JUNE 17, 2004 - DAY 0

The accident happened at 7pm on the Malahat highway North of Victoria. Mercedes mom was first to know at 12:30am (Pacific time) and then my parents found out at 4am (Ontario Time

JUNE 18, 2004- DAY 1

JP & Tara arrived at 12:30pm. Paul, Donna & Beckie at 11:30pm.

JUNE 19, 2004 - DAY 2

 

JUNE 20, 2004 - DAY 3

As you already know. Craig, his girlfriend Mercedes and her cousin, Chris were in a very bad car accident on Thursday, June 17, 2004 on the Malahat drive in Victoria, B.C. All three kids are in drug-induced comas at this time due to the severity of head trauma.

Craig has suffered a C6 vertebrae fracture and this is stable. He has a base line skull fracture that is also stable. He has suffered severe head trauma to the left frontal lobe of his brain. Craig is still in a coma and the pressure in his brain has been up and down with today being a good day as the pressure in his brain has remained low which means the Dr. will not have to operate nor remove the side of skull where there is swelling. Craig does not respond to commands however he has what they called "intentional reached" to try to remove the ventilator as well as feel what is on his hand. He is moving his body and tried to rip the tubes out today! They say this is a good sign!

Mercedes has suffered from a shattered lumbar vertebra, a shattered arm and head trauma as well. She is still in not in a coma anymore but is heavily sedated. She will have surgery possibly Wednesday to put rods in her back and repair her arm. She has been taken off the respirator and is responding to commands from nurses/family. Very good sign!

Chris (Mercedes Cousin) suffered from a torn diaphragm; his gall bladder was inside out, and a badly bruised heart. He also suffered head trauma. He is still in drug-induced coma however he is also being brought out slowly. He had surgery today to close up his stomach as it was left open when his diaphragm was repaired in case of other issues. Chris is sometimes conscious and is writing on paper however, it was too stressful therefore he is again sedated. He is still on ventilator.

We have been told that Craig will remain in ICU for at least 24 days if not more. Therefore, we have found an apartment and connected our phone line and the internet will be connected on Wednesday.

Well, this is the update. Please pray for Craig, Mercedes and Chris as well as our families during this difficult time. We find our strength in others! *smile*

I ask that during this time, you do not over crowd my e-mail account with forwards however please e-mail as much as you want to us with info or to send your wishes.

We will keep you informed as much as possible.
Thank you to everyone for your prayers, thoughts and well wishes!

Paul, Donna and Family

JUNE 21, 2004 - DAY 4

Here is a picture of the kids! No picture of Chris yet.

JUNE 22, 2004 - DAY 5

Craig is progressing slow but well. Craig opened his eyes today after the Dr's/Nurses yelled at him, he then proceeded to hold up his finger, no not his middle finger, his index finger, signalling, "1 minute" and for those of us that know him, we have decided that he was saying "I just need one minute, Man!"

He has also moved his left side however his left arm is very swollen. As anticipated by the Doctors, he now has pneumonia. This is considered to be common and he is being treated for such. His ICP (pressure in his brain) remains between 8-13. This is great! The Doctor has begun the steps to slowly pull him from the drug-induced coma. It is now up to him to come around therefore we sit and wait this to happen. Craig's nurse has referred to him as a bear being woken during hibernation and indicated that it's the big guys like Craig who are kind of scary when they first wake up.

Mercedes Mom has nicknamed Craig, Vincent Van Gogh (for those who may not know, Van Gogh cut his ear off). I believe that I failed to mention yesterday that Craig's ear was severed during the accident, however, a plastic surgeon was able to re-attach it and it looks good.

Mercedes is now off the ventilator. She is expected to have surgery tomorrow to put the rods in her back as well as repair her arm. She is still unconscious.

Chris has surgery to close his stomach and reattach all of his stomach muscles/organs. He is heavily sedated due to the pain.

That's it for today. We are headed back to the hospital, as we are not allowed to be there during shift change between 7-9pm.

Thanking everyone again for their thoughts/prayers, phone calls and e-mails. We apologize if we are not able to return all phone calls and e-mails but we will do out best!

Paul, Donna and Family

JUNE 23, 2004 - DAY 6

Our optimism got the best of us, today we expected to see him open his eyes, but instead they have told us that we are taking the steps backward, they mentioned this might happen. He was coming to and was becoming quite aggressive....could we expect anything more of Craig? And because of this his ICP was jumping into the 30's. They need to sedate him again and from what we gather keep him in his coma for three or four more days

JUNE 24, 2004 - DAY 7

12:40pm - We are at the hospital right now, Craig is stable, but his ICP (Intra Cranial Pressure) is still high. It is sitting between 14 & 18, we as regular people sit at 3 or 4. It is hard to see him lying there. We can't touch him or talk to him because it causes too much stimulation and then his ICP increases. Sometimes they have us look at him through the glass, which sucks, but I suppose it will only help him get better.

2:26pm - He squeezed mom and dad's hands. They were talking to him; the nurse said it would be ok. Dad was holding his hand, and he squeezed it, so dad asked him to squeeze it again and he did. Mom grabbed a hold and dad told him to squeeze her hand, and her did. He is still not conscious, but he can hear and is responsive....I don't understand it all, but he squeezed their hands - this is what we all needed to have today!

6:31pm - Craig's blood pressure has gotten quite high and his ICP is high again too. I think he got too excited....or maybe he realized that I came and was worried I was going to collect the money he owes me! LOL But seriously, they are keeping a close eye on him...so are we!

9:13pm - Well Craig has been taken off the morphine, apparently this happened this morning but no one had told us, so that was why he could squeeze our hands. When I (JP) was in the room with him at one point he opened one eye and was very restless, so the nurse had me calm him down and get him back to sleep. Finally useful! We are uncertain at this time as to where things stand, but we do know this:
- he has a fractured C6
- he has a base skull fracture (lower back of the head)
- he had 22 stitches across his forehead that have now been removed
- severed ear, which was repaired through plastic surgery and is now on the mend.
- he has bruised lungs and pneumonia
- cuts and scratches all over
- and of course major head trauma and bruising to the brain on the left temporal section
Where things progress to is an hourly observation and as we know we will let you know. For now they are slowly raising his level of consciousness, the rest will be up to him....and as we know....HE DOES EVERYTHING IN HIS OWN TIME!

12:37am - We packed it in early tonight although I am up late. Craig is expected to be more conscious tomorrow. They have to watch his ICP and Blood Pressure, if those jump again, then he will takes the same two steps back he did yesterday. We talked to the nurse and they use a scale to judge his level of consciousness and Craig is a 6 out of 15, an at this time he is not being sedated or induced into a coma. What we see is what he is giving us. Nothing at this point is drug induced. We'll pray for a bright day tomorrow. On a positive note, Chris was moved from ICU today!!! he is walking and talking and has little recollection of the accident itself. Mercedes is talking gibberish and doing a lot of spelling, and sometimes, a little cussing, but she is still in a lot of pain do they are keeping her sedated, so that she can pull through this with ease. Spirits are up, we just can't wait for Craig to open his eyes....all good things come to those who wait

JUNE 25, 2004 - DAY 8

10:45pm - As I mentioned earlier, things have remained the same. Although little things have happened, like, tried to move his left arm and then used his right arm to help it up onto his chest. When the nurse was cleaning his eyes, he was tracking her movements. Again these are not conscious movements but natural physical adjustments per say. But in doing things like this it keeps us all, including the doctors optimistic. I think we will be heading home soon. We took a long break this afternoon; we were all really quite tired and needed the afternoon away. We'll be back for our 9.am. Call tomorrow.

1:34pm - First, thank you all for the well wishes and notes. They mean more than I think anyone will ever know. Sign as much and as often as you want! So now for today’s news. Well we got here this morning and the nurse told us the doctor wanted to have a family meeting. So at 10am we were in for a meeting. There is no good news and no bad news just clarification on everything. I guess as the family of the people we are by nature optimistic, so every little thing is big news. I think the staff were thinking we were getting too optimistic and were hoping he would be out by next week, but the truth of the matter is this...Craig has had severe brain damage and remains in a coma, the same state he was in 8 days ago is where he lies today. Although there has been progression, there has not been a significant amount. This is not a bad thing; it just means that his swelling is going to take longer. They have taken him off constant sedation and are only sedating him as required. So basically, he is still in critical condition in a coma, when they do raise his level of consciousness they do not know how much of this current state is a natural state, so he may still be in a coma once the sedation is fully taken off. All the movement is just the physical body waking up, not a conscious thought process on Craig’s behalf. No matter what, we are here until he opens his eyes and says - "What the fuck is going on!?"

JUNE 26, 2004 - DAY 9

7:15pm - Craig has had an all around great day. His nurse today Deborah really makes us comfortable with his progress, all the staff really are making things easy...well as easy as this can be. We just got an update (we are home for dinner) that Craig was moved n his bed - as they need to do, and he responded very well. It's amazing that in life we can get to a point where just being rolled in your bed and not having an episode is a great thing!! She also mentioned that Craig tapped her back...maybe he was flirting, but this also seems to be a good thing, he knew where she was spatially and was trying to get her attention. Things are looking up...but always keep in mind, two steps forward, one step back....yes this is a positive thing!

12:39pm - Off to a great start today - for clarification on yesterdays post - Craig has suffered severe brain trauma and moderate brain damage. The degree of damage will not be determined until he wakes up. Now on to today’s news. Craig had a good night but his Blood Pressure and ICP did jump a little, so they gave him medication to calm him down. Craig had to go to the bathroom - number two - and the nurse gave him an enema (spelling?) Craig did not enjoy this, in fact - he opened his eyes and shook his head NO!!!!! He would not go, but the meds kicked in and he went! Then just about an hour ago, he had to again, this time my dad was in the room, he started to tap his knee to get my dad's attention and then raised his cheek to point to his butt and put up two fingers indicating "number two". He put up quite a fight and they had to sedate him, quite strongly again. The nurse said this is good, but until he is doing this kind of stuff regularly, it is not great. So things may change this afternoon, but this is where we are today. One more thing, Mercedes has been moved from ICU today and Chris was moved yesterday. Chris is very walking and talking, but still having some food issues...most of it was expelled yesterday. Mercedes (Sadie - as her mom calls her) is coherent but still piecing things together. Time...all things will take time.

JUNE 27, 2004 - DAY 9

7:16pm - Well we are leaving now for the dinner break. Craig is doing a lot of incoherent talking. Some is coherent, but not making much sense. It's rather difficult watching him thrash at the restraints - he is restrained so he won't pull out his tubes and connections. The nurse said that at this point they do a lot of vulgar talk. So he is swearing a lot, trying to put things together, but it's still more his body responding to the surroundings than his mind. His mind is mostly just saying whatever floats through. He called the nurse "tits" and was telling me to get Tara 30 million dollars. He Counts to 100 and then tells us "That's It.! At times it can be humorous, but ultimately it is scary, watching someone you love act like they are really drunk and hardly making sense, but knowing that they aren't and have no control over what they are doing, and not knowing how much of this state will last, if any...and for how long. Reality sets in once the humour subsides, the mind is a great and powerful thing - his is defragmented and needs some piecing together. We have our faith that this is our turning point and if he wants to tell me to (F) OFF, so be it!

4:27pm - Well this has been quite the day. So we thought we would shift focus a little and talk about us! We are all doing fine. As you can imagine this is not the easiest thing to witness or be a part of. You think you know what to expect, you've seen it on TV or in the movies...well when they say "only in the movies" they really mean it. No one will ever just wake up from a coma and say, "Hey I need to carry on with my life as it was." This is a process that it not summed up in a two-hour film. There is more than one person whose life has changed, some greater than others but this will affect us all! There are so many things we have learned, but most importantly with this type of injury we have learned PATIENCE. Our source of relief right now is puzzles:

Waiting seems to be the game, so crosswords and word searches and those things help, I keep busy with the website, Beckie with email, Tara with paperwork, Mom reads books on brain injuries and Dad talks to everyone. In fact Mom and Dad have become fast friends with Wendy & Tony. Their son was also in an accident about 3 days after Craig. Both have brain injuries, and are recovering at about the same speed, Shaun, that's their sons name, is about a day behind Craig in progress. It is nice, in a weird way because they have each other to rely on and turn to. Seeing as how they will probably be together for most of this process until the boys can be transported, it is a great comfort I think for Mom and Dad to have someone who knows exactly what they are going through. On Father's Day we took Dad out to a seafood restaurant on the Warf. Quite delicious!

We still haven't really been to the ocean; we though we might go today, but haven't just yet. We will! Right now all our time and focus is spent on Craig. We all have our moments and know that things will be different. We all want Craig back the way he was, a pain in the ass once in a while, but we will all take that back any day! Love is a strong bond that people share and at times like this we really realize how important all the little things are, how great the big things are; like technology...the nurse said, if this had happened three years ago, none of the kids would have survived. All of your love and support keep us focused. When we step into that hospital the time warp begins, everything slows down and we look at every detail. 10 days have past since the accident, it feels like a month. We have seen 5 other families come and go to the ICU. Each family has their own story to tell, and we keep telling ours over and over. Somehow, that is helping us all get through this. Patience and love...that is what keeps us going. We keep taking it day by day.

 

2:04pm - More great new! As was suggested earlier Craig's first words - FUCK!!! The nurse was moving him around and then he said, as only Craig could - Fuck! Leave me alone. He has been feeling around, touching my dad's face, holding his hand, basically exploring. He is not 100% conscious, but he is at about 50%. They are doing some physio with him right now so we are headed to the ocean to see it for the first time on a bright sunny day all feeling really good.

11:37am - Some more little incidents....when Beckie and Dad were in the room, Craig was holding Beckie's hand - he wants to be holding people's hands, and he rubbed the tip of her fingers and then rubbed his. For those who know Craig, he loves hand cream, so Beckie's asked him if he wanted some and he nodded yes. So she massaged it in....also, last night I guess the nurse (a different one) was helping him and he pinched her arse, so things are moving along!

10:59am - GREAT NEWS!! Well today was the most eventful day so far. They have taken him off the respirator and took out his feeding tube. In fact, they are even going to take out his Arterial line from his left hand today and by tonight his ICP monitor should be removed. Things really do change quickly. He is breathing on his own, his ICP level is remaining steady even when we are talking to him it will peak and then go back to a normal pace...just like ours would. But probably the most assuring news of the day is this...Beckie and Dad were in the room and Craig opened his eyes, he turned and looked at Beckie, and they think he tried to say her name, then her turned to dad and made the I Love you Sign. For those of you who don't know, ever since we were kids my father and mother have always used the hand sign for I love you to tell us they do. When we would leave on trips they would be standing there both with their hands out reached and showing us they love us...Craig did this. My dad asked him if he saw it right and told Craig to squeeze his hand if he was saying I Love you....Craig did! Although it's been a great day, we still remain grounded knowing as quickly as this comes it could go for a while. After this episode the nurse suggested we should leave for a while because Craig would need rest after this much excitement. Oh by the way, When one of his Doctors was taking out the respirator, Craig gave him the finger!! He's coming back to us!

JUNE 28, 2004 - DAY 10

11:34pm - Craig had a restful evening. For the most part he was sedated to keep him calm. This really is the most difficult time to see him. He has to be restrained to keep him from injuring himself, which is never fun to witness. At this stage in the process he just stares, not an easy thing to digest for any of us. You never expect to see someone you love in such a state, especially when they are young and in their twenties. I would never wish this experience on anyone. You feel so helpless, like you are not even there. The doctor expects Craig to be in the ICU for around another week, from there he will be moved to the Acute Neurological Rehab floor. Wendy & Tony, the family we have met here, are having a hard day. It's their 24th Anniversary and Shaun, their son, had an episode this evening while we were out to dinner with them. It's amazing how much their experience is shaping our experience! It's great to have someone else who knows exactly how we feel, and vice-versa. Pray for Shaun tonight, he is having a hard day; so sharing the prayers can only strengthen him too. Also, our neighbours in Timmins have requested a mass to be held for Craig on July 6 at 7pm. I am not sure which church but will post for those of you who may be interested. Well, Tara heads back to Canmore tomorrow. I am sure glad I am marrying her...she has been such a support for us all during this, I know this is hard on her too, so when she gets home, you folks in Canmore take care of her until I get back. Last updates...Mercedes is doing well. She too had some brain trauma, as you may recall and is going through the process of recovery. She is further along than Craig, but still struggling. Jamie, her mother, has been great. At times it must be hard, but Sadie will get through this. Mona, Chris's mom is still here with him. He had a good day today; Popsicles went in and didn't come out (well not the way they shouldn't anyway). Tomorrow he moves to a clear food diet. All in all the kids have their support teams and all of you rooting for them. This is going to be a slow process, it's going to take a lot...I think we are ready to go the distance!

12:26pm - One more thing...on the article page we have put a simulation of how the accident happened, as we understand it. Also we have put all the articles we have come across about the accident on the site.

12:09pm - Craig is now a phase called "Disinhibition". Ultimately this means he is looking through filing cabinets in his brain and randomly pulling files from one drawer and reading them aloud. eg. He opens his "numbers drawer" and begins spuing out numbers and number associations. This is what Dr. Meaks calls "the thick of it". It is very hard to be in the room, he doesn't know who we are, and because of this injury he can't determine spatial constraints and definitions. The hardest part of this...it could last from one week to up to and over 3 weeks. We all know he will pull through, but I think we are all having a down day again. Things have reached a plateau and we've fallen. We know he is going to survive, but as who...will he be Craig...no one has the answers, and won't for up to 8 weeks from now. The process has begun...all of you support will help us from this point on for sure so please keep emailing and posting, we all check them for a pick me up!

JUNE 29, 2004 - DAY 11

11:57pm - We arrived back at the hospital around 8:30pm and decided to go and find Jamie and Mona, Mercedes and Chris's mothers. First you need to know that this hospital has two towers, the north and south. For some reason we always manage to go up the wrong tower, and then proceed around the entire hospital until we find the floor we want. Well tonight was no exception, when we finally got to what we thought was the right floor we found it rather odd that Mercedes or Chris may be on the Geriatric floor....we know their injuries were bad, but hell they don't deserve to be room mates with Mr. Magoo! Anyhow, no luck in the hunt and 9:00 was now upon us, time to see Craig! So we get to ICU and of course.....can't go in, their 7-9 meeting is still going on. You would think if it were to be over at 9pm, it would be over at least once in the past 14 days at that time. Usually we wait for an extra 20 to 30 minutes. Tonight was good though, only 15!!! But in all seriousness, we understand they have things to do and they don't want my father poking around the ICU bothering them all day - the need a break from him too (the time he is in there he causes enough trouble!!) He has actually been pretty good through all this, only once did a nurse have to draw a line on the floor and tell him not to cross it....once in 14 days...a record! Mom has put a request in for Craig letting him know that he likes certain things like, banana Popsicles, or butterscotch but especially cheesecake - the nurse said - "Good Luck getting that on this floor! - but you can bring it in if you want" So plans are under way to bring it in when he can eat it! Dad is the official Ensure bar tender, literally. Today Craig was lying there and opened his eyes and said to my dad, "Hey, can I buy you a drink", Dad said "No! Can I buy you a drink!" Craig said "yes" and in no time was pounding back an Ensure. I guess when he doesn't know what it is it tastes great! Dad is really good, he just wants to be there and help Craig through this, he massages Craig’s feet before we leave to calm him down, he helps the nurses lift him when they need the help. But he still has some French in him, like when Craig may disconnect something dad's natural instinct is to fix it....but he may not always know where it goes. My fear right now is we'll come back in and his catheter will be connected to his IV!!!! (That was for Dolly) But seriously, in life you always look to your parents for guidance and you know they will help and be there. I watch my dad and thank god I have the parents I have...I know I will always be safe and be loved. I watch my mother and know she will fight tooth and nail to make sure I get everything I need if I can't get it myself. I watch my sister and know that the world will know so that I will have the support I need to pull through. I read this site and thank God we are loved. We visited with Wendy and Tony tonight; Shaun had a good day, which is a relief after last night. We started a new puzzle tonight and think there are too many pieces missing to complete...maybe we will just forfeit this one. Another family has joined the floor, a native family...around 40 of them. It was a bit overwhelming, but now they are down to the immediate family of 10. They don't expect her to make it past tomorrow. Very sad to see. On a positive note, Mercedes had another good day. Her brain damage seems a little more than they thought, so the healing is taking a little longer than expected, but just like Craig it's a day to day process with small improvements daily. Chris is doing really well. They expect that he will be discharged and head to Canmore on Thursday! Things are looking up, but this process is slow, and the experience is incredibly tough. We are getting through, but it is tough. I think tomorrow we are taking an evening break and going to see a movie. Our minds need a break, then hopefully Thursday we can go and see the fireworks for Canada Day! Talk to you tomorrow!

