6 months ago today, I received the phone call no one ever is ready for. The call informing me that my son, Corporal Justin Crabbe was critically wounded in the Afghanistan war. During those 6 months the out pouring of love, support, prayers and genorisity has been over whelming and the The Crabbe Family is so appreciative words are not enough. We did everything we could to live day to day with all the ups and downs, everyone else took care of every last need. We did not have to worry about anything but the health and well being of our son. With that said, we are here to say that we love all of you and cannot thank you enough. We have such a respect for everyone and we love you all!
Justin and I return to Bethesda Sunday March 4th. We have enjoyed our leave but are actually excited about returning to therapy! Justin will be advancing into his larger legs and knees... This is a very exciting time, look forward to future pictures! I will chronicle the great progress he makes. We plan on being in Maryland till the end of the year. Stay tuned on our progress.. We appreciate that everyone enjoys the blog and I look forward to updating everyone over the next few months..
Justin and I are going to try for leave to come home for the March 17th Dinner, dance, auction... Everyone please say a prayer that his leave will be approved. We all want for him to be able to attend! The fact of the matter is Justin is still on active duty as a United States Marine following all the Marine rules even though he is a wounded warrior! He stills reports for duty everyday Mon-Fri. He has formation and must wear his PT gear or uniform. He is still a Marine must follow all the rules of the military. As much as I would love to sneak him home without anyone knowing, I cannot do that without all the proper approvals so keep those prayers coming.
We look forward to seeing everyone at the dinner, dance, and auction at the Double Tree Hotel. Just a reminder all and reservations and money are due by March 1st!
Next update hopefully will be new legs and knees! Have a great week, be safe, be happy and remain positive! Love and hugs to all, The Crabbe Family!
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Monday, February 20, 2012
Back from the Islands
Justin and I are back from Hawaii! We had a wonderful trip. When we arrived at the airport the CO, Captain Richie, set up a homecoming and allowed all the boys to meet us at the airport. We were greeted by Echo Marines, wives, girlfriends, children, etc. Justin and Mike were so excited to see "their boys". It was great for them to be reunited because they had not seen each other since being injured. After the airport homecoming we headed to our hotel. We had a beautiful two bedroom, two bathroom suite (Thanks to a wonderful family member who is a travel agent). It was absolutely beautiful with 4 balconies, we had ocean views and views of diamond head! We were living like kings and queens on the 40th floor!
Saturday night was the Warrior Ball and the boys looked so handsome in their dress blues. During the speech given by a General he talked about Justin, Mike, and Murphy and everyone gave them a standing ovation. It was definitely an emotional moment and of course I could not hold back the tears. The boys had a great time at the ball catching up with their buddies. There was lots of laughter, drinking, and a few tears! Overall the trip was great minus almost missing our flight to hawaii because of construction and elevators being broken at LAX. Thankfully coming home was less stressful and TSA helped us out tremendously.
While we were in Hawaii it was my 25th birthday so the boys took me out to dinner and we had a great time. I could not believe the generosity of people. The table next to us bought our first round of drinks (there was 5 of us total). Then when we tried to pay our bill our waitress asked us if we were celebrities because her other table paid for our entire bill. We couldn't believe it and thankfully we were able to catch the men to thank them before they left. While we wanted to thank them they just wanted to thank Justin and Mike for everything they had done. Then while we were finishing our dessert another table bought us another round of drinks and left our waitress $60 for additional drinks. We were blown away by everyone being so generous.
We are so thankful both Justin and Mike were healthy enough to fly and we had no complications or problems with the trip. Justin has two more weeks left of leave so he is enjoying being home. Today Justin became the proud owner of a new F-150! Thanks to the VA and the Semper Fi Fund who assisted him in buying his new truck. He will be taking the truck back to Maryland so all the adaptations/hand controls can be modified. (Its still up in the air if we will have it shipped or if dad will drive it back) When he gets back to Maryland he will begin his driving classes and then he can drive his truck around. Justin has been looking forward to getting this truck since before deployment.
