Thanksgiving and Then Some

Hello Friends and Family!  I fear I have not done a very good job updating blog lately but for those that know me...........life just gets away from me sometimes!  Always a thousand other things to do!  The best news that I can report is that Tristan is doing remarkably well!  He attended a physical therapy session on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and we were told by his therapist that he was doing so much better she thought that she would only see him one more time and then discharge him from all therapy!  A far cry from being told that he would need inpatient therapy on a daily basis for up to three weeks just a short month ago!  God has worked wonders in this boy which just tells us more and more that He has big plans for Tristan!    The Sunday before Thanksgiving we were invited by Pastor Mat to share our testimony about being thankful for what God has blessed our lives with even though we may be facing struggles on every front of our lives...........personal, professional, financial.......and his message Sunday was just so powerful.  It is so true and I can tell you from our personal experiences here in the last year that it really is a choice to be thankful and content and happy with the blessings that we have and somehow learn to just lower the importance of the other things that we cannot control.  We were excited to get the chance to share our testimony even though it turned out that only I (Shannon) could get up in front of the congregation as Aaron had to work that Sunday and I still want to apologize for crying through the whole first service testimony and half of the second service testimony!  I made a liar out of myself when I said I could do it without crying :-)   Speaking of Thanksgiving.........we hosted Thanksgiving at our house this year and it was our pleasure as we are just bursting at the seams about what we have to be thankful for!  Lots of family and friends turned out at our house to help us eat turkey on Thanksgiving and we ended the day eating pie and playing Catch Phrase.........wow, two of my favorite things to do!  Tristan had a great time playing with his cousins though "playing with his cousins" doesn't entail what it used to .........like wrestling, trampoline jumping and yes, swinging!  But he did get to play Wii and PSP with his cousins and he seemed pretty content over all!  Let me tell you, trying to keep a 6-year old from being a rambunctious precocious 6-year old is a FULL TIME JOB and I feel BAD having to do it..............but it is a small small price to pay for having Tristan here with us today!   After Thanksgiving we spent the next 3 days at Cibola Vista Resort and Spa with Chad, Tina, Gavin and Sidney (friends from our church for those of you Wisconsinites who don't have a clue who I am talking about :-)  (Don't worry........I've attached pictures of them to help you put a face with a name!).  We had a very relaxing weekend swimming (the weather was a bit chilly and even rained the second day we were swimming, but the pools were heated and the kids didn't seem to mind at all), eating out, going down to the fire pit to roast a few marshmallows and just overall being lazy!  It was everything I hoped it would be...........just nice downtime away from the phones and business and time to relax and spend time with the kids and some good friends!  Tristan enjoyed himself immensely as did all the kids!  Check out the pictures attached hereto and you will see how well Tristan is doing!  I've attached a few other pics as well just for fun!    Well, time for bed.  Until the next update..................   Shannon

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One Month Ago Today...............