6:15pm - Craig started to eat today. Remember he is still not himself. Eating is good right now, but he has no idea who we are or where he is. But eating is good. He ate two Popsicles and three cans of Ensure. Dad and Beckie spent most of the day with him feeding him and just being in the room with him. Getting him to eat was a chore, he first was fed by the nurse, but then spit it out When Dad went in he fed him. During my visit I got to feed him too, just a Popsicle, but I have never had that feeling in my life before, such despair, I kept thinking "I am feeding my 23 year old bother like a 2 year old child." It is pretty hard on all of us to be in with him, but it is so good for him. This really will be the longest process of them all. But Dad and Beckie are very happy being with him. Mom and I however can only visit in little spurts. Tara is gone now and I miss her. She is at home tending to our house and taking care of getting my life on track for when I return. All in all it was a good day to know that he is eating - a good thing for us all. Day by day even the littlest things mean big things, and we really are happy with the small steps. We all had chiro appointments and feel better now; our chiropractor in Timmins recommended him. Not much else for now. We are at home and will head back to the hospital around 8pm.

JUNE 30, 2004 - DAY 12

10:01pm - Well Craig is officially on the "BUMP” list. For those of you not into the ICU lingo this means - healthiest and first person to lose his bed to someone more critical! We may have jumped the gun a little this afternoon with our post on Craig and his memory. Although he did recognize us, he doesn't now. So this may come and go. It shows you how powerful the mind is...or maybe he realized that if ever he didn't want to be a part of our family, now was the chance to escape and pretend he doesn't know us again!! Sad news though Craig, we're the ones who will be taking you home! (insert insane mad scientist laugh here) But seriously, he did not know us this evening and is back to the gibberish, but this is just a sign of exhaustion. Perhaps a pattern to watch for these next little night. The days are long for him and we test him, that's for sure! We'll see. We hope he doesn't move floors tomorrow because we are enjoying the one on one care he is receiving and when he moves it will be 4 to 1 care, okay, but not the same. If my mom had her way he would stay right there until he was walking out of ICU. She even told the nurses they couldn't move him...he was paid up until Friday! A couple more families have joined the ICU, not fun to watch, new people where we were 13 days ago...wow, 13 days! It feels like so much longer, he has come a long way in 13 days, but we have an even longer road to travel ahead of us. My friend Heather wrote on the website, how quickly you learn not to sweat the small stuff after something like this, and it is true. But then maybe it is the small stuff we need to sweat, to appreciate, every little thing that seems so small and so minor, maybe those are the things that in the end mean the most. Don't get me wrong, I understand what the quote means, but maybe the quote should be "Don't sweat the small stuff, appreciate it, it's there for a reason!"
So you all know we took a trip tonight to see a movie. We went to see "the Terminal" with Tom Hanks. I think it brought GUILTY PLEASURE to a whole new level. It was hard to enjoy ourselves with this going on, but we are at the point where we know that we need this! I firmly believe that everything happens for a reason. I don't always have to like what happens, but somewhere down the road I realize why it happened. This must have happened for a reason - but why? I can't wait to know. I can't wait to be able to say - "BINGO! If this had not have happened, this (insert thing that happened here) would never have happened." We hope that Chris is released tomorrow, but we haven't seen that crew today - so keep your fingers crossed. No update today on Mercedes. For those wondering the MASS will be held at Nativity Parish in Timmins. That seems to be all for tonight, with the three hour time change I apologize for late postings, but I get to it when I do, I hope you all understand! Lots of love and thanks from the whole family. - JP

JULY 1, 2004 - DAY 13 - CANADA DAY

9:45pm - This is Beckie. After reading JP's posting today, I felt compelled to write something too. Reading his posting brought tears to my eyes and made my heart sink. Not only does it hurt me to see my "little" brother as I often refer to him sitting in that hospital bed not being able to feed himself, not being able to recognize "us" and not being able to sit up or even make a complete sentence. This too frustrates me. But somehow, I have been able to deal with all of this until today with the single hope in the back of my mind that Craig is tough and like anything else in life he has ever struggled with, he will conquer this just like all the other things he has conquered. Today, it was different. Today, I recognized how strong the bond between two brothers can be and what's more important is that I recognized how strong the bond is between my two brothers, JP and Craig. And in the midst of this, it hurt me today more than any other day to see Craig the way he is and more so to see JP the way he is and ever more so for the fact that probably for the first time in our lives, I don't even have the slightest clue how to help either one of them. A feeling of helplessness. So, I am writing to remind JP and Craig of their birthday presents that I gave them this past year, December 2003 and November 2003 respectively. I gave them a poster that I had made with a picture of a sister and two brothers on a ski slope with the slogan, ski equipment $500, lift ticket, $80 and spending a day on the slopes with your brothers, PRICELESS. I then wrote the following below to them:

How quickly all the "stuff" from childhood can transform adult siblings into "kids" again and highlight the strong yet complex connections between brothers and sisters. It doesn't seem to matter how much time has gone by or how far we've traveled. Brothers and sisters bring us face to face with our former selves and remind us how intricately bound we are by each other's lives and how far we have come. A brother is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost. They are a gift to the heart, they are a comfort to the spirit, and the best thing about having a brother like you is that I always have a friend.

I want to remind JP and of course, Craig (when he is able to read this) that the bond between brothers and the bond between brothers and a sister is strong. And, it is during times like these that this bond grows. Even through the anger, frustration, tears and craziness, it still hurts me to see both of my brothers this way. JUST PLAIN FRUSTRATED.

It's hard to say but I have never felt more helpless in my life. Both of my brothers have always been there for me. Craig stuck up for me on the soccer field, baseball field, swimming pool, ski hill etc. JP was always there when I needed someone and it's hard because there's nothing I can do to help either one of them during this time except be PATIENT.

So, I guess that's all I have to say in my post. Not sure if it makes sense but felt I needed to say it. I sit and I wait and I try to be patient and I try to be there for Craig in his room as much as I can. I like to converse with him even it our conversations go nowhere; I still like to hear his voice and see his silly grin!

Good Night! Please say an extra prayer for my brothers and my parents when you read this.

8:23pm - I have updated the simulation. We were looking at the crash photos and misunderstood a section of the story. This makes more sense now so take a look under articles.

8:04pm -  For those who may not know, this is the "I Love You" sign we talked about a few days ago.

3:41pm - The day has not been as great as planned. He is having a very aggressive day, which means - SEDATION. We wouldn't mind if it just calmed him down, but with the head injury it is a lot more than just relaxation it puts him right to sleep. But even when he awakes he is too violent for any of us to be in with him. Violent, meaning, aggressive physically and verbally, a lot of swearing and rude gestures. This is all a part of the process. I asked if this was normal and the nurse replied with - it is common. Yeah I guess none of this is really normal! But if it is common, that is a relief. The best news so far today - CHRIS WAS DISCHARGED AND IS ON HIS WAY HOME!!!! He left around lunchtime today and they were on their way to their cottage for a little celebrating with the family. I went to visit Sadie for the first time since she has been awake. She is a doll. She is very very chatty, not really in the present though. Although she knows who everyone is, she really has no comprehension of what day or time it is. But she can talk....a mile a minute. My dad mad e comment about her being so talkative and she said...well I sit all alone until people get here so I need to talk now while I have someone to listen to me. It is evident to me now how far we still have to go with Craig to even get him to where Sadie is, and that is still not perfect. What an extraordinary circumstance to be thrown into. I hate this! I hate not having the answers, and for those of you that know me and know me well, you know how much I hate not knowing. I ruin surprises because I figure them out at about the same time the person trying surprise me does. The uncertainty of all of this is so reality smacking that it stings harder than any reality check I have ever had. Life is like a box of chocolates and we got a really F&$CKING stale box, no matter which one we try right now they all suck! I can't leave the post on that note, but I needed to express my frustration...well if I am going to jump on that train, would you believe that we had requested our local Timmins paper to put the accident info in the paper. They said they would, and still have not!? I mean what is up with that. We felt it so important to do that, to let all of Craig’s friends in Timmins (because he had quite the large circle) know and they still have not done anything. We emailed them today to express our sadness, but who knows what they will do from here. I could understand with elections this may not be front-page news, but then I look at today’s paper and see on the front page something like "Park Lays Bare" - Yippee shit! I mean you would think a community could turn to it's local paper for help, but apparently a barren park takes precedent over a young Timmins adult lying near death across the Country....yeah I guess I see the correlation! NOT! - who says that anymore - not! I can't believe I just typed that...well it works. If I sound hostile today, I am. You know that family who joined us yesterday, well they found out that their daughter is going to die, it is only time now, they are taking her off the machines as we speak. Although I know we are past that point, it is still scary. Also, Shaun, Tony & Wendy's son who is also in ICU has made some improvements today, his respirator is out but he may need some surgery. Their son Denny, whom we have not met in our 10 days with them made an appearance today. It was pretty gut wrenching to see this 15 year old kid come and see his brother, perhaps it is that brotherly bond that made it difficult to watch him come out of the ICU and cry on his mother's shoulder. I just had to sit there and watch, and feel his pain. Wow, I didn't think I had much to write for this post, but apparently I did. I don't know if I will get a chance to post before it's too late tonight, but - HAPPY CANADA DAY, and when you are watching your fireworks.....no matter where you are....the last burst in the sky - that will be Craig's, so make a wish - you know what we'll be wishing for!

10:34am - HAPPY CANADA DAY! It's always fun to post a little good news firs thing in the morning, so Mom thought this would be a good start to the day! Craig had a good night last night. He even tried to escape, but I would imagine with the restraints, padded mittens and yellow shorts he would have gone noticed....I think it would have been much like Miss Piggy in "The Muppets Great Escape" trying to break into a museum to steal a diamond. Lets be honest, a puppet trying to do anything will get noticed....the same goes for Craig’s situation....um it's a little obvious you're a patient - I don't think you're going to get too far....at least wait until you have more than a pair of shorts on! So maybe I exaggerate his valiant effort at trying to get free...I think the most he did was scale his own bed! But this is showing some good signs. This morning he had his physio and the nurse said that she quizzed him on who he was and where he was from and he answered everything....where from? Ontario - Do you have any brothers or sisters? yes.- How many brothers? 1 - sisters? 1. This is surely a good sign. She also said that she had him sitting at the end of the bed and taking verbal responses. He was asked to move his right foot and he did, but when asked to move the left, he just stared at it, no movement. This could be temporary, permanent or due to exhaustion, but right now we know that the left side of his body has suffered something, what is still undetermined. We have a few new people in ICU, a man has joined us with his girlfriend. His daughter is in ICU and they don't expect her to make it, or if she does she will be in a vegetative state. Also, the native family who arrived a few days ago lost their battle today; their mother passed away this morning - say a prayer for them. Craig is fighting hard and will pull through this quite quickly - we hope! We plan to spend today with him again and then head to the harbour for some Canada Day festivities. All in all we are gearing up for great day! Hope all is well with all of you!

JJULY 2, 2004 - DAY 14

11:22pm - Mom & Beckie think I should mention that the nurse, was just doing what the suits at the hospital told him to do during the room changing ordeal. Other than that we had an enjoyable day with Craig. We spent the day with him and although not too chatty, like Sadie (who incidentally took 4 steps today!!!!!) Craig is talking. We did a little quizzing for him today. Asking him what his name is, how old he is, when his birthday is. He answered all of these questions really well. He got into some trouble when we got to our names, although tired he did manage to figure out my name with some coaching, and although he thought my dad's name was Mark, he soon figured it out to be Paul. But it was Beckie's name that made us all laugh. When asked what his sisters name was he said, Rebecca T...he paused, then said....Rebecca Kathleen.....he paused again....Rebecca Kathaleen.....he paused again.....Rebecca Kathaleen Marie Thibodeau. We all had a good laugh. For those who don't know this is how Rebecca used to announce herself when asked her name. Although he can name the members of his family, he still has no idea who we are. Some other funny stories from today...Dad usually massages his feet to calm him down and at that time we were also quizzing him. So when we got to introducing dad, My dad said "I am your Dad, the guy rubbing your feet." Without missing a beat Craig said, "You wish!" He is saying a couple of catch phrases quite often like, "For Sure!" and "100%" All in all a good visit with one major episode with dad & Beckie. They were in the room and Craig was trying to get out of is restraints; the nurses had taken his gloves off thinking it might be ok...WRONG! He was trying to pull himself out of the bed, and pulling his IV's out and picking at his scabs so they needed to put the gloves back on and calm him down. So my dad was helping and holding Craig’s arms down...Craig very serious looked up at my dad and said "Let Me Go! Why are you doing this to me?" Dad replied with "I am your dad and I love you" to which Craig responded.....

TUNE IN TOMORROW FOR CRAIGS RESPONSE...MON, Chris's mom said this should be like a soap opera, and everyone knows a good soap always has CLIFFHANGER FRIDAYS!

AS PROMISED - CRAIG'S FIRWORKS!

5:42pm - Well today was like no other day. Let me break it to you like a movie ....Picture this, Victoria, 2004. Craig lies sedated in his luxuriously decorated room, thanks o Kassidy & Corteny Dube's magnificent pieces of art, let's call them frescos, painted beautiful on white canvases - actually paper, but story still applies. Craig is awoken and moved to the foot of his bed where he is "dangled" - more ICU lingo meaning.....nothing sexual....basically to dangle him from the bedside to get the blood circulating. As he dangles from his bed, both Donna and Paul, his parents from Ontario enter to see their son dangling..again not sexual or morbid...the nurse says..."we will be moving him today!" - SIDENOTE - when I said nurse how many of you thought woman??? Hmm well his nurse is a man today, back to the movie. The camera zooms in for a close up, Paul & Donna look confused and anxious - "today?" Paul says, "private room?". The nurse turns to him, only as a nurse can and says "No, four bed ward!!" Extreme Close up on Donna - "I'M SORRY BUT THAT IS UNACCEPTABLE!" (insert Cheesy soap opera music hear) Meanwhile in the ICU family lounge, Rebecca and John Paul are found on their knees beside the couch praying..."Oh Lord, please help my brother!" Rebecca says. "Yes please lord, he owes me money", says John Paul. Just then the ICU doors swing open (well their electric, so they kind of buzz slowly open - and Donna enters quickly followed by Paul. "Oh mother, whatever is the problem" cries Rebecca - "Oh father you look so upset what ever could it be?!" said John Paul. "Well children, it seems that the hospital thinks they can move your brother to a community section of the hospital. But we have asked to speak to Dr. Meaks" (Soap opera music here) they all sit patiently as Tony and Wendy look on, anxious and nervous. Then the ICU doors open and, just like on ER (the old ER with George Clooney) we see the nurse leading the bed down the hall. For some reason we think he thought he was in a bed race and was trying to win with the speed he was trotting down the hall. and in the bed was CRAIG! (And now a CSI flashback) It seems as though while we waited, the nurse gathered his other nurses and decided on how to make a break, figuring out at which moment we would be the most vulnerable not to stop them from making this move. (back to the present) John Paul jumped to his feet and turned into Dolly shouting down the hall "HEY, where are you taking him!" Nurse stops in his tracks, the camera zooms in, like on the cigarette-smoking guy in the Charlie’s angels movies, and he says "6B" (soap opera music) and the bed is whisked away! (Incidentally the nurses were taking their direction from those above)

Okay enough of the movie...but all this really did happen, well most of it (I don't kneel to pray). It was quite a shock and the hospital agrees that their course of action was a little bit poorly communicated, but all in all the whole ordeal was quite intense. The social worker came, we plead our case, Craig cannot be in a group room right now, he gets agitated with the slightest noise, and this was from before the accident. Also, we have no other place to go but to his room. If he were in a group room we would be restricted to visiting hours - not this kid!!! So Dr. Meakes rode in on his stallion and agreed, he was in just as much shock as we were, Craig will be moved to a private room tonight. But they said that 5 hours ago and we are still waiting. Other than that, no real change today. They were irregularly sedating him, and now are regularly sedating him, so we will see how he is over the next day or two. Other than that, Tony and Wendy are having a hard day, but they too are now on the 8-week waiting period as us! We went to the fireworks last night, well Dad & I did. 40,000 people was not Mom's scene. They were nice, but glad it only took 15 minutes to walk to them! I will post the one picture which was the last burst...Craig's burst, tonight! Talk to you all soon.

JJULY 3, 2004 - DAY 15

12:30am - I almost forgot ...I finished Puzzle #4. Perhaps a soothing hobby for home...

10:23pm - Today was once again a very long day. So many things. All in all I feel guilt. I am leaving tomorrow and if ever there was a time I needed to be here it is now. This new ward sucks. Maybe it's because we are not in ICU and Craig does not have 1 on 1 care, but can he at least have 1 in an hour care. We feel right now that if we are not in his room with him that he is not getting cared for. It feels like having a two-year-old child and leaving him alone with no supervision, or sending him off to school at 2 years old to fend for himself, this wouldn't happen. We understand that the transition is tough, but we need to feel more comfortable that he is safe and being treated so that he makes a quick recovery. So right now we are practicing a vigilance essentially staying with Craig until he falls asleep and then going to eat, or go home. I think my parents will burn out quickly if this is the case, who knows how long Craig will remain in this phase. Any nurses out there have any suggestions? How do we get the nursing staff to understand our fear? Maybe a rhetorical question, but really, things are frustrating at this point. For the first time I think all four of us are feeling the blues. I know one thing is for sure, we miss Tony & Wendy, although we did see them today. We found out that when they called to check in on Shaun, the nurse passed Shaun the phone and he talked to his parents - how great is that! But then w found out later that Tony's father passed away this morning suddenly. Incredible day for them though. Craig still has no recognition of any of us. Although we did ask him about extended family today - he has no idea who Tara and David are (mine and Beckie’s spouses - soon to be) but he did know who Memphis E. was. I started reading him postings off the board and he said, "Well there you go" after nearly every post - this is his new phrase! He was sitting there staring at the wall when he said, "I love you, can you get that?" That's when I noticed he was reading the card from Kassidy and wanted to look at it. I took it down to him, although he did not know who she was he said it was nice. Incidentally say a little prayer for Kassidy tonight, she may have appendicitis and was at the hospital when we spoke last. We went through the Gordon family today, but as he got into more names he got tired and couldn't remember any more. We met a new family today, Nancy & her son Doug. Doug was in an accident 5 weeks ago and for the first 10 days lived in her car, then she was given a camper to live in. She actually lives in the hospital parking lot. Can you imagine? They never thought her son would live, let alone be walking and talking and doing anything he is doing today, amazing how the brain can function and get itself to where the human will takes it. Catherine Webb, one of my mom's friends from Onaping Falls was here today. It was nice to talk to someone not in the hospital circle. Well that is it for now, we are frustrated, but who wouldn't be. Thanks for you thoughts and well wishes. I head home tomorrow, but will continue to post through Beckie & news I get from my parents.

