his progress everyday and am still in awe of his headway. I am also extremely thrilled to announce that Nick’s phantom pains have virtually gone away since he had that hypnosis session last Thursday. Yeaaahhhh!!!!!!! And since phantom pain is all in the mind, it only makes sense to use the subconscious mind to tackle it. I am unbelievably grateful that we decided to try it, and that we found the right woman for the job. Nick’s still listening to the CD each day, to help cement the results.
We came to the beach yesterday to clear our heads and heal our hearts. A wonderful young woman whom Nick took on two tandem jumps in the past year hooked us up with an ocean view room in Hermosa Beach. This place is gorgeous! The idea was mine. I was getting cabin fever, so here we are. Now that we are here, I think Nick is getting more out of being here than I am. We took two strolls along the beach today. Combining the fresh atmosphere with being active really made us feel alive. I could easily live here. Or at any one of these beaches around here. The people are fit. They’re always moving. And it’s too beautiful not to.
Last night we watched an electrifying sunset. The red sun looked like a fireball sinking beneath the ocean’s surface. It moved slowly, and lit the sky in an orange fluorescent hue. We had tapas for dinner while sitting outside under a heat lamp, enjoying the beach air. Lamb, prawns, proschutto wrapped asparagus, baked brie, garlic spinach, nutella ice cream. Thank you Paul and Amanda for an insanely perfect dining experience. This morning was free hotel breakfast outside along the beach pathway. Hundreds of people passed by while running, skating, biking, and walking their dogs or kids. It’s Monday morning, don’t these people have jobs? The emphasis on fitness around here is inspiring. So we rolled around for a bit, along the strand, then out on the pier. The sun didn’t come out until we were almost done. Since it’s so hot where we live, we were just fine with a mild overcast day. But that isn’t what we got. The warm sun chased away the clouds, summoning more people to come play at the beach. It also spent a little too much of it’s solar energy resting on Nicks bare shoulders. He’ll probably look like a footless lobster tomorrow.
The random volleyball games going on around here are so entertaining. Our eyes were glued to an intense game while we had juicy bacon and avocado cheeseburgers for lunch. These guys were diving into the sand to save the ball as if they had huge wagers on the game. I know they didn’t, they were just playing very hard. It could have been very easy to sit and sulk while watching everybody else do things that Nick is physically incapable of doing, or joining me in. But no way! That’s not our style. We’re here to live and enjoy our precious time too, just at a different level, in a different capacity. We enjoyed every moment of just being present in such a thriving place. We did a lot of people watching, day dreaming, house scoping, wave gazing and just wandering around. We rested in our room the remainder of the time, staring out onto the boardwalk. This afternoon, just before sunset, I left Nick napping in the room and took a quiet, contemplative walk on the sand, at the waters edge. I found myself hyper aware of the feeling of the mist from the waves spraying on my calves, and the moist sand sliding between my toes with every step. I am grateful for experiencing this wonderfully subtle, very unique sensation. I also mourn Nick’s loss of ever experiencing this again.
We leave early tomorrow morning. I know we will return to “real life” with a fresh perspective, and a clean palette to begin this good work with again.
This is why I’ve been lazy writing on the blog. We are at the beach for two days. Revving up for our return to the hospital next week. Of all the different therapies we’ve done, this is definitely the most therapeutic! The weather is perfect, air is fresh and moist, water is sparkling, and our perma-grins just won’t quit! Getting out on The Strand, rolling along, getting his blood flowing made Nick feel so good. Now he’s getting tan AND buff! We’ve spent most of our time lounging in the room and on the balcony looking out at the sea. Even though we are in such an amazingly beautiful place, Nick’s tolerance for sitting up in his chair is still limited. We’ve toured the boardwalk twice today and are seriously enjoying ourselves!
I just kissed Nick good night, and he thanked me for having such an incredible day. That makes me feel so good. My hard work is paying off. We just finished week three of being home, and I am just now getting a grip on this whole ‘life’ thing. I’m beginning to feel like life is getting better and easier everyday.
Nicks damn hypnosis CD is working on me right now. I can’t think. I am. I am. I am……
We took an amazing nap today after a long, exhausting morning. We got to the County hospital first thing this morning to get some spine Xrays and see his Neurosurgeon. Nick has been having shooting pains up his spine for the past week and we’ve been concerned. The doctor told us to come see him today incase the hardware in his back has shifted or loosened at all. After looking at the Xrays, he told us that everything looks as it should. Good news I guess. But certainly no explanation for the pain.
After our epic naps, I gave Nick an hour and a half back and leg massage while watching “How It’s Made.” Did you know that a really proficient Dutch pretzel twister in Pennsylvania can twist up to 24 pretzels a minute?
Adventures at COUNTY.