So I was just finishing putting a few ornaments on the Christmas tree (yes, it is before Thanksgiving, but the boys begged me and I love Christmas, so I wasn't too hard to sell :-) when I realized that it was one month ago today that Tristan had his accident.  I have to be honest.........I don't spend much time thinking about the accident but rather I focus on the fact that God healed Tristan's little body and he was able to walk out of that hospital side by side with Daddy and I...........but as I was sitting here tonight I found myself thinking back and realized that it had been one month ago today that our lives changed profoundly.  Wow, have we come a long way in one month or what?   For those of you that get to see Tristan on a regular basis, you can agree that he has come quite a long way since one month ago.  Tristan is now running around, jumping around, trying to wrestle with his brothers and sister and buddies (much to Mommy's dismay and SCOLDING!) and he is walking, talking, thinking, arguing, speaking and behaving just as he had before the accident!  Praise God!  He does not seem to be experiencing any long term effects of the traumatic brain injury.........at least as near as we can tell.  Just one week ago today the physical therapist told me that his balance was off as well as a list of activities that a 6-year old boy should be able to do.  She requested that Tristan be scheduled for at least the next 5-6 weeks for therapy with her once per week.  Today after Tristan's therapy I was told by the same therapist that he did SO MUCH better today than he did just last week that she thinks she will only need to see him one more time and then we will be able to cancel all the rest of his appointments!  Tristan may be bummed about that as he told me today when we were driving home from therapy that he thought his therapy was fun that morning because she let him run and jump and play................something Mommy hasn't been doing!  Oh well, I'm sure we can find other activities that he will enjoy to occupy his time until he goes back to school.   And speaking of school...........Tristan's teacher, Mrs. Mize, had been working with the principal, Mrs. Heatherly, toward getting a homebound teacher to visit Tristan while he is off school to ensure that he is keeping up and not falling behind on anything.  The neuro doctor had completed the paperwork and everything was turned in to the corporate office at Dysart District and then today I get a call right after therapy from the Principal stating that Tristan is approved...............BUT there is no one in the position of homebound teacher!  Uh oh!  No tutor available!  I guess that means Mommy will just have to continue playing tutor which is totally fine...........I just wanted him to receive all the academic attention that he could and get the full benefit of having a teacher visit him several times per week.  With any luck they will fill that position before he returns to school and perhaps he will still get some benefit there............maybe we could pray about that :-)   Tristan accompanied me to have lunch with Wyatt at school for Thanksgiving last Thursday and a lot of people were sure excited to see him!  Mrs. Boehlert (Wyatt's teacher who was also Tristan's kindergarten teacher) and Mrs. Mize (Tristan's 1st grade teacher) both wanted Tristan to stop by their class after the lunch and recess, so we stuck around for a while.  Mrs. Boehlert's class had made a book for Tristan a while back and was just waiting for the opportunity to give it to Tristan!  She had Wyatt and Tristan take a seat at the front of the class next to her and she read the book out loud to Tristan and had each kid in class raise their hand when she read their letter.  He was just beaming!  It was priceless!  Then we stopped by Mrs. Mize's class so that Tristan could say hi to all of his old buddies and pick up his Boo-Gram that some little boy had bought for Tristan on Halloween while he was in the hospital.  It was a very moving day...........Tristan must have felt like royalty with all the attention!  He is very lucky to be missed by his teachers and good friends.   We are looking forward to having Thanksgiving at our house this year......we have a LOT TO BE THANKFUL FOR!  It seemed only appropriate that we offer to host since our traditional plans weren't going to be possible this year.  Tristan's cousin, Carter, showed Emily (Aaron's sister) a project that he did at school with his teacher and it was showing what he said he was grateful for...........and Carter said he was thankful for his cousin Tristan feeling better and being out of the hospital!  AWWWWW!  How sweet is that?  I told Emily to bring it over and we can display it for Thanksgiving and then put it away in the "Tristan accident box" which is filled to the brim with cards and letters and drawings and mementos from all of Tristan's family, classmates and buddies!   Well, it is officially past my bedtime..........more updating to come after Thanksgiving!  Our family will be going to spend the weekend at the Cibola Vista Resort & Spa for some R & R with the kids this coming Friday and I am sure we will have some cool pictures of Tristan to post after that!  Until then, have a wonderful Thanksgiving and much love to all!   Shannon

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A Day in The Park..............Well Sort of..............

Tristan, Wyatt, Bella and I had a lovely day outside yesterday!  It was our first real journey out into the big world.........outside of church last Sunday.............it felt so good to get back out into the mix of things!  We went with the Riehles over to Asante (spelling?) at 163rd and Grand and took some cool family pics.............well, kind of pics of everyone.........and some mixed family pics!  Tristan enjoyed wandering around and seems more and more like his old self every day.........much to our delight!  Well actually, Wyatt and Tristan and Bella enjoyed wandering around a bit too much...........I thought one would end up in the water with the fishies for sure!   After pictures we had some lunch and did a bit of shopping (at Ulta..........the ultimate boy's store, right????) and then headed to the doctor.  Tristan had his first follow up with is own pediatrician, Dr. Serrino.  Doc didn't know what to say except WOW!  He had only read partially through the 29 page discharge report from the hospital, so Mommy had to give him the short version on Boy Wonder.  He was as relieved as anyone to see Tristan sitting in his office fighting with his brother and sister...........a wonderful change from just a few short weeks ago..........Tristan for his part was NOT happy to be going to the doctor.  He told me he didn't want to see any doctors and he didn't want to go back to St. Joe's!  (Sorry any St. Joe's nurses or staff..........nothing personal I'm sure........)  I assured him he was just going to have a check up.  But then he ended up getting the swine flu shot.  Oops.  Guess he got more than we bargained for.  Oh well, nothing an Otter Pop wouldn't fix when we got home.   You would think after his big busy day out that he would have been ready to go home and crash........but no.........on to video games when we got home!  He can't seem to get enough of playing PS3 with his Daddy!  And Daddy can't get enough of Tristan.  He calls home during work to see how his boy is doing.......can we all collectively say, "Awwwwwwwwwwwww!"  All things considered, this has been a pretty life altering event for all of us...........it isn't just Daddy that is uber-sensitive now :-)   I'm posting a few pics so you can see how great Tristan looks now..............and a few just for fun!  Until next time........................   Shannon

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Paramedics Came By to Check Up On Tristan!!

