Saturday, March 24, 2012

It's about time!

Talk about a slacker for a blogger, boy I take the record there! Sorry for the delays, time just slips away from me these days and yes I admit Jennifer is much better at this then I am..

Justin Update:

Since the last post of the Homecoming in Hawaii which was absolutely wonderful for everyone, Justin spent the remainder of his 30 days at home in  California. Time home was so nice, Boomer really stuck like glue to his master.. We met with the contractor working on plans to remodel the downstairs bedroom and make it accessible for Justin. Fun for Justin to be in control of his space.

Justin also bought his dream truck while home, he had already picked out the perfect truck prior to deployment and told the salesman "he would be back to buy this truck after deployment". It was nice to see the same salesman work with Justin on buying his truck. We are all so happy that he got what he wanted. Now it is being shipped to Maryland to undergo adaptations. This will allow Justin to drive independently.
He has been driving here to get the hang of the hand controls and help him decide what kind of control he feels most comfortable in.

We had a few more bumps in the road with Justin's health. He started having chest pains again so we had lots of tests to go through to make sure the pericarditis was not back. Good news is that he is improving and turned out to be a pulled muscle from lifting weights above his head while walking around the track. Believe me when I say that they work these guys like crazy in physical therapy. It is so exciting to see the progress.  Then we had a severe bought of the flu that sent him back to ER.. There goes all the weight I put on him!

Justin is doing really good in his new legs and knees, topping out at 5'11, he is taller than his mom. The knees and ankles have microprocessors in them and they are programmed to Justin's gait. These will take a bit of work to get used to but I am sure that in no time it will be old hat for him. I will be filming him next week and I will post for all to see.

The next upcoming event is Justin is going to Aspen Colorado for a ski trip! This is part of the therapy letting them experience all the sports they enjoy and learn how to do it again. He is so excited and looking forward to hitting the slopes again. This will be new for him as he always did snowboarding and this is mono skiing.. Still should be a blast.

At last a great big THANK YOU to everyone involved with the The Justin Crabbe Dinner, Dance, Auction on March 17th. This was a huge undertaking for a main team of 4 people! Many many thanks to Kathie Conaway, Eryn Ogren, Crystal Atwood, and Ann Marie Keener. The list goes on and on from lots of other people who got donations and such.. We appreciate this so much and I know all the hours upon hours of time it took to put together such a gala event. Everyone braved the huge winter storm and all had a fabulous time. I tried to talk to everyone and say Thank you so much form the Crabbe Family.. If I missed you, I just ran out of time! Thank everyone who traveled long distances to attend. Without all of you this would not have been possible.. I know I am always saying that Thank You does not seem to say enough, We love you all.
Well that about wraps up our last month or so here in Bethesda, I promise to update for often in the future. Happy Spring all and keep smiling it does wonders for the soul!

3 comments:

  1. It warms my heart to hear of Justin's progress. What is next after he leaves Bethesda?

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  2. Justin will still remain in Bethesda until at least the end of the year. After that he will go back home to his family and live there. As far as a new career, that is still undecided. Before anything he may go on vacation for a while. Possibly school, or a job in criminal justice or as a contractor.. Just so many things to think about.. For right now, he needs to focus on getting as healthy and strong as he can. That is his job for the next 8 months!

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  3. Well DUH! You wrote, "that about wraps up our last month or so in Bethesda" and dumb old me thought you meant that it was his last month in Bethesda, not that you were reporting on the month that just passed in Bethesda! And yes, English is my first language!

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