County Hospital is a breeding ground for strange characters. There is a 100% guarantee for top notch people watching. Sometimes they have large plastic clocks around their necks, sometimes they’re in handcuffs and shackles, sometimes their conversations make you scratch your head. The hair cuts are unique, voices are raspy, and mannerisms are ridiculous. Tall, short, obese, skinny, walking, limping, wheeling, random balding, excessive female facial hair. Wow! County has it all! And then, I look at us. I’d say those folks we are enjoying watching, are probably enjoying watching us as well. A sometimes loud, footless, tattooed guy in a wheelchair is meditating while his girlfriend rubs the stumps. Yeah. I’d say we are prime people watching too.
Nick loved his hypnotherapy session this afternoon! I knew it! Now, I don’t know how much it helped to stop his phantom pain, yet, but he felt deep peace and relaxation from it. And she reminded him of, and instilled in him, the knowledge that he is in charge of his own healing. That he decides how quickly, or how slowly, he will heal. It’s up to him how well all these external healing modalities will work (medications, surgeries, acupuncture, massage, ointments, etc)
I love this concept! Yes, of course we need to be doing everything physically possible to facilitate healing, but above all that, his mind is truly in charge here. His mind is the master computer. His hypnosis appointment helped to align his mental powers with what his body is experiencing. He really liked his therapist too. She has a wonderfully soothing voice, and is very in-tune to emotional and physical healing. She also gave him a ‘phantom pain relief’ self meditation CD to listen to everyday for the next thirty days. In fact, it’s playing right now as we’re falling asleep. Guess my own phantom pain should be subsiding soon!
Nick got a really good sweat today. Not because it feels like a hair dryer outside, but because Bill kicked his butt in therapy! Push ups, bicep curls, rows, leg lifts, thigh-master squeezes. Nick is getting visibly stronger. His upper body is not back to normal yet, but he is still stronger than a lot of other men I know. His lower body is a different story though. Which is to be expected. He smashed himself up pretty good down there.
We also had another session of acupuncture this morning. I wish I could say that Nick is experiencing immediate relief, but he isn’t. I’m okay with that, because I understand that he needs a lot of work. I believe it’s still helping, even though results after only three treatments aren’t showing themselves yet. We’ll just keep going, doing everything we can.
It would be really nice to have my Mom around while I’m going through this rough time in my life. But she’s not, and that’s okay. So I was chatting with a girlfriend today about how we both can’t wait until our recent tragedies don’t feel so fresh. How we can’t wait until more time passes to ease the pain. And she mentioned that the very fact that we no longer ache over our Mothers’ passings, is their lesson to us that this recent damage will soon heal. The scars will remain, but only as reminders of a once painful wound.
Last night was one of our worst nights sleep. It’s heartbreaking to wake at 3am to Nick squirming, rubbing his legs and panicked, ready to get up out of bed to ease the pain. Phantom pain is definitely getting worse. And we are suspicious that his leg pain (phantom and real) is stemming from the nerves in his back. The pain is getting worse, and different. Nick spoke to his spine surgeon yesterday, who said to get new Xrays and see him this week. We’ll be doing that all on Friday.
I put Nick through a great workout this morning, focusing on getting him upright, on his knees. We worked on trunk stabilization and using his legs to hold himself up. His arms get exhausted first, because he’s mainly using them for his balance. A little bit everyday, and he should be balancing in no time.
On an AMAZING, now-unique note of fun and pure ‘living”, I went skydiving today!! Well, Nick made me jump, and I loved it! I got one jump in with my girlfriend Carly who was visiting from Vegas. It was surreal. I know it’s only been eleven weeks since my last jump, and I used to jump everyday, but still!! Still. It was amazing to feel so free. My favorite part was sitting in the back of the plane on the way up to altitude. I got the seat right next to the open door, and we kept it open until nine thousand feet. The billowing, majestic clouds on the horizon reminded me how precious every moment in life is. Life can be taken from any one of us in an instant. It’s important to experience something beautiful and exciting everyday. Or at least see something beautiful and exciting in the mundane. Either way, it’s about how you choose to look at things. Making one silly skydive from 12,500 feet helped me change my perspective today.
It’s amazing what a ninety minute massage will do for a persons physical and emotional well being! And I’m not talking about Nick. I finally took a bit of ‘me’ time. And it was so worth it. I came home mentally refreshed, physically energized and ready to take care of business.
Nick’s therapy with Bill was awesome! No throwing up at all. Not even a little bit. They worked on a lot of strength and repetitive muscle firing. Thank God for Bill turning up in our lives. He’s good at his work, and I know he will push Nick to his limits.
This is the first time Nick has had the opportunity to transfer onto a weight lifting machine and use it like a regular person.
This is his new therapist Bill. Fellow skydiver, adrenalin junkie and all around neat guy. We are both looking forward to getting to know him more. He owns his own beautiful PT office in Murrieta. They’ll be working together three days a week!