It was a great Sunday!  The Clark Family was finally able to return to our church for services this morning with our boy by our side!  We have really been missing our church and services (though many of our friends from church have been by our side for the duration of this crisis!) and were anxious to return this week to get pumped up for the week ahead.  Tristan was very excited to go and see all of his friends............though Mommy and Daddy did not allow him to go to his children's class with Miss Abby.........we made him sit next to us during service and I can't say that he enjoyed himself (sorry Pastor Mat).  He drew pictures........he asked if he could play his PSP........he made thank you's for his PSP.......all during service.  Well, at least he was productive!   After church we returned home to a great surprise..........the Surprise Fire Department crew of EMT's that had been here the morning of Tristan's accident on October 24 were coming for a visit!  Four EMT's in all came by.......Jesus Rivera, Jason, Ronnie and Randy wanted to see the miracle boy in person!  They stayed for a good 45 minutes to an hour visiting and were SOOOOOOOOO nice!  They spoke with Tristan and Wyatt and Bella and gave them stickers and hats and posed for pictures on the big fire truck!  Tristan didn't hang out with them for long as he was pretty pooped from being at church for most of the morning.  When he went into the house the EMT's were discussing details of the morning of the accident with Mommy and Daddy.  Pretty heavy stuff.  They also told us that they could not stop thinking about Tristan as all four of them have small children, two of whom had 6 year olds just like Tristan (I think)..........it certainly personalized this accident for them.  He was just weighing heavy on their hearts and they were extremely excited to hear that Tristan had been released from the hospital and was now home.......they said they don't often get the chance to come and witness the great outcome that we had experienced after they are an initial part of someone's care.  We were more than happy to let them come over and meet Tristan on a better day and give them many many thanks for their quick, decisive action that ultimately saved Tristan's life.  Thank you's certainly didn't seem like enough.........so we gave them big hugs on their way out as well!   Tristan is doing well.  Walking better.......talking better........all things better every day.  We do not have a therapy schedule yet, so Mommy will be on the phone with Outpatient Rehab center tomorrow to get that going.  Kind of enjoyed the last few days of last week off!  Tristan will not be returning to his class at school until after the Christmas holiday so his teacher, Mrs. Mize, is working with Principal Heatherly to arrange a tutor for Tristan to ensure that he does not fall behind.  That is awesome and we are most appreciative for that!  Mommy can use all the help she can get!    Tristan and Aaron and I and the whole family just want to THANK everyone for all of the wonderful things that you have done for us since the day of the accident.  It feels like the longest two weeks in eternity to me........BUT.........we felt so loved and surrounded by people that were lifting us up and just never felt lonely throughout the whole ordeal.  We are just so grateful for all of the prayers and for people that even made a point to put Tristan on prayer chains at other churches!  The power of prayer is amazing!  We thank God for saving our boy........and the Surprise Fire Department for the ways in which God used them to help saveTristan!   Shannon

Finally Fixing That CRAZY Haircut!

Well, it has been brought to my attention that I have not been keeping the blog up very well since I have been home!  Oops......sorry! For those of you that have been keeping up with the blog, I DO intend to keep updating for a while as Tristan continues through his therapy.  Although, I do not have a therapy schedule yet.........they were supposed to call me today, but that did not happen............instead of stressing over that though, I am just going to enjoy the rest of this week "off" and hopefully we can hit the ground running next week full steam ahead!  Tristan continues to do well at home.  He enjoys spending his time playing video games with friends that drop by.........Billy Hobbs (one of his bigger friends :-) ) and Gavin and the occasional neighbor kid!  And today Mommy had the bright idea to set him up at Daddy's desk since Daddy was at work and Tristan enjoyed drawing and watching cartoons in Mommy's office!  As of this writing, Tristan and Tryston have just finished eating some Fruit Loops (yes, we are still in that "whatever he wants he gets" phase!) and are now watching Johnny Test on the Cartoon Network and playing Nintendo DS.  As you can see from the pics, Tristan had his haircut "cleaned" up a bit by Daddy tonight..........and sweet little Wyatt decided to follow through and shave his head with his big brother.  He really has such a sweet little heart!  I had to draw the line at Bella shaving her head in solidarity!  I have my limits!  Tristan is looking forward to heading to the Horizon House tomorrow night as we have a potluck to kick off our new round of Fall Small Groups!  He doesn't know it yet, but he is going to be observing more than participating..........but I am sure that he will feel good to just be there amongst all his good friends!  Good night for now...............................    Shannon

One Great Day At Home......

Good evening all! We just got Tristan and Wyatt and Bella put to bed after a long first day home! Tristan is sleeping on the trundle bed in his room where his friends always sleep when we have sleepovers, so he is pretty darn excited to get to sleep there! He had a nice bath with his brother Wyatt during which time he gyrated his neck every which way without his neck brace on (!) And listened to a story from Daddy as Mommy got the boys washed up! Bella supervised..........Tristan was very relaxed and had a great big smile on his face as we left the room!! We told him to just yell for us if he needs to go potty in the middle of the night as we don't want him to get up on his own yet!!

