MARCH UPDATES

Thu. 3/31

Kathleen had a good day today.  She had another
massage and did well in the standing frame with a host
of people helping.

Wed. 3/30

Here is a letter to Bean from her loving brother Shrug. 

Tue. 3/29

Kathleen struggled through another day with
significant secretions but managed to struggle through
some time in the standing frame and by the end relax a
bit.  When the braces came off, Kathleen seemed to
stand for a moment on her own.   Kathleen enjoyed
immensely a long massage and by the end of the day
greatly improved her breathing as the secretions
waned.

Please come support the Saratoga High School
fundraiser benefit (this year it is for Kathleen) on
Saturday April 2nd at 2pm and 6pm.  The six pm show
will include several Saratoga High School teacher's
children including Samie and Rachie.   The benefit
will take place at Argonaut School: 13200 Shadow
Mountain Road Saratoga, CA 95070

Mon. 3/28

Kathleen had a very difficult day today as she
struggled throughout the day to control her phlegm.
Kathleen's respiratory therapist, who the family likes
very much, will come on Friday to check on her and
show the family how to help Kathleen manage her
secretions better.

Sat. 3/26- Sun. 3/27

Here are 2 pics for Easter.  Kathleen is going out to brunch
with her family this morning and looking forward to
future Happy Easters like the pics below from 2000 and 2001

Late Easter afternoon and evening became tougher for
Kathleen as she worked repeatedly to get her phlegm
out by numerous coughs.

The pics above: Samie, Rachie and Bean Kathleen and her mom, Kathleen and her caregiver who just passed the citizenship test...Go Abby!,

Fri. 3/25

Kathleen had a wonderful physical therapy session
today.  She held her head up  today for over 30
minutes prompting the therapist to say "I hesitate to
get overly excited, but she is doing much better this
week."  During the session Kathleen had very little
tone and was able to get her left leg almost straight.

Later in the day, after a walk and a wonderful
massage,  Kathleen visibly moved her lips when asked
if she was tired.  Her response was "nah nah nah."

Here's a  reminder about the benefit 
fashion show for Kathleen which is on April
2nd at 6pm.  The girls are models for the show and it
looks pretty cute.  Thanks for your support.

Here are some pre-clinical trials showing some progress in nervous
system repair.

Thu. 3/24

Why does our government error on the side of death
rather than life rather than hope?   Michael Schiavo
did not have power of attorney over his wife, friends
say he beat her and she planned to leave him, and for
years he insisted on trying anything to help her
before he suddenly changed his mind in 1993 and
changed her orders to "do not resuscitate" saying she
wanted to die.  He also stopped her physical therapy.
Its amazing that a man named Schindler can
successfully circumvent the government in NAZI Germany
to save many lives, but parents named Schindler in
America cannot save their daughter.  

Wed. 3/23

Kathleen had a good day.  She had an excellent
physical therapy session.  Her hands are begining to
loosen up after the botox injections last Friday, and
she appears to have shaken her cold/

Update on woman from China.

Tue. 3/22

Update on woman who had surgery in China:

Kathleen had a good speech therapy session today and
her phlegm decreased significantly.

Mon. 3/21

Kathleen had significant phlegm production and
coughing which finally subsided when she took Nyquil
in the evening.

Here's an article on a promising  stem cell operation in China.

If anybody  knows of any contacts in China or New Zealand that 

can offer information about this type of surgery and 

whether Kathleen could qualify to be a patient please 

contact Mike. 

Here is another on stem cells and brain recovery advances.

Sun. 3/20

Kathleen had a quiet Sunday.  For a time she had a
slight fever and her heart rate shot up, but for most
of the day she was comfortable watching movies
snuggled up with her daughters in bed.

Please support funding for a study for a national cord
blood donor program by contacting your congressperson.

Here is an article on the minds' mysteries. 

Sat. 3/19

Kathleen woke up in the morning much improved and
enjoyed her shower very much.  She was dressed up and
sat in the wheelchair during preparation for the
evening BBQ which became another impromptu birthday
party for Mike.  Nine kids swarmed in and out of her
room watching movies, giggling and having fun.

Fri. 3/18

Kathleen started the day well with a wonderful
physical therapy session where she got her leg
entirely straight after work on the exercise table and
then stood in the standing frame bearing weight on her
legs (without resting in the sling).  The day
continued well in the afternoon with a wonderful
massage.

At night however, Kathleen suddenly got very phlegmy
and seemed very miserable and sad spending much of the
late evening hours coughing up phlegm.

Thu. 3/17

Kathleen was a real trooper today.  You could really
see in her eyes how hard she was trying.  Today was in
the wheelchair for four hours straight during a long
trip to Redwood City Kaiser for botox injections and
then the trip back.  Kathleen jumped during the
painful injections but seemed unimpressed by the
basketball blaring on the radio and television all
day.

Kathleen joined a small group at Left At Albuquerques
in the evening for a celebration of Mike's birthday.
Though obviously tired, Kathleen struggled
successfully to stay awake during the dinner.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to a very helpful
present for Mike's birthday

Wed. 3/16

Kathleen coughed out her trach entirely today but it
was not an issue as it was put right back in.

Kathleen had a wonderful 75 minute therapy session on
the exercise table on her stomach where she held her
head up about 15 minutes and got her left leg, which
is almost always severely bent, almost straight.

Tue. 3/15

Kathleen increased her dantrium (anti-tone
medicine) tonight due to her increased tone, but she
had an excellent speech therapy session in which she
was very responsive and also fared well in the
standing frame.

Mon. 3/14

Kathleen had a rough time with phlegm today
and needed to be suctioned multiple times but had a
good physical therapy session.  Both Kathleen's tone
and cognitive level worsened while she was in the
hospital last month.  Since then her cognitive
abilities have shown small improvements but her tone
has continued to worsen.  The Davey family has an
appointment to see the Kaiser