10:10am - Catching up with where we left our heroes yesterday they were fighting with joker in the bat cave and...wrong story.....Craig very serious looked up at my dad and said "Let Me Go! Why are you doing this to me?" Dad replied with "I am your dad and I love you" to which Craig responded, "Well, you're a DINK of a dad!" Hope you enjoyed the wait for that! We are off to the hospital. We are quite happy with his move to the 6th Floor, but this is where things get tough. The nurses rely on us to help with most things in this early phase, basically until he can help himself...and no one knows how long that is going to be! Can you still believe the Daily Press has put nothing in the paper, perhaps we need to turn to all of you Timmins locals to give them a push, Many of Craig's friends still don't know about the accident. A little Craig up date. He got his gloves off last night and we think Craig taught himself a lesson....he pulled his catheter out!! OUCH!!!!! The nurses don't think he will be doing that again....I don't know though, if he doesn't have a short-term memory, who's to say he won't keep doing it! Man my groin is sore just typing this! There have been some questions with regards to our wedding (Mine & Tara's that is). The answer is this; at this point we are still going to Mexico to get married. We know that Craig will not be able to fly, and a part of us is being optimistic in hoping that he can drive, but reality sets in and we know that a three-day drive would probably not be good for him after just coming out of the hospital. It was hard to deal with at first, but now, in the grand scheme of things it's more important that he be around to celebrate our marriage for years to come. He will still be my best man, even if only in spirit. We're off to the hospital Thank you for all of your posts. If you are reading this and have not posted, drop us a quick line, they really cheer us up, and you can post as often as you like. We are printing off all his emails and posts and keeping a book for Craig to read, as he gets better!

JULY 4, 2004 - DAY 16

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY

(for all you Yanks reading this)

10:43pm (Mountain Time 9:43pm Pacific Time) - I am now at home in Canmore, Alberta. This is really hard and difficult, although it feels right. I really am having a hard time adjusting to being here, no hospital smell, no crowded emergency room, no sofa bed to pull out to get into bed. I would drop everything in a second though if I needed to go back. As so many of you have said, the love our family shares is so strong that we need this. I need to rejuvenate to get back to them to help energize them to go the distance. You know, it was not until today that I realized I think we are all still in shock. Your mind goes into an autopilot to help you conquer the days. I think reality will set in for us all when our eight weeks are up and we know where Craig is mentally. Some good news today...as he gets spurts of lucidity he recognizes people. Today I was with him and he knew who I was I am so used to asking, do you know your brothers name and hearing his response John Paul, I was caught off guard today when I asked the same question and he said..."well isn't that you?" For most of the morning he knew who I was but as he got more and more stimulated he would forget. I saw Sadie and said good-bye to her. God she is a cutie, I hope she continues to get better too. Craig had a good day, although he did pull his catheter out yet again this morning. No damage, but man this has got to be painful. We know that Craig can read because he has been reading things as we bring them in, and even reading words we ask him to. Although he has very little of an attention span so long sentences are a chore. I flew out at 2pm PT and while I was gone, Craig had a spurt of knowing the whole family, recognizing their faces. He knew Beckie's name so she asked him if he knew who the big guy was in the room and he said that's my dad. So then mom came in and she said "Hi Bus" and his eyes grew large and he said, "Hi MOM!". Beckie later started reading him email and posts from the book she has compiled. She said people’s names and asked Craig if he knew who they were and as she went through them he got more annoyed with the questions because of course "He knows who they are!" This must be a sign of improving. Although we were painted a picture today by Nancy, the lady who lived in her car for the first 10 days. She said that there are days where you think things on a roll, and then they just derail, so don't get flying too high - her son was not expected to live, and if he did he would be in a vegetative state....well tell that to him when he goes for his morning jog! (6 weeks into the process) I stopped by the Dinner Show on the way home, reality hit hard that I was back....I am physically, but mentally I am in Victoria. It will take a day or two to get some focus, but I have to honest, my heart and mind right now are with my family, and always will be. I am going to continue doing posts through Beckie, Mom & Dad, they may even write their own posts from time to time. Oh yeah.....We bought a puzzle for us to do here in Canmore....oh and Shaun will be moving up to the 6th floor tomorrow -- Good to have Tony & Wendy close again, we were in withdrawal these past few days!

8:52am - Just a quick post to say Happy Fourth of July. We hope you all have a good day! We are off to the hospital so I can say goodbye to Craig; it's only for a week or two. We'll see how things play out over the next few days - hell I may be back on Wednesday. But the reality of it is that Craig is going to survive this, now we need to. So if I go and get rejuvenated, I can return to aleve some of Mom, Dad & Beckie's stress, and make sure that my job is still secure and safe. They have told me to take the time I needed, but too many chickens on one egg will not make it hatch any sooner. I feel guilty, but know that this is the right thing to do today....but that will likely change 5 minutes after I say goodbye.

JULY 5, 2004 - DAY 17

9:43pm - Let me begin by apologizing for not having a post up sooner. It was my first day back at work today and wow, can work ever-just pile up when you just drop it. But now that I am caught up and said enough about me. Craig had a good morning today. I will know more once I talk to my parents about this evening and will add a post later tongiht or early tomorrow. Dad went in at 7am today to be there during the nurses "meeting". It seems that Craig pulled his cathader during the previous times during this "meeting" so Dad thought it best to be there. Mom and Beckie took a break this morning...well mom did some work and as usual, whenever anyone wants somehting done quickly, the company computer had crashed and it was not happening quickly. Beckie had a bit of a sleep in. Craig remains about the same as when I left yesterday, although while someone in the family is there, we take his restraints of to give him freedom. Big news tody - the Arterial line was removed! Now Craig has nothing attached to him other than that damn - shall I say Pecker wrecker?!! This is all I really know right now, but as soon as I know more, you will know more!

JULY 6, 2004 - DAY 18

11:43am - Well some good news! Craig is being himself a little more. Some antics from yesterday include, an failed escape plan, the eating of a nerf ball and gum basketball. I will go into those more detailed in a moment....on to news....THE DAILY PRESS wrote an article today! You can find it on the Articles page. It is ok, kind of blah, but it is in the paper!! And I can tell you that we are quite overwhelmed by all of you our famly and friends who have gone ahead and organized a fundraiser for us and set upa trust account for the family. It is true the expenses are hard and a lot....but like it was said on For Love or Money last night - Happiness is more important than money. I knoe that my parents would spend every dime they had to get through this...but this will definately make a difference. From what we understand our family, friends and Bambi's Castle, where mom works, are all putting this together and having a huge yardsale -how great is that! For those running this - PLEASE TAKE SOME PICTURES! We have notice that posts are slowing down, but please keep them up, I know that when I was there they were somehting that we turned to hourly to get the encouragement and support we needed, and still do. Craig is doing well today, but they had to sedate him to get him to calm down, he got quite worked up yesterday. Ultimately he does not know where he is, and even when you tryto explain it to him, he has no short term memeory, so five minutes later he is freaking out again wondering what is going on.

NOW ONTO THE ANTICS:
#1 - Failed escape plan - I guess he was a lot more lucid yesterday, and decided he wanted to go to the bathroom, so it appeared, buthe didnot want to use a bed pan, insteead he wanted a toilet. So they wheeled in a comode for him to use. He got out of the bed, and walked a little, sat on the comode and then tried to make a break for it! Other escape plans include asking my dad to help him find a pair of pliers, scissors, tweezers, anything to cut him out of his restraints. This has to be so hard on my dad, imagine you son begging you to free him, and knowing you can't for his own safety.

#2 - Eating of the Nerf Ball - Craig is very aggitated, so to calm him down they have given him a nerf ball to play with. Well he was chucking it at my dad, and they had to tell him not to do that. Then finally he settled down, and saw the ball and aked for it. So they gave it to him....he eyed the ball up, and then like he was eating an apple took a big CHOMP from it! They had to beg and plead to get him to spit it out!

#3 - Gum Basketball - He is constantly putting things in his mouth, my dad's neck, hands, noses, anything that comes near his mouth, so they thought he might enjoy gum! So they picked him up some gum. They gave himthe gum and he swalled it. They tried again, this time he chomped it liek a child would for the first time, large exaggerated chomps. Then he took his hat off....I forgot to mention, he noticed his hat on the wall, and said "That's my hat, give it to me!" - back to the story. He took the hat off and placed it gently at the end of his bed.....then stared at it. Just staring, everyone else watching in curiousity....then with one big breath! SPIT! The gum flew across the bed into his hat! Needless to say the gum was put to rest for another day.

All in all a good day yesterday. I will hae more posts from today and be sure to check out the news articles online!

JULY 7, 2004 - DAY 19

11:57pm - Another article ws in todays Daily Press, an editiorial to boot! I have posted it online. Craig had another good day, tiring for the family though, he is a busy boy. I actually talked with Craig today, it "did my heart some good" as Tara's family would say. I had called to talk to Beckie and Craig I guess wanted to talk, so she held the phone to his ear and I said hello. He siad hello, and then I asked him if he knew who I was, and he said, "yeah it's J" Well the tears started then! (For those who don't know....I am a complete suck...but I think in this instance I am allowed to be) I asked him if he knew where he was and he said "I know I am somewhere." Then I suppose he got really aggitated so I said goodbye and he said "Goodbye J" I'll tell you, I never once thought I would weep at the sound of my brothers voice saying my name, but when you are at a distance the way I am on such and emotional level it was well worth a little tear shed. He had a few other moments today...one with Beckie when he was eating his lunch. Beck noticed an eyelash on his cheek and told him. He then said you can make a wish, asking him if he knew what a wish was. Craig said yes. Beckie said, ok make a wish, to which Craig replied...I WISH YOU WOULD JUST FEED ME!! I think he has become more relaxed to some degree with the restraints, he still does not like them, but as Craig would have normally done, he figures ways around things. Like today he told Dad that he needed to go to the bathroom, so they got the nurses, undid his restraints, walked him to the bathroom, then he just looked at them and said "I changed my mind!" Also, Mom and Craig were chatting a little today as they put on some elbow pads (those strached hospital linens are chewing up his elbows) and mom stated to talk about hockey. She asked Craig if he played Hockey, and he said yes. She then said do you play soccer, to whichhe said yes. He then said...do you play with Oliviu? To which Craig said "Oli! Yeah!" So Oli he knows who you are buddy, I am sure he knows who everyone is...in good time he will make the mental connections we are all waiting for him to make. So if this sounds more like Craig it is, but please remember that these are 3 or five minute moments in what is a long day of him not knowing who we are, why he is where he is, fighting with restraints, feeding him, taking him to the bathroom. I think it is important to tell you all that the Craig we knew and love is there but by no means is he back. It's like watching achild grow up. Family watch the child and say how much he looks liek the mother or father, or how he acts just like the father or mother. Craig is the same right now, he is this other individual with glimpses of Craig, traits of Craig. Bit by bit they will be Craig, but this is a long road to recovery...Craig may not come back the same way he left, but for us, seeing these glimpses into him are the hope for a better tomorrow.

PS. Lillie - It was a Caramilk bar!

12:02pm - Craig had a progressive and tiring day yesterday. He definatley has some of his character back. He was being restrained by two nurses, and he looked down at them and said...."You ladies look like you are working hard....why don;t you undo these things and let me help you!" The nurses could hardly stand up from laughter! Later in the day Mom asked him if he would ike some chocolate, so she went and got him a chocolate bar. She fed him a piece and his eyes roled back and he savoured it like you had just given him the most tantalizing taste in teh world. He moaned and groaned and then said "can you give some to my girl?" as he motioned to the window. Mom asked him to repeeat it and again he motioned to the window. Mom then asked who his girl was, as the window is onteh sixth floor, so anyone out there would have to be flying. Craig said "My Girl, Mercedes!" So mom said sure and went down to the hall and gave Merecedes a piece of chocloate as well...she too thought she was in heaven! Dad thought Craig might enjoy a burger, because for those of you who know him.....we could be at the fanciest restaurant in teh entire world and Craig will alwasy order a burger. So they got him a burger, gave it to him...and he spit it out! Perhaps too much taste?! He is still being restrained, as he has told his helper....oh I mean Beckie, Craig seems to think she is his helper...he has said..."Can you get me some scissors and help me burn out of here?" Not ready to go just yet Craig, but soon enough. Beckie would like me to ask friends and family to email or mail a photo of yourself for us to put on Craigs wall, close up headshots are best. We want to start quizzing him, or putting facial references to who people are, hopefullythis will help his progress. You may email them to craig81@telus.net (craig81@telus.net). Thanks again for all your posts! By the way, check out the news articles, another has been published in the Timmins TImes....Thank you Timmins Times!

JULY 8, 2004 - DAY 20

12:58am - Craig had a relaxing day today. He was not as aggresive as he was yesterday. He still calls Beckie "the Helper" and is still trying to escape. Like today the custodian came in to clean and Beckie and Craig were in the room. Craig said "Hey" The guy looked up. "Hey you must have something to help me get out of these on your cart eh?!" They guy looked a little puzzled and said, "Um you should talk to your nurse!" and then left. Mom and Dad went with Wendy & Tony and Jamie to a group meeting today. A support group for brain injury patients families. But, it was pretty well just the five of them, and tehy pretty well did what they do back in the family loung on the sixth floor. Although the social worker did help a bit, one thing everyone was concerned with was Craig & Mercedes seeing each other at this point. BOth really don't know where they are, so running into one another may have a combination of good or bad effects, so for now it is important to keep them apart. If you have read the articles you would know that there was another accident on the Malahat the Sunday prior to the kids accident...well tehre was a six year old girl who was badly burned in that accident and unfortunately today she passed away. Say a prayer for her and her family. Craig is talking a little more, and being more aggresive with his speech. Before he would only really speak when aggitated or asked a question, now he is initiating talk. I am not saying he is holding conversations, but he is using full sentences more to ask for things and to say hello. Before he would grunt and say "DRINK!" I had a bit of surprise tonight, just after 11 my dad called and said hello to call him back, so I did. The phone picked up and my dad said hello, hold on. Then Craig got onthe phone.."Hey J!" "Hey bud" I said. "What are you doing?" "Just lying here," Craig said "what are you doing?" "Working." I said. "How do you feel today?" "Ok" he said. "How does your head feel?" I asked "Not so good its all mixed up." he said. "Do you know where you are?" I asked "No not really" he said. "Are you in the hospital?" I aksed "Yeah but I don't know why!?" "Well you were in an accident buddy." "An accident eh, well there you go!" he said. "Ok do you want to talk to someone else?" he asked, "Ok" I said "Bye Craig, Love you." "Bye J, Love you too." The best part of the whole phone call, he had asked to call me. My parents were inteh room and the nurse came in and he started to tell her how all his family just left him and now he was screwed for the weekend. Mom and Dad assured him they wre their, then he said "I want to call my brother!" The nurse started to take his vitals, and this took a few minutes, usually enough for him to forget. Then the nurse finished and Mom asked him if there was something he wanted to do, he said "Yeah I want to call J!" So there you go. Another call from Craig. Day by day. Talk to you all tomorrow.

JULY 9, 2004 - DAY 21

10:12pm - Craig had another good day, more improvements. His cathater, chathader - the thing in his dick came out today! (Sorry if that was a little vulgar, but it did, and I am always bothered by the spelling) He went to the washroom on his on, well with some guidance....the he said "Can I have some privacy please!" He also had a shower today and he wanted to wash his own hair, so they let him - twice...it hadn't been washed since the accident and there was still dirt and blood from the accident. He is toying with the help...um...I mean his sister....whenever she falls asleep or dozes off he throws a pillow at her. Oh and how about this for coincidence, him and Beckie were playing cards today - his first hand....three three's! He got mad at her today actually, she would not help him escape!!! SO he said "Fine! You are the worst sister in the world and you'll be lucky if I talk to you at all this week!" Good thing about short term memory loss...he was talking to her half an hour later. He got a large basket today full of caramilks and and Crunchie bars....his eyes light up whenever he sees it...but he is on rations, so only so much a day! Thats all for today. Have a great day everyone.

1:54pm - Incredible! Twenty-one days since this all began. Twenty-one days! You know as I sit here in Canmore, Alberta, I can't imagine a day without thinking of this situation. Last night as I wrote the post I thought to myself how incredible this has been, posititve and negative. Obviously everything to do with the accident is negative, but the strength and love we have fel and feel and how wel pulled to gether is so positive. I just started to think, there is not a moment that has gone by where I don't think of Craig. I jsut can't believe the impact on not only Craig's life, but everyones,including thos of you reading this. By the sounds of things some of you read this at the wee hours of the morning...what would you normally be doing at 6am? Not competing with Dolly to get your post on first, that's for sure. The world is such a small place when we really think about it, we all are connected and the littlest thing you do may or may not impact me.....I suppose it is like a lake. One little drop of rain can cause a ripple in the a lake for a moment, it affects the area closest to it, but still remains connected to the water. But hundreds of thousangs of raindrops casue a storm and that water gets shaken an stirred and mixed. The shore line is affected, the animal life is affected, everything gets affected. It takes days, even months to repair the damage of that storm. The accident is that storm, Craig got full impacts while the rest of us sit onthe shore waiting for everything to calm down so life can carry on....but we will always remember and know that our lives were affected by that storm. I haven't talked talked to my family yet today, but when I do I will post sooner today - I hope. One more thing.....you know how they say everything happens in three's....well listen to the ironies we found:

3 kids in the car - 3 cars in the crash - 3rd floor is ICU - 3rd floor is our apartment - 3 doors away form apartment (unbeknownst to us) was the hostel where Craig lived - 603 is Craigs room number - 3 kids in our family - 3 & 30 were numbers Craig kept repeating when he first regained consciousness - 3 is moms favorits number - three 3's were the first cards he played when playing cards with dad - 3 weeks today!

The process is going to take a while. And I found a great quote today - "Adopt the pace of nature her secret is patience!"

JULY 10, 2004 - DAY 22

12:19pm - Thank you all for the spelling notes!! C-A-T-H-E-T-E-R (phew!) But as far as we can tell we won't be needing to spell that any time soon. Craig woke up this morning and deciced that he needed to call him Mom. So mom got a phone call today...the good news...he was asking her to borrow some money...for what exactly we don't know, and frankly don't care. At this point having him call to ask for money again is a great thought, knowing he may pick up where he left off. But we were hoping he would forget about smoking and drinking. After all, he quit them both 22 days ago, so no one encourage him to smoke or drink again!!!!!!!!!!!! This is one stop smoking program I don't think anyone will ever willingly undergo! As for Mercedes. Sorry that I have not kept you updated, she is doing ok. As you must know she suffered a broken back and had rods put in during a surgery 6 days after the accident. She also has a shattered arm which was repaired at the same time. Those are healing well as far as we know. He head trauma ended up being a more severe than initially thought, but she too is making progress. She recognizes and knows everyone that she should - friends and family. She too has no short term memory, and at this point has no comprehension of space and time. By that I mean, she will talk to you about how this morning she went for a walk with her grandmother and they had lunch at a nice cafe, where in reality she has been in tehhospital since the accident. It's not hallucinations, more a combination of reality and memory. Memories of things gone by become the present tense. They say that is a common occurance. As she progresses i will keep you informed. She does know she is in the hospital, but has no idea to what degree. She also knows that Craig is in the hospital, but as with her injuries, no idea to what degree. I am heading into Calgary for the day (DAY OFF) and my home internet is down. So I can only make posts from my work computer at the present. THerefore I may not get a chance to update you more on Craig today, but last I talked to the family, he was having breakfast. I am sure if anything eventful happens I will let you know......or even uneventful for that matter!

