January 2011

Hey Ya'll! Just a little update. . . Jesse has been moved to Select Specialty Hospital of Durham (on the 6th floor at Durham Regional). He's in room #6216. He had pneumonia when he was first moved, but they have it all cleared up now. He seems to be settled in pretty well, has his pictures up of Marlee and the rest of his loved ones on the wall, and his Browns and Tarheels gear spread out everywhere. :) The staff there seems to be really nice and taking care of him very well. Please contact me or my mom if you're interested in going to see Jesse and we will be happy to guide you! (Trudy's number is 252-883-2159 and Charity's is 910-262-6832)

Now onto my project! :) So, I want to do something special for Jesse for his birthday in April, and I know it's a little early, but I wanted to give myself and everyone else plenty of time to get this done. What I'd like for you all to do if you're interested is record a video of yourself doing the following: a)stating your name and relation to Jesse (ie: "Hey Jesse it's your cousin Heidi" or "Hey Jesse it's your old pal Paul from Books a Million"), b) wishing him a Happy Birthday (he'll be 28 this year on April 19th) and c) telling him your hopes/wishes and dreams for him. . .when I receive everyone's videos, I will compile them into a video montage and put it on a dvd for him. The easiest way to do this would be using a web cam, most laptops these days have them built in. . .however, if you don't have one, it may be possible to use a video recorded by your mobile phone. If you end up trying it this way, please text the video to me at 910-262-6832 as soon as possible so I can see if the file format will be compatible with my laptop's video editing software. I'd really appreciate all of you taking the time to do this small favor for Jesse. I know it will mean a lot to him. Also, if you know anyone that I may not be friends with who may like to be included in this project, please pass on the word. Thanks so much everyone!! My e-mail address is charityruiter@gmail.com. Take care!
Charity

June 2010

So, I was supposed to go with my mom to see Jesse yesterday, but I have a very sore throat, and Jesse just got over an ear infection, so I didnt want to risk giving him any kind of illness again. My stepdad, Gordon, went with her instead.

First, I'll share an email from Jesse's doctors from last week. . .

An update on Jesse…….

Jesse’s wound had increased tunneling 2 weeks ago but upon reassessment Wednesday the tunneling was back down to 5cm at the greatest depth. We are continuing with the PRP (prolotherapy) which he will get again next week. We have not been letting him shower for the first 3-4 days after the PRP because we did not want the beads to wash away. Since we pushed the PRP to next week and the beads from last week are absorbed we decided to let him shower for the next few days until the beads are replaced next week. As for the seating schedule we had changed it to every 2 hours getting back into bed because of the potential for shearing while he was seated. We performed a wheelchair seat pressure mapping this week which means we put a pad under Jesse and checked where most of his pressures were when he was sitting. We found that he had the least pressure on his wound when he was at 40-50 deg in the Wheelchair and so we changed his seating to being up for up to 8 hours with every hour 15 minute weight/pressure reliefs. Also we increased his medication that treats his muscle tone/tightness (spasticity) so that he could have better seating while in the chair.

As for the appetite, we had noticed that Jesse over the last two weeks had a decreased appetite. He had a urinary tract infection and ear infection for which we put him on antibiotics and treated completely. Which could make him feel bad and since the treatment he has perked up and has starting eating a little more. Also, we had decreased his Cymbalta (antidepressant) when he came to us because we thought it may be making him sleepy/sedated cause it has that side effect on some people. We increased the Cymbalta as well last week to see if this would affect his mood. He has been more verbal this week and singing with the nurses in the evenings. So we think that his appetite should pick up over the next week.
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And this email is from Gordon. . .he also took the pictures at the top yesterday. . .

6/5/10 Jesse was alert, but just wouldn't talk loud at all. Deaf people like Trudy and I couldn't understand him! Plugged in an ipod and put music on and he sang to the songs, not missing a single word.

It is a heart breaking experience for a veteran to see all the young men up there. Is it really necessary??