Now, some details about coming home........our Horizon Church family along with a few neighbors and Grandma and Grandpa and Bella were WAITING ON ALL SIDES OF OUR STREET HOLDING WELCOME HOME SIGNS AND BALLOONS FOR TRISTAN when we pulled around the corner!!! Is that amazing or what?? Thanks to Abby and Mat for pulling that one off! It was so cool to have a little parade of loved ones here to see him get home and to make him feel special and man, was he ever grinning from ear to ear as we came around the corner! It made Mommy tear up AGAIN......like I haven't cried enough for a lifetime over the last 10 days!!! YIKES! Awesome homecoming friends and family......just awesome!
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We R on the Road........

Nurse Summer promised early discharge and she delivered! It may have helped that Mommy was hiding behind the linen cart waiting to ambush Dr. Kwasnica the second she stepped a toe onto the Rehab floor this morning for discharge papers..........okay, so I was laying wait in our room (in my bed actually)......but you get the picture!!!!! Dr. Kwasnica asked Nurse Summer if she could lay her purse down first to which Nurse Summer replied, "I don't think so!" At any rate, nusring staff complied and then we weren't even ready to go! Daddy had to load the car which took light years as far as Mommy was concerned..........we had accumulated so much stuff (thanks to all of our family and friends) that Daddy had to lay the back seat down and move Tristan's booster up to the middle! YIKES! I see a lot of unpacking in Mommy's future..........the car actually looks like we r coming back from California or something!!! Don't I wish!!!!!! Did I $ention thank you to everyone for the amazing support, love, hugs, prayers, balloons, gifts, toys, cards, snacks, Mt. Dew, Dr. Peppers.............and on and on...........we were all so well taken care of! We feel very loved and very very very blessed! Almost home..........God is good!!!!!!!
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Going Home Tomorrow!!!!!!!

Hello friends and family! Tristan has been having a very very busy day with Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy and Speech Therapy. It all started at 8:30 am and Daddy and I were just checking out the activity board and noticed that his therapy schedule will not end until 3 pm today. He ought to sleep really good tonight!! And he will need the sleep because tomorrow we are going HOME!!!!!!!!!!!! Nurse Summer said she will push the doctor in the morning to get the discharge orders written and hopefully have us out of here by 9 or 10 am! Praise God.......we are ready to get back home and be a family TOGETHER again!! We are not completely done with this hospital though.......Outpatient Rehab has been ordered for 2 to 3 Times per week for 1 month. All the way down at the hospital again! Oh well, at least we won't be Inpatient! Tristan is now back from PT and wants to "rest" by playing video games with Daddy! Imagine that...............
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Stitches R Out!!!!!

Nurse Summer made it one of her first priorities to get those itchy stitches out of TC's head this morning! He didn't even wince......and she put them in a bag to take home!!! EWWWWWWW.......okay, we are going to have some odd mix of things in his "accident box"! We don't want to throw anything away.........weirdos...........

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A Little Sisterly Love!

Grandma Lisa and Papa Russ brought Wyatt and Bella up to see Tristan last night and we all ventured over to the cafeteria to eat dinner along with Rick, Dawn, Bradley and Wesley! We enjoyed eating outside of our room for a change though Tristan acted grumpy.........he was upset that we made him leave his video games in his room! Once we got back to the room he said, "Come on dad! Let's Play!" The child knows what he wants! But while in the cafeteria Bella took great pleasure in continuing to tease Tristan and pull him away from the dinner table! He laughed at first......then got ticked! All in all though, a great visit! Thanks to grandma and grandpa for braving the car ride with Bella and Wyatt who take great pleasure in teasing one another on long car rides!!!!!

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Green Boys Came to Play PS3 with TC

Tristan has been having another great day! After church was over visitors started trickling in to sit and play video games with Tristan and Rick and Dawn even brought a big box of Dunkin Donuts which got a BIG BIG smile from Tristan! He had one gone in about 30 seconds! Ok......gotta run since Grandma Lisa, Papa Russ and Wyatt and Bella just got here! We are going to go to the cafeteria in a bit to eat a hospital dinner together........in a word.......YUM!!!!!!!
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The End of Another Day.....

Today was yet another very busy day! After spending the first three hours of the day having various assessments Tristan spent the rest of the day playing. If he wasn't playing video games with his Daddy, Tristan was back up in the party room on the 5th Floor decorating Halloween cookies and getting Halloween treats or he was playing with his friends from church! All I know is that Tristan had a smile on his face all day! Daddy and I just sit and stare at that beautiful smile and soak in the wonder of it! We love to see those dimples!!!!!! It was a day of fun filled visits from great friends and family........thank you to everyone that comes by to boost Tristan's spirits. As of this writing, Tristan is alternating between blowing bubbles and eating a Kit Kat and watching Iron Man..........again! God is Good!
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Game time........