JULY 11, 2004 - DAY 23

11:01pm - Life certainly has a way of catching up with you. Perhaps the ease of eveything being so good while I was gone was the calm before the storm. Not that things are bad right now, I jsut think dealing with things is more overwhelming than they used to be. Perhaps I am saying this because Beckie called me today and I was at work, and for the first time since this has happened I bascially brushed her off....but she was calling me to tell me that Craig was walking...in fact he did 4 laps of the floor today, about 40 feet a hallway. And I just brushed this news off becasue I was at work. But now I feel like crap, Craig is the most important thing to me right now, and although I shouldn't feel guilty or upset, I do...MY BROTHER IS WALKING!!! They said he was pretty shaky for the first lap, but Craig is fighting to come back whole! He is still making feable attempts at escaping, like today he waited for my Dad to leave then said..."Ok the Chief is gone, c'mon Beck lets get out of here!" Or while my Dad is in the room saying "C'mon dad if you help me , I'll help you" LIke a bad Jerry Maguire spin off! Help me help you! Craig's Ricko Suave attitude has definately returned, today he walked to the sun room/family room at the end of the hall and met Tony & Wendy. When he met Wendy he said "The pleasure is all mine!" All of this sounds good, but he still is haveing problems making proper connections, but is associating things correctly. Like today when he met Tony & Wendy he went to give Tony a hug. Tony bares a slight resemblance to our Uncle Stewart. So when Craig got back to his room, he needed to call his cousin Travis. Travis is Stewart & WENDY's son. Craig associated the name Wendy , with our Aunt Wendy and his mind went from there. So you see he is making progress, but by no means is it perfect. But BETTTER MUCH BETTER! He also saw a television for the first time today and sat in front of it playing with the buttons. He knew it was a tv, and instantly asked for a remote. Also when he was brought from his room for the first time he said "WOW it is big out here!" The funniest story of the day shows his improvement in processing the present. He was in teh family room and he loked over at Tony and said "Hey, what are you recovering from?" Tony looked up and said "24 years of marriage!" Craig, without hesitation looked at Wendy and said "oooooh, he hurt you huh!" (incidentally, Tony had to take Wedny to a fancy restaurant for dinner! And Shaun their son - is doing better. he too is coming to the family room and hanging out with friends) So it won't be long before Craig is wearing wife beater shirts, spotless white shoes, jeans pinned to his socks and a backwards hat. It just sucks to not be there to his daily improvements. It's hard to go to work and miss all this, but there is a whole other side of this that we don't talk too much about, or enjoy too much. He gets pretty aggressive and angry, wouldn't you?! To wake up from a bad dream and be restrained to your bed, no real physical damage other than something you can't see, you would have i thingk "WHY THE HELL AM I HERE!" It's tough, but day by day we all get by. Thank you so much everyone for your posts and for your support. It is encouraging to read them and it's a nice dream to have that one day Craig will be able to read all of this and know how much his family, friend and even strangers cared. I don't think you know the meaning of life until you are faced with this. In fact it is amazing that the only people who really feel the enourmity of all this is the family. The chances of Craig remembering the accident are next to nothing. We all suffer the burden of the crash and the rehab, the torture of our wants against his needs. We want so much to happen so quickly, but he needs time. We have to learn to give it to him.Day by day we will all get through. As he makes improvements I struggle with the feeling of "Should I feel scared or sad still?" It was easier to justify being sad when he was in a coma, or depressed when he couldn't recognize us. But how should i feel now? I am happy, but I am not?! Is there a time when I shouldn not feel mad anymore? I've been mad in my life, but never so prolonged. It's an overscoming madness for the b?!@s#rd that hit them. I hate to vent like this on here, but really - is there a time limit on this? I guess it is rhetorical, I know there isn't but I don't think I ever thought I would feel the way I feel at this point. I thought I would be overjoyed....and I am, but I am still mad....maybe I will be for a long time - in the mean time - Day by Day - Craig is coming back to us and the reality that this has happened begins to settle like the dust after an explosion. Settling until things become clear. One more touchy feely story - Today mom asked him if he knew who she was, and he said "You know!" Then she said "I know, you tell me!" So then Craig looked over at Beckie and said "HER!" Then he quickly turned to mom and smiled the biggest smile since any of this happened...HE KNOWS YOU LOVE HIM THE MOST MOM!

PLEASE SEND PICTURES OF YOURSELF TO HELP OUT WITH CRAIG'S MEMORY!!!

JULY 12, 2004 - DAY 24

10:35pm - The family had a long day today. Talking to them on the phone they sound tired. Craig is quite exhausting. But it is also the hours they are putting in at that hospital. They are probably their longer than any nurse on one given day! The three of them are certainly troopers. Living with your family growing up is great and normal. But as an adult it is hard. Under stres even harder. But hardest is trying to care for someone with all the best intentions and still be perky and happy for them. I think the family needs some rejuvenating, and Saint Dave is on his way! David, Beckie's husband arrives tomorrow night. Much needed for Beck who has been going through this alone on some levels. We all go through this alone in many ways, but their are certain moments when you need that touch that hug that kiss from someone other than your brother, mother or father. David is a good soul and great guy. Afraid of nothing....except maybe people sneaking up on him, but he will jump right into this and help out whereever he can, but mostly to help Beck. She needs him right now, I can hear it in her voice when I talk to her, and I am glad he is going to be there. So what did Craig do today? Today he found himself at the nurses station introducing himself...like they didn't know his name, and playing Joe Cool. "Hey I'm Craig, and who are you?!" His voice sounds a little funny, mostly due to the respirator & feeding tubes which probably did a number on his throat. He is recognizing relations and people, today he knew who Tara was and that her father Ken and him climbed a moutain called Chinaman's - See Ken, your encouragement is helping him get down this mountain too! He knew that Samantha, Ryan & Kory were his cousins, but for some reason Dad has become Craig mini Sadaam Hussein. Well perhaps not that bad, but we think from all other accounts that Craig is entering into the paranoia phase of his injury. By this I mean he is paranoid of specific things, not everyone, just moments. So he will be fine for a moment and then be paranoid. I can't really tell if he is doing this alot, but as he progresses will get more aggitated, as he demonstrated today. He's a big boy and it's hard to keep him under control if its just him and two little nurses, so they have needles ready for him. Man you would think he was an elephant the way I describe this....traquilizer darts ready! Well not much else to report. Progress is being made, little by little - the irony is...we are all going through our own process of healing and little by little we all get to our phases as well. I can't wait for that Thanksgiving Dinner where we can all sit down and thank God that this is all behind us...no rush....just saying......oh and Heather i expect you to cook it - yes for 23 people!

JULY 13, 2004 - DAY 25

11:30pm - Craig had an eventful day today. He stared his day off by telling Dad, whom I don't think is who Craig thought he was, but telling him that he needed to call his mother. So Dad asked if Craig knew her number, and Craig gave the number in Timmins. Dad called mom at the apartment and gave Craig the phone....."Hi Mom, I am just calling to tell you that I am in the hospital, I am ok though, but I just wanted you to know." They chatted for a moment and then he said "Can you come and visit?" SO you see he is starting to get his bearings mentally. Physically is making great strides, literally. He got some new shoes today, for those who don't know Craig is a huge shoe fan, so when he saw these shoes, you would have thought it was Christmas morning. He quickly put them un, unsteady at first but he did it himself. He then wanted to try them out, so he asked Dad if he would go in the wheel chari so Craig could push him around. Dad opted for Beckie to do it, so Craig gave her a spin around the floor. He got down with her and offered another patient a ride. Then when no one wanted a ride, he tookt eh wheel chair for a walk! Mom said that by the time he got back to the room he ws sweating and just exhausted. The emotional and physical excitement was too much....this put him out for the afternoon! He slept for some of the day, played little COnnect Four with Beckie, but tried to cheat! Mercedes is doing well, she is really starting to get her bearings and today - went for a walk outside!!!!! WE haven't heard much of Chirs since he has left, maybe I will call them tomorrow to get an update. Till tomorrow!! Oh Yeah David arrived tonight!

JULY 14, 2004 - DAY 26

3:18pm - Well Heather you always new Craig was a big eater, well today he ate for the first time on his own. He ate all of his lunch by himself, washed his face and hands and went back to bed. But his heart rate jumped to about 160 from the excitement of eating on his own. Craig then wouldn't relax so they went to the family room and they all tried to eat. Well Craig is as busy as a three your old. I think Dave is in for treat today. Well I thought I would share some information with you all with regards to the number three: (thank Jackie)

If you believe in numerology this is what 3 represents:

Description:
3 is ambitious and dislikes being held to a subordinate position or role.
HOW TRUE THIS IS OF MY BROTHER - REMEMBER HE WORKED FOR ME.

3 is creative, self-expressive, generous and entertaining.
HE IS CERTAINLY SELF EXPRESSIVE AND ANYONE WHO HAS EVER BEEN TO A PARTY WITH HIM HE SURE IS ENTERTAINING

3 is very fortunate, even lucky, and good fortune comes to them naturally.
WELL MAYBE NOT TODAY - BUT ALL THINGS HAPPEN FOR A REASON

3 decides a relationship or way of life is over, it tends to end it abruptly and move on irregardless.
MAYBE THIS IS CRAIGS REBIRTH - FRESH START ON LIFE!

Positive: Versatile, energetic, self-expressive, lucky, sociable and high energy.
Negative: Scattered effort, too talkative, frivolous and wasted time and energy.

I don't know if it is reading into this or true, but none the less ironic. Jackie also sent me this little quote which is my ne little mantra.....fo now anyway!!

Just remember...if the world didn't suck, we'd all fall off.

12:36pm - We just wanted to post a quick note to say thank you to everyone for their support and help. Those of you in TImmins organizing events for this weekend - THANK YOU. There are new articles in the ARTICLES section so be sure to check it out!

JULY 15, 2004 - DAY 27

9:16pm - Craig had a good day - Quick story! Dad has been trying to use a form of hypnosis to help Craig go to sleep. Tonight he was talking to Craig telling him to close his eyes, and Craig was. Then out of nowhere Craigs yells....DAD, Shut UP! (with a few other choice words included) When I talked to the family they were off to feed David....so that is all I have for now.....my home internet will be up and running tomorrow - so I will then be able to update it as often as I would like, not just at work! Talk to you all tomorrow!

JULY 16, 2004 - DAY 28

10:35pm - Well tomorrow is all geared up to be Craig Day in Timmins! That is pretty exciting. I know how overwhelmed we are by all of the support and literally shocked by the Timmins community and deeply touched, I can only imagine how overwhelmed how Craig will feel when he comes to his own regular senses. Thank you to all of you and we are praying for sun and lots of people so that your efforts don't get wasted! Tara and I have felt pretty distant since we returned, bu daily, we talk to the family, usually 3 or four times. But we still felt that we wanted to be there with them, so we went to Build-A-Bear in Calgary and built Craig a Bear. We dressed it in a wife beater t-shirt, big chunky white shoes and backwards ball cap, just like Craig, we even recorded our own message and putit in his palm for Craig to squeeze and hear us each time he hold ths bear. Kind of sapy, but it feels good now knowing we are there. I talked to him tonight and he thanked me for it and I aske dif he squeezed the palm, he didn't think so - and he hadn't so he did....my mom said he got pretty choked up...which means alot from him knwoing that only two weeks ago he had no idea who I was! Tara's favorit part of the bear making process was the bears heart. As before the close teh bear up they let you pick a heart to put in...we put two, one for each of us....the girls said....ok hold your hearts in your hands and warm it up, kiss it, and make a wish....you know wha twe wished for, and we put it in the bear and he was made. We called the Bear T.J. and now we can be with Craig in spirit. We also made T-Shirts for the whole family on the front is this:

This is obviously the symbol in sign language for I Love You - for those who migh tbe new to the posts, this was teh first thing Craig did when he was coming from the coma...something my family has done forever. ( It's a picture I took in some shadows a few days ago)

And on the back I picked some quotes like:

"There's no such thing as fun for the whole family!"
"No Day But Today"
"Love your enemies, it makes thhm so mad!"
"If the world didn't suck we''d all fall off"

But on Craigs I put:

"I've been in Victoria General for a month and all I got is this stupid T-Shirt!"

So you can see we are taking things one step at a time, and each step brings a new obstacle, but together we willg et through this. Dave and Beckie took a break today to go see his aunt in Vancouver...it's a good thing I think, Beck needed a step away for a day. They will be back tomorrow ready to take on whatever the day brings!

So those in Timmins, have a great day tomorrow! Take lots of pictures and email them to us, especially of family and friends who we can show Craig, the perfect place - they will all be in one place! Thanks!

JULY 17, 2004 - DAY 29

I missed posting for today - but today was the YARD SALE, CARWASH & THE ONE MONTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ACCIDENT.

JULY 18, 2004 - DAY 30

8:39pm - Craig had a good day today, much better than yesterday. Today he watched tv for about a half and got tired...imagine Craig tired after only a half hour!?? He also actually played the X-Box for about 20 minutes once and almost an hour the second time. After that he was exhausted. He was playing dad and david and beat the two of them! It's still really tough leaving him alone though, especially when he bargains and pleads not to be restrained. So this morning he went for a nap and they tied his legs down. But they wait until he falls asleep to put the arm restraints. Craig woke up and said -"Oh sure guys wait til I am asleep to tie me down!" Today he also touched the bears paw and he jumped up and looked around asking where Tara and I were. It's hard to hear that but great to know he recognizes us! Last story of the day. Craig and Dave went for a walk, when he got back he told Beckie she had a nice boyfriend. Beckie corrected him and told him it was her husband. Craig looked at Dave and said "Sorry to hear that!"

2:49pm - Well it sounds like yesterday was a huge success! THANK YOU TIMMINS! Talking with Lisa, my cousin, who had a huge hand in organizing the event, she was very happy with the way everything came together. We think that Craig somehow knew what was going on becasue he had a rough day yesterday. He was very aggitated and felt like he needed ot be somewhere. He did however brighten the spirits of his best friend Oli. Oli called to let my parents know how teh car wash went and got to talk with Craig. Craig knew who he was without coaching and they talked for aminute. I hope you could hear your friend in that voice Oli. He is coming back to us one step at a time. I also talked to Craig in the morning and he told me he had to got work....maybe work was helping at the car wash. We have some pictures of the yard sale, before I guess it caused "Toronto sized traffic jams!"

All in all it was a great day in Timmins. Thank you to everyon ewho helped out...and by the way....if anyone has that picture that Dolly is looking for....make sure you clarify if that is in Canadian or American Funds!!!

As for the rest of us. Craigs recovery is a miracle on it's own. I was just reading through my posts and maybe it is I who need the spell check, but when you use this means as therapy for yourself...F&@#K spelling, you know what I am saying! I laugh at the word "teh". When I type fast i always spell THE that way. Perhaps there is irony in the puzzle making we did during this. A lot like Craig's brain, we needed to put them together piece by piece. Our lives feel much the same way. Scattered pieces slowly being put together. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagin this scenario, Timmins to be holding fundraisers to help our family get through. Lif is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get.

Mercedes update: She is doing really well. Her memory is coming back to her bit by bit. She does know what happened to her and Craig and Chris. She can't see Craig yet, this would be overwhelming for them both, especially now that she knows all this has happened. Mom and Dad see he once in a while. Probably not as often as they would like too, but Craig keeps them busy from 7am to 9pm daily.

Chris update: I haven't talked to his family yet, but I as far as we understand he is getting better. Of them all it is amazing to know that he is back to his daily routine, albeit things have changed a lotfor him, but he is a source of strength. We're all going to get there.

Wedding Update: Plans are still a go for all of us to go to Mexico. Judging by Craigs progress he won't be coming, which sucks, but we'll figure out a way for him to be with us in spirit. It is going to be hard on my parents, and plans may change again before we go, but one day at a time.

I am off to do some work and maybe make some more t-shirts! Take Care everyone and thank you again.

JULY 19, 2004 - DAY 31

9:37pm - Craig had a good day today. Hedid four minutes on the bicycle. He was able to go to the calendar and point to the date, but later today the nurse asked him what day it was and where he is and all he knew was he was in the General Hospital. Looking through some pictures he recognized Dad & Pepere in a picture, Stewart & Wendy and he knew that Shawn & Alicia were his cousins, but not their names, so he asked for some help. Mercedes best friend and her boyfriend came to visit Craig. Craig did not recognize them, but knew he knew them somehow...so Mom and Dad intorduced them and said, thisis Luke he took you out on your birthday, to which Craig replied...."THANKS MAN, where did we go?" Well it turns out they went to a strip club, when Craig found that out he just thanked him again. His memeory is coming and going...today he was all ready to go to school...theres a first - Craig wanting to go to school! I don't know how many of you know the movie 50 first dates...well here is a story.....

The nurse clocked in and began her rounds, first stop, Craig Thibodeau's room. She goes in and Craig is awake and would like to eat breakfast. So she feeds him breakfast, although she is very busy, she does other things and continues to check in on him. Craig now wants out. So the nurse decides to put him in the wheel chair with restraints and take him for a ride around the halll. As they travel sdown the hall Craig is aying hello to everyone. Then the nurse gets paged. So she parks Craig........OUTSIDE THE DOOR TO MERCEDES ROOM. Mercedes at this point has almost her full memory back, unless she is tired, but all in all is doing really well. Back to the story....the chair stops outside her door. She turns and sees Craig. Craig is now left alone. He looks in at her and without hesitation says....hey....can you help me here, help me getout of this! Mercedes is stunned, she knows she shouldn't be seeing him or talking to him so she does the only thing she can do....keep eating her breakfast!!! She shovels a mouth full of food into her mouth and just looks at him and smiles! This is funny, it's sad, but all in all a good story.

Craig also was told today about the efforts of the people in Timmins and his response was "They did that for me!?" Kind of sums it up for all of us!

Last story...David was with him and asked Craig "Want to go see your parents in the family room?" Craig replied, "Let's not & say we did" with a hug laugh!.....oh and this.........