Thank you again for the continued prayers, love, and support! We are so thankful Justin is doing so well and so far is heart is not having any problems. The medicine is really working so we are hoping to avoid the surgery all together. When he gets back to Maryland he will be seeing his cardiologist and having another Echocardiogram done to confirm the medicine is working. We are so happy to be back home as a family and enjoying the time together. Mom and Justin will be living in Maryland and dad and I will be living here in California. So we are enjoying these next two weeks of being together as a family.
Please continue to pray for all the troops still fighting for us. Especially our cousin Cody who will be deploying again in the next few months. Please keep him and his unit in your prayers as they prepare for deployment.
Airport Homecoming
Saturday night was the Warrior Ball and the boys looked so handsome in their dress blues. During the speech given by a General he talked about Justin, Mike, and Murphy and everyone gave them a standing ovation. It was definitely an emotional moment and of course I could not hold back the tears. The boys had a great time at the ball catching up with their buddies. There was lots of laughter, drinking, and a few tears! Overall the trip was great minus almost missing our flight to hawaii because of construction and elevators being broken at LAX. Thankfully coming home was less stressful and TSA helped us out tremendously.
While we were in Hawaii it was my 25th birthday so the boys took me out to dinner and we had a great time. I could not believe the generosity of people. The table next to us bought our first round of drinks (there was 5 of us total). Then when we tried to pay our bill our waitress asked us if we were celebrities because her other table paid for our entire bill. We couldn't believe it and thankfully we were able to catch the men to thank them before they left. While we wanted to thank them they just wanted to thank Justin and Mike for everything they had done. Then while we were finishing our dessert another table bought us another round of drinks and left our waitress $60 for additional drinks. We were blown away by everyone being so generous.
We are so thankful both Justin and Mike were healthy enough to fly and we had no complications or problems with the trip. Justin has two more weeks left of leave so he is enjoying being home. Today Justin became the proud owner of a new F-150! Thanks to the VA and the Semper Fi Fund who assisted him in buying his new truck. He will be taking the truck back to Maryland so all the adaptations/hand controls can be modified. (Its still up in the air if we will have it shipped or if dad will drive it back) When he gets back to Maryland he will begin his driving classes and then he can drive his truck around. Justin has been looking forward to getting this truck since before deployment.
Thank you again for the continued prayers, love, and support! We are so thankful Justin is doing so well and so far is heart is not having any problems. The medicine is really working so we are hoping to avoid the surgery all together. When he gets back to Maryland he will be seeing his cardiologist and having another Echocardiogram done to confirm the medicine is working. We are so happy to be back home as a family and enjoying the time together. Mom and Justin will be living in Maryland and dad and I will be living here in California. So we are enjoying these next two weeks of being together as a family.
Please continue to pray for all the troops still fighting for us. Especially our cousin Cody who will be deploying again in the next few months. Please keep him and his unit in your prayers as they prepare for deployment.
The boys out one night
Ball Photos!
Our Hotel Room
Our amazing view
The full ocean view from Justin and Mikes balcony
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Cleared for Hawaii!
The last few weeks have been busy but here is recap on how Justin is doing:
He decided to go with the conservative method and take the medication for his heart condition instead of having the surgery. The medicine is working and relieved all of his symptoms. The Cardiologist have ran multiple tests to confirm the medicine is helping with inflammation around his heart. They also wanted to rule out another condition they were suspicious about because it showed up on his EKG. Thankfully that test was done this week to stress out and his heart and it did not show up again. So they have ruled out that particular syndrome. He also had his pins removed in his left hand. He was thrilled to finally get those out.
Justin is continuing to impress his therapists by making tons of progress in therapy. Going to therapy with him this past week I could see how much progress he has made. He is getting so much stronger and walking better and better every day. This past week he was excited because he got carbon fiber legs (which are lighter and less bulky). He is hoping to get his "knees" in maybe another month/month and a half. Sometime in March he will probably have hopefully his finally surgery to have the HO bone in his leg removed. He wanted to wait until after Hawaii so he can walk while he is there.
SO the great news is Justin and his friend Mike are both cleared for Hawaii! The three of us will be going next Thursday for six days. We are all looking forward to this trip. Justin and Mike can't wait to see all their guys. I will definitely blog about our trip and post lots of pictures when we return. I think Justin and Mike are ready to get out of Bethesda for a week. Thankfully though the winter has been very mild back there. We only had snow one day and it wasn't a lot.
