8/7 - Jen Griffin comes to visit

STEPHEN COLBERT – “Tonight: I report on the state of racism in America. My guess: Alabama!”

I’m on my way to Alabama (literally writing this on the airplane), but I definitely need to update everyone on the happenings in Jamie-town lately. First of all, we’re getting close to start talking about upper extremity prosthetics. JP (for the uninitiated, Jamie Perrone from Hanger Prosthetics) will be coming by St. David’s during one of Jamie’s upcoming PT/OT sessions (its more fun to say P-TOT, but I digress, like usual) and we’ll be talking about the several options whereby Jamie will be able to grip things, including the Pro-Digits option that we’re all pretty jazzed about. Remember, the Pro-Digits are the battery powered option whereby Jamie will have individually articulating fingers… pretty neat, huh? I mean, we spoke with JP on Tuesday about this and the other options, and I’m happy to report that we are getting access to technology that is so new that, even though Hanger is literally creating and advancing this technology, there isn’t enough data to accurately answer “How long do these things last?” Of course, the answers to the question of “How much does this stuff cost?” are much clearer… More on that in subsequent posts… Jamie has also continued to become more and more independent. She is putting on eye makeup on her own, gripping lots of things in her right hand (the good one she had surgery on most recently), wearing her legs more and more and generally being awesome. This is, of course, awesome. She learned to eat chips on her own too… this is huge… imagine feeding someone tortilla chips with salsa one at a time… yeah… I swear, chips + salsa is Jamie’s favorite food, after tomatoes.

Also, Jamie’s new wheelchair is almost complete. Willy the Wheelchair Guy came to Jamie’s PTOT session on Monday and delivered the wheels that we wanted for Jamie’s new chair… that’s not really the most exciting news in the world, but it did happen, so there you go. Also, Bob, Jamie’s OT guy, has some cool ideas about getting Jamie on a bicycle again. The easiest way to do this is with a recumbent bike, which is where the cyclist sits in a chair and the pedals are located in front of, instead of underneath, the rider. Bob is a really cool guy. He used to coach and be a member of the US Para-Olympic cycling team (I think)… did I mention he has one arm? Yeah, he rules.

Also, Jamie’s new wheelchair is almost complete. Willy the Wheelchair Guy came to Jamie’s PTOT session on Monday and delivered the wheels that we wanted for Jamie’s new chair… that’s not really the most exciting news in the world, but it did happen, so there you go. Also, Bob, Jamie’s OT guy, has some cool ideas about getting Jamie on a bicycle again. The easiest way to do this is with a recumbent bike, which is where the cyclist sits in a chair and the pedals are located in front of, instead of underneath, the rider. Bob is a really cool guy. He used to coach and be a member of the US Para-Olympic cycling team (I think)… did I mention he has one arm? Yeah, he rules.

The main reason I feel so compelled to post though is because Jennifer Griffin came to visit Jamie and the rest of us on Monday. You probably remember Jen’s story, but in brief, about 2.4 years ago, she contracted an infection (Strep A or Staph A) that caused a full on infection, and the subsequent complications resulted in the amputation of her legs below her knees and the removal of all of her fingers. [Remember? Her blog is right over there è It’s called “Get Well Jen” – SPOILER ALERT – she’s doing great!] So, of all the people who try to sympathize with Jamie, only a very, very few can truly understand what Jamie is going through, what she has gone through and what she will go through. Jen is one of them… one of they…? Anyway… I can’t possibly express (I can) how much I appreciate Jen’s willingness and eagerness to be a part of Jamie’s life. She’s the one who gave Jamie the tool she uses to apply mascara and eyeliner. This is the second time that Jen has come to visit. The first was while we were in the hospital in Houston, when Jamie was mostly bedridden, so a lot has changed for the better. Jen came with us to the PTOT appointments on Monday and was pretty impressed with Jamie’s walking. Jen also showed off her cool legs (the heel has a button that adjust her heel angle to allow her prosthetic feet to fit into shoes with heels). Really, the coolest parts of Jen’s visit are those little back-and-forths between her and Jamie. “So, Jen, how do you do this?” “Jen, what can/can’t you do now?” That sort of thing. Also, I should mention that Jen got a present at the OT session. Bob brought Jamie an extendible wand that has a strong magnet at the end. This is pretty useful ordinarily, but super useful when Jamie needs to get something far away (remote, phone [once we put a magnetic strip on it]) but isn’t wearing her legs. Bob gave Jen one too. They’re pretty cool. Before Jen left, we all went to dinner at a pretty good Mexican restaurant and a funny scene occurred… you know, when I first met Jen and her husband at a restaurant in Dallas in December, she told me that one of the most important things she ever learned was to not be afraid to ask people for assistance. At the time, I really didn’t understand what she meant, at least not to the extent that I understand now… So, I thought it was funny when it came time to eat, and, without asking for help, we were all prepared and eager to help Jen like she was a member of our family… which she is. We love her.

Finally, I wanted to say thanks to everyone for their continued concern, well-wishes, support and donations of time and money. We’ve continued to receive a steady stream of all of these and we remain touched. Thank you so much for following along, and, while our journey is far closer to the beginning than to the end, we’re happy to share our progress with you all.

Sorry for writing so much… I’m still on the plane… but I’m done now, so… bye.