by Allison Moore | Jul 11, 2014 | Uncategorized |
We’ve graduated! Vernon has been transferred upstairs to the PSCU (Progressive Care Stroke Unit.)
It was so strange to find Vernon’s old room empty after all these weeks.
It has actually been a pretty intense week, getting lots of information on next potential centers for Vernon’s care. Every day the options change. Last week I fretted over the hospital in Santa Ana being a long daily drive (45 minutes away) but this week I have been handed new options in downtown LA or San Diego (1- 1.5 hours away at GOOD traffic times.) Suddenly Santa Ana seems pretty doable. Apparently Vernon is a rare case (and rare recovery, lets not forget) with a unique combination of challenges. None of the long-term placements have worked out so far, so we continue on at the hospital. Fine with me. It’s pretty great there anyway.
There is a combination of three major challenges in our way when it comes to Vernon’s next placement: his trach, his daily dialysis, and our health insurance. They haven’t been coming together very well for us yet.
BUT TODAY WE WERE TRANSFERRED UPSTAIRS. The hospital deals well with all three of our challenges…and is still close to home!
I had such stress in my belly until I arrived at the hospital today. I had grown to love our cozy time at the SICU, all the nurses we met, the special care, the decorated room, our routine. And all this new info, all these potential decisions and then-rejections were difficult to handle. I had learned to live in the moment in the past two months, and now I was constantly being forced to come out of it and think about the future with every new placement idea that came our way.
This is floor 4. His new ward. Justice (one of the words in the wallpaper) was the first thing I read when I came out of the elevator. Let’s claim that word in this next season of Vernon’s story. Justice. The legal issues come to mind, of course (I won’t be blogging about them) but also I hope for justice in his healing.
There were 4 bags full of goodies from our other room, transferred over to this one. In seven weeks, its surprising how much stuff can accumulate. Lots of sticky-taped pictures to un-stick. This new room is great though. Vernon has a new view…and a bathroom and shower! So if you visit, you never have to leave!
Even though this room is a bit smaller, it feels good to move. It does feel like a graduation. Just like with any move, we begin to decorate (at least I do) right away. It just feels better having your own stuff on the walls, even if it is less of it in different positions. Vernon also has a new bed, less intensive, a bit smaller to fit into his downscaled room.
Weirdly, being there this morning lifted my spirits immensely. We are moving forward. I used to live in NYC and I know that moving from a bigger place in Brooklyn to a tiny place in Manhattan is still a move up. It felt like that. The view was higher, the floor was busier, his ‘housewarming party’ of visiting friends and musicians today felt a bit more crowded but also more exciting.
If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere, Vernon!
by Allison Moore | Jul 10, 2014 | Uncategorized |
Hi Everyone! My talented friend Ian McGlynn just released a cover of one of Vernon’s favorite songs in order to make a little extra money for the family. It is so generous of Ian McGlynn and Chris Newkirk to give their time and talent to our cause. I love how my creative friends are coming up with such ingenious ways to help us out. And I think this rendition is BEAUTIFUL!
Here is what Ian wrote on his own website.
Welcome to the out-of-the-blue release of Ian’s version of the Kinks’ classic “Waterloo Sunset.” It wasn’t really planned, but there is a plan behind it: to raise money for friends in need. You may recognize the name Allison Moore; she is the wonderfully talented artist responsible for the paintings that grace Ian’s last two album covers, not to mention one of his singles. She’s been a valued ally for a long while now. And with that spirit in mind, Ian wants to be her ally as her husband Vernon Adams recovers from an extremely serious accident (truck+vespa—that’s enough math for you, surely). So, having heard about the unfortunate accident, Camp McGlynn did what we do best to help: make music.
Currently Vernon Adams is recovering from his multitude of injuries and the induced coma he’s been in for weeks. So Ian recorded a version of one of their mutual favorite songs for him to enjoy. Yep, Waterloo Sunset. But it’s for you to enjoy too. At a name-your-own-price to purchase, please. You see, Vernon Adams is a freelancer, and the loss of his wages for the months he will be unable to work, is a huge blow. Which is why we’re asking you to contribute what you can. 100% of what you contribute goes to the Moore/Adams family.
“Every day I look at the world from my window.” Hoping you get to see the sunset on the other side of the hospital walls soon, brother.
Thank you so much, Ian. I love this. I know Vernon will . And if you, dear reader/listener love it too, please buy a copy and pass on the link to others who might enjoy it too.
[bandcamp width=450 height=570 album=689425947 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false]
by Allison Moore | Jul 9, 2014 | Day by Day, Uncategorized |
I am going to share a Facebook post I put up the other day (some of you have already read this.) There is a little more to the story now, so bear with me…
Sunday, July 7
Today was kind of a hard day emotionally for me…but I managed to reach out to a hurting person in the waiting room: a man who’s partner had just broken his neck. I have been there for awhile now so I felt like I had a bit of authority to reach out to him. This is someone from out of town who says he has no real community at the moment. I was so privileged to hug him and pray with him and we exchanged numbers. And now I’ll be visiting his partner as well as my husband when I visit. My mother always told me: when you are too sad to deal with your life, just look for someone else to help. As always, mama was right!
The next day, at the hospital, my fun pal Sarah came to visit…I decided to share her with my new found friends. Soon numbers were exchanged there too. Then my friend Dorothy stopped by, who was convinced she had met Tim before. Next thing we knew, the room was filled with laughter and the environment had changed completely.
