GO CATS

Dad has never been happier!

ESPN3 doesn't come out on normal digital TV so we hooked up Ryan's big Apple computer screen for him to watch his U of A Wildcats play last night.
He was all smiles!  What a great series! GO CATS!!!

1 Year Anniversary

Hello everyone!
It's been a long time since I last updated you.
Dad celebrated his 1 year anniversary on May 20 for being alive, strong and determined to get better. He's still going to his regular therapy sessions at St. Mary's and he's improving slowly but surely. We are slowly accepting the fact he may never be able to function his right side like before but that's okay. You may recall me writing about this last year after the first surgery (coil), the Dr. came out to tell us he couldn't save one small blood vessel near the aneurysm and he couldn't tell us what that particular vessel fed blood to. All he knew is that it would effect some part on his right side. We all have hopes of the brain repairing itself and who knows this may still happen. It may take just a little longer for the repair to occur.  The good news is that he is walking down the long hallways at St. Mary's. He's doing this with his walker and the assistance of Lisa and the therapist. Once he gets a rhythm going, it's hard to slow him down.
He's still learning how to breath out, using his diaphragm, when speaking. He still thinks people can hear him when he's whispering. He thinks he's speaking out loud so when he begins to whisper, we have to remind him to breath out  And of course my mother is yelling in the background, "Speak Louder Joel". We have to remind her to lower the volume on the TV when she wants to hear him. It's even harder when you have 2 parents hard of hearing to begin with.
We're now taking him out more often and he really looks forward to getting out the house and he loves to go out for lunch, to the mall, and to family functions. As a matter of fact, he's going to tonight's U of A, ASU baseball game with Lisa's family. He made sure we renewed his football season tickets because he's going this year.  There's nothing that will hold him back. And adding to this, mom is starting to go out with all of us as well. Still not quite sure why she prefers to stay home. Time mends all wounds I guess. Tomorrow we're going to a birthday party and he can't wait.
We've gone out to lunch with some close friends. However, it's difficult because restaurants can be soooo noisy making it hard to concentrate, listen and speak.
As mentioned above, 1 year has passed so I thought I'd get a couple of recent photos up for all of you to smile, reflect and continue to pray for a full recovery.
We love you and thank you for continued love, support and prayers.
Don't they look great?
David

PS I will upload additional photos soon!

Friday February 24, 2012

I would like to start by thanking everyone that has taken the time to login and read dad's blog. Many great things have happened since my last update.
Dad's mind is really starting to wake up and evidence of this can be seen since the last blog.  He can almost reach his mouth with his right hand. He can know cross his left leg with his right without any assistance. If any of you ever witnessed him during a meeting, he usually has his arms crossed with a pensive look on his face. Well, when now listening to his therapists, he assumes this position and character. He's standing in his stander for longer periods of time. And because of these exercises, he's now able to stand from his wheelchair by himself and pull up his pants. He's able to do this using his bed rail. Once up, he's able to move both legs taking small steps side to side all on his own.
Dad can now take his own shoes off by himself. He still thinks he can get out of bed on his own. Although a good sign of progress, we have to make sure we're always close to prevent him from doing so. 
He's getting out of the house more often than before. We took him to the Feb. 18th, U of A baseball game. He was greeted by Frank Acosta, who made it possible for our family to share the festivities at High Corbet with Coach Lopez and Athletic Dir. Greg Byrne. Dad received a special tour of the new facilities and stayed to watch the game. This weekend was special for dad because the U of A recognized the baseball lettermen alumni.  For those of you who don't know, dad pitched for the U of A while attending college way back when. The funny thing about this is that they never gave him his letter. When dad became VP for Business Affairs, someone realized this and officially gave him his letter many years after the fact. Although I didn't attend the game, because I was sick, Lisa told me that everyone was so happy to see him. We took many pictures. We would like to thank those who made this possible for him to cherish forever. We plan on going to many more games.
He now wants to go to a U of A basketball game, (woo hoo). We're now planing this and who knows, you might soon see him at McKale. Don't be shy, come by to say hello.
Have a great weekend and may God Bless all of you!
GO CATS!

Happy New Year!

The Valdez family had a very happy holiday season! It was extremely special because we had dad to share it with. We tried, to the best of his ability, to keep the traditions going throughout the Christmas and New Year's festivities. Our family, on mom's side, always comes to their home to celebrate Christmas Eve. Dad wanted to keep the tradition alive so everyone came over like usual. He stayed up from 3:00 until 10:30 pm which surprised all of us. He had never stayed up so many hours without a cat nap. I put ear plugs in his ears which I think helped him drown out the noise and help him concentrate a little better. We just don't realize how loud it can get when we're all having a good time.
Before our party, one of dad's Christmas Eve's rituals is to visit with Julius and Dorothy Parker with his grand kids. Well this time was no exception. We loaded him up and drove him to visit. They were so happy to see him because they didn't think he'd show up. He talked a little, laughed, smiled for pictures; he even had a small glass of red wine. It was a great holiday season and we're all thankful to GOD for having him here!
On a better note, he's making great progress. His outpatient therapy sessions at St. Mary's have really been helping out a lot. His left eye is fully open and his pupil is still slowly moving back to it's original position. He still has to eat with his eye patch on or else he grabs for things that are not there (double vision). 
Lisa and I took him to visit the bookstore at the U of A last week after a doctor's appointment. We wanted to see how he'd react to a trip in his wheelchair. It was funny when we took him up to see Frank and Debbie. We asked the receptionist to call either one and when they were told who was there to visit, they didn't believe it was him. They were so happy and surprised to see him in the bookstore. Dad took it very well so I think we're going to start taking more trips to the U and other places as well. He can handle it!!!
I would like to share a very funny moment before I end this blog. I built an exercise table for him and placed it in the back room which has a beamed ceiling. Well Lisa decided to use the table last week and got dad on his back to begin his exercises. Well she notice that he was studying the ceiling very closely so she asked him, what are you looking at. He told her, "you know... I have a ceiling just like this in my house!"  She reminded him that it was his house and he started laughing with her.
Who knows, you just might see him soon in the hallway, on the grounds, at the store, at a game, where ever it is, don't be shy, come and give him a big hug and kiss to show how much you've missed him.
Thanks for all of your continued thoughts and prayers!!!