Sunday, December 13, 2009

You Made it Possible!

I was trying to write these many blog notes in chronological order, but I need to put something out there before I burst. I want to thank everyone that made this trip possible. These 11 days were the most life changing of our entire life and without much help and effort on so many people's part...we would never have been able to do it.

First, I want to thank Trina for suggesting The Institutes so early on. Without your suggestion we may never have heard for many months, maybe even years. As I sat in class, I felt truly blessed to know of such a place so early on after Aviana's accident. I pictured how I would feel if I had discovered it years into her recovery. I would have been beside myself. We thank you for your guidance through this whole process.

Thank you to my Mom and Gary for being thrown into the mix and having to learn everything there is to know about Aviana's care. Thank you for taking such wonderful care of her for those seven days while we were gone. I know there is no place she would rather have been than with the two of you. Thank you also for filling our fridge with so many home cooked meals. What a great surprise. I love you both so very much!

Thank you to my Aunt Rella and Uncle Roger who bravely decided to fly Aviana out to us so we would not have to make a 24 hour loop from Philadelphia to California to pick her up. They both learned all about her care, but not in the realm of the comforts of one's own home, but in the realm of airports and airplanes!! You two are road and air warriors and I take my hat off to you both for embarking on such a journey. They not only hand delivered her to us, but went to a day and half of her evaluation. We love you and enjoyed all of the time we spent together!

Thank you to Dave and Kim Kennedy. Thank you for not only donating so much to make this trip possible, but for all of the time planning our travels. I should say, planning and re-planning :o) We appreciate you both more than you could ever know. Knowing you has made us better people. Because of you, we will take giving to others to a whole new level!

Thank you to my brother Jeff for taking care of Kama and Zoe. This has always been quite a tall order, but with what had happened to Aviana I became even more freaky about leaving her than usual. I have always trusted him completely, but was surprised when he didn't even bat an eye to this statement, "Jeff, don't worry, if anything happens to her....I may as well just end it!!" Didn't even bat an eye! Amazing.

During our trip we took dog watching to a whole new level. I explained how to take video and pictures with his phone and e-mail them to my phone. I asked him to send about 10 a day. Can you believe it, he did!! I was getting pictures and video of Kama at the park, laying on her bed, outside in the Roseville snow, etc. I was also getting pictures of Zoe every time he went to feed and check on her. It was almost as though I had a nanny cam! Thank you Jeff, you guarded my baby like no other could have!

Thank you to everyone else who made donations, sent encouraging notes and followed us on our incredible journey.

Ohhhh, I can't forget....thank you to our honest shuttle driver, Shane Packwood, who found and returned our camera!

Thank you to Dinah for picking it up for us :o)

Thank you to the Marriot Hotel for sending Lamby back with a quickness.

You all make life worth living and have showed us the best in humankind!!

With love,

2 comments:

  1. I'm reading all this and crying. I'm so happy that you have a PLAN. I can't express in words how good it felt to find a doctor that was willing to go the extra mile to help me get better. He looked at me and told me "I won't give up. We're going to get you better." Knowing that you have people to turn to that are there to help your little girl get the most out of life means the world to me, too.

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  2. Thank you for mentioning me in this post. I should really thank my sister Kelly for forwarding your blog to me as soon as she saw it. I am so thankful that I was able to "meet" you all so soon after Avi's accident. It's good to know that through our experience with our own daughter getting hurt that we can help someone else who is going through the same thing (brain injury) I think about you guys all the time, and Aviana is always in my prayers!

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