Jyl Waters

Hello to all- it has been awhile since I have written. I turned a year older on the 14th bringing my ripe old age up to 39. And in case anyone is interested Brooke turned 43 on the 12th.Donnie got rained out of the field on Monday night the 13th so he and I and the kids went to Anita to the Redwoods to eat-YUMMY!!!

My heart has been heavy for the last couple of weeeks---a friend of mine and a very close friend of Brooke's was involved in a car accident and is fighting for her life right now. Her lungs are badly injured and she has had to have a trach put in and she is on a ventilator. They are very sure she is paralyzed but won't be able to do surrgery on her back until her lungs get better. Her name Tami and her husband is Mike---------they have two children Chris and KYLIE.Please pray for them. They have so many obstacles ahead of them---it pains me to think of all they will go through.

One month from now I will be having surgery on my right arm. I am scheduled to see the Dr. on the 17th for a checkup and some bloodwork on the 18th -check in at the hospital 5:30 am on the 20th to have surgery at 7:30. It should take about five hours and I will be released the next day.Then we will come home and start the recovery process. I will be in a cast for a month before I begin therapy.It will be a long process but should be well worth it in the long run.

I feel more strongly than ever that the fund raising for spinal cord research needs to continue as it hits closer to home all the time. There will be more updates on the ride for next year as we get some plans made. The only thing we know for sure is that it will be June 26th-2004 from my house to Cumberland. More later as we plan.I think it is a little more than ironic that Mike and Tami who are going through this same thing were at Bedford this year for the 2nd annual ride cooking with the beef producers of Cass County. Please pray very hard for her.

LOVE, JYL

It has been awhile since my last writing so I thought I better get in gear. I am continuing to go to therapy twice a week at the Atlantic-I go for 1and1 half hours each of PT and OT. i go from 9 to noon on Mondays and Wednesdays so thhis will free up my Fridays as well as my drivers who I rely on on so much. I had a bout with brochitis recently and was back in the dr. office and she looked at my poor ingrown toenails and decided they needed worked on. The plus side is that I don't need my feet put to sleep to work on them. The bad part is that i still have reflexes so Dawn -my sister and driver for the day- volunteered to hold my legs while the dr. did her surgery. She got to feeling a little sick when they got done and had to leave the room. Then she recovered and I felt fine so we headed out for lunch. Halfway through I started to feel alittle weak so it was off to the grocery store to pick up a few needed items and home to get my feet elevated. They are doing much better now but it has taken alot out of me. I think Dawn is feeling betterr also. I have set a date for my tendon-trasfer surgery. It will be Nov. 20th in St. Louis. I am looking forward to getting it done. On a more somber note- I have been going through the cards I received when I was first hurt. I ran accross this one and I still often feel this way. Psalm 77-- Icry to God in my desperation. I grope in vain for some solace or comfort.I try to think about GOD ...but my heart is empty, my soul as dry as dust. I spend sleepless nights searching, waiting for GOD to speak to my need, to give me strenght in my conflict. The good thing is I don't always feel this way- it is just a part of the time feeling. better close for now- love, Jyl

It has been 15 months since the May 5th 2002 accident that has changed my life and the lives of my family. It has consisted of five weeks in intensive care at St. Joseph Hospital in Omaha Nebraska where I had the initial surgery on my neck and got pneumonia and became ventilator dependant. I then went to Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital in Lincoln, Nebraska from June 10th-Sept 6th. I had another bout of pneumonia and spent much of my rehab learning to breathe on my own again. I went to the Rehab Institute in St. Louis for an evaluation in November. I went back in January for a week which turned into nine weeks of intensive rehab. I have since been going to therapy 3 times a week in Atlantic, Iowa, as well as doing therapy at home. We spent some of the benefit money from a local auction/benefit on an electrical stimulation bicycle that shocks my legs into peddling--the idea behind it is to give a cardiovascular workout, keep the muscles in the legs built up and give the body the idea of repetition. I also have a standing frame at home, which is a machine I transfer onto and it pumps me up from a sitting position to a standing one. This aids in keeping my bones from becoming brittle and combats osteoperosis.

Most days I get discouraged because I feel my progress is so slow. I have a loving husband who reminds me that a year ago I had trouble breathing on my own and feeding myself. This helps me to put my thoughts into perspective. My children, Jacob and Tara, remind me that I am still "Mom".

I would like to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayer, cards and contributions over the last 15 months. The help of others has made this journey a bit more tolerable. I would like to invite you into my life by contacting me at:

                                                                 Jyl Waters
                                                                          68635 655th Str.
                                                                       Cumberland, IA 50843

We traveled to St. Louis on August 3rd for Dr. Appts the week of the 4th throught the 8th. I had several tests run on Monday to make sure my kidneys are funtioning properly, they are working just fine. I also saw a dermatologist about some stuff on my hands as well as an ulcer on my heel. That checkup was fine as well. Tuesday I met with one of my therapists for an evaluation. My legs are spasming badly and they felt I needed to increase my mediation. It hasn't seemed to help and the next step is to have Botox injections into my leg muscles that are causing the problem. I don't know yet whether we will return to St. Louis or if I can get it done in Omaha. On Friday I met with the plastic surgeon who will eventually do my tendon transfer surgery. We are holding off on it for right now because I am still going to therapy and trying to increase my strength and stamina. I can call her anytime and set up the surgery when I feel I am ready. Maybe after harvest is over and when I feel I have plateaued.

The 2nd Annual ride has come and gone and can be deemed a success. About $3,400 DOLLARS WAS RAISED FOR SPINAL CORD INJURY RESEARCH. It was a very hot day for the people as well as the horses. Thanks to everyon who came.

