The Amazing Road to Recovery!

This is Kelli again!!!! I am so touched by the love, support and enthusiasm we have been receiving and have received. I especially want to thank Chauncy's work and co-workers for allowing him to be here with me. I want you all to know that I am back!! My personality, sense of humor, and the Kelli you have always known is here! With that said, my injuries are complex and will continue to take time to heal, the professional help that I am receiving here at Craig is helping me continue to progress in all aspects of my healing. All of my therapies are geared toward helping me live independently at home and take care of my family again. Thanks again for all of your love, support, and prayers. I'll try to update you again soon, Love you all! Kelli

A Heartfelt Hello from Kelli!

Hello Everyone! This is Kelli!!!!! I told Chauncy that I wanted to make a post to tell you all how thankful I am for all of your love and support. We have received so many letters, gifts, and donations and I just want you all to know that they are all helping!
        
I am doing good! It is so great to have Chauncy and Milli and Logan here with me! My therapists are helping me with everything from getting dressed to walking again independently. They are working on my physical, emotional, and general healing as a whole. I know that I am in the right place. So thank you all again, I will try to post again soon. Love to you all, Kelli

Great Progress!

Kelli is making great progress.  She is not using her wheelchair anymore unless she is on a longer outing and might need to take it easy.  Other than that, she continues to become more independent and is excited to be walking.  The last few days we've been able to be outside and the weather has been wonderful.  This has been very good for us and the kids as we love to be outdoors in the sunshine.  Kelli has let me know that she would like to make a post soon so stay tuned.  We love you all, thank you for all of the support.  --Chauncy

An Excellent Weekend!

Kelli made it through her migraine and has been improving well since.  She is now walking for the most part.  She uses her wheelchair as a kind of make shift walker that doubles as a seat to rest in if she needs it.  She had a visit from her sister Kami this weekend and enjoyed her company.  She also enjoyed having Tanya here, they are both back home now and Grandma and Oma continue to hold down the fort for the kids and us.  Logan turned 6 months today and he's doing great.  Milli keeps us on our toes with her imagination and attitude.  We were able to get Kelli out a bit yesterday and today which she enjoyed a lot but still gets fatigued very quickly.  We went to visit some good friends of ours that moved down here from Casper recently today.  The weather was great and we were able to get out and walk in the sunshine - 65 degrees!  Each day brings new improvements.  We look forward to Kelli being able to walk independently.  Right now she has to have me or someone trained with her to make sure she doesn't fall.  I think she'll be walking on her own soon!  Take care.  --Chauncy 

One Day At A Time . . .

Okay, so we didn't actually get to go bowling because I got sick and couldn't accompany Kelli and take Milli last Friday.  Kelli didn't want to go without us so she didn't go.  However, I'm working on getting passed off to get a car pass with Kelli so that we can get out and see some other things this weekend.  The weather looks like it will be really nice so hopefully it will do us all some good to get away for a few hours.  Kelli did great again today in her therapies.  She is working on using her new planner and she was able to walk quite a bit today.  She started getting a migraine late in the day today so that will set her back a bit...she usually gets monthly migraines so this is another "normal" thing that is coming back unfortunately.  I hope she can sleep well and be up and going again tomorrow.  The kids are doing well with both grandmas and their aunt Tanya here tending to their needs.  I'm doing my best to stay positive, having added sicknesses in the family has been stressful and now Kelli having a migraine.  I know it's just another bump in the road and we'll make it through it all. More tomorrow, time to get some sleep. --Chauncy 

Sunshine and Fresh Air!

Sorry I haven't given an update in a few days.  We had a stomach bug go through the family over the weekend and we were just trying to get through it.  At any rate, Kelli is still making good progress.  Her memory and awareness continues to improve daily which helps her physical progress greatly.  She has a new sling for her arm so that when she walks, her shoulder is supported well.  Over the weekend, she spent most of her time here in the apartment and was able to visit with friends and family.  Today we were able to take a ride on public transit to Office Depot to buy a day planner with Kelli's speech pathologist.  It was great for her to get out and get some sunshine and fresh air.  Kelli's Dad and my Dad were here for the weekend and Oma, Grandma, and Aunt Tanya are now here helping us with the kids and other details.  We couldn't make it through this without the help of so many people...Thank you all!  More tomorrow --Chauncy

Photo Collage Reminder! Please Participate!

Tomorrow is the deadline!  Remember the photo collage that Chauncy’s cousin, Gerri, is putting together?  It’s going to be a fabulous collection of photos of family and friends that will help Kelli and Chauncy visualize all of the amazing people that are supporting them all over the globe.  This will be a great visual aide that they can see every day and be assured that everyone is cheering her and her family on throughout this journey.

This is where each and every one of you is needed!  Please, take a picture of you, your family, classmates, your co-workers, church friends, and/or your kiddos showing support and encouragement.  Kelli’s favorite color is blue, so if you want to wear blue, do it!  If you want to make a sign showing your support, do it!  There are hundreds of people checking this site so let’s pull together and make this a huge collage! 

Email your photos to Gerri at: gthronburg@hotmail.com

DEADLINE FEB. 8^TH! 

Thank you!  Team Johnson appreciates your participation and knows that this group effort will uplift Chauncy and Kelli very much and help to keep their spirits high and hopeful.

Bowling with Contacts!

Kelli was able to wear contacts for the first time today!  Usually the eyedoctor here doesn't like hospital patients to be using contacts with the risk of illnesses in the hospital and the ability for patients to keep everything clean but the  eye doctor was comfortable allowing Kelli to use her's so this was great news.  We're trying to make sure that Kelli gets plenty of rest as this helps her injuries heal and this went better today than yesterday.  Her appetite continues to be a challenge as she doesn't feel like eating but she seems to be improving.  As the fog on her mind continues to lift, she realizes the in more depth the injuries that she's sustained and this is sometimes discouraging, but she's really doing great and we continue to encourage her and let her know this.  Tomorrow, we're going bowling in the afternoon as part of her therapeutic recreation so this should be fun...except that she'll have to try to bowl left handed from a wheelchair.  I'll let you know how it goes.  Take care. --Chauncy 

We had a couple of great things happen today.  First, Kelli got her flipper to fill the gap where she broke her tooth. Attached is a picture of Kelli and her friend Keelie with some great looking hats sent from Kelli's sister Kristin (her friend in Las Vegas makes them).  Kelli's smile is looking more like it use to with the gap filled and it really makes her feel good.  We learned from Kelli's doctor today that the tests that she had yesterday show that she has some stretched nerves which are inhibiting her right arm from moving well right now.  The great news is that they are stretched and not torn apart.  The doctor said that with time, she has the potential to get all of her movement back.  We're hoping and praying that this happens.  It was a really good day and progress is made each day.  The fog for Kelli continues to clear slowly and she is getting back to herself more and more.  She still runs out of energy really quickly so I'm trying to make sure she gets enough rest between therapy sessions.  More tomorrow, love you all --Chauncy.

Stronger Every Day!

Kelli is making good progress.  Today she had what they call an EMG test in order to test the nerve systems in her right arm.  We don't have the results of the test, but the doctors are trying to determine why she's having trouble using all of the muscle groups in her arm.  We should know soon what the diagnosis is and the plan to help this come back if it's possible.  This is Kelli's biggest physical challenge at this point.  I remain optimistic that her arm will continue to improve and the muscles that are firing are strengthening with therapy and her persistence.  We continue to support each other through the challenges that we face and things seem to be continually improving.  More information to share as it comes.  Take care.   --Chauncy

****Don't forget to take your pictures for the Team Johnson Photo Collage due Feb. 8th.  If you need more info, check the Jan 25th update!  Thank you to all those that have participated, we can't wait for Chauncy and Kelli to see it!******