FOR A SPECIAL TREAT CLICK HERE

(picture of Craig and Paul walking in the hall)

5:57pm - Just a quick post to let you all know that there is a new article in the Articles section. To be clear - Craig did not receive a spianl injury. WE do however appreciate the articles and pictures and of course the support. Amazing James what you and Craigs friends were aboe to pull off!! Great picture in the paper!! It really is overwhelming to know all of this is happening in his absence. Just overwhelming. We would love to know who everyone was who donated, but would really love to know who the teachers were...I am just stunned by this....thank you. I also have a little story to share withyou all, one that may brings tears to your eyes, but will make your heart feel good. Yesterday we received an email from an old co-worker of Craigs and a friend of mine and Tara's. For those who don't know, Craig worked at a place acalled Extend-a-Family. It's an organization that helps families deal with their disable children by being that extra body to help the family out as needed. Here is what she said:

I am just writing you a little note on behalf of Extend A Family to wish you all the best and a speedy recovery.  I am sure that you will have a long road ahead of you but I also know that you're a fighter and a strong kid.  I have complete faith that you will soon be back to the fun-loving and hillarious Craig that everyone at Extend A Family came to know and love.  I hope that you know that you truly did have an impact on all the children you worked with at EAF.  When we first heard about your accident we had a lady call to ask if it was indeed you "The Craig" who was in the accident....she called because her grandson Brandon had heard about it and was very upset to hear that you were hurt.  I see him often and he is full of questions so I do my best to keep him updated on your progress. With all the "Craig Day" hype some other children have also become aware of your situation and they are all very worried about you. Please know that you are in all of our thoughts and prayers. From the short time you were with Extend A Family you made such a huge impact on all the childrens lives and I know that you still have so much more to offer and many more lives to touch.
Love,
All of your friends at Extend A Family

It just goes to show you the ripple affect that this has on everyone. One more thing. I have had a few emails from people requesting the "I Love You" Logo I have made for Craig. They are really easy to make and I can quickly make them into an iron on decal for shirts, bags, sweaters, whatever. So if you would like one just mail me a self addressed stamped envelope to:

JP THIBODEAU
125 KANANASKIS WAY
CANMORE, AB T1W2X2

And I will fire it right back to you in the mail. That way everyone can have a symbol of Craig! I will post tonight on today's progress!

JULY 20, 2004 - DAY 32

NO POST TODAY - sorry.

JULY 21, 2004 - DAY 33

11:23pm - My Apologize for not posting earlier or for posting at all yesterday. Time really does have a way of slipping from us. Alot of things going on right now. For those who asked...Tara & I get married on August 20 in Mexico. The trip starts on August 12th for us and ends on August 30th.....but I am sure I will find someway to keep you all updated on Craigs progress. I talked to my parents earlier today and Craig had a fantastic day yesterday, He really was more lucid and now that he is offon eof the drugs haldol (spelling?) he now does not have a glazed over look and can hold his head up. Until now he had a bobbing head, not like a bobble head you would find in some persons car window, but he had a hard time really holding it up until now. As for today, not dso good. He had a very lazy day, more tired than lazy. He had a lot of naps today and was quite irritable. I guess you can't balme him, my god the poor guy has been stuck in the same room for two weeks in his mind. I was talking with a friend today about the perspective af his recovery - as in how to look at this recovery and I cam up with this. Take a moment and think of all the interactions you have in one day with you surroundings....tv, radioo, computers, people, vehicles. Think of all the thoughts you have in one day, how bad a driver is, how good a show is, how good is the meal you are eating. You spend every day with all of these thoughts and after about 8 hours you strat getting tired, but then you have all the other thing syou need to do, make a lunch for the next day, call so and so, etc. Finally after about 12 hours you are ready for a good sleep. Craig however can only do one of these things in a small dose beffore he is completely exhausted. 15 minutes of TV can sometimes be too much and he need s anap...wow! It shows you the road to recovery is going to be long, but he getting there. I miss him. I am loking forward to heading out to see him and my parents. We might see Becka nd Dave,, but we'll for sure see them in less than three weeks. I am just getting home from work, so I didn't get more of an update for today, but I will for tomorrow and will post early tomorrow.

JULY 22, 2004 - DAY 34

12:30pm - Good day everyone, as promised an early post!! I just got off the phone with the crew in Victoria and they are in good spirits. I asked them where they were and they said in Craigs room...but Craig was gone!!! Any guesses on where he might be? (insert Jeopardy or as my Auntie Carole calls it GEOpardy music here)

BAKING COOKIES - He is baking cookies as I write this! Now that is my idea of therapy! He had a great morning and even got a haircut - sorry Auntie Carole, not from you, but you'll have your turn soon enough! He got it cut and then he had a shower and styled his own hair..so Sean and Nancy maybe he is still cruising for chicks, but he had to wait for a hair cut first! He seems to be doing a lot better. Now get this, the poor hairdresser is trying to cut his hair and he keeps asking "You done yet?" she would say "a little bit longer" - well with no short term memory craig would sit a moment longer and then say. "you don yet", well I guess this was the way it was for the whole hair cut. He did go for a CAT Scan yesterday, they had to do it twice because Craig moved the first time. Dad went in with him and talked him through it.

He just got back from baking - proud as a peacock! The nurse said - that's what women like aman who cooks andd cleans, because apparently he did the dishes as well.

The big news of the day - HE GOT TO GO OUTSIDE! This is the first time he has gone outside and he said "AWWW THIS IS WONDERFUL!" so now they can take him outside which is great - change of scenery and pace - it is wonderful.

Will post again tonight and will hopefully have more stories from the past few days.

 

JULY 23, 2004 - DAY 35

10:11pm - Craig had a good day today. He seems to wake up pretty hungry, so yesterday Beckie & Dave got him some snacks. They got him a few choices, so that he could have one of them as a snack this morning. So this morning by the time Beckie and dave got to the hospital Craig had eaten ALL the snacks!!! He was pretty tired today though but a little figity. Mom and Craig were walking and Craig asked her if they could go outside. Mom said that his physical therapists would be doing that today. No sooner had she said this they were walking past their office and Craig decided he was going in to see them. Craig looked at them and said - wanna go for a walk? They were stunned and they looked at each other and said, oh ok. Then Craig said....ok but first I have to take my parents back to my room. So he took them back to the room and told them, you guys just sit here and I will be back in a bit. He is always doing this. Whenever they leave his room, he wants to escort them to the family room down the hall. He is having his memories flooding his mind right now. SO today he was a little queezy, perhpas from all the thoughts rushing in his mind. He is really having a good few days, being off the drugs he has really improved.

One more story from yesterday. Some of the nurses really hate the restraints. Well yesterday he was in his restraints and his nurse came in. Craig saw her and said can you please help me? She came right to him and said of course! She had undone his first restraint and Craig said - I Love You. She then undid his second restraint and Craig said I Love you. His next leg restraint, I love you. His last restraint - I love you and then he got out of bed and gave her a huge hug and said Thank you, I Love you. The nurse told mom that she has seen many things in her career and this is one she will never forget!

JULY 24, 2004 - DAY 36

3:12pm - Hello everyone. Well Craig is having a great morning. Mom and Dad gave him his watch today to help teach him a little patience....God knows we've certainly had to learn some!! He can be told to wait 5 minutes and two seconds later he is ready to move on. So his time references need to be adjusted, but he always did have that problem! So now with his watch they can tell him at this time we will do that. So at 2pm Pacific time (about 15 minutes ago) they were going for a walk, but Craig had to nap first!!

Now for my rational for todays quick post! Mom has asked that if you are reading this whether it is today or tomorrow or next week - PLEASE SIGN THE GUESTBOOK. We keep hearing about so many people reading that we forget who is keeping up to date. STRANGERS TOO!! The more people that sign the better....as I said to mom....I will start charging a posting feee....I won't post unless I see at least 10 guestbooks entries a day!! LOL Just kidding....I need to post, it's my therapy!

ALSO - now being a bit selfish and using this for my own needs - I NEED HELP. I am getting marrie din three weeks and I DO NOT WANT TO WEAR A COAT TO TUXEDO. So I am posting this picture of these vests. I have found them online from the UK at $400 but would like to find it a bit cheaper....so if anyone reading this knows of any good tailors or of a shop that sells "waistcoats" please post and let me know, or even email me....my email is jp@ohcanadaeh.com. Here is waistcoat - NO COAT THOUGH!

 

JULY 25, 2004 - DAY 37

12:57am - Yesterday (as it would be), Craig had a really great day! Today in fact was a huge turning point in Craig's recovery...let me lay it out in a story...

...Once upon a time there was a prince. This prince was named Craig and although he had no land to rule, he certainly dreamed of the day that he could find land to rule and have all his family move there so that forever and ever they would be taken care of the way they have taken care of him. You see Craig was not a real prince, but more of a self made prince. His suave good looks and charisma got him all the way to the top of the kingdom hierarchy, one step shy of King! About 37 days ago Prince Craig was riding his horse and fell off. He bumped his head pretty hard and forgot about his previous life. Slowly his memories were coming back, but one part of his memory was pretty foggy, and that was about his princess.....Princess Mercedes. Today as Prince Craig was walking the halls with his brother-in-law David, he walked past Princess Mercedes and although Craig knew who she was, he just kept walking. David prompted him by asking "do you know who that was?", and Craig replied "yes...Princess Mercedes!" At that moment, a burst of magic engulfed Craig and instantly he remembered that he was Princess Mercedes prince. He quickly ran back to his room and started getting himself ready. He put royal gel in his hair, brushed his royal teeth and then quickly scurried around the room to find the perfect gift for his beloved Princess Mercedes. He found the perfect gift nestled abov ehis bed watching over him. It was a small stuffed bear in his room which, unbeknownst to him, was given to him by Princess Mercedes mother the night he fell of his horse to comfort him, and now he was giving it to his Princess to comfort her. He tied a balloon to it and went down the hall to the Grand Ballroom where Princess Mercedes sat awaiting him. She looked up and smiled and he handed her the treasure. The two sat and talked and Prince Craig started to act more like the court Jester than a prince, but this was the Prince everyone knew and loved. The big heart and big sense of humour...Prince Craig was back...and had found his Princess....and they lived happily ever after....The End.

Craig and Mercedes will live happily ever after...when however is too hard to tell. It was a magic moment today for everyone. Mercedes finally getting to see Craig after a few weeks of knowing she could not. Craig seeing Mercedes and being overjoyed with his feelings and love for her. This is a huge tragedy that has befallen them, a tragedy that under perfect cirumstances would challenge the strongest relationship. It's great to hear this story, but hard to know that the real life version will have alot more bumps and jumps along the way. I am sure every fairy tale has a back story, one we never hear about, but they all seem to end happily ever after no matter what.....in my heart, this one will too!

Although in the story all of the Princes memories came flooding back....not so with the real Craig, but getting there. Craig also had another trip today....to the ICU. But this time in his own time and step. Mom and Dad decided he was ready to go back to the ICU to thank the staff there personally. Before they went mom and him talked and she told him that these are the people who really saved his life the weeks after the accident. They walked and as they walked from the 6th to the 3rd floor mom asked Craig if he remembered where they were going and Craig said NO. So she jogged his memory by saying the ICU to which Craig responded "Right the people who saved my butt!" They got to the ICU and went in. Six of the staff who helped take care of him were their. As he went in he asked, "Can I hug them?" to which mom said, "Of Course". And as he thanked each of them by shaking their hand he gave them a hug. Imagine being the nursing staff hugging the patient weeks after they were in your care. Knowing that when they were last this close to you, they were literally living for the moment, and now they are standing in front of you, thanking you for saving their life.

There was one nurse that in our many hours of sitting in the waiting room would always take her break and get a chocolate bar from the vending machine. She really touched us all in a way she would never know. When Craig left ICU we sent the staff a basket of chocolates in honour of her to some degree. Craig knew that Mom and Dad wanted to give this nurse a chocolate bar while they were there, and so when he was talking to all the nurses he said "You know I can snap my fingers and make chocolate appear". And with a snap of his fingers, Dad handed him a chocolate bar to which he handed to this one particular nurse. I can only imagine this was probably the sweetest chocolate bar she had ever received.

Before he left the ICU that same nurse showed him the room where he was. It had been empty since he left and on the wall was the white board where they wrote notes for the other staff about that patient and there on the white board was still Craig's weight. The nurse told Craig this and Craig went to Dad and said - "Hey dad come take a picture of me and my board!" Now how many ICU patients get to go back - and want a picture to keep as a memory.....what an amazing memory to keep...and hold...and one day he will remember....everything.

VISITORS - Craig can now have visitors. But we ask that anyone wishing to visit contact us first. So if you would like to see him please call (250) 661-6289. This is Beckie's cell phone which someone has at all times. Please do not surprise us by just showing up, call us before you make the trip to see him and we will le tyou know at what time would be best for him. Also, some people have asked about calling him. Unfortunately right now Craig is not taking phone calls. He will soon enough, but for now it is part of his healing process.

JULY 26, 2004 - DAY 37

11:35pm - 601 POSTS!! Wow! The posts have really jumped in the last few days, and I have to say thank you to all of you anonymous readers for posting. It is great o see names of people we don't know following this story. I have had so many people suggest that I turn this into a book, and I look at it all and can't understand why. Perhaps I am not removed enough to comprehend the scope of all this. Those people that know me well I suppose have come to expect me to do something like this. I started to wonder today - "how long do I keep writing for?" Is this a life long commitment? Don't worry I don;t see an end in sight to these posts any time soon, but I did start wondering today..that's all.

I got a phone call this afternoon from Craig. He wanted to call to thank me for everything I had done. It turns out that Beckie and Dave and him were walking outside and he started to ask questions about why he was in the hospital. He asked where I was and they told him I was tehre but now I was gone. It is truly remarkable how much emotional trauma we have experienced. Being by his bedside for those first two weeks, the doctores really were right,b eing there was jsut for us. He really has no idea that we were there. IT is incredible to me how the human mind works an recovers. When talking to him it is hard because he still really does not know what is going on. but he has grasped the concept of who everyone is and that rest is what he needs to get better, but most importantly "if he rests he can leave because he will get better."

I want to mention one thing today my family. Beckie and Dave have been great. Although with any brother and sister there will always be some conflict, and Beckie and I have our fair share of that. But knowing that she is there, and that Dave is there really makes me sleep easier at night. Knowing that between the four of them Beckie and Dave help relieve some of teh burden on my parents shoulders. She may add some at times but her heart is inthe right place. If my sister has one fault it is the size of her heart. I don't know anyone with a bigger heart, she cares so much that she left her job to be with my parents,whether they wanted her or not she was staying,,,and thank god she did. We didn't know what we getting going into this...everything happens for a reason. Craig said to me the other day, "I go for walks with Dave all the time - he is a really great guy - an awesome guy" You really are Dave...thank you for doing what I can't right now...I'll buy you a drink in Mexico (even though its all inclusive)

My parents have certainly been rocks through all of this. I mean they always are, but this is, as I have been told, a parent's worst nightmare. But as the cloud lifts the days get brighter and the nightmare becomes less scary and more manageable. My mom has always been the thinker, and processer of the chaos the four of usually cause when we are left to our own devices. I remember years ago she would say - You're all grown up now, fight your own battles, settle things among yourselves! But we all knew that if the battle ever got too big or the fight too large Mom would be there ready to fight....she is now, fighting and helping us all through this. I guess a mothers job never stops even when everyone is all grown up. A mother is a mother for all time, even when they say they can't live our lives for us, we have to make our own mistakes. The truth is, I think....mothers would live our lives for us if they could - they would take away all our pain if they could, they would make sure we got everything we wanted if they could...my mom is giving everything right now to get us all through this. But my dad, he's always been the coach. Screaming at the top of his lungs to run the bases, skate the ice. He never trusted anyone else to coach his kids, he had to be there himself...I think he now wants to be a nurse...well mayb enot a nurse but he is back in that coaching role. There at 7am to feed Craig breakfast (although Beckie & Dave have started this shift) He stays all day, helping Craig shower, shave, brush his teeth, to do everything. Craig is getting better but he still needs a coach. Craig was an all star in hockey growing up. Everyone would say "watch Thibodeau play" Dad would beam with pride, not because he was the coach, but becasue Craig was HIS son. Last night Craig wanted someone to spend the night....the coach slept on the floor next to his bed so that his all-star would get a good nights sleep for the big game ahead.

I am so proud of you guys and wish that I could be there with you for every moment, good and bad. I know that we are doing the right thing by working and taking care of what we need to here in Canmore, but I don't think we would feel half as good if I didn't have the family I have. I love you guys and I wanted everyone to know what a fantastic TEAM Craig has with him. Go Team Go!

JULY 27, 2004 - DAY 38

3:01am - GREAT NEWS! Mercedes got moved yesterday!! She is now onto her Rehabilitation Program!!!!!! We can't wait to see her this weekend! (Tar & I are planning atrip there on Thursday!)

JULY 28, 2004 - DAY 39

4:11pm - PLEASURABLE!!!!!!! This appears to be Craig's new word. We think he is trying to say enjoyablye, but because things are a pleasure he is combining pleasure and enjoyable into a whole new word. So great to hear him formualting his own words that is for sure! Well onto news from yesterday. Yes things have been busy here and it has been hard to post really regulaly but it is important that I do post. Sorry for missing yesterday! So onto information about yesterday! Well craig had a really great day! I talked to him three time yesterday and everytime I talked to him he remembered a little more from the previous conversation. He did however inform me that he has QUIT smoking....he said 7 days ago, but then was corrected and told 6 weeks ago. I don't think he understands yet that this was involuntary, but he is happy about it none the less! Without coaching or prompting he knows that Tara and I are going to see him tomorrow and he can't wait, as he says "we can do so much J, like go for a walk, and....well that's all we can do, but we can gor a long walk!!!" LOL Talking with him is really enjoyable, he is processing thoughts like an adult, but has the rambling of a teenager! Yesterday they made another visit, this time to the ER. About 6 of the staff who wre on call in teh ER when he arrived were there and Dad went in with a big basket to thank them and told them who he was. A nurse asked, which accident it was, and my dad said, well this is the boy you saved, as he presented Craig! Dad told tehm the details of the accident and this refreshed their memories and now seeing Craig thanking them a few got quite choked up. Craig wrote the card himself, thanking the nurses for "Saving his butt" as he calls it. Like the ICU it was important to him that he shook everyones hand and thanked them for everything they did, and of course for saving his butt! To which one nurse said, well can we see the butt we saved, so Craig turned around and started wiggling his butt! SHOW OFF!! He is slowly coming back to us, and we couldn't be happier....now I need to figure out how to include him in the wedding without him being there. I thought a life sized cut out, but they would probably charge me the seat to bring it. Then I thought webcam...but let's face it, we're in Mexico!!!!! I am sure I will hae something figured out by the end of the week. Once I talk to them today I will post more!!!

JULY 29, 2004 - DAY 40

2:30am - WELL WE'RE HERE!!! Tara and I arrived in Victoria this evening and much to our surprise we had a fantastic greeting. We met Dad at the airport and went to Tim Hortons. From Tim Hortons we needed to call Mom and Craig to tell them we were on our way. Well by the time we called Craig had been so ecited to see us taht he had fallen asleep. So we said not to worry and we would be there shortly. We got to the hospital and called mom to tell her we were on our way up. She said ok, so we went through the ER and into the hospital...Tara and I were feeling pretty anxious to see him, and no sooner had we turned the corner and there sitting on the bench was Mom and Craig. You would think with the smile onhis facve that he it was Christmas and he was seeing Santa Clause. I have to admit, there really are no words to describe the emotions that came flooding to my mind. My little brother was at death's door 6 weeks ago and now he was sitting waiting with anticipation just to see us. He was like a little kid trying to keep a secret, but just too excited to keep it in so they shake and cover their mouth and then jsut burst when the secret is over. HE gave me the best hug I have had in a long time. Amid tears both Tara and I just held him. My brother is alive and my god he looks great! He really does, and for Tara this was even more emotional, when she had left Craig was still in ICU and had just tried to eat his first popscicle.

