Home Sweet Home 2/19/2011

Yes the rumors are all true!! He's back in Fresno and all tucked in to Casa de Clague. Jon's first conference at CNS revealed that for the most part, Jon has regained himself and is able to rejoin society as his normally high-functioning self. A few deficiencies were observed and through conversations with people that knew him best prior to his accident, these deficiencies have been his burden since childhood. For example, Jon does not multi-task well! Yes, we know this, that is why the phone has a hold button. Biggest surprise, Jon does not respond well to verbal directions.........his response to that finding, "Yeah, I know I don't take verbal directions well. I have built my life in a way that works best for me and that is a life where I give directions". Well said. Another therapist had also noted that she recommends that Jon slow down and not be in such a rush to fix everything. She commented several times on his strong desire to take control of his life again and tackle any obstacles that are currently in the way. Jon's response to this, "Yeah that sounds right, you just met Jon Clague!". CNS served an important role in Jon's recovery but on his own accord, he decided to return home and seek the remainder of treatment in Fresno.

All of this being said, Jon still has quite a bit of recovery to come. No doubt he will be reaching out to friends and family for rides to appointments or outings with the girls. All of the support has not gone unnoticed and if Jon has not shared his thoughts on all of the love and well wishes, be expecting it!!

Since getting home Jon's greatest accolades have been given to seeing his girls this morning for a waffle breakfast and a movie snuggling on the couch, and sleeping in his own bed. He has also had a few visitors which include Barry Jager, sister Beth, sister Jane, brother Nathan, sister Mariah, Ally and Becca, Susan, and various neighbors. The remainder of the weekend will likely be spent handling administrative chores like paying bills and such :)

I hope this long weekend finds everyone in good health and great spirits,

Much love,

Jackee

Dinner with Jon and Jackee

Hi all!  I have been meaning to post for a few days.  I went to dinner with Jon and Jackee Saturday night and was so happy to see Jon's progress.  Jon ate nachos and pizza :)  He was on the ball and seemed like the Jon I've always known!  We had a great dinner and I hope to do it again soon.  I spoke to Jon via text today and he told me he has his big "conference" with the CNS specialists tomorrow at 10am.  He is looking forward to good news!
Marianne

Sunday 2/13/2011

Good evening all!

Jon's Sunday brought him a ton of rest and an equal amount of sports on the tube. For me today was a little bittersweet. I left for home around 11 this morning so I was sad to leave, but the pain was eased when I found out that it was chore day! Lucky me!! Jon's list of tasks included cleaning his apartment complete with vacuuming and wiping down the kitchen. He was able to knock out a couple loads of laundry in between the games. This evening he made himself a pretty tasty looking spaghetti dinner.

Jon also spent time throughout the day talking and texting his friends Calvin, Jason Crawford, Brian Garcia and Barry, his dad, sister Sarah, sister Kristin and Ally and Becca. Jon and I spoke for a long time this evening and he was very vocal about his appreciation of all of the support and well wishes he has been receiving from all of his friends and family. He also said that as each day goes by he is feeling more like his old self and is remembering who he was. His actual words were, "I feel like my brain is attached to my body again". AMEN to that babe, I've been waiting to hear those words leave your lips.

Sleep sweet all,

Jackee

Saturday 2/12/2011

Happy Saturday all!

Today Jon and I ventured out to Denny's for a late breakfast. Jon ordered a meal fit for a king which included buttermilk pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausage and, of course, bacon :)

It was magical to watch Jon rekindle an old romance! Hahaha....At one point we were waiting for our food to arrive and I asked him if he thought bacon would be too crunchy to eat, he looked at me and said, "Babe, I don't care if it is. I'll suck on it until it's soft enough. Or, I'll put it over the wires on my teeth so my lips don't get torn up anymore". This guy is seriously dedicated!

Around 1PM Jon, Chris (his main nurse) and I all ventured out to Albertson's to complete Jon's weekly grocery shopping. CNS provides a list and a set amount of cash and it is Jon's responsibility to locate all of the items and/or supplement items he may dislike for another similar item in the same category. For example, the dairy category has sliced cheese, shredded cheese, string cheese and cottage cheese. String cheese was checked for him to purchase but he prefers sliced cheese. So he would make the decision to supplement the sliced cheese. He is also watched to make sure he is locating the items without assistance, getting all of the items on the list in the proper portions, and staying within budget parameters. The shopping list is designed so that his diet is balanced regardless of whether he prefers to cook a meal himself or purchase a similar product that may be prepared already or with less 'actual' cooking. Once the purchasing is complete the nurse also watches that he loads the groceries into the car, and unloads them and puts the items away in a logical manner once he gets to the apartment. Jon did awesome in the store, and only became frustrated once when he came to an item that he usually would not eat and didn't see the point in purchasing it. He asked Chris, "Two potatoes? What am I supposed to do with two potatoes? I really don't see myself making anything with potatoes!". Way to take charge, Jon! :)

I'll be honest, as a person that usually avoids the grocery store at all costs, this trip wasn't too bad. I did learn that going to a smaller store does not necessarily save you time....it just means that the signs over the aisles that are designed to give you an idea of what you can get on that aisle are WAY less clear. Who knew that you would find canned fruit on the 'Kitchen Gadgets, Spices and Baking' aisle?!?!?! Confusing!