Tristan completed his three hours of evaluation today around 10:30 am and has been looking for activities to do ever since! He has played Star Wars Lego with Daddy, watched "Just Friends" as he ate his PB and J sandwich, played Connect 4 with Mommy and War with Mommy and now he is coloring in his GIANT Halloween fun book from his teacher, Mrs. Mize! He tole me a bit ago that he is borwed and it isn't even 2 pm yet! AHHHHHH! Can we say TRISTAN SEEMS READY TO GO HOME? LOL.........he did do very well at all 3 therapy assessments and the general concensus of the therapists is that Tristan will not be here long! PRAISE GOD! More later........Grandma Lisa, brother Jesse and cousins Matt and Vanessa and Matt are here for a visit! Talk to you soon!!!!
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Tristan's Therapy Today........

Hello All! Well Tristan had a great great night! We all got some much needed sleep........Auntie Dawn, when we woke up Tristan was full on cuddling with his big ole bear! He LOVES him! Tristan just completed his first round of therapy........Occupational Therapy. Her impression of Tristan sounds the same as ours......that he will not be here long! But now Physical Therapy and Speech Therapy will see him this morning at 9:30 and 10:30 respectively. Given that schedule, we would ask that if anyone were coming to visit today that you call Mommy first at (602) 510-5693 to see if he is ready for visitors! When he hasn't beenm occupied with doctors and therapists he has been very busy dueling with Daddy on the PS2, so he is very UP for visitors. Even today he is more like the old Tristan than before and would make for great company............SO, give a call and come on up to see him!!! Thanks, Mommy
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Fw: Tristan and Tryston Playing PS3

After a brief rest in his new room, Tristan got a visit from his buddy, Tryston!! They quickly decided that it would be fun to play Star Wars Lego on the PS3! Looks like a fun way to break in the new room to me!!!!!!!

We Are In Our New Room

Well, we are finally settling into our new digs on the Rehab side of the hospital! Not quite as cozy as our room in the Pediatric wing, but we are here.............Tristan will be having his assessment tomorrow morning to determine his need for therapy. Mommy predicts that he will not need much as he has been recovering SO quickly and SO well.......Praise God! He is an entirely different boy today then he was yesterday! We definitely see our boy Tristan returning literally minute by minute! Today he was not groggy and had energy and moved well and went to his party and saw Luis Gonzalez and Big Red! Tristan and Mommy were even on the news at 6! We sat and watched the news with him and Tristan was grinning from ear to ear upon seeing himself on TV! Then tonight right before Mommy started this update we went through his website together and recounted the stories behind the pictures!!! He was grinning again.......especially at the picture of himself and daddy laying in the bed! Tristan even decided that he wanted to look through the BIG bag of cards that his teacher, Mrs. Mize, sent home for him! He sat and read the cards to me and laughed at the cute pictures!! That was so awesome that the ENTIRE first grade made cards for our Tristan......thank you!!! We look forward to seeing how much more like his old self Tristan will be tomorrow! Until then......................
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What a Party..... Check the News!

It is really great all the things the hospital has for all the kids.  Today was no exception.  A little Halloween party was held with a few special guests.  Big Red (Cardinals Mascot) and Luis Gonzales showed up to lift the kids spirits.  Big Red dance around and took pictures with the kids.  Gonzo took time to chat with the kids and sign autographs.  As you can see, Tristan went as Darth Vader and had a great time.  He would not lift his mask up at first for Gonzo, but the Big Red loosened him up.  He was able to play some bingo and was showered with candy and goodies.  Even a bobble head!  One the way back to the room, he told daddy that he wanted to move the wheelchair by himself.  He did a great job.  It was a good time had by all.

Now for the NEWS.... The media was there and Mommy and Tristan were interviewed by Channel 12.  Tune into the 5 and/or 6 o'clock news to see the stars at work.  The family would ask those of you that have DVR's or the ability to record, that you setup both of the new broadcasts so that they don't miss it.  They did not specify when or which one it would be on, so we will be watching both.
 

Those of you coming to visit, they are on the move again as stated in the earlier post.  They are going to the rehab facility which is in a completely different building.  So, if you are coming to visit, please text for the new location.

Till next time...

Tristan wanted to lay w/Daddy!