We sat with Craig for a little over an hour. He was jsut so ecited to see us and talk to us and sow us his room and his pictures (thank you to everyone who sent them - his wall is covered! I will take a picture and post it) His memory is still foggy but his demeanour and his candidness are absolutely CRAIG! Remember weeks back when we talked about Mercedes ramblings and just talking because their are people to talk with, well Craig is tehre now, jsut cahttering away and as he puts it "putting my life back together." He is aware he was in an accident but has no idea the impact of teh accident emotional or physically on him, just that the accident is why he is in the hospital. He is so polite to talk to and very inquisitive, but mostly about himself, like, where was I when I did this, or how did I do that. He may get to go on his first excursion outsid ethe hospital tomorrow to a beach near the hospital!!!!! That should be great for him! Other than that - we are very excited to be here! It did our hearts alot fo good to see him and have him so responsive to us....oh and before we left Canmore Craig called me to tell me to pack my "good walkin shoes" After all that's all he does - walk, walk and more walking! Until tomorrow!!

JULY 30, 2004 - DAY 41

4:05pm - Well, we've been at the hospital now since 10:00am and Craig is having a great day. BUt it looks like mine and Tara's visit is going to get cut short...CRAIG WILL BE IN SUDBURY TONIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! that's righ tfolks, the miracle workers have made it happen. He flies into Sudbury this evening. All the details of his room and hospital and all taht are being sent to us as I type this, but at 6:45 this evening Craig, Mom & Dad will all be on a jet chartered specifiaclly for him to get to Sudbury. One we have a phone number, room etc we will post this online. I will post again this evening once they are gone...tara and I will now spend the weekend in Vicotira, perhaps a much needed break from life. We have loved every second of seeing Craig but know that this is what needed to happen and although you may not have known, this has been in the works for a week, but we didn't want to get our hopes up until it happened...of course it happened when we were here, butnow Craig will be in safe hands and have plenty of family around to take care of him while we are in Mexico!

9:46am - We are off to the hospital!! We got a phone call about a half hour ago..."Hi J, are you coming??? Well make sure you bring your shoes becasue as soon as you get here we're going for a walk!" So I am strapping into my hking boots and getting ready to WALK! And WALK! And WALK! I forgot to mention that Beckie and David are now in Sudbury - sans du luggage!!!! for those Amerians who don't speak french - NO LUGGAGE!! So they should be getting their luggage today. Beckie said she was going to do up a post for today with some pictures! WEll it's time to go - can't keep Prin ce Craig waiting - nor do I want to!!!!! I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE HIM TODAY!

BECKIE'S POST from JULY 30

So, Dave and I left on the Jet Plane yesterday afternoon at 12:00PM. We flew from Victoria to Vancouver, Vancouver to Toronto and Toronto to Sudbury. I had full intentions of writing this post as soon as I got home last night but the lane was late, all of our luggage was M.I.A. and I was too tired by the time we got home to do anything. Thank goodness I had no luggage to even unpack! LOL

I know that JP does many postings but now that I am home and on my own turf, I will also try to post as much as I can.

So, we said bye to Mercedes on Wednesday night. We met her outside, we walked and we talked. We said good bye to her and gave her a hug. As she walked to the elevator and Dave and I began to walk the other way, it was a very difficult thing to do. I pretty much cried all the way up to Craig's room.

I went home that night feeling home sick and I was going home? Is that really possible? 6 weeks ago, I had no clue what I was in for. David put me on the plane and sent me on my way to be there for Craig and most of all, my parents.

Anyway, the next morning, Dave and I got up early (7AM) and went to the hospital. We tried to get there before Craig got up but he called us twice to see if and when we were coming. We got to the hospital that morning and we had been preparing Craig, telling him that we would be leaving. So, when we got there Thursday morning, he knew that we were leaving that day. We spent the morning with him, talking, and of course, walking and more walking. We walked around the building a few times. We visited in the family room, we walked some more.

Then, it was time to go. Craig walked us to the car. We talked some more. I think I hugged him about 10 times and held him tight. I don't know if I was sad because I was leaving or if I was sad for fear that Craig would think we had abandoned him. But, it wasn't like that, he understood. He told me that he would be in Sudbury in a couple days and we told him that it would probably be more like a week. So, tonight, Craig is on his way to Sudbury, do you think that maybe he knew something that we didn't??

Craig told me that he was glad Dave and I were going to get things "ready for him in Sudbury". He was also very excited that JP and Tara were coming in. It was a tag team trade off. We leave, JP & Tara arrive. Things always just seem to work out when you least expect it to. We have been advocating for Craig to be moved to Sudbury and then when we don't really want it to happen, it happens. I'm glad that JP & Tara got to see Craig before their wedding. I know that it will help JP and Tara plan the final details of the wedding in the next two weeks with a better feeling. Nothing like seeing your "little brother" talking, walking and joking the way he used to when 6 weeks ago it was a questions as to whether or not he would!!

It's weird to say, but part of me misses that smelly hospital. I miss the nurses, Craig's workers, and of course the special people that we met during our 6 week journey in Victoria, British Columbia. Many nurses, social workers, Dr's, occupational therapist and physiotherapists have left footprints in our hearts that I will remember forever. We crossed paths with some great people during our time there. A few in particular, Nancy and her son Doug; Tony & Wendy and their son Shaun and of course, Mercedes and her parents, Jamie & Mark. The group of us share a bond that we will never ever be able to share with anyone else. It's the bond of love and support for the Young adults that we love so much who have been affected by a brain injury. We were able to all relate to one another, vent to one another and most importantly, we are able to understand one another. They say that people come into your life for a reason, a season a lifetime. Below is one of my favourite poems. Being a "sociologist" and all, I have reflected on it many times during this 6 week journey. The people that we crossed paths with during our time in Victoria not only came into our lives for a reason, to assist us through a difficulty and to provide us with guidance and support. They came into our life for the season, to shared, to grow and to learn. But, most importantly, they have all left footprints in our hearts. Thanks to all of your for sharing your experience and helping us walk in our own experience.
Reason, Season and Lifetime

People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime.
When you figure out which it is, you know exactly what to do.

When someone is in your life for a REASON,
it is usually to meet a need
you have expressed outwardly or inwardly.
They have come to assist you through a difficulty,
to provide you with guidance and support,
to aid you physically, emotionally, or spiritually.
They may seem like a godsend, and they are.
They are there for the reason you need them to be.

Then, without any wrong doing on your part
or at an inconvenient time,
this person will say or do something
to bring the relationship to an end.
Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away.
Sometimes they act up or out and force you to take a stand.

What we must realize is that our need has been met,
our desire fulfilled; their work is done.
The prayer you sent up has been answered
and it is now time to move on.

When people come into your life for a SEASON,
it is because your turn has come to share, grow, or learn.
They may bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh.
They may teach you something you have never done.
They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.
Believe it! It is real! But, only for a season.

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons;
those things you must build upon
in order to have a solid emotional foundation.
Your job is to accept the lesson,
love the person/people (anyway);
and put what you have learned to use in all
other relationships and areas of your life.

It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.

~Author Unknown

Ok, so one last thing I want to mention. The day before we left, Wednesday. Dave and I and my parents went to Mile 0 of the Trans Canada Highway to put our foot in the ocean. On the way home, we stopped at this enormous tree that my Mom had noticed on one of the first days we were in Victoria. We took pictures of it. When we got home and I looked at the pictures, I noticed how intricate and beautiful the tree was. So large, yet so complicated. And it somehow brought me back to thinking about Craig and how the two are somehow linked together. The tree is tall, like Craig. It is a miracle, just like Craig. How it got to be there and be so large and wonderful, is just like Craig. But most importantly, it's the tree's roots that make it grow to become what it is. This too relates to Craig, it's his roots and who he is that has led him to who he has become. His roots meaning, my parents, our family, us. I decided that night that this tree will be called Craig's tree. It's roots(Mom, Dad, Family & Friends) are encouraging Craig to grow just like the tree. And no matter how big the tree gets, the roots will continue to offer the support, stability and nourishment. Craig is our miracle just like the tree. Here is a picture of Craig's tree. Big, robust and strong, it can stand up to anything, just like Craig. We all know that my "little brother", Craig, is a fighter. He's been fighting the fight for 6 long weeks and he will continue the fight for the rest of his life.

Well, I think that's it for tonight.

Ooops, almost forgot. The last thing that I was to say is "THANK YOU" to my Mom's family for all of their love, support and encouragement over the past 6 weeks. I am truly honoured and proud to say that I belong to the Gordon family. The closeness the Gordon children share is a constant reminder that Johnny & Fay did a wonderful job when they raised their 7 children. I love you all very much and thank you for everything!!

It's now 1:00AM and I am off to bed for a few hours and will meet my parents and Craig at the airport at 4:00AM!

JULY 31, 2004 - DAY 42

1:39pm - It is official now, the Victoria chapter of the experience has come to an end. A lot tears and hugs as we closed the door on this part of the process. Let me explain everything for everyone to understand. We have always known that Craig would be in Ontario for rehab, where in ontario was the question. This past week the doctors had given the ok to move Craig along to rehab, but with the medical coverage in dispute to some digree the lawyers have been trying to figure things out. Ther was talk of the move happening earlier this week, but they wanted to fly Craig on a commercial flight with a nurse - this was not an option for us as Craig can hardly stand sitting for 5 minutes let alone 12 hours on transport frm hospital to hospital. Next option was a private jet. So the lwayers got to work on that - yesterday at 11am we got word that the jet had left Toronto and was on its way. Talk about shock. Mom said she would have bet lots of money on teh fact that this would not be happenin guntil after the long weekend, so this is why Tara and I came. Wellat 6:30pm last night the ambulance arrived and we al went to the airport to board teh jet. It was an hour late so we got more visiting time. But at 9:30pm last night they were in the air on their way to tSudbury. During the day mom and dad had to pack up all their stuff in the apartment, we had to pack up all of Craigs stuff, say goodbye to all the nurses and of course all the people we had become quite cloese to. Wendy and Shaun were there to say goodbye. This was the family we got very close to in ICU. Shaun is of course the patient, so to see him standin goutside with his walkman on, is fantastic! Doug and Nancy - Nancy was the lady who slept in her car the first 10 days of hers sons recovery. Well her and mom have become quite close as they both literally live at the hospital. Doug and Craig became fast friends and Dad and Doug formed a really nice bond. In fact we stopped by today to see them again and drop off sme thank you gifts and gifts we already had for them and he said - "Make sure to tell you dad thanks, he really helped me out alot!" My god, Dad was living with Craig day to day but also making an impact o other people lives....man are we lucky to have him. It was a whirlwind of a day...and yes Craig and Mercedes got to say goodbye. I would love to tell you all it was the perfect goodbye, but really it was just two kids who don't know where life is going to take them saying goodbye with hope and optimism for their futures alone...not together...not yet! They have to take of themselves right now and once they are better things will look up for them and hopefully they can reunite one way or another. They share one thing right now, this accident. They can never get rid of that bond, no matter how hard they try. Craig gave Mercedes an I LOVE YOU link to her charm bracelet. I don't think he knew what it meant, but she did, and as time moves on they will rediscover love for themselves.

So tara and I are now left alone in Victoria, we were the first ones to arrive 41 days ago, and the last ones to leave. We are having a hard time dealing with all the emotions right now. We got to see Craig for about 13 hours. Not a lot of time, but we got a feel for what my parents are going through. If you plan on visitin ghim WEAR WALKING SHOES!! We walked more yesterday than we have in months! The wedding is fast approaching, so we don't know our plans now for the rest of teh weekend, but we know it is going to whatever we make it and need.

VISITORS - now that Craig is in Sudbury visitors are MORE THAN WELCOME. But we of course have a few disclaimers. Craig does not know his own limits, he doesn't feel fatigue, so we are still monitring this for him Therefore if you would like to visit, please call Beckie's new cell # 705.665.4264 to see if it is a good time to come. PLan on waiting as we can't have more than two people visiting him at a time to help him recover. As good as visitors are, Craig gets wound up quite quickly and then has a hard time winding down. HE WANTS TO SEE PEOPLE so please call to go visit him. His hospital informationa dn contact information is all on the main page now!

WHAT TO EXPECT - As I said, expect to walk. Craig doesn't want to sit around doinf mothing.He says "I need to get my life back on track, let's go for a walk" So you will be walking. He talks about the same things over and over and forgets talking about them so be patient. He is very exhausting because, much lieka young child he want sto get as much as he can packed intoa short span of time. His mind is racing and therefore he races, so help him with his thought b coaching him and not giving him the answers. Especially if e forgets you r names, coach him, and then he may say, I'don't know you need to tell me, so tell him, but the only way he will get better is if we hlep work the muscle of thebrain and get it where it needs to be!

THOSE IN VICTORIA - The people in Victoria who helped Craig and touched our lives!! THANK YOU...although Craig may have no memory of it all, we do and we will make sure he knows what part you played in his recovery and "process" as he calls it.

 

August 1, 2004 - DAY 43

11:39pm - today has been quite eventful for everyone. Lets start with Craig! Lots of Visitors between yesterday and today! Aunts, uncles Cousins, Friends - so many people. I think now tat everyone is seeing him is is making things more clear as to what point we are at in his rehabilitation. He is doing very well, incredibly well. I am on a Mac and in Vicotria so teh distance thing and typing are not working - although even normally i still make plenty of mistakes!! I talked with Craig quite a few times today - he is really soundin geven better than he was befre he left. I think the visitors are really helping him with his memory and progress is truly being made! We miss him terribly and although it was great to see him - we are feeling a lot of emotions right now about him, the wedding and life. Don't be surprised if we end up in sudbury before the wedding! We did talk to Craig about the wedding and a midst the tears he said - don't Cry J we'll go on a trip another time and celbrate it!!! DAMN RIGHT WE WILL CRAIG - A TRIP ON THE ASSHOLES DIME WHO HIT YOU!!! Ooops a little anger coming out there! Well we are still in Victoria and figured we had better make the most of being here, so today we did some shopping for the wedding and for our selves and then we went Whale Watching! Yup, we went on a three hour ride in a rubber dingy and saw about 25 whales. ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! they would swim right next to teh boat as tehy swam past us. Lots of pictures so i will post them when we get home! tonight was also BC day in BC (OBviously) so thre were firworks and symphony on a boat in the harbour.The fireworks exploded ending our night perfectly. We had agreat night and day, but still feel a deep connection to Craig and Victoria. We figure tomorrow we might go to a waterpark and drive up to the Malahat before we headhome. We thought we might like to see where this journey began as none of us will probably be out here an time soon! Craig would reallly like to hear from friends while he is in the hospital so please contact him or call to come visit! Talk to you all tomorrow!

August 2, 2004 - DAY 44

1:14am - Very late - it's actually the 3rd but I am cheating because it is still today!!! I have a quick story to share and tehn will post tomorrw with pics of Craig and our weekend! Craig had a great day today - lots of visitors. He is very excite for tomorrow because he finds out when he will be moving to rehab. He really wnats out of the hospital, but I keep telling him they are going to help him - as he says - get my life back on track because it really went to crap. Whn his memeory is jogged he knows it is because of an accident but otherwise he doesn't know why things suck. SO I told him not rto rush out of the hospital becuase it is a hige help being there for a lot of reasons. Which brings me to a stroy that happened on Thursday. We were siting around talking with him and we started to talk about the food in the hospital and he said he didn't really like it...but you know it is really a great place because you never have to order it, it jsut comes and ...get this...you don' have to pay for it either! SOme guy just brings it in and takes it away!! Well we all thought we were going to some oxygen from laughter. He really is so sincere in his thoughts and is trying so hard to remember, but every few minutes it seems he hits us with a good laugh! ENjoy all. Keep visitng! And like Megan said in her post - don't be afraid of what to expect - he is past the really bad parts, he is Craig,not the exact same Craig you might have known, but you can see how great he is and how far he has come. The same Craig is there, just in bits and pieces...but slowly - much like our puzzles, he is putting it together piece by piece!

August 3, 2004 - DAY 45

2:57pm - I am heading into Calgary today to finalize details onmy wedding attire. Craig got some great news today, in fact I just got off the phone with him!! HE MOVES TO REHAB AT 9am tomorrow!!!!!! So fantastic. He is very excited. He was getting visitors when italked to him, Unlce Shawn, Auntie Darlene, Nancy & Sean (Happy Anniversary you two!) As promised here are some pictures:

Before Beckie left she bought Nancy a puzzle. Nancy opened it and the first piece she pulled out was the one above....read what the bottom the pieces says.....how weird!!

         Wendy, Mom & Dad                  Shaun & Wendy                Craig’s Picture Wall

Beckie & Dave at the 0 Mile       Boarding the Jet with Tara         Getting ready for take

JP @ Beacon Hill Park      Tara @ Beacon Hill Park      August 1, Fireworks - Last burst!

        

WHALE WATCHING
Contrary to popular belief you are not allowed to touch them. They in fact are just cruising the ocean in their pod. This pod was called the L pod and teh Second Pod we saw was the K pod. FOr those who may keep up onthe news. Luna the whale that was casuing some trouble in Vicotira earlier this summer was a part of L pod is now back un this pod, so she is one of the whales in the pics. They jsut swim by with no real cares. Coming up to breath near or far as they make their way up the coast. The experience was amazing, the pictues really don't so it justice. The guide droped a radio transmitter intot he water and we could hear them talking to each...the whales that is. Enjoy!

August 4, 2004 - DAY 46

10:15pm - Here is the picture as promised - Craig, Mitch, Bradley, Calina, Eric & Kim

1:45pm - ROSS AVENUE WEST ALERT!!!!! For those neighbours who may think that once again my father's struck has been stolen - it was - by my mother and father-in-law to be!!! They brought the truck to my parents in Sudbury! No wories your vehicles are safe...they don't make a habit of stealing any other vehicles. As for Craigs day. He had a hugely eventfuly and busy day yesterday. He went to supper with lots of family to Red Lobster. They walked in and they had just sat down when our neighbours from Timmins Mitch & Kim came tot he table. The had apparently been in Sudbury for holidays and were himming and hawing over whether or notto come....so Craig came to them! The neighbours have been fantastic in TImmins. On a side note - Thank you to you all for your support. I know I was never their long enough to really get to know everyone, but thank you for taking care of my parents house (and pool) and for your ongoing support! The weekly cards (Nellie & Irene) are appreciated more than I think you will ever know! THANK YOU! Ok back to Red Lobster! Mitch & Kim were quite awstruck that Craig was at dinner with mom and dad - as I think most of us are - but let's face it, 7 weeks of hospital food is enough to kill anyone, so we've been at that point its time to feed the boy!! We have a picture fo Craig with Mitch & Kim which we will post later - the first shot of Craig close up since the accident!!!!!!! After dinner they stopped by my mom's Uncle Billy and Auntie Colleens - Kim was there too!! They had a quick and great visit, Kim said that the visit really brightened up our Uncle Billy who has not been feeling wel lately. Then it was back to the hospital for a good nights sleep. Dad was kind of hping that with the move Craig may be aable to come to Mexico, even if only for a few days. But the doctors said NO. Although he looks great and is on a great road to recovery, the path is still long and winding with new obstacle around each corner. Today borught the newest of obstacles.

