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1,580 Posts
^^^
I will get this to her!
I will get this to her!
Friend in Miami Needs help and prayers!!!
61 - 72 of 72 Posts
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1,580 Posts
UPDATE!!!!!
Picture is from yesterday working on head control.
I completely missed this one on the 8th!!
http://www.brainline.org/content/2010/03/understanding-tbi-part-3-the-recovery-process_pageall.html
This is mandatory reading for all of the family and friends of Jackie Brown and Erik Brown. Just so you know, right now Erik has been identified at Level 5 of the Ranchos Los Amigos scale that is referenced in the article. This is Part 3 of a 4 part article on this website that is great for understanding Erik's injury and rehab. On a personal note, I went to see Erik yesterday. For those who have not been able to visit recently, he is now starting to talk in full sentences and express his needs. He was able to sit up on the edge of the bed with the help of the therapists. He is improving all the time but has a long road ahead. Anything that you can do to help the Brown family at this time would be greatly appreciated. Here are some ideas:
1. Give money - Erik was the main bread winner in the family, although Jackie also worked. There has been a significant loss of income and Jackie is struggling to pay bills, keep their businesses running, be at the hospital to manage Erik's care, make phone calls and fill out applications for rehab and financial help, etc. Any amount of money helps!
2. Take meals
3. Offer for a specific day or time to take the kids for school, church, play date, homework. Jackie is too overwhelmed to coordinate everyone's offers for help so it is better if you don't just say, "call me when you need help" but rather say, for example, "I can take the girls to the fall festival from 6-9pm tonight.". That is just an example
4. Pray - God has continued to carry the family through this very difficult time, showing Himself as small miracles happen through people helping, the medical staff's compassion, and physical improvements in Erik's condition. Whatever disillusions we face, GOD IS REAL! And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. Hebrews 11:6
Picture is from yesterday working on head control.
I completely missed this one on the 8th!!
http://www.brainline.org/content/2010/03/understanding-tbi-part-3-the-recovery-process_pageall.html
This is mandatory reading for all of the family and friends of Jackie Brown and Erik Brown. Just so you know, right now Erik has been identified at Level 5 of the Ranchos Los Amigos scale that is referenced in the article. This is Part 3 of a 4 part article on this website that is great for understanding Erik's injury and rehab. On a personal note, I went to see Erik yesterday. For those who have not been able to visit recently, he is now starting to talk in full sentences and express his needs. He was able to sit up on the edge of the bed with the help of the therapists. He is improving all the time but has a long road ahead. Anything that you can do to help the Brown family at this time would be greatly appreciated. Here are some ideas:
1. Give money - Erik was the main bread winner in the family, although Jackie also worked. There has been a significant loss of income and Jackie is struggling to pay bills, keep their businesses running, be at the hospital to manage Erik's care, make phone calls and fill out applications for rehab and financial help, etc. Any amount of money helps!
2. Take meals
3. Offer for a specific day or time to take the kids for school, church, play date, homework. Jackie is too overwhelmed to coordinate everyone's offers for help so it is better if you don't just say, "call me when you need help" but rather say, for example, "I can take the girls to the fall festival from 6-9pm tonight.". That is just an example
4. Pray - God has continued to carry the family through this very difficult time, showing Himself as small miracles happen through people helping, the medical staff's compassion, and physical improvements in Erik's condition. Whatever disillusions we face, GOD IS REAL! And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. Hebrews 11:6
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I somehow missed this, my family has/is praying for him and his family.
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1,580 Posts
Update from Jackie November 20th:
What a difference perseverance makes! Two weeks ago Erik could only read 75 words, but today he read 192 commonly used words with 100% accuracy. It's been a struggle to get him to participate and at times I felt like giving up, but I won't. I can't. He is my life. For those of you who have donated, thank you. Because of you I can afford to buy new educational supplies each week, and can focus on his recovery!
— feeling accomplished.
What a difference perseverance makes! Two weeks ago Erik could only read 75 words, but today he read 192 commonly used words with 100% accuracy. It's been a struggle to get him to participate and at times I felt like giving up, but I won't. I can't. He is my life. For those of you who have donated, thank you. Because of you I can afford to buy new educational supplies each week, and can focus on his recovery!