May 1, 2010

Bella and I went camping with some friends up in Maryland the last weekend in April, and our kind friends dropped us off at Jesse's hospital on the way home to visit with him for a while. We hadn't bathed in over 48 hours and probably reaked of bugspray and campfire smoke, and everyone was ready to get home, so we didn't get to stay too long, but it was still a nice visit. When we got there, my mom had been pushing him around the hospital grounds in a wheelchair. He was talking up a storm! The most I've heard since his injury. I've heard that he has his days where he talks a lot and some where he hardly talks at all, and I kept seeming to catch him on the latter days. But this day. . . wow! I was complaining to my mom about a case of heartburn I had, and Jesse says "Why don't you take like a Zantac or something?" Huh?? haha So anyway, here's some video I got of him that day. We'll be going back this Saturday. . .

The last time we were all together. . .

Fun times!
Daddy, Linda and I thought Jesse on those Rock Band drums was so funny. It sounds NOTHING like drums. So obnoxious! haha

Little Jesse

Thought you all might enjoy this. . .it's my mom asking me and Jesse questions when we were toddlers. :)



I'm pretty sure I meant to say "Jem" for my favorite cartoon. And I love how Jesse and I say "Jofus" instead of Joseph. :)

Richmond

As of Tuesday, April 13, 2010, Jesse has been transferred to Hunter Holmes McGuire Veterans Hospital in Richmond, Virginia. How AWESOME it is to have him only two hours' drive from us. . .15 hours less than Louisiana! Mama, Bella and I went to visit him today. There have been a few changes; some better, some worse. He can chew food now, which is pretty cool. He definitely couldn't eat chocolate chip cookies last time we saw him. Score one for Jesse. Food was always his first love. :) haha He knew us all by name as soon as we walked in. He still can't carry on a conversation. He only speaks a few words at a time and mostly it's just answering questions. Are you in pain? Do you want to be adjusted? Do you want the television on? Do you want something to drink? Mostly just yes and no answers. Sometimes he won't speak at all. We'll ask him questions and he just stares. Maybe he's tired, maybe he's confused, maybe he's annoyed with what we're asking. . .who knows? I wish so badly I could get inside that brain and see what's going on!!! The worst part right now is the condition of his body. He is extremely stiff. . .all rigamortis-like. His hands are clenched like fists most of the time, his neck is crazy stiff and his legs are all curled up. Plus he has a super gnarly bed sore that has to be treated three times a day. I showed him a picture of Marlee, whom he identified correctly and he said "She's huge!" I asked him if he knew how old she was now and he said "Three." Which is wrong. . .she's 13 months. I don't know why he would think she was three. I guess he has no concept of time right now. Anyway, we're just so thankful that he's closer to home and we can visit him frequently to help stimulate his brain and encourage him. We still need your prayers!! Oh and by the way, Monday is Jesse's 27th birthday! Happy birthday, J-man!

Jesse's story. . .so far.

The morning of October 11, 2009, at Fort Polk in Louisiana (where he was stationed in the Army), Jesse was found by his roommate, barely breathing and covered in vomit. They rushed him to the ER and the doctors determined that Jesse had overdosed on a drug called methadone. We don't know the amount of, the reason, the time or the place. . . or if it was accidental or intentional. There were no witnesses. My family rushed to Louisiana that night. A seventeen hour drive in the rain! Ughh! The doctors didn't give us much encouragement. They prepared us for the worst. We were told that he may not live, or that he could be in a coma for a very long time only to awake to a permanent vegetative state. He was on a ventilator and had pneumonia for about two weeks and continued to stay in a coma for about two months. Luckily, he finally awoke. Thank you, God! However, he couldn't speak or move. He was very much like a baby. He was moved from the main hospital to an extended care facility. The staff there is AMAZING and we love them. My mother and I returned to Lake Charles to visit him for Christmas and were pleased to see how far he had come. It was also, yet, extremely heartbreaking to see that our smart, sharp, hilarious, fun-loving Jesse was hiding behind a stiff, lifeless body and empty gazing eyes. He has come a long way and made a lot of progress, but it has come very slowly and has been fighting several infections, including a very severe bed wound that may require surgery. The following pictures were taken at Lake Charles Memorial Hospital during the first couple of weeks after his injury occurred, except the last picture which was taken in December when we went back to visit for Christmas. The video was also taken in December. . .the first time my father got to hear him speak.