Craig was moved to rehab today, where he is in a semi-private room, no roomate as of yet, and share a bathroom with the room next door. His paranoia is only fed by the move and the new "setup" which is going to be hard on us all. The family met with the therapist (I think) and they said it is "time to let Craig go, time to cut the ties." My response to this is it's time fo the therapist to give their freaking head a shake!!!!! I can understand starting to wean back on teh amount of time spent with Craig, but unlike most other patients at this point in the game, they are in their home town, they have had friends visitng them for weeks. All Craig has had are my parents for 7weeks. His only other visitors were Beckie, Dave, Tara and I. They expect my parents to start only coming during visiting hours - 10 to 1 and 5 to 7 or something like that!! I completel;y agree that there comes a time for this to happen, but I don't think its 5 days after he has moved across the country and 4 hours after moving to another floor. The doctors agree that Craig needs 24 hour supervision, but with the OHIP/ICBC battle over who is paying for what continuing onwe ahve jsut asked our lawyers to ort this out. At this time, this is an unreasonable request. Not to mention that with the wedding trip less than a week away this is already hard on all of us!!! It will be fine, like everything else,but it just gets hard at times you know?!

Lastly. I found out yesterday that the company I work for is holding a big yard sale at it's Niagara Falls location to help us with costs and needs. It is still mind blowing to know that everywhere you turn there is always another shoulder to lean on and to help you through each step of the way. Until later today!

August 5, 2004 - DAY 49 - no posting

August 6, 2004 - DAY 48 - no posting

August 7, 2004 - DAY 47 - no posting

August 8, 2004 - DAY 50

1:02pm - Let me start by saying:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!!

I wish we could be there with you. I know that as time marches on everything is looking better and better. Now as for my not posting...well it has nothing to do with not wanting to. Getting ready for the wedding and doing things at work (many a 4am evening) has really drained me. But the last two days are completely...well...my fault...okay, my friends fault. I was whisked away for soem golf and drinking on Friday afternoon and only rolled out of bed today! Those who know we , know I am not a bitg drinker and Friday night was ewvidence of that. Not to mention Tara's friends whisked her away as well, so the two of us were quite "tired" yesterday.

As for Craig. He called this morning to say hello. Man I love that kid! He sounds so good, his memories seem stronger and stronger. He is getting very antsy and is looking for stuff to do...maybe we should get him puzzles?!! He called this morning to tell me he was so sorry he could not come to our wedding and that it was ok for mom and dad to go because he knows taht family will be there to help. Which segues nicley into my cousin Ryans plea for family support. Ryan has always been more than a jsut a cousin in our house. I mean he lived in my bedroom for a few years and goes there once a month or so, so he still reamins a huge part of our life. Well he sent an email out asking all famil to respond and help us out while my parents are in Mexico. From what I have heard he has only heard back from a few people, which is great, but I don't think between three people they can care for Craig for the 10 days my parents are gone. The hardest part about leaving Craig is making sure there is someone with him as much as possible. I know everyone has a life, and we appreciate the visits he gets, but while we are away we need the sense of security and peace of mind that Craig will be ok. What Ryan is doing is creating a schedule so taht we will alwys know taht someone is with him. Please email Beckie if you can be added tot eh schedule while they are gone - August 14 to August 23. Bottom line a schedule is needed to make it easier for eveyone, leaving him is hard, getting married without him is hardest. Some sense of relief is really what we all need before we go. Thanks everyone. WE appreciate all your suport and feel bad making a plea lke this, but in the end this is what WE need and appreciate even one a hour of time with Craig while we are gone.

Thank you all.. We will talk later!

August 9, 2004 - DAY 51

11:45pm - I talked with Craig today. What a great talk. He sounds so great and it is so nice to hear him making complete thoughts and remembering it minutes later. His good friend Oli came to visit him for a few days. I think he was bouncing off the walls with excitement!! Mom and dad went home to Timmins today! They are going home for the day to packup and get ready for Mexico. I did not really talk to Craig for too long, but he really seems great. I miss him alot, and as we get closer it gets tougher knowing he is not coming, but we'll get through. Some good news fromteh weekend. The Dinner Show, where I work, well the Niagara Falls location had a yard sale and I can only say that i am ovewhelmed by the staff and friends I have that work there. They had a great yardsale and made a little more than $1600 with the owners contribution. THANK YOU - THANK YOU - THANK YOU to all of you in Niagara who have helped me get through this through support and through your actions. My entrie fmaily thanks you! There are pictures of this event too, but they are on their way! Other than that this is all I have to post for today!

August 10, 2004 - DAY 52 - no posting

August 11, 2004 - DAY 53

11:00pm - Craig is slowly being wheened down to just having people during visiting hours to help normalize his daily rituals. They say it will help with his progress. I don't have much to type, other than a quick thank yuo to the Timmins Northern Credit Union for their BBQ to help raise some money for our family! I am off to bed (it is actually 4am on the 12th) and I have a flight to catch tomorrow. I will have a good post tomorrow - I promise!!

August 12, 2004 - DAY 54

11:40pm - It is official - holidays have begun. i am now posting from Ontario...not close enough to see Craig, but close enough to send him love that's for sure! well i promised a good post, so here it goes. Have you ever watched a car get crushed on TV at one fo those car disposal places. You know, the way tthe four walls close in around it and tehn it pops out like a cube. Well up until about 5 hours ago, i was a cube. As we got closer and closer to leaving the walls got smaller and smaller. i feel horrible becasue i didnt post as regularly and as thorouhly as I should. this is not only therapy for you but complete therapy for me. I understand that th doctors and nurses and reading this at Laurentian, which is great, especially for Craig. they can learn a little more about who he was to me. And taht is just what his is, a wa for me to express how I am feeling and let you know how Craig is doing. it began as an update site, but as i typed i began to emote, and through the words i could relax. maybe all those missed posting were the reason for my car crushing feeling, not enough venting or expressing how I feel on here! At this exact moment i am on top of the world, well almost. it really hit me today how much this has impacte my life. We flew into toronto tonight for two of our our best friends Ryan and Sarah's wedding. they met us at the airport and we went for supper. Well it seemed every moment I had I turned the story onto Craig. I don't feel the need to talk about him, but I do feel the need to share his achievements and other stories int he process. Sarah and Ryan were great and with the relationship we have, they knew/know how it was making me feel. For those RLS members who may be reading this, like a mini-COMM! Those who wrenot on RLS - Residence Life Staff, when I was in university, both tara and I, and ryan and sarah were all a part of this and every week we had a meeting to express how we were feeling, we joke about it now, but know how valuable those times were then, and stil can be!

Dad called during dinner and told me that Craig had a great day. I felt bad becasue he was already sleeping and I hadn't gotten a chance to talk to him, and that was when it really hit me. this past week I have been so wrapped up in work, and the wedding I couldn't devote enough time to him. Although I did talk to him everyday it still feels like that is not enough. He is getting better and every time I talk to him he sounds leaps and bounds ahead of where he was the day previous. I am glad that he is on the path to a good recovery, I hate hearing him say how he jsut wants to get out, but ssure him that in the end, the stay will be well worth it!

POSSIBLE TISSUE ALERT (heather)

He goes on his first day pass "four hours" as Megan puts it, on Saturday!!! he is so excited. His short term memory is coming back to him gradually. he is remembering alot more than before. I told him last week that tara and I were planning a trip to see him September and he asks me about it very time I call! I think the second hardest thing I have ever had to hear in my life was my little brother apolgize to me for not being able to come to my wedding. You know, a year ago when we first planned this we never expected everyone to be able to come, but as time went on eveyone 33 people were coming except Craig. he was working hard at getting himself on solid ground, and when final payments for the trip came I called him and told him that we wanted him there and that we were paying for him to come. In the end it was not about money, but about having my best friend, my brother there no matter what. So to hear him apologize for something that he had absolutely no control over breaks my heart more than anything. But thankfully with his short term memory, everytime it comes up he says - it's ok though J we'll go on our own trip just like you said. I know I said this before, but that's what a conversation with Craig is like right now...he repeats things he has said...but like I said every phone call gets better!

As we approach the departure date things feel better. and weirdly enough, they feel right under the circumstances. I know Craig and I know that id we didn't get married he would feel the guilt as though it was his fault we didn't get married. he is on such a great road to recovery and all our family and friends are going to be there - during visiting hours. My dad allowed me to come to this realization the other day, i think we were all still having second thoughts about the choice, and he said "Craig doesn't need us now, you need us now. you need our support right now and we are going to give it to you. Craig will be okay for the one week we are away!" It hit me hard - he's right, i do need them, and so does Craig and both of us in very different ways, but I guess it is right. Parents somehow figure things out, make everything work. I always say that everything happens for a reason, the precise reason taht this happend is still yet to b revealed, but as we walk the path my goddo we learn how to appreciate what we have. a my friend ryan said tonight at dinner...it certainly puts into perspective how muych we take for granted...yup ryan it sure does.

PUT TISSUE AWAY

So as i ramble on a little more, some poeple had asked exactly what our plansfor the weddig were. if you visit www.jpandtara.ca you can find out all about our resort and the plans. the wedding is Friday August 20th at 4:30pm. we are hoping to have Craig join us either before or right after or both or during the ceremony by phone. we'll figure it all out soon enough. we are in Toronto now attendin gour friends wedding and then Sunday they will join us and fly to mexico with all our family and friends. the four of us are staying for two weeks while everyone else is staying for one. let's pray for hurricane Charlie to move west (fr Dollys sake) and that the last two weeks of august are beautiful - not too hot, and not too cold!

One last thing. thank you Ryan for organizing the schedule. Like I told you, you will never really know what it has meant to me...but thank you. Also thank you to everyone on the schedule and everyone else who will visit! As Ryan said in his email, if you want to visit Craig, by all means do, but only during visiting hours! Talk to you all tomorrow!

CRAIG'S VISITING SCHEDULE

DATE

11am to 1pm

5 to 8pm

Saturday - August 14th

Beckie & Dave (ALL DAY)

Beckie & Dave (ALL DAY)

Sunday - August 15th

Debbie & Bruce

Waye (4pm to 8pm)

Monday - August 16th

Debbie & Bruce

Stewart & Wendy

Tuesday - August 17th

Shawn Sr.

Larry & Sue

Wednesday - August 18th

Shawn Sr.

Bobby

Thursday - August 19th

Sean Jr.

Stewart & Wendy

Friday - August 20th

Sean Jr.

Tim (4pm to 8pm)

Saturday - August 21st

Debbie & Bruce (11am to 3pm)

Debbie & Bruce

Sunday - August 22nd

Alicia & Chad (11am to 3pm)

Debbie & Bruce

Monday - August 23rd

Debbie & Bruce

Mom & Dad

 

August 13, 2004 - DAY 55

11:15pm - Friday the 13th...eeeeek! Uh oh. it looks like my not osting has stopped people from reading, or posting at least, which I suppose in inevitable after time. well today was th rehearsal for Ryan and Sarah's big day. I am singing and it look slike the move from Alberta to Ontario has given me a bad cold and no voice - AHHHH! Hopefully it wil be back for tomorr.w We talked to Craig today who was feeling a little low, but in good spirits. He actually got a new X-Box today and a a tv in his room. His old X-box he gave to irene his Occupational therapist in victoria, so now he has a new one. this should keep him busy for a while..i hope. He talked to me again about the wedding, and apologized again, and then said he was going to escape the hospital to come..with a laugh, then he said he jsut kidding! Ryan and sarah's wedding is tomorrow but we start the day with paint ball!!! I will try to post before we get on to mexico! it is really happening.

August 14 - August 21 - No Posting

August 22 - DAY 64

4:06pm - OLA! Well it has been quite a week! I am sorry for not posting sooner, but I think you can all appreciate the fact that things were quite busy here in Mexico. The entire "it" clan, as we were known left today, just Tara and I left with our good friends Ryan and Sarah. We are of to dinner with them, but I will be back on in a bit to post the entire weeks events. Lots of love...PS - WE ARE MARRIED!

August 23 - DAY 65

4:05pm - OLA! It is really incredible to thik that 65 days have past. Over two months Craig has live in a hospital an all of us have been glued to our computers watching his life unfold once again. So much emotionhas been poured into keeping us all informed and yet the depth and nature of this beast doesnt seem to wigh down our spirits and keep our emotions in tune with the evens happening in our own lives. This past week has been one of the most incredible of my life! The only thing that coul dhav emade this better was having my brother here to share it with. I suppose that was the real reason why I didnt venture to this cyber cafe sooner than now, I just didnt want to make the trip too sad, the days were already hard enough without spilling my guts on here. But to do it now, is therepeutic and feels great, and now i have more time to do it...mind you my new piece of left handed jewelry makes it dificult to type! Okay as for the week!

The week began with Ryan and Sarahs beautiful wedding! The day was spent with all of our great friends from Brcok and we jsut had a blast. When sunday rolled around we said goodbye to all our friends, two of which, Jon & Jill were making the move of theri life to Germany where Jon will be attending a Perdue affiliated University to complete a full scholarship for his masters in Business. The limo arrived to trasport us o the airport where 26 of the total ït clan were waiting to greet us. We arrived to fan farewith Ryan ans Sarah who wre comin gwith us to have their honeymoon! We had prepared loot bags for everyon eto have on the plane, the bag included a bunch of things, like dictionaries, word searches (using the guests names) and of course a sumer visor embroided rewith "it" and the wedding date. these proved to bea big hit at the resort, everyone wanted to know what "it" was. And for those guests that did not know each other, they became and instant recognizer for someone to eat with or sut chat with at the pool.

We arrived at the resort t around 10pm after a great bus ride wit hmuch help from Auntie Dolly who had purchased all the alcohol on the bus and Coronas were spilling around for eveyone. The party had begun! Teh resport was beautiful!!! Everyone found thir rooms and had a good sleep.

The next day we spent discovering the resort. it was relaly great, to wander anyhere and find someone from our party. the pool was beautiful. Within the first ay, Tammie & Kris had para sailed, bananboated and even gotton sun tans. Kassid & Coteny were in heaven..so was Tammie. this after all was her first BIG trip, and their first family trip! Everyone got a good tan this day and by te end of the day we all took in the kids show, disco and the night show. The shows here are not much to talk about - they lyp sync after all!

On Tuesday we went to TULUM, the mayan ruins. Very HOT but very nice.

On Wednesday we went to XEL HA, it is an ecological park that you can snorkal, and do many things, the best - WE SWAM WITH THE DOLPHINS. No other experience could have prepared me for the feeling you get from swimming with these creatures. They were just beautiful and the peer into your soul., The emotional connection with them is phenomenal. The male took to me very quickly and kept coming to compfort me, like he knew I needed healing of somekind. He would stop and jsut stare into my soul...it was truly incredivble!

Thursday was guys and grls day. the ladies spent the day at the pa pool, while the guys went ou onto the caribbean and wen t snorkelling. Even my grandfather and Cleo came fo the ride! The day was jsut great and ended with a Brithday vcelebration for Tara, Chris and David.

Friday was of course teh wedding day. At the beginningo fthe week our wedding planner told us that there was to be a hurricane to hit on Friday, and things did not look too good for the wedding planning. We kept this from everyone, hoping and praying that this would change.....we have yet to see rain and the weather for the wedding could nothave been more perfect! Tara looked amazng..she was stunning in her dress and the feeling of getting marrie dwas incredible. after 10 years it was almost hard to believe it was really happening. Craig joined us in the only way he could, through a large picture. i had talke to him on the phone a week before and he kept daying how he was going to be at the wedding....he kept saying youll see m ethere....and he was right, knowin gall along that he had this picture being sent to our wedding!!! We had the wedding on the beach, and then afterwards we gave all the guests a glass bottle to go and get sand form the beach to take home as a memory of our weddin gon the beach. then we took pictures and went to teh meditteranean resaturant for dinner. there they had a private room for us, and a video monitp setup, where craig sent a messge wishing us the best of luck and congratulations. We cut eh cake and then went to the pool restaurant to hav eour first dance! I surprise Tara by recordin g a song for her and played it as our first dance. the song is b y John Williams and is called "For Always". WE all then got changes and went to the adult pool for a midnight swim and then Tara and i< retired to our room wher ethe weddin gplanner had covered the room in rose petals...it was amazing!!! perfect day!

Saturday was the last chance for everyone to do what they wanted to and they did! Peole went paddle boating, snorkeling, tanning, mostly we all just hung out around the pool visiting. VIjya, Becky and Suzanne left on this day.

Sunday, everyone left at the resort left that afternoon. I have to say it was quite hard saying good bye. we had 31family and friends join us for the best week of our lives and everyon ewas leavin gso pleased with how everything turned out. we thought that we would be glad to see them all go, but today we wish they were all still here.

Its Monday and everywhre we look we think we see my dad, or taras sister, or a friend, but its jsut us and >Sarah and Ryan. Thank god they have staye dor we woul have gone crazy this week. I will be psotg more regualrly again. and hope you all keep reading. know that Craig is doing really well. he has his moments, but as the day go by he is progressing, I dont nkow if we have reached the plateau yet, but I wil know more whn i get back to Canada. I miss him terribly and love to talk to him...I love him and hope that in the end everythin gfor him is a s perfect as things have been for me...he deserves it!

Last update...as Jane, taras mom was leaving yesterday she fell off the buss bus trying to get up and we jsut found out, now that she is in Canada that her Ankle is broken. So shw is in a cast....we thank god that it happened at the end of the trip...perhaps it was a souvenir for her to take home!!! we love you MAMA!

The entire IT party in Mexico!

Click the picture above to go to a quick album of our trip - CLICK SLIDESHOW
A full album will be online by the time we get home!

August 24 - DAY 66 - no posting

August 25 - DAY 67

10:44am - HOLA! So I learned to spell. I was wtching Spanish tv, but it was an american channel and everything was sub titled and i saw the HOLA and thought - duh, thats how you spell it!! Well I was reading the guestbook and some people are still diligent in posting and were thankful for hat, and so is Craig. Yup Craig is actually now reading the website, so post everyone to let him know that you have been reading the site. weve all learned who you are and how often you read, but Craig is just discovering this. To answer the question on how he is progressing...GREAT!!! He is posting on his own website. He really is doing great. At this point he seems quite discouraged with the process. he is havin ga hard time with being in the hospital night and day. Although we all know it is for his best recovery, try explaining that to him. He is really having a hard to coping with the reality of things at this point. he cant believe this has happened to him. As he said to me the other night...."why did this have to happen to me? what did I do to desrerve this. I wasnt a bad guy I was a nice guy who gave so much, why did this happen to me!" I couldnt agree with him more. but is is heart breaking listening to him talk like this. He is a t a point where he is recovering well. Most of Craig is back, except for the last year and a half of his life, all other memories are back. he still gets mixed up with words, which is way better than having to feed him. we would much rather coach him to remember a word than teach him to eat. like on the phone the other day he asked tara if we were razorburnt, and then he caught himself and said I mean sun burnt! I wish we could make this process go more quickly, bu one day at a time and we are getting Craig back. he is perfect and we love him so much...i cant wait to visit him when we get back to Canada! And then we can start planning our next trip to somewhere - WITH CRAIG!!!!!!! Here is a picture with craig ans a few of his new souvenirs!