— feeling accomplished.
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I greatly apologize for not updating.
I have been updating on my facebook; so of you guys are following on there...
This will be a big post.
I'll try to throw the pictures on here too, but if they don't work, forgive me.
Dec 10:
Update:
THE HUMAN BRAIN IS A REMARKABLE THING! Just to put things in perspective, the national average time it takes the brain to heal for someone with the amount of brain damage sustained during Erik's accident, in the areas where he sustained the damage, compared to the number of days since the accident puts us at about 7.9%.
Don't misinterpret that...the brain healing the damage from the accident is different than the time it will take for Erik to "recover" or regain his independence.
Some people ask when he will go back to "normal". The doctors say the process takes months and he will likely have some deficiencies.
I believe wholeheartedly that my God will fully restore him and is giving me the strength to do whatever it takes to help him get back. Your prayers and positive thoughts keep us going!
Picture from Erik's Birthday yesterday.
Update from Jackie tonight:
I just experienced a beautiful "moment of clarity" wherein Erik Brown expressed an understanding that I am here. He may not know my name, but he knows I'm his wife and that I love him so much that it brought tears to his eyes. Some people say "I just don't know how you do it". I said it once, and I will say it again, its those "moments of clarity" that I live for.
-----------
They are still a long way off. Please find a way to donate. Seriously, everything helps. Donation link either above in the post or message me for details.
![]()
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Dec 11
Keep it up, Erik! Keep pushing, and drive forward!!!
Update from Jackie:
I wake up each morning around 5:45 a.m., take a quick shower, brush my teeth and then get Erik up, change his diaper, wash his face, brush his teeth, then spoon feed him his breakfast (he is on double portions right now because he experienced a 45 pound weight loss during his tube feedings) so that takes about an hour to get him to eat all that food, then change his diaper again. Then I dress him which is very difficult. As you can imagine its a lot harder to dress a tall adult male than it is a baby, and between the cast, the catheter, and his dead weight, its physically exhausting and has nothing on crossfit!
Once I have him dressed I get him transferred to a wheelchair. Once I have him locked in and move the urine bag and get him all settled with the arm rest attachment, and foot rests, I have just enough time to swallow a power bar and run him over to his start his day of therapy which goes from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. and I do have an hour lunch break for him which allows just enough time for me to feed him, change his diaper and get him back in his chair.
Then we have spouse/patient activities until 5 p.m. then daily meeting with neuro psychologist until 5:45 p.m. to help assess Erik's emotions throughout this process (apparently, at some point he will go through an extreme depression).
Then I get him back to our room in order to feed him dinner. I usually run downstairs to the cafeteria and eat whatever crap grab and go food they have available and run back upstairs with just enough time to throw a load of laundry, figure out what's going on with everything else in my life, like bills, Medicaid, disability paperwork, etc. Then its time to change Erik's diaper, get him into a shower chair, clean him and get him into bed. Once I get his meds through his stomach tube, I range his legs and arms as they have become really tight. And then I typically pass out before his sleep aid takes effect.
I THANK GOD I HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO THIS FOR ERIK AND THAT MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY ARE PITCHING IN TO HELP WITH EVERYTHING ELSE. EVERYDAY WITH HIM IS A BLESSING!
I know you guys always hit like and comment about what a great job I am doing, but let's hear about how amazing he is to endure all this, to continue to fight and what great family and friends we have to help us during this time of need!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dec 25
What an amazing Christmas gift!!!!!!
Updates:
It was a very Merry Christmas for our family this year! 99% of people who suffer the brain injury Erik did NEVER open their eyes again, and of those who do, many never regain consciousness! Because of all your love, support, prayers, and positive energy, Erik is that lucky 1%. After 75 days in a hospital, Erik was released from rehab and we got back into town just in time for the holiday. Now although there were tons of toys under the tree from all you generous people, the best gift for our girls was having mommy and daddy home! Merry Christmas to all our bikelife friends.