Thank you again for everything and the continued prayers. The heart problem had us all scared and worried. The prayers again have come through and once again Justin ended up with the best outcome!
If you would like to send mail please send it to this address:
Corporal Justin Crabbe
Warrior Transition Battalion
Box 20098
8901 Wisconsin Ave
Bethesda MD 20889-5600
Corporal Justin Crabbe
Warrior Transition Battalion
Box 20098
8901 Wisconsin Ave
Bethesda MD 20889-5600
We still have mail going to the Navy Lodge and the post office is not happy with us because they have to keep sorting it out. Thank you again!
Justin doing exercises!
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Friday, January 20, 2012
Oh my Heart!
Justin and dad made it back to Bethesda safely on January 9th. Mom was scheduled to head back on Saturday the 21st and I planned to stay home. Well I guess Justin's "heart was breaking" and he wanted us back sooner (hahaha totally kidding). We have to find humor in something, because if not we would cry! So here is the newest update on Justin and his heart:
Last Friday Justin began having some chest pain/discomfort, being Justin he brushed it off. Saturday the pain was still there so he finally mentioned it to my dad and said the pain was in his shoulder and chest (dad asked if he wanted to go get it checked, but he said he wanted to wait to see if it would get better). By Sunday the pain was getting worse he couldn't sleep and now he was really having shortness of breath and feeling like he couldn't take a deep breath. Justin finally called my mom and I to explain what was going on. I told him he needed to go get it checked out. He agreed to go to the ER after the Packers game (I think the sadness of them loosing really added to his heart ache). When he got to the ER his O2 saturation was at 92% with his heart rate back elevated around 120 and a lower blood pressure 90/60 range. They ran tests and decided to admit him to the ICU because he had fluid around his heart. On Monday we found out there was a possibility for surgery so mom and I decided to fly out the next day. We both arrived Tuesday night and Justin had been transferred out of the ICU to the Cardiology floor, where Justin was the youngest patient. I think the second youngest patient on that floor is probably 70/80 years old. Wednesday we spent all day talking to multiple Cardiologists and a Cardio-thoracic surgeon about different options.
To make a long story short: After days of doctors putting their heads together and presenting Justin's case to multiple doctors and doing extensive research we found some answers as of this afternoon. Justin has a condition that only 217 known cases have been documented. This was very helpful finding this research because the course of treatment has been up in the air the last few days. Justin has inflammation around his heart known as pericarditis (this is not a rare heart problem). The problem with Justin is that his heart is being restricted, but their are multiple pathologies involved in his condition. So in a nutshell the crossroad we are at is: to continue to treat Justin with medicine for 3-6 months hoping it will alleviate his symptoms and improve his heart function, or to remove the pericardium (sac around his heart) hoping it will cure the problem. The dilemma is nobody knows which is the correct answer. Removing the pericardium is the risk of open heart surgery (having to actually crack open the chest) and it may still not fix the problem. The risk of just staying on medication is the fluid around the heart may dry up and cause the pericardium to stick to the heart causing another major problem and possibly emergency open heart surgery. When Justin had the Cardiac tamponade in October they had to remove a small piece of the pericardium to drain the large amount of fluid compressing the heart. Removing that piece of the pericardium and Justin getting the pericarditis now caused his pericardium to become thick like leather. For some reason Justin's heart/pericardium is causing him more problems. Most people have a pericardial window and do not have additional problems.
Justin is currently scheduled for open heart surgery for the pericardium to be removed on Monday. After speaking to multiple doctors and finding out a few more answers today, Justin is going to more than likely hold off on the surgery for now and continue with the medicine. The medication is beginning to alleviate some of his symptoms. All the doctors support his decision. He will continue to be monitored with Echocardiograms. Justin is really looking forward to going to Hawaii in three weeks for his ball with his unit. This is a huge deal for him and the guys. The Cardiologists are on board and want him to go. They will do another test right before he leaves to give him the final clearance. They have no evidence to show that the surgery is needed right now and most agree the medication is a great choice. When Justin returns from Hawaii he will be re-evaluated to see if surgery is needed. The reassurance is if anything happens in Hawaii all the Cardiologists here in Bethesda know the Cardiologists in Hawaii and they can be in contact with them. Justin was more assured today to not have the surgery right now when the documented article of 217 people having his condition, the majority of people did not need surgery after using the medication as a treatment option.