I am hoping to do a 3rd Annual Walk-Run next year from our home into Cumberland. This is about 6 miles and I'm hoping to include more people by having walkers as well as horse riders. Of course the walkers would get to leave first as to avoid stepping in any manure. I feel the search for a cure must go on and if I can enlist the help of others it can only have a snowball effect.

We will begin some planning meetings after the first of the year to pick a date and make plans. I am hoping to have some type of auction and supper/music-dance event. Watch the website for updates as we figure this all out.

JULY UPDATE

Hello to all-

I am writing to tell everyone that I got behind the steering wheel of the van-SCARY!!!!!!! Donnie moved me from my wheelchair to the drivers seat which was no easy task. We are in place and off to the hayfield for practice.Driving is something we take for granted- it was alot more difficult than I thought it would be. We did a little driving in the field and when it looked like I wasn't going to take out any fence we set our sights on the open road. The gravel road we live on T's at both ends so we have very little traffic-usually the mailman and occasionally we have funeral traffic- we live next to a small cemetary.We are on the road and trying to catch on to the hand controls- too much gas-too much brakes-not enough gas- too slow on the brakes-Oh, my did the corner sneak up on me? We drove a little ways and turned around.Coming back up the road I meet a car which is when Donnie says I sucked the air out of the van along with a couple oh --its. All and all it went well for the first try. I have hopes of being able to transfer myself into the drivers seat someday but trying to drive showed me how far away from that goal I really am. I believe I will have better control and be able to return to drivingsooner if I do it in my power chair.

I have been reading a book called "All Together in ONE place" by Jane Kirkpatrick. It is a story of a group of women whose lives are forced together because they are heading west on the oregon trail. One character didn't want to leave her home in Wisconsin but is there because her husband left her no choice. She resists the trip and keeps hoping that as things go wrong they will turn around and head East. I have seen alot of myself in her character. I am on a journey I didn't sign up for and I resist it at every turn- I feel angry that I'm on it and I want to go back-but their is no returning only going forward into the unknown.

The characters mother is heading West as well and adds wisdom to the book- following is an exerpt-'"Everyone talked about getting to Oregon or California, getting somewhere they weren't, and all the while missing out on where they were.Waiting until they arrived at their destination to experience joy was simply too long. The human spirit could not be so patient, could not hold on to the memory of happy momentsas the only nurture. It needed feeding daily."

Hi- We are home from st. louis and getting back into the routine. I saw my Dr. on wednesday -she tested me with the safety pin test.I had a new place of sensation in my arms that is at the T-1 level.This is two levels below my level of injury.My scores were higher in other areas as well. We will be returning on August 8th to see Dr. Chang - she is the plastic surgeon who will do the tendon transfer surgery down the road.I also had an x-ray and mri scan on my left knee- it has been swollen for the last 3 weeks . The scan showed I have fluid on my knee - since it was July 3rd at 6 o'clock the radiologist thought I should go to the ER to have it drained and get my blood drawn. We checked in and waited for an hour and decided to get out of there-it was a bit like ER on tv.I will get it checked out this week at home.

We went on to Matt Lortons and spent the 3rd and the 4th at there house. The kids went swimming and went to a water park while we enjoyed time visiting with Matt and Lisa and their friends. We left on the 5th and stopped to see some friends at Augusta, ILL. We stayed the night in Keokuk and had breakfast . On the road again,HOME at 5:00 pm. Will write more next week. Please ask for added prayers for me and my family. Some days feel like we are just starting over. I'm not good at communicating my feelings to the people closest to me.

I am going to be talking to the Dr. about tendon transfer surgery- it is a procedure where they take a tendon out of your upper arm and put it down in your wrist to give a pinch-grip in your hands. Right now I have no grip in my hands at all. I believe they will do one arm at a timeand then I will be in a cast for a month and then lots of therapy to learn how to use my hand again. The biggest challege I will have is dealing with the set back from surgery. I have always had a huge problem with depression and I know this will not be an easy time . The last couple months have been a real downer for me- anyone who has had a problem with their emotions knows you don't just snap out of it.

We went to Lincoln to a patient reunion at Madonna Rehab a couple weeks ago. The priest who is on staff there is someone I became close to while I was there. Father Paul asked me how I was and I began to cry and tell him how awful I thought I had been doing and he told me if I'm having a bad day I don't have to wait till the next day to start over-I have the right to start over any time. He is a great guy- I was lucky to have his support throughall of this.

I am currently going to therapy 3 times a week in Atlantic, IA for occupational therapy and physical therapy. It is going well, we are working on arm strengthening and sitting balance. It is good for me to not sit in the house all the time looking out the window and wishing I were doing something outside. We purchased a bicycle like I rode in St. Louis and am trying to ride 3 times per week at home. We also have a standing frame which takes me from sitting to standing position. The doctors recommend this for my bone density in my hips and legs. Having weight baring on my legs helps with the blood flow to my legs and feet. We also have a parafin wax spa to dip my hands in to help keep my fingers stretched out. I will be returning to St Louis in July for a doctor check up and possible out-patient therapy. We will also be discussing tendon transfer surgery on my hands which would give me some grip back in my hands. The surgery would be on one hand at a time and I am hoping to do one this summer and another after harvest. May 5th marked the anniversary of my accident. I felt that it would be just another day that I couldn't walk but grew anxious the night before and the morning of thinking of how a year ago I was a busy, vital, hardworking person and now feel frustrated with the things my body can't do. Everyone says it gets easier with time and I hope that is true, I don't know if time heals all wounds like the old saying goes. I guess that is all for now, will write more another day.