Tonight we saw a miraculous sight..........Tristan had been napping peacefully after a long day of Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy as well as numerous trips to the potty followed by a very nice warm shower. He actually slept through dinner which makes Mommy nervous because she wants to see Tristan eat....get strong.....move around.....and then go home :-). Well, as Grandma Lisa was sitting there calming Mommy about Tristan not eating and telling Mommy that she needs to pray for strength to get through each day........Tristan wakes up out of the blue and says, "- want to get up in my chair!". To which Mommy offered help. Rather frustratedly Tristan exclaimed, "No, I can do it myself!" As Daddy moved into position to support him Tristan SPRANG from the bed and jumped up in his chair!!! This is the boy who is barely moving to the potty! I've become so stinking emotional that
this simple act that we take for granted any other time just moved me to tears.....okay, not just me but Daddy and possibly Grandma Lisa too! Then Tristan said he wanted to color and proceeded to spend about 45 minutes coloring! He asked Mommy to color with him too. Then as Mommy and Tristan were finishing coloring Tristan looked over and saw Daddy laying in his bed and asked if he could lay in bed with him!!! okay......more tears from Daddy and Mommy (especially Daddy!). Now I know what you are thinking........what a bunch of saps! But let me tell you how amazing it is to see our son emerge little by little after spending a day in a coma, 3 Days on Morphine and most of the days that we have been in here feeling so groggy and weak that his old self is barely recognizable! To see him emerge is so moving and we can just see the hand of God at work in this hospital.....this room.....
.THIS BOY! God is so good! As I am writing this, Daddy and Tristan are enjoying a showing of "Transformers" on our in-room theater!
As Daddy wrote earlier, we will be moving yet again to a new room in the Neurological Rehabilitation Center. They have 5 private rooms for pediatric patients and Tristan is having the last one held for him until we can gather ALL of our things and make the move WAAAAAAAAY across the hospital! They have informed us that we could be there anywhere from 1 to 3 weeks.......all depending on the little man! I am encouraged by the fact that he sprang out of bed so quick earlier.......if only I could bribe him into doing that tomorrow maybe we wouldn't have to move to Rehab!! Okay, just kidding.....I want my baby to get any and all therapy that he needs to get back to pre-accident status......it's just that my desire to have my family all back home under the same roof together is SOOOOOOO overwhelming that I have a hard time imagining another 3 weeks in this place!!!! Please pray for
Tristan's strength and stamina to return so that he will be able to complete his stay at Rehab as quickly as possible so that we can return home with him to his brothers and his sister.
In that regard, thank you thank you to Aaron's mom, Lisa, and dad, Russ, for bringimg their dog and establishing residence in our home! I guess we really didn't leave them much choice given the fact that Aaron and I refuse to leave the hospital and someone had to stay with Bella and Wyatt and Jesse.......yes Jesse, you too.......someone has to stay with you too! Special thanks go out as well to our cousins Matt and Vanessa for taking off work and making themselves available to Grandma and Papa to swap with the kids so Grandma and Papa could come to the hospital too! Thanks Tina for taking Wyatt to school and picking him up! Grandma Lisa says that is priceless in her day!! And thank you SO much for all of our friends and family who have taken the time out of their busy schedule to come and see Tristan and Daddy and Mommy too.........thanks for bringing treats and toys to brighten
Tristan's day and for bringing fountain Mt. Dew (bless you for that!) And Dr.Pepper and food and greatly needed fellowship as our connection with the outside world would otherwise be extremely limited!
Well, Mommy needs to coerce Tristan into finishing Transformers tomorrow as he will need some sleep for what is sure to be a big day ahead! Not only will Tristan be moving to his new room but he will also be dressing up as Darth Vader to participate in a Halloween party here tomorrow morning at 10! He is looking forward to that!
Tristan says good night and God bless all!
Clark Gang

Shower Time!

Tristan after his first shower in 6 days! He was starting to smell a little funny but his RN, Crystal, and mommy took care of that! Many thanks and prayers to the entire staff here at the hospital, they are wonderful!

We are moving again in the morning to the neuro rehabilitation building where they are telling us to prepare for a 3 week stay! The duration totally depends on Tristan and how quickly he recovers.

Once again, thank you so much for all of your prayers and constant support! God bless!

The Clarks

Is it Christmas...

Tristan doesn't know that he is hurt, he thinks its Christmas!

Is It Time To Get Up Yet??

Wow, Mommy saw another glimpse of her boy early this morning! Respiratory Therapy was here giving Tristan his percussion treatment and he asked me if it was time to get up yet. I responded that it was only 4:00 a.m. And still pretty early but Tristan said, "Well, I want to get up!". When Mommy asked him why on earth he wanted to get up so early he replied, "Because I want to play with my new cars!!!!!" And so...........here we are up at 4 o'clock watching the Looney Tunes movie and playing with cars! Oh well, anything for my boy!!!!!!
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TRISTAN

Hello everyone, this is Aaron! I finally feel like there is a free minute to give some updates!

TRISTAN!!!! He has his IV out of his ankle, oxygen turned off and eating like a horse! He had a visit from the PT\OT department this morning for his initial evaluation. They will be watching him closely over the next few days to determine whether or not he will go home soon or need inpatient rehab? During the evaluation they poked, proded and stretched him for about half an hour which wore him out completely! The progress he makes over the next couple of days will determine if he needs the inpatient rehab and how long rehab will take! Today is the first day we really saw Tristan's personality come out which was absolutely amazing! Maybe the morphine is finally out of his system. We continue to encourage him to pray on his own and be thankful that so many people are behind him!