I just have to say again how amazing this hospital is and these doctors are. They go above and beyond for their patients! I seriously cannot brag enough and wish to one day be half the clinician they are one day.
Mail issues over Christmas! We are sorry that some of your Christmas cards got returned. The address is correct, we just had an error in the mail room. All patients experienced this and we are sorry that the error occurred. We sure appreciated all the Christmas cards and well wishes. We really enjoyed being home and being able to surprise our family members. Plus our dogs enjoyed us home!
These next couple of weeks will determine how well the medication is working with Justin's heart and hopefully he will be cleared to go to Hawaii. Going to Hawaii means a lot to Justin to see his guys and his doctors 100% support this. They know how important it is because they too are military! Your continued prayers are always gracious because they is chance he will need the open heart surgery. Hopefully if he does the decision can be made before it turns into an emergency situation. Thankfully the doctors are following him closely to prevent this from happening.
Thank you for your continued prayers and support!
The Crabbe Family!
Last Friday Justin began having some chest pain/discomfort, being Justin he brushed it off. Saturday the pain was still there so he finally mentioned it to my dad and said the pain was in his shoulder and chest (dad asked if he wanted to go get it checked, but he said he wanted to wait to see if it would get better). By Sunday the pain was getting worse he couldn't sleep and now he was really having shortness of breath and feeling like he couldn't take a deep breath. Justin finally called my mom and I to explain what was going on. I told him he needed to go get it checked out. He agreed to go to the ER after the Packers game (I think the sadness of them loosing really added to his heart ache). When he got to the ER his O2 saturation was at 92% with his heart rate back elevated around 120 and a lower blood pressure 90/60 range. They ran tests and decided to admit him to the ICU because he had fluid around his heart. On Monday we found out there was a possibility for surgery so mom and I decided to fly out the next day. We both arrived Tuesday night and Justin had been transferred out of the ICU to the Cardiology floor, where Justin was the youngest patient. I think the second youngest patient on that floor is probably 70/80 years old. Wednesday we spent all day talking to multiple Cardiologists and a Cardio-thoracic surgeon about different options.
To make a long story short: After days of doctors putting their heads together and presenting Justin's case to multiple doctors and doing extensive research we found some answers as of this afternoon. Justin has a condition that only 217 known cases have been documented. This was very helpful finding this research because the course of treatment has been up in the air the last few days. Justin has inflammation around his heart known as pericarditis (this is not a rare heart problem). The problem with Justin is that his heart is being restricted, but their are multiple pathologies involved in his condition. So in a nutshell the crossroad we are at is: to continue to treat Justin with medicine for 3-6 months hoping it will alleviate his symptoms and improve his heart function, or to remove the pericardium (sac around his heart) hoping it will cure the problem. The dilemma is nobody knows which is the correct answer. Removing the pericardium is the risk of open heart surgery (having to actually crack open the chest) and it may still not fix the problem. The risk of just staying on medication is the fluid around the heart may dry up and cause the pericardium to stick to the heart causing another major problem and possibly emergency open heart surgery. When Justin had the Cardiac tamponade in October they had to remove a small piece of the pericardium to drain the large amount of fluid compressing the heart. Removing that piece of the pericardium and Justin getting the pericarditis now caused his pericardium to become thick like leather. For some reason Justin's heart/pericardium is causing him more problems. Most people have a pericardial window and do not have additional problems.
