Outpatient Rehab!! Tomorrow discharge to Del Mar

Mark is being discharged tomorrow, we will go to De & Ev's place in Del Mar and setup an evaluation with Scripps Outpatient Rehab unit to see our next course of action. Bless all of you who have been praying and Bless Doctor Tung, Ed R., Amber OT, the dynamic Duo [PT] and all the angels at Scripps who have helped us get to the next level. We would not have gotten this far without them and all our families and friends. Thanks for all the continued prayers, they really work. <3333

They Say It's Your Birthday:-)

Mark turns 22+33 today and he is happy to be recovering from this Life Changing Event with all his family and friends praying for his welfare. Bless you all!! Day by day he improves. The Dynamic Duo PT team are giving him a workout atm, so I am updating the blog. Wish I could post pictures, but the bandwidth limits at the hospital are just too small to allow that. Things are lining up to make the transition to Rehab a very simple process and we will do whatever it takes to get past that and home for good. We miss you all and love you very much. <3333

Progress/ Flowers& Chocolate

Mark is making such good progress that he may be able to skip Acute Rehab and do Outpatient Rehab while we stay at De & Ev's Del Mar home. WONDERFUL NEWS!! Bless all of you for praying and sending your good thoughts along. We love you all very much<333 Mark got an early B-day present from our very own CCAOTF beauties [T,Jenn,Lori,Deb,Cheryl,Angie bless your hearts] I'm not sure Mark will share the chocolate, but that's aok with me lol;-) Continued thanks to all and keep those prayer going, they really work. <333 P.S. no he did not change into Eric Clapton lol Drat the photo will not upload here!!

Little Drummer Boy

Mark is looking forward to getting a drum set together as part of his rehab and his PT Amber thinks that is a great idea. We are waiting to get into an Acute Rehab unit in the area, so please dot all your I's and cross your T's and offer a prayer to the Saint of Paperwork and one to Saint Jude would not hurt either. Everyday Mark improves. He is doing great and making super progress. Thank you all so much for your thoughts and prayers and support. It means the world to us. <3333

Think Small

Mark continues to get better daily and may soon be ready to rehab. Where we do that is still up in the air, but we will do what ever it takes to get him working on all levels again. Everyone please think small, by this I mean think the remaining tumor smaller, visualize it shrinking. Mark is using both arms, both legs and although his left side is still weaker than his right his OT and PT are amazed he has come this far in such a short time. Please put in a good word with the paperwork god/goddess/fairy that will expedite the paperwork to get him on Disability/Medi-Cal ;-) Thanks again to everyone for all the support/prayers/good thoughts. We really appreciate it in more ways than you know. You are all Stars and Angels. <333

Update: please add some healing thoughts to those requests. It's not always easy to overcome things alone, but when there are many I take solace in knowing that so many of you out there cherish Mark as much as I do and you all know that we two are truly mated & soul-mates forever.

In La Jolla update all is well:-)

I am at the hospital and Mark sends you all his best. He is improving daily and is a good patient;-) Have left voice mail for the "paperpeople" and await a page/call from them so they can get started on getting him Medi-cal. The SS forms are signed by Mark [he is writing left handed and his signature looks great YAY] and need to be mailed back. They want our marriage certificate and said they will return it. [eek they better] So I thought I would update the blog. Mark has a buzz cut atm but it's growing back, when I said I would shave my head in support, he said NO!! lol Anyway his spirits are great and he says thanks to all who are praying and thinking of him. Bless you all and love ya very much <3333

Update The Return Of The Argus

Tomorrow on Veteran's & Remembrance Day, I return to the Land of Scripps and the love of my life. Farr is improving daily and now eats with his left hand and is getting movement back in all areas. YAY!!! Hopefully we will be able to rehab in record speed and return home ASAP. Thanks so much to our wonderful family and friends. You all ROCK!!

As usual Raven, Gussie, Panther, Gunny and Cisco are in charge of all things van Eyck and Echo Echo. They are true stars Bless Them.