The grocery store wore us all out a little so now we're back at the apartment watching Monsters vs. Aliens on DVD. Jon was lucky enough earlier to catch the end of the UCLA game and was stoked to see them win, GO BRUINS!! We also got all of the passwords and security keys figured out for him to be able to get onto the internet and Skype with the girls later. YAY technology, finally!

Not sure what adventures our evening will hold. Maybe a movie out, Jon was wanting to see The Green Hornet and we heard there is a really nice theater down the road with reclining seats....I guess we will see!

Much love,

Jackee

Friday Update 2/11/2011

Hello everyone!! I'm very excited to post my 1st 'official' update to Jon's blog. To make things even better, I'm typing this as I'm snuggled up next to the big man himself :) Eat your hearts out!!

Jon is doing amazingly well. He has adjusted to his new surroundings and schedule and has a new sense of self responsibility that I have not seen since his 'awakening'. He woke up early and spent the morning getting himself around, including packing his own lunch - with groceries he had purchased at the market earlier this week! Around 9AM he shuttled over to the CNS facility where he met with several specialized therapists. Each session lasted an hour and were packed full of assessments. The past couple days has been dedicated to assessing Jon's ability to perform a multitude of tasks both physically and mentally; this process will aid the CNS staff in creating Jon's personalized therapy program that will focus on any deficiencies. I'll tell you, these assessments are no walk in the park and had me left scratching my head several times.....OK, truth be told, I was left in the dust most of the time!! But, true to form, Jon got through all of the assessments and was told by each therapist about how advanced he is. It feels good to hear an expert confirm what I have known all along, this guy is special!

Jon's case manager has been very gracious, and being that Jon is functioning so highly, allowed me to take him off site for lunch as well as give him a ride home to his apartment after therapy. We will also be meeting up with his cousin Marianne for dinner this evening. Way to go Jon, scoring all kinds of special privileges!!

While at CNS today Jon's friend Calvin, a pastor here in Bakersfield, stopped in to say hello and drop off a 3 musketeers bar he had picked up for Jon's ever-present sweet tooth. Calvin was also by to visit Jon yesterday. Thanks Calvin, Jon said he really appreciates the support....and the candy!

Currently Jon is watching his boys, the Lakers, play the Knicks....he loves his basketball and you can hear the excitement in his voice while he's chatting about the game with his evening aide. After we get back from dinner Jon has a date to call the girls and hopefully catch up on some face time via skype. He's been looking forward to seeing their beautiful faces all day!

Tomorrow will likely be spent just hanging out. Jon's case manager confirmed that he is able to be signed out for the day during the weekend. He has slimmed up quite a bit while on his liquid diet so we'll probably have an exciting morning buying jeans! After that, who knows!!

Have a great evening all! Until tomorrow,
Jackee

Want to be a blog author?

I have added several folks as authors to Jon's blog in the hopes that those having interaction wih him during this phase of his recovery will post updates for the rest of us to see. I focused on folks who told me they were hoping to visit him while he is in Bakersfield, but I am happy to add anyone who asks! Let me know with an email if I should add you.

Whether you make it to Bakersfield or just have a few interactions on phone or by text with Jon, you are welcome to blog about it. Your blog need not be long or share anything personal or private.... Just focus on the pieces of your impressions which will help those who love Jon stay in touch with his progress as he recovers from the brain injury, as well as any particular help his friends and family might provide as he moves through this. Of course, any encouraging thoughts you can share to keep the rest of us staying positive will be greatly appreciated!

Thank you all so much for everything you have already done to show your love and concern and support for Jon. He notices and appreciates it all, even when he is not able to remember a visit the next day. I know the love and caring he has been experiencing has made a huge difference in his recovery so far. Let's keep it going!

Update

So Jon had another stellar day today, showing more spontaneous engagement and initiative than I've seen him do so far. He has started using his iPhone to record his daily activities to use later as a memory aid, and even came up with an idea to use the alarm feature on the phone to remind him to record events. Well, okay, I sort of helped prompt that idea, but in the end he did come up with it.

He heard back from his insurance today and they have agreed to cover his stay at CNS--what a relief! I believe it will be an excellent next stop for Jon on his journey. As for me, my own journey tomorrow will take me back to Pennsylvania. I look forward to hearing from others who will post updates on my brother when they pay him visits and then blog about it, and look forward to the day when Jon posts a blog for himself. Given his incredible progress over the three weeks I've been here, I know that day can't be far off.

Signing off for now,
Kristin