![]()
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Dec 26
Erik still requires 24 hour care and is not using his left arm just yet as it has a cast until second week of January and is very weak which will require a lot of therapy. He is still extremely weak in his legs from the loss of 47 pounds of muscle, but can stand with assistance if someone helps to guide him up and provide support and balance while standing.
As for his cognitive progress, his brain is still healing and trying to rebuild new connections for example when he tries to speak he cannot always access the right words. The accuracy is about 60%. A's he continues to work on it, it will continue to improve. His memory was not affected but again. His brain needs to rebuild connections to access that information and some things may return some may not but we won't know for a long time. Basically the brain continues to heal for up to 18 months so we pray for as close to a full recovery as possible.
![]()
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Jan 1
Starting the new year of right!!!!
The update said all Erik wants to talk about is motorcycles!!! That's awesome!!!!!
![]()
I have been updating on my facebook; so of you guys are following on there...
This will be a big post.
I'll try to throw the pictures on here too, but if they don't work, forgive me.
Dec 10:
Update:
THE HUMAN BRAIN IS A REMARKABLE THING! Just to put things in perspective, the national average time it takes the brain to heal for someone with the amount of brain damage sustained during Erik's accident, in the areas where he sustained the damage, compared to the number of days since the accident puts us at about 7.9%.
Don't misinterpret that...the brain healing the damage from the accident is different than the time it will take for Erik to "recover" or regain his independence.
Some people ask when he will go back to "normal". The doctors say the process takes months and he will likely have some deficiencies.
I believe wholeheartedly that my God will fully restore him and is giving me the strength to do whatever it takes to help him get back. Your prayers and positive thoughts keep us going!
Picture from Erik's Birthday yesterday.
Update from Jackie tonight:
I just experienced a beautiful "moment of clarity" wherein Erik Brown expressed an understanding that I am here. He may not know my name, but he knows I'm his wife and that I love him so much that it brought tears to his eyes. Some people say "I just don't know how you do it". I said it once, and I will say it again, its those "moments of clarity" that I live for.
-----------
They are still a long way off. Please find a way to donate. Seriously, everything helps. Donation link either above in the post or message me for details.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dec 11
Keep it up, Erik! Keep pushing, and drive forward!!!
Update from Jackie:
I wake up each morning around 5:45 a.m., take a quick shower, brush my teeth and then get Erik up, change his diaper, wash his face, brush his teeth, then spoon feed him his breakfast (he is on double portions right now because he experienced a 45 pound weight loss during his tube feedings) so that takes about an hour to get him to eat all that food, then change his diaper again. Then I dress him which is very difficult. As you can imagine its a lot harder to dress a tall adult male than it is a baby, and between the cast, the catheter, and his dead weight, its physically exhausting and has nothing on crossfit!
Once I have him dressed I get him transferred to a wheelchair. Once I have him locked in and move the urine bag and get him all settled with the arm rest attachment, and foot rests, I have just enough time to swallow a power bar and run him over to his start his day of therapy which goes from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. and I do have an hour lunch break for him which allows just enough time for me to feed him, change his diaper and get him back in his chair.
Then we have spouse/patient activities until 5 p.m. then daily meeting with neuro psychologist until 5:45 p.m. to help assess Erik's emotions throughout this process (apparently, at some point he will go through an extreme depression).
Then I get him back to our room in order to feed him dinner. I usually run downstairs to the cafeteria and eat whatever crap grab and go food they have available and run back upstairs with just enough time to throw a load of laundry, figure out what's going on with everything else in my life, like bills, Medicaid, disability paperwork, etc. Then its time to change Erik's diaper, get him into a shower chair, clean him and get him into bed. Once I get his meds through his stomach tube, I range his legs and arms as they have become really tight. And then I typically pass out before his sleep aid takes effect.
I THANK GOD I HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO THIS FOR ERIK AND THAT MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY ARE PITCHING IN TO HELP WITH EVERYTHING ELSE. EVERYDAY WITH HIM IS A BLESSING!
I know you guys always hit like and comment about what a great job I am doing, but let's hear about how amazing he is to endure all this, to continue to fight and what great family and friends we have to help us during this time of need!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dec 25
What an amazing Christmas gift!!!!!!