Keep your eye on my blog for updates.

http://arguscollingwood.blogspot.com/

and my email is argus.collingwood@gmail.com

Love you all bunches

Taking Care of Business Part II

Well, Mark and his Dad are spending lots of bonding time together which is really great. His dad got the Mega Minutes Verizon Plan and so phone time will be very cost effective. I spoke with SS and they are mailing me the proper forms for Mark to sign and fax back to them which means I am now waiting for the Birth Certificate and the Claim form. If the Birth Cert Vendor does not give me a tracking number, I may just drive to Alameda and pick up another one. [where are the smilies and rolleyes icons when ya need them lol] Mark has been speaking with some of our dear friends from SL and of course family and loving every phone call. Sometimes he remembers that we've called so short term memory is getting better. Long term memory is fine except for things like Birthdays and Wedding Anniversary Celebrations [he never could put those into long term even before the tumor anyway ;-)] but I think most men are like that. His mobility is improving and he is focused on getting better. GO MARK!!Thanks so much for all the wonderful outpouring of thoughts, kind words and prayers. We really appreciate it and are Blessed with a circle of family and friends that is truly Golden. <3333

Taking Care of Business

I am home until Sunday getting all the paperwork ducks in a row for aid with the Social Security, Medi-Cal and Disability sectors. It is a tough process, but I have great support here. I actually was able to even design some clothes for the Winterfest Showcase in Second Life and that was very good for my creative side. Bless all our SL friends and all of you readers of this blog. When I first started this blog, it was just going to be another Fashion Blog but now I find myself using it for a much higher purpose. The Internet is a wonderful place and I thank Al Gore for inventing it [j/k] ;-) Spoke with Mark several times yesterday and he was upbeat and very much himself. He is having some short term memory issues, but that is to be expected with this recovery. He actually said that his short term memory has always been bad the other day and he's right. Got to love the blond-be-here-now guy. My Zen hubby. I want to thank everyone again for all the support, prayers and good thoughts. We will survive and thrive this life changing event. Bless you all <333

Home for the paperwork

After bidding Mark a good day, the Tres Amigas hopped into the Ford Truck and with Stormy at the wheel set off for Northern California. We made great time and I am now at home gathering papers to get Mark setup on SS Disability and Medi-Cal. Hopefully it will all go smooth when I return to La Jolla and we will start the process to get him into Rehab. I spoke with Mark on the phone and he sounded great. I know he is in good hands and will miss my Hospital Angels and traveling companions. In spite of all the adverse things happening, we three had a real YaYa bonding time and Bless their hearts for being there. <333

Food, it does a body good;-)

Mark fed himself breakfast with his right hand this morning and did a great job. Only problem was lining up the milk straw without reading glasses. They sealed up his med-via-throat site and noiw he gets everything through a tube in his right wrist. It hurts but can be iced and that helps a lots. FIL & wife are on the road and should be here sometime tonight which means we will leave tomorrow morning. The hospital is on elevated H1N1 alert so only four folks a day can have access to the hospital. Stormy and Gloria are out to lunch with Aunt Delma and Uncle Ted and are bringing me back some iced tea. Things are looking aok and the rehab phase I is in swing. Have yet to speak with doc today, but will be sure to do that before taking off tomorrow. Thanks again for all the wonderful words of support and prayers. You are all angels in my book;-) <333

Moving Day Mrs Brisby

Today we are moving to PCU = Post Critical Unit on 4th floor. We think it will be room 404 but will confirm that later. Let the re-hab begin. Our most favorite nurse ever, Rod played his guitar for us in Mark's room. We all cried it was so touching. Music does heal and sooth. Rod is a true star, playing to ICU patients to lift their souls. He used to play in bars but then said who wants to play for drunks when so many patients would benefit more. I agree! It was great seeing Mark tap out the songs with his right hand and leg. Mark's left side is weak and although he has feeling, it will take time and rehab to bring back control. We have all been on a roller coaster of emotions and thankfully we have each other to be strong. When we get Mark in his new room I will set this computer up for him and then I will find a way to update from there. Many many thanks to all who are praying and helping out. We are truly blessed to have so many wonderful friends and family. More later <3333