From Shannon and I to you - thank you! Saturday morning I was told by the triage attending "prepare yourself for brain damage, paralisis or death." Since Saturday my heart has truely been broken over the last five days watching my son, wife and family in so much pain! God and his family (all of you) have repaired my heart with MIRACLES, prayer, love, affection, gifts, food, generousity and companionship! We have never been so overwhelmed with prayer, prayer requests, prayer chains, text prayers, emailed prayers, etc... The hand of God has been right here on Tristan the entire time thanks to prayer from around the world from all of you! I feel truely blessed to know each and every one of you! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything.

Faith and prayer generates miracles! We have now witnessed that first hand! I will never doubt again!
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Ronald...

Tristan was invited to see the Ronald McDonald Magic show. He had a great time! Here is Tristan pulling the scarf out of the hat. :)

Aaron and Shannon

It's a Brand New Day!

Well, Good Morning all.......it's Mommy! I thought I might make my first contribution to this website and take a little pressure off our cousin Billy who created this website and has been updating it all by himself for days now! I have to be honest......I wouldn't have known how to get this thing up and running, so many many thanks to Billy (Hobbs) for thinking of this way to keep all of Tristan's family and friends updated! And thanks to Billy for spending his days here by Tristan's side to obtain all of these updates.....as well as all of you who have tirelessly spent days and nights up here by our boy's side! Okay, now on to news about the Big Guy........as you saw from the post yesterday, Tristan has been kicked out of the ICU and moved upstairs to the Big Boy Pediatric Unit! Grandma Lisa, brother Jesse and Mommy and Daddy were here yesterday for the Big Move and actually had to get a very large cart to bring all of our things upstairs to our new room......we needed the cart because all of our loved ones have brought so many cards, balloons, gifts, magazines, care packages, snacks, drinks, etc that we had accumulated quite a mass of things in that little ICU room! Tristan's new room has better accomodations for visiting and it has a refrigerator too, so we are all pretty psyched at our new digs! As soon as Tristan got to his new room last night he had to go potty, so Nurse Crystal and Grandma Lisa got Tristan up and out of bed and had him go potty! It was a long hard walk for him after laying in his bed for the last 3 days, so we were very proud of him! Needless to say, he was very pooped after his big day yesterday and spent the evening last night taking little naps here and there. He has now been off morphine for 24 hours and we are seeing a return of our old Tristan.......Praise God! The morphine depressed his breathing thereby necessitating the increased oxygen and also kept Tristan pretty out of it, so we are NOT sad to see that go! He was pretty excited to sit in his new room and watch "X-Men Wolverine Origins" last night followed by TWO showings of a Tom and Jerry movie! Daddy convinced me to let Tristan watch his Tom and Jerry still at midnight when he was protesting that mommy was shutting the lights off for bedtime! Tristan received respiratory therapy every 4 hours during the night to help break up the "gunk" in his lungs and encourage him to cough it all out. They say he sounds clearer this mroning, but still has a ways to go. He was awake when mommy woke up doing guess what?........yes, watching Tom and Jerry! We went over the breakfast menu together and he chose some Lucky Charms.....I think that will be the first meal he really enjoys as the kid LOVES cereal! Think he gets that from Mommy! As of the writing of this update Tristan is working with Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy all at once at his bedside.....he is pretty weak but is being a very good sport! He will also have a Neuro consult later today to see if he will be a candidate for "Brain Trauma Outpatient Therapy"..........he may or may not be they say. Well, Mommy is going to go join Daddy and watch Tristan have his therapy........will update more later. Please know how amazingly blessed we feel to have such wonderful friends and family that have surrounded us with support and love and prayers.......we fully believe in the power of prayer! God has worked BIG miracles in this boy and we are so thankful! God Bless!
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Quick update

Tristan walked to the restroom with the help of a couple of nurses.

AMEN!

He is moving!

As I was leaving today, the nurse said they had a room out of the PICU available and would be moving as it was cleaned. This is a bit bitter sweet because it is another step closer to home, but the nurses have more patients to attend to out of the PICU. The fact that he is okay to go to a lower level of care already is a miracle.

He was able to keep his food down during the day. He smiled more today and opened his eyes wider. Aaron asked Tristan at one point, "What can I do to get a smile?" All Tristan wanted fro dad was a head bump. That sounds like he is getting better to me. He even sat up and lifted his legs on his own at one point.

A good day overall today, but please pray for a peaceful evening. Things seem to happen more at night. The rest is really good for Tristan (and mom and dad) so our hope that an uneventful evening is had by all.

Your comments have touched the family so much. Thank you all.