Justin is currently scheduled for open heart surgery for the pericardium to be removed on Monday. After speaking to multiple doctors and finding out a few more answers today, Justin is going to more than likely hold off on the surgery for now and continue with the medicine. The medication is beginning to alleviate some of his symptoms. All the doctors support his decision. He will continue to be monitored with Echocardiograms. Justin is really looking forward to going to Hawaii in three weeks for his ball with his unit. This is a huge deal for him and the guys. The Cardiologists are on board and want him to go. They will do another test right before he leaves to give him the final clearance. They have no evidence to show that the surgery is needed right now and most agree the medication is a great choice. When Justin returns from Hawaii he will be re-evaluated to see if surgery is needed. The reassurance is if anything happens in Hawaii all the Cardiologists here in Bethesda know the Cardiologists in Hawaii and they can be in contact with them. Justin was more assured today to not have the surgery right now when the documented article of 217 people having his condition, the majority of people did not need surgery after using the medication as a treatment option.
I just have to say again how amazing this hospital is and these doctors are. They go above and beyond for their patients! I seriously cannot brag enough and wish to one day be half the clinician they are one day.
Now onto a lighter note: Justin has been working hard in therapy. He has been dribbling a soccer ball around the track and was walking with his resistance bands on.
These next couple of weeks will determine how well the medication is working with Justin's heart and hopefully he will be cleared to go to Hawaii. Going to Hawaii means a lot to Justin to see his guys and his doctors 100% support this. They know how important it is because they too are military! Your continued prayers are always gracious because they is chance he will need the open heart surgery. Hopefully if he does the decision can be made before it turns into an emergency situation. Thankfully the doctors are following him closely to prevent this from happening.
Thank you for your continued prayers and support!
The Crabbe Family!
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Happy 2012, a New Year for New Beginnings!
We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a Blessed New Year! The Crabbe Family very quietly flew home for the holidays! Justin just wanted to be home with his family and his dog Boomer. Justin also wanted to surprise his cousin Chris who has not seen him since before deployment. He surprised Chris by walking into his office at work. Boy was that a surprise! Best Christmas EVER!
We hope we did not offend anyone by not telling anyone, we just wanted to spend some quality family time while Justin relaxed from all his therapy. We will plan a real homecoming when Justin is stronger and can handle it.
Being home was a true blessing for all of us, especially since Jenn will be staying home this time when we return to Maryland. We are sure going to miss her, but it is time for Jenn to focus on her life now! Once back in the swing of things in Maryland, I will take over the blog and bring you all the fun updates! I have big shoes to fill as Jenn does such a wonderful job! Sure am going to miss her and the good California weather!
We would like to Thank everyone who has donated to the Justin Crabbe Fund, vacation donation and for all the prayers, letters and support given to us. We are so appreciative to be able to be there every step of the way with Justin on his journey home. We firmly believe this has helped Justin in the healing process. So thank you , thank you, thank you.
We hope we did not offend anyone by not telling anyone, we just wanted to spend some quality family time while Justin relaxed from all his therapy. We will plan a real homecoming when Justin is stronger and can handle it.
Being home was a true blessing for all of us, especially since Jenn will be staying home this time when we return to Maryland. We are sure going to miss her, but it is time for Jenn to focus on her life now! Once back in the swing of things in Maryland, I will take over the blog and bring you all the fun updates! I have big shoes to fill as Jenn does such a wonderful job! Sure am going to miss her and the good California weather!
We would like to Thank everyone who has donated to the Justin Crabbe Fund, vacation donation and for all the prayers, letters and support given to us. We are so appreciative to be able to be there every step of the way with Justin on his journey home. We firmly believe this has helped Justin in the healing process. So thank you , thank you, thank you.
Christmas Surprise
Justin surprising Chris at his work
Christmas day with the cousins: Kelli and Chris
Family Christmas on Dads side
Cody and Chris (cousins) with Justin
Swire Family and Justin
Linton Family and Justin
Keener Family
Watson Family
Friday, December 30, 2011
Address!
I know a few people have asked us for the address so I just wanted to repost it again! Please send all mail to this address. The old address is no longer valid. Thank you and have a wonderful New Years! I am also still working on getting the video up!
Corporal Justin Crabbe
Warrior Transition Battalion
Box 20098
8901 Wisconsin Ave
Bethesda MD 20889-5600
Warrior Transition Battalion
Box 20098
8901 Wisconsin Ave
Bethesda MD 20889-5600
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