3 day catch up!

We had a wonderful weekend here in Bethesda and the weather was nice!

First off as a family we really want to thank EVERYONE that participated in any way to Justin's Fundraiser on Saturday! A huge THANK YOU to our neighbors John and Donna Vallejo for putting the event together. Also thank you to our family members Auntie Ann, Auntie Robbie, Chris and Uncle Hal for representing our family. Thank you to the City of Rancho Cucamonga including the Mayor for attending and especially to Legends Burgers for allowing the event to be hosted there. We really can't thank everyone enough for everything you all have done for us. Justin has repeatedly told us to thank everyone for him. Like I have said in the past thank you doesn't do justice for how grateful we are.

To recap the last few days:

Saturday: We had a BBQ/Lunch get together with the guys from Justin's unit and their families. This was Justin's first "day pass" to leave the hospital. We stayed on base and had lunch at "The Fisher House" (Fisher House is multiple large houses on base which are similar to a bed and breakfast that house military families visiting the base or in this case staying at the hospital). We spent a couple hours hanging out and eating really good BBQ food! It was a really nice day until we decided to head back and Justin's wheelchair for some reason got stuck in "turtle mode" (literally it had a picture of a turtle instead of a jackrabbit on the screen). My dad and I tried to push it manually, but its really heavy since its an electric wheelchair. So he very slowly (and I mean verrrrrrryyyyyy slowly) crawled back to the hospital until finally dad and Justin fixed it. Thankfully it was right before we climbed up this hill. It was really not funny but dad and I had a good laugh because we were all so frustrated trying to fix it. Justin was just mad and frustrated. Thankfully it is fixed and we figured out the problem. Justin did excellent outside, but he was just very tired and sore from sitting up. It takes a lot out of him to get him ready and transfer into his chair. He isn't strong enough yet to even sit up on his own without help. Continuing with therapy will help build up his strength and core. That night Justin and I hung out and watched the movie Limitless together. He was worn out from the day because the next thing I heard was snoring so I finished the movie while he slept.

Pictured from Left to right: Mike Nicholson, Murphy Hueston, Justin and Travis Green

Sunday: We had another good day yesterday. One of the sergeants wives and her cousin came up to visit. They were so sweet and brought all the guys very nice plants/flowers and cards and stuff to make a Welcome Home Banner. Justin couldn't leave his hospital room and was still worn out from the day before to help. So the rest of us all went back to Mike's room (since he has a two-bedroom apt) on the base because he is in outpatient. It was a lot fun to hang out with the guys and their family members and work on the banner for Echo. After we made it we brought it back for Justin to sign!

Monday: Today Justin had his hopefully LAST MAJOR surgery!! He had skin grafts done on his right hand and right leg. Everything went well and he was feeling good tonight (thank goodness for pain meds). He is probably going to be in more pain tomorrow, but the surgery meds and block they gave him in his leg helped control his pain tonight. We are hoping by either Friday or Monday to loose all the wound vacs. He is finally all closed up and now all the healing can begin. He still has some pins sticking out of his left hand and internal pins that will eventually come out. (but its not a major surgery) Justin was in a good mood tonight and we watched TV and hung out as a family. Its really nice to go back to having family dinners together again. Even if it entails sitting in a hospital room, at least we are all together. We normally all eat dinner with Justin in his room and its really nice that he can now eat whatever he wants.

Only big plans for this week is to control the pain from the skin grafts especially at the donor site where they took the graft from. Hopefully loose the wound vacs and continue with therapy and of course stay healthy! Our Auntie Linda and Uncle Jeff will becoming in on Wednesday and spending the week with us, so we are excited to see them.

Please continue to pray for Echo as they finish up deployment and for all the men and women serving. Please pray for any military men and women and their families that may be joining us here at Bethesda this week. Also for the families of those who passed away this weekend from the war, especially a fellow Marine from San Diego.

Have a blessed and wonderful day tomorrow!