August 25- DAY 73 - no post

August 26 - DAY 72 - no post

August 27 - DAY 71 - no post

August 28 - DAY 70 - no post

August 29 - DAY 69 - no post

August 30 - DAY 68 - no post

August 31 - DAY 67

September 1 - DAY 78 - no post

September 2 - DAY 77 - no post

September 3 - DAY 76 - no post

September 4 - DAY 75 - no post

September 5 - DAY 74 - no post

September 6 - DAY 79 - FINALLY A NEW POSTING

7:09pm - I don't know if I should be posting anymore, but then I talk to Craig andthink - DAMN RIGHT I SHOULD POST. Well we are back fromt eh honeymoon and wedding. I guess you all figured the lack of posting was due to the amount of work piled high on my desk. it was and it wasn't. Mexico really taught me a thing or two about relaxing. Damni wish I could do more of it! It has however been an eventful week at work and getting into the wing of things! I can't believe it has been almost 3 months since this all began. My head is spinning with the amount of emotion that has been poured onto this page, and int eh guestbook. Craig can't believe it. He tells me everytime I talk to him..you know J, they even threw a car wash for me. My favourite thing and I think his is people he used to know who may call, but he can't remember them he told me of this girl who called, and he said, you know J I just don;t knwo who she is, but she knows me...it's really weird.

To listent o him talk is amazing. He is so anxious to get out of the hospital...he said to me, I am going to ask for extrahomework, so I can speed this up. Well things are progressing well. he got his first weekend pass and he went to my Uncle Stewarts (my mom's brothers) camp. He was very quick to tell me that he was the only person to catch a fish. They also went and played some golf. He said "Can you believe it J, I can still play golf, I jsut hope I can play hockey!" For those of you who may not know it, but Craig is a die hard hockey player...not so much watching the sport, but loves to play. As a kid he would play starting at 8am and would have to be brought home for bed at night. He would play all alone, or with kids three times his age. He just loved the feeling of skating down the ice, the rush of a slap shot or the thrill of a goal. I hope and ray that that all comes flooding back to him the moment he straps on a pair of skates...those are the feelings that need to come back now for him to remember.

While in Mexico Tara and I thought it would be fun to take "craig" everywhere we went aroudnt eh resort. So the following is

day in the mexican life of PAPER CRAIG"

Paper Craig would start each morning relaxing in his King size bed (we really kept him on teh couch, but he will never know)

Once he got his lazy flat ass out of bed, he would take a nice long hot shower.

It was then time to hit the buffet for breakfast where he would make sure he got fresh with all the Senoritas!

He was a bit of pain the butt becasue he would start to play in the buffet decor and Tara would have to go and get him to come and finish his "flat jacks" :)

Paper Craig and Tara would hit the pool bar first thing after breakfast!

A quick swim in the pool always made the day blow by.

Lunch was a welcome relief to teh heat of the morning pool side retreat. A nice "coca" always quenched his thirst.

Not alwasy the most appetizing..lunch on this day was much the same.

Running around the marble flooors never lost its humour!

Mini Putt was always a fun way to rip up the day.

Although he knew his tan was already developed he tried his hardest to go for some overexposure!

Posing with the banans he was hoping to eat before we left, we never had the heart to tell him...he was just paper.

Although hard to see, the crocodiles were a model for anyone wanting to just lie around and do nothing....much like a Canadian government! :)

Craig always took the opportunity to hit on the newlywed Sarah, as Ryan held onto him...hoping he would have a wife to return home with!

Paper Craig is seen here hiding from Ryan as his paperback romance with Sarah may have went a little too far!

The day was never complete without a swim in the ocean...

Or a roll.

But his days in Mexcio were bright and happy and always made us, the newlyweds smile...we can't wait til the REAL Craig can do it all with us!

September 7- DAY 80

8:13pm - I talked with Craig tonighta nd we had a great talk. HE is really not liking the hospital. More the fact that he has to be there. I am trying to figure out ways to tell him that in no time the rehab will be just a memory..wow...who knew that 80 days later we could be talking about memories again. Craig also told me, something I already knew, but none of you know, his collar bone was broken during the accident. Yup, they missed it in Victoria....no big deal, it was a (i forget the word) perfect break and it has healed properly, but it is getting sore now that he is using his arm more. For those who don't know Craig worked at the Dinner Show for me in Canmore and tonight he was quizzing me on what he was remembering. It was so neat to hear some of the things as he was putting them together. Visualizing the buildign teh changerooms, asking if this was here and that was there. The neatest one is that he said "12 steps" and I said, what does that mean? He said "12 steps to get to my booth (where he ran our lighting and sound!) I have to go and check it our, but I think he is right! Last funny story. He is really bothered bythe nurses waking himup early, he said it was like 7:30 when they wake him and his room mate up, but I iI can't confirm that. He said "and then we go for a rest in the afternoon.....why can't they just take away our rest and let us sleep in?" How is that for brain power!!!.

September 8- DAY 81

8:08pm - A new article can be found int eh articles section - it's an article from the Canmore paper - wow!! On another note...I came across a song recently that has really meant more than I can express in words. It is bascially everything I want to say to my family even though I am not there with them. Ironically it is a song that was cut from the show that I will be directing this fall. For those who don;t knowIam directing a show called - " A NEW BRAIN". I sign on to do this a year ago, months before the accident. Well, the whole musical is about this guy who has a brain anuerism and how his family and friends cope with his healing process. Yes a little eerie! Well this song was taken out of the show when it went on Broadway (well off Broadway) but you get the point. I hope this works for most of you..this is just and MP3 file that can be played or uploaded as you would like. Enjoy.

September 9- DAY 82

September 10- DAY 83

September 11- DAY 84

September 12- DAY 85

September 13- DAY 8

10:27am - I will be posting a little more today!

September 14- DAY 87

September 15- DAY 88

September 16- DAY 89

Well DON'T BE AFRAID this page has been moved to a password protected server so that it can be used as it was intended, for me to express exactly how I feel without worrying who might read it. This site was intended for family and friends to go through the motions of Craig's process along with me and my family, along the way I have been mad, I have been happy, and those are my feeling right or wrong, and this site was a place for me to vent and get support from all of you for Craig and our family. You are more than welcome to continue reading the site, but I ask that you simply fill in below, click submit and then I will email you the username and password.

THIS IS NOT TO DETER FAMILY FRIENDS AND SUPPORTERS, it is just to clarify the intent of this site, by entering from this point on you accept that the site is how I feel and how Craig is doing.

1:38pm - Okay so I guess I didn't get around to posting the message I was going to a few days ago. This will be quick. I had to create a private server so that I could speak candidly about everything. It was apparent that some of the caregivers may have been offended and that was not the intent, but I should be able to write how I feel without worry or reservation that it will hurt Craig's progress. So that is why I did what I did.

Craig Medical team met with mom and dad and Bekcie todaya nd are concerned that Craig is not making the progress he needs to. His PTA (Post Traumatic Amnesia) has not goten any better and he is stillnot prgoressing as he should. So from now on we would like everyone to know that if you would liek to viit Craig it can only happen between 5 & 7pm. We need to be very strict about this as part of Craigs rehabilitation is thinking for himself adn having his brain kickstart itself to progress.

Thank you all for your support.

When we were in Victoria these really great people - the Klassen's became our landlord and they were so great. Well they made us muffins and the nurses in Victoria loved thema nd wanted the recipe...I just hope they ge this - here it is!

BANANA MUFFINS
3 or 4 Bananas
6 Tbsp Oil
1/2 Cup Sugar
1tsp Salt
1 Egg
1tsp. Vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
1tsp. Baking Soda
1tsp Baking Powder
1/2 cup nuts (optional)
Bake @ 350 for 15 to 20 minutes

ENJOY!

September 17- DAY 90

12:03pm - Today is the 3 month anniversary of the accident! I have to say that I am quite surprised at how many people are still reading the stie. I imagined tehre were still a few die hard fans...lol, but not almost 100 people still reading it!!! WOW!! So I guess I had better post more often. A couple of great things to post. Mercedes is in Canmore and came to our house last night for one of our Survivor night. Tara and I have always enjoyed Survivor and have made it almost ritualistic taht people come to our hosue for Survivor. SO last night Mercedes came over, but I dodn't tell anyone she was coming. SO you can imagine everyones surprise when they walked through the door and saw Mercedes sitting on the couch. I have to say she looks fantastic and her attitude is so great. She said that she has some foggy memories, but all in all she is good. She knows that she is not herself and as she put it "It's great cuz I get to re-invent myself!" She said that she has no memory of what foods she liked or what style of clothing she liked. SHe said that she would ook at soem of her old clothes and say - "Why did I like that!!" She is so positive, and it did us a lot of good to see her, especially with the news on Craig yesterday. Not that his news was bad, I think we were all just looking for more of a result that we got. Mercedes is going to come over sometime before she goes this week to watch teh wedding video and have some dinner and just visit! Excitign news for her.....she ishoping that on SEPT.27 they will start taking her brace off for good. By that, she hopes that they will let her wear it for shorter periods of time, slowly moving to not wearing it at all! SO keep your fingers crossed that her wish comes true!! So we have heard about Craig, heard about Mercedesa nd everyone is probably wondering about Chris. Well...later on tonight I will be putting up an article from our local paper that has a full page on Chris. Chris was a forward for the local Junior Hockey Team and can no longer play after this year, so this would have been his last year to play, but becasue fo injuries he can not. The article is great...Mercedes went to the Season opener with him and said the whole crowd was amost in tears when they anounced his name, and tehn he went out to drop the puck! So check out thesite later tonight for that article. I shall talk tyou all tomorrow...Craig is out with Beckie this weekend and my parents have gone home to timmins for the weekend.

8:25pm - I have finally put the article up, so please check out the update on Chris. All is well.

September 18- DAY 91

September 19- DAY 92

September 20- DAY 93

September 21- DAY 94

September 22- DAY 95

12:01pm - Hello to everyone! Lilly our thoughts and prayers have been with you. I apologize for not posting to you earlier. Mom had asked me to post about you worrying that you may have gotten hit. WE can't imagin how things have been, but you are in her thoughts and all of ours. You have been such a support for us and I know all we can do now for you is pray and think of you. AS for everyone else, say a little prayer for Lilly and her family that the mess the hurricane left them will be cleaned up and back to normal as soon as possible. Craig had a great weekend with Beckie. AS i mentioned before he has been limited to only 2 hours of visitors a day. The doctors have asked that he not be pre warned of arrivals because he can't focus on his daily tasks due tot eh anticipaiton of everyones arrival. Mom and Dad visit with him from 5 to 6 every day, if you would like to visit you amy do so between 6 & 7 only. BUt we ask that you call the cell phone - 705.665.4264 - in case they have taken Craig out for dinner and will be back later than 6. I started produciton this week on A New Brain. The show has been cast and our first two rehearsals went great! Beckie has asked me to post this link to a music video - http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/diamond_rio/artist.jhtml - when you get to the site look for I BELIEVE. It is quite intense, but very moving. All in all days have turned in to weeks and weeks into months. 95 days, wow! There is not a day that goes by that the gut wrenching feeling of the day i got the news does not overcome me. I sit here typing this and a wash bathes me...a feeling unlike any other. I imagine this feeling is metaphorically like a huricanne hitting us. Individually we weather the storm, but the mess left behind is the hard part. Every person has a varying degree of pain and suffering, but its the person or people at the eye of the storm who get hit the hardest that feel it the most. LIfe changes, but we muddle through until a sense of normalcy arrives. I don't know when that normalcy will arrive, but it's weird becasue right now things feel normal, but aren't. Mom and dad don't ive at home and Craig is living in a hospital, but I guess at this moment..that is our normal. SO I guess what I am saying is that feeling I get once a day, is probably now a normal thing. It will probably fade, but I will never forget where I was when the storm hit...and our lives became a different normal.

September 22- DAY 95

September 23- DAY 96

September 24- DAY 97

September 25- DAY 98

September 26- DAY 99

September 27- DAY 100

September 28- DAY 101

September 29- DAY 102

September 30- DAY 103

October 1 - DAY 104

1:25am -I haven't posted in a few days. Not really known what to write I suppose. Craig is making progress. He is in the hospiatl indefinately at this point. They can't really give hi a time frame ita ll depends on how his brain improves. People keep asking how he is and it becomes such a hard question to answer, I usually say, well ifyou were tomeet him for the first time, you would probably not know anything happened. but to know him, you know something is different, but you jsut can't place it. That must be how Craig feels. Nothing appears wrong, but he's beenin the hospital now for 104 days so soemthing must be wrong...so confusing really. I am very busy right now and my body is having a hard time keeping up with myself. I usually get tired an drun down at this time of year, but this year seems to be unusually worse. I have to say that lately I have been dreaming a lot. Dreaming of weird things like writing to Dr.Phil for advice on how to cope with life when it is hit like this, or writing to Oprah...yes I am a closet Oprah fan and asking her to make my wildest dreams come true. If Craigs accident has taught me just one thing its that there is no day but today, something Craig always used to say, and a quote that I have always loved, but never had it mean anything until now. Being in the arts, especially in theatre, I see so many people who dream of such success, but I also see ther capabilities and know that in some cases, they have found the peak of their success. I know I haven't found my peak and I suppose right now I feel like a genie in a bottle, not waiting to grant any wishes, just waiting to be released to give what I have to give and be rewarded, not with freedom, but with a long life of fullfillment. I don't know why I am saying this, but right now my whole perspective on life has change and maybe I feel that everyone who is reading this understands what I mean...in that there is comfort.

October 2 - DAY 105

October 1 - DAY 104

October 3 - DAY 106

October 4 - DAY 107

1:44am - I have this picture that Craig sent to me tonight....this is a "taste" of what he gets to do on his evenings away!!

October 5 - DAY 108

October 6 - DAY 109

October 7 - DAY 110

October 8 - DAY 111

October 9 - DAY 112

October 10 - DAY 113

October 11 - DAY 114

October 12 - DAY 115

October 13 - DAY 116

October 14 - DAY 117

October 15 - DAY 118

October 16 - DAY 119

October 17 - DAY 120

October 18 - DAY 121

October 19 – Day 122

1:44am - Good day everyone! I just wanted to let you all know that things have been going well. Craig is busy with rehab in the hospital daily and takes dinner breaks with my parents and sister & brother-in-law. The weekends are always kept full, well full enough so taht Craig doesn't get too exhausted. He is progressing well and had his MRI about a week and a half ago. The MRI showed that there is some permanent brain damage. I don't know the exact details, but although Craig appear fine there are still some brain issues taht the doctors are concerned about. But all in all we are just happy to have him back to as close to normal as possible. Please email Craig, he loves getting emails craigthibodeau@hotmail.com, so please email him!

October 20- DAY 123

I don't know how many of you are still reading and keeping up with us and our life. But I wanted to post a quick story sent to me by yet again my friend Jackie! It really proves that you can't sweat the small stuff, but they are just as important as the big stuff! Enjoy!

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the Mayonnaise jar and the coffee.....

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.
He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was. The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full, the students responded with a unanimous "yes".

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed. "Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things - your God, family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions - things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car. The sand is everything else - the small stuff. If you put the sand into the jar first there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. Play another 18 holes.

There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand." One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple cups of coffee with a friend."

November 8- DAY 142

November 7- DAY 141

November 6- DAY 140

November 5- DAY 139

November 4- DAY 138

November 3- DAY 137

November 2- DAY 136

November 1 - DAY 135

October 31- DAY 134

October 30- DAY 133

October 29- DAY 132

October 28- DAY 131

October 27- DAY 130

October 26- DAY 129

October 25- DAY 128

October 24- DAY 127

October 23- DAY 126

October 22 - DAY 125

October 21 - DAY 124

November 9- DAY 143

Wow, almost 5 months since this all began. I had a bit of a melt down yesterday, only because we got some great news!!

CRAIG WILL BE DISCHARGED ON NOVEMBER 26th!!!

That's right, in less than 3 weeks he will be discharged! Butthat doesn't mean teh process is anywhere ner being over, he still has 16 weeks of out patient therapy. So for everyday spent in, he has to spend it coming back, but I think having his own bed and things will make that alot better! The diagnosis had been not too great until this past week where the doctors saw Craig doa complete 180 from where he was. Ultimately Craigs brain damage affects lots of his memory and parts of his processing. The largest part of his brain affected was his speech centre. Although he can speak normally he has a hard time finding the right words. But he has adapted great techniques to help overcome this. Like with mom he was looking at a tree, but couldn't remember what it was called, so he said, leaf, branch...oh yeah tree!

He is doing really well, he went skating today!!! He was quite nervous. For those that don't know him, Craig loved hockey, so how scared he must have felt waiting to see if he could do it! HE DID! And he said it was just like he remembered!!!!!!!! He has a great sense of humour, like at Costco with mom and dad he asked if he could use the debit machine, something we all use everyday, well Craig hasn't used one since ht accident, and so he wanted to see if he could remember how to do it, so he did it. When they got back tot eh hospital they were telling Beckie this and Craig piped up adn said..."I think I should practice though, can I use your crad Beck?!"

He is impressing everyone with his card tricks as well! Man, I couldn't do any of those things if I tried. Well the process now begins to find Craig a place to live. He will be living on his ownin his own apartment, he will require assistance much like a celelbrity, someone to remind him of all the thingshe will need to do in out patient and event eh simple things like remembering when garbage day is or those things. The road to recovery just got paved! We can only pray the bumps get smaller from here!

November 25 - DAY 159

November 24 - DAY 158

November 23 - DAY 157

November 22 - DAY 156

November 21 - DAY 155

November 20 - DAY 154

November 19 - DAY 153

November 18 - DAY 152

November 17- DAY 151

November 16- DAY 150

November 15- DAY 149

November 14- DAY 148

November 13- DAY 147

November 12- DAY 146

November 11- DAY 145

November 10- DAY 144

November 26 - DAY 160

FREE AT LAST - FREE AT LAST - GOD ALMIGHTY HE'S FREE AT LAST!

He is finally out of the hospital! that's right folks, lock your doors he's looking for a home. Actually in all honesty he is going to be saying with my parents and Beckie for a few weeks. He is probably going to go home for December to take a break from this and get back to some normalcy, and from there he will move to Sudbury in January to start his out patient rehab. The road is getting shorter and shorter. Encouraging him is importatnt now, and knowing we are all here for him is really important! And we are! Congratulations Craig on doing a great job!

November 28 - DAY 162

November 27 - DAY 161

November 26 - DAY 160

November 29 - DAY 163

HAPPY 23rd BIRTHDAY CRAIG!

December 9 - DAY 172

December 8 - DAY 171

December 7 - DAY 170

December 6- DAY 169

December 5 - DAY 168

December 4 - DAY 167

December 3 - DAY 166

December 2- DAY 165

December 1 - DAY 164

December 10 - DAY 173

Craig is now at home in Timmins!He will be there until after Christmas where he will begin his 16 weeks of outpatient therapy!

CAN YOU BELIEVE THE GUY WHO HIT THEM HAS NOT BEEN CHARGED YET!?!

September 18, 2005 - DAY 451

Welcome back! I hope you are alldoing well. I am going to make this short and sweet, for now. My computer crashed and I thought i lost all this info, but I did find it!! THANK GOODNESS! Craig is progressing well, for those who don't know. It is amamzing to knwo that life has barrelled on in the wake of all this. Moving forward step by step.

PS. The guy was charged with a misdemeanor drivng offence....and he plead NOT GUILTY.

September 18- DAY 451

Wow, it has been a year since turning this site into a password protected area.

I have removed the password, but do need to once again WARN ALL VISITORS - This site was intended for family and friends to go through the motions of Craig's process along with me and my family, along the way I have been mad, I have been happy, and those are my feeling right or wrong, and this site was a place for me to vent and get support from all of you for Craig and our family. ANY AND ALL FEELINGS ARE MY OWN AND IN NO WAY THAT OF MY BROTHER OR ANYONE INVOLVED IN THIS ACCIDENT.

If you understand the point of this site

PLEASE ENTER HERE