He is up!

He is out of bed and in a chair to start. As he was being wheeled around the PICU Tristan pointed at the doors and wanted to go out. Aaron and Shannon were allowed to take him outside to the garden.

Another positive step. Praise God!

Pain is better this morning

No morphine since 8 this morning. They are working towards an oral pain relief that will be a big step in getting Tristan home. He has been unable to keep anything down at this point. He had a few crackers recently and if he keeps it down it will be the first.

He is still working at getting the "stuff" that is in his lungs out. He is coughing and dad is working hard to keep suction going.

Tristan had a surprise today. While in his room, around the corner peeked a gorilla. It was the Phoenix Suns Gorilla. He came in and gave Tristan a stuffed gorilla, signed card, and a jersey. It brought a big smile to his face.

They are working on getting him up and walk around. The order just came down to move him out of ICU.

As always, God is so good. Even when it feels like a setback, there is a positive right behind it.

Till next update...

Pray for the Pain

The good news is that the Flex Xray came back clear.  There is still significant pain in the neck that has the doctors a bit puzzled.  They also had to put him on respiratory therapy in order to help clear the secretions that he is unable to clear on his own.  There is a concern for pneumonia if the secretions are not cleared properly.

I have not received any information yet on whether or not they are going to do more tests on the neck area to figure out the pain issue.  Right now all are praying for pain relief and that the lungs become clear to the point he no longer needs the therapy.

His recovery has been so good and positive that I think we forget that he has been through a major trauma.  I know I do at times.

Please check back when you get time.  As information is known, it will be posted.

Thank you to those who are leaving comments.  We are hoping to show the Clark Family just another way people who love and care about them have show their support.  It is very encouraging to them.

MRI Results.....

The MRI result are in and there does not appear to be any ligament damage.  His neck still hurts to the point the doctors want to be completely sure there isn't any more damage that they will be doing a "Flex Xray" tonight.  For those of you like me that are not medically literate, it means they will be taking an Xray of his neck in different positions.

More good news.  God continues to get the praise and glory for his recovery.  Things are still advancing quite well.

Till next time...... :)

He can eat!

Doc says he can eat. Ya! Although his request was a Snickers, he will settle for a bowl of fruit and yogurt.

MRI is done. Just waiting for results. Will update as we know.

I want what Dad has...

The Xray has been changed to an MRI. The doctors think at this point that the ligaments are stretched more than any type of tearing. That will give them the information they need regarding the neck brace. There is a chance that some sort of neck brace will have to stay on during the healing process. The fracture under the left eye has not shifted or separated. So, no surgery for that area. At this point, it does not appear surgery will be needed for any reason.

During my visit today, Tristan was waving and reading cards that were sent from his cousins. After a sip of Mountain Dew, he looked at Dad eating a Payday and said, "I want what Dad has."  He is still on a clear liquid diet, but Dad said as soon as the docs say it's okay, he has one waiting.

He is recovering well, but please continue to pray for the pain associated with recovery. They are managing it at this point, but it will be a concern as he heals.

The report given to them at the ER to his condition now is nothing short of a miricle. When you go from prepare for the worst, to he could be walking out of the hospital within a week, you know God is at work.

The family is overwhelmed by all of God's grace and mercy.

More Good News!!!

The tubes are out!  Arterial line out, foley out, tube out, drain out, he only has the IV left!  The doctors are waiting for the results of the neck Xray to determine if the neck brace can be removed.  As long as all looks good, they will hopefully be moving him out of the ICU.


This is all great news.  He has been very responsive and communicating very well.  As difficult as this has been, know that Tristan and the Family would not be doing as well without all of your love, support and prayers.... GOD IS SO GOOD!

He wants Mountain Dew!

As I ended the last post, I will begin this one.  GOD IS GOOD!  Tristan was taken off the ventilator today and is breathing on his own.  This is a huge step.  He even asked for some Mountain Dew! :)  He is progressing well and we pray that continues. 

Thank you all again for your prayers and concerns.  Please check back tomorrow.  There will be a more detailed update for you. 

Tristan...

For those who don't know, Tristan was involved in an accident while playing that has put him in the hospital with some very serious health concerns.  The details of what happened are not completely clear at this point, but the most important thing is the health and well being of Tristan.

All things considered, the little guy did well yesterday. He looks a lot better than expected and the cranial pressure was much lower than expected. He moved his feet and arms at times and even tried to open his eyes. The doctors keep him heavily sedated in order to promote rest and healing. He is still on the ventilator, but the doctors are looking to get him breathing on his own as soon as possible.

These are encouraging signs and God has been giving the family little bits of positive feedback as time goes by. The prayer is that healing continues and the rest of the family continues to find their comfort an peace in the Lord.

Aaron and Shannon are so appreciative of the Love and Support everyone has shown them. God is Good!