Updates:
It was a very Merry Christmas for our family this year! 99% of people who suffer the brain injury Erik did NEVER open their eyes again, and of those who do, many never regain consciousness! Because of all your love, support, prayers, and positive energy, Erik is that lucky 1%. After 75 days in a hospital, Erik was released from rehab and we got back into town just in time for the holiday. Now although there were tons of toys under the tree from all you generous people, the best gift for our girls was having mommy and daddy home! Merry Christmas to all our bikelife friends.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dec 26
Erik still requires 24 hour care and is not using his left arm just yet as it has a cast until second week of January and is very weak which will require a lot of therapy. He is still extremely weak in his legs from the loss of 47 pounds of muscle, but can stand with assistance if someone helps to guide him up and provide support and balance while standing.
As for his cognitive progress, his brain is still healing and trying to rebuild new connections for example when he tries to speak he cannot always access the right words. The accuracy is about 60%. A's he continues to work on it, it will continue to improve. His memory was not affected but again. His brain needs to rebuild connections to access that information and some things may return some may not but we won't know for a long time. Basically the brain continues to heal for up to 18 months so we pray for as close to a full recovery as possible.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jan 1
Starting the new year of right!!!!
The update said all Erik wants to talk about is motorcycles!!! That's awesome!!!!!
Joined
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1,580 Posts
I didn't post this one, but Jackie posted one day that Erik loves to be naked.
She can't keep clothes on him!
Anyway she walked into his room while he was in the hospital. The nurse was in there
and Erik was standing there in his birthday suit!!!
He looked at her surprised and said, "it's not sexual, I swear!"
She tried to hold in here composure, but busted out laughing.
His doctors tell her when he says crazy off the wall stuff to not laugh.
But how could you not in that situation?!?!?
She can't keep clothes on him!
Anyway she walked into his room while he was in the hospital. The nurse was in there
and Erik was standing there in his birthday suit!!!
He looked at her surprised and said, "it's not sexual, I swear!"
She tried to hold in here composure, but busted out laughing.
His doctors tell her when he says crazy off the wall stuff to not laugh.
But how could you not in that situation?!?!?
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6,501 Posts
Please keep us updated with posts when available.
I've never met her, but I've come to greatly appreciate his wife.
This sort of experience is taxing on the body and soul.
It's important for her to know that she is not alone and that others care.
And it's equally important to show her that others care.
I will find the earlier post to the donation site and make another donation to help.
I've never met her, but I've come to greatly appreciate his wife.
This sort of experience is taxing on the body and soul.
It's important for her to know that she is not alone and that others care.
And it's equally important to show her that others care.
I will find the earlier post to the donation site and make another donation to help.
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1,580 Posts
Of course I will, and your welcome.
I meant to post, but the holidays had me running like crazy!
I meant to post, but the holidays had me running like crazy!
Joined
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2,456 Posts
Damn that guy is coming along ... he's getting around all over the place!
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Got another update from today!!
9 January:
It's been another busy week in Erik's recovery! The cast removal means it's time to start using his left side! And our friend came to the house to cast a mold for a foot brace for his ankle which should help him when he works on walking once he begins outpatient therapy!
This was the post from friends (couple on the left) that went to their house:
Had a great time with Erik and Jackie tonight! A little talking, a little walking, a little casting for a brace for Erik's leg and I even snuck in some range of motion! Happy to see Erik improving!
9 January:
It's been another busy week in Erik's recovery! The cast removal means it's time to start using his left side! And our friend came to the house to cast a mold for a foot brace for his ankle which should help him when he works on walking once he begins outpatient therapy!
This was the post from friends (couple on the left) that went to their house:
Had a great time with Erik and Jackie tonight! A little talking, a little walking, a little casting for a brace for Erik's leg and I even snuck in some range of motion! Happy to see Erik improving!
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Friends, it is very nice to find this and read all these positive comments after what I went through what seems like not that long ago but I know it is was
over 7 years ago and the fact that I can stand and walk again is the best blessing I could ever receive thank you for everybody that was supportive of my situation.
Thanks, Erik
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