Even today, Justine wanted to make a picture for my sick friend so he would feel better (and have something for his wall.)
She said: “I think I am starting to love all your friends, Mommy.”
“Why do you say that, Justine?”
“Because I feel it in my tummy. When you give your friend this picture, tell him that you have a daughter who loves him too.”
I can’t say I’ve ever been more proud. This is exactly the kind of kind-heartedness I’d hoped to see in her one day. If this hospital experience is making her a more compassionate person, I have another blessing to count.
What I am learning: never be afraid to reach out a little to a hurting person. There is certainly enough love to go around. It might make a big difference to them. It will most likely make a difference back to you!
PS. Tim is now in a ‘halo’ which keeps will keep his neck straight, but he began walking therapy today. The healing has begun, but it will still be a long journey. Please remember to lift up Tim and Russ if you pray.
There is enough love to go around!
by Allison Moore | Jul 8, 2014 | Uncategorized |
We have been blessed with so many wonderful visiting musicians and friends. Today Vernon responded to the music in a new way…
Watch for it…
Did you see? He moved his foot! This wasn’t the ‘intermittent pneumatic compression pump’ that has been manipulating his ankles over the past 46 days. This was a new movement on his own. Some of the nurses even stopped by to watch the action (and enjoy the concert.) Ok, ok, he hasn’t got his beat back. But it is the beginning of a start. This man does love his tunes, even in his current foggy state.
Speaking of tunes…here is a little sample of our friends Hans and Janine, playing live at Mission Hospital Surgical Intensive Care Unit. You can see why the staff (and a few wandering family members of incapacitated patients) found themselves drawn toward our open-doored room. Vernon’s room continues to be a little corner of heaven in the ward.
“The sky is everywhere, it begins with your feet.” –Jandy Nelson
by Allison Moore | Jul 7, 2014 | Uncategorized |
Today, I have many things on my mind, many things I cannot write about here. But I want to update on Vernon’s progress. He did move his thumb more today than he has for days. I know that sounds like a small thing, but they say that the thumb moving is a sure sign of cognitive connection happening. So Thumbs Up, Vernon!
The case worker is looking into new places where Vernon can be transferred to for more extensive care (like Physical Therapy along with the treatment he is already getting) I am hoping against hope it won’t be very far away. In some ways, his options have opened up as he has been off the ventilator for almost a week. Way to go, Vernon. Of course this has tired him out as he has had to work harder, but it is also showing that he is getting stronger. As they say in our ward, the more that comes OFF him, the better. They are ready to move him out soon, as they know he is at the next level of healing.
A friend of mine, Laura Glynn, left a little vial of sea glass on a string in Vernon’s room one evening. You can see it here, hung on Vernon’s “Wall Of Love.” I’ll copy the words of her attached note so you can read the meaning behind it.
This is sea glass. I call it my “treasure from the sea.” This glass was once a bottle, a jar, an art piece, a mirror, or a toy. These tossed away items are now crushed, broken, resembling nothing like they originally were. Finding their way to the beach, these pieces, now sharp fragments, are pushed by the tides, crushed by the waves, ground by the friction of one another. Through time, this crushing and grinding smoothes and makes these once-shards a thing of beauty, a treasure of the sea. Reds and blues are rare, but rarer still are these tiny ones–hard to find, yet once found, so meaningful, knowing that thy survived this crushing. They are the rare treasures. Just like us, my friend, yielding the pummeling of the storms and waves of life, yielding and becoming a thing of beauty.
.
I believe that Vernon’s life has already become a thing of beauty, but every day his is transformed a little more into a rare and miraculous story. His accident has even brought healing in others, though he isn’t even aware of it yet. Or maybe he is? I know he will only continue to move toward wholeness and strength…and beauty.
by Allison Moore | Jul 6, 2014 | Uncategorized |
“When you put faith, hope, and love together, you can raise positive kids in a negative world.” Zig Ziglar
This update is from yesterday, when Justine made an spontaneous appearance in the hospital room. She of course, was prepared, as I show her photos of daddy every night. But I hadn’t known she was near till I got a phone call from my babysitting parents, who were are the shopping mall across the street from the hospital. Although it had been a month from her last visit (she had contracted a cold and was afraid to spread it to her father in the meantime) she proved to be strong and ready for the moment thrown upon her. It was the first time she had seen her dad with his eyes open and she was as pleased as punch to get a “squeeze from his hand.”
And then of course, she took court over every visitor to her father’s room.
Among other nuggets of the conversation between Justine and Dr. Rauser, here is this:
Justine: Do you see that tear on my daddy’s face?
Dr. R: Yes.
Justine: Do you want to know why it it is there?
Dr. R: Why?
Justine: Its because he misses me and he wants to come home.
Out of the mouths of babes. I will say that while little Justine was holding court (she says she wants to be a doctor one day, after all) Vernon’s eyes were VERY focused on her voice…blinking, alert. I believe she will be a part of his strength, his reason to fight, regardless of her current awareness of it.
Heart-filling.
The following quote is a little off-age, but I love it and can apply it anyway:
“If one feels the need of something grand, something infinite, something that makes one feel aware of God, one need not go far to find it. I think that I see something deeper, more infinite, more external that the ocean in the expression of the eyes of little baby when it wakes in the morning and coos or laughs because it sees the sun shining on its cradle.”
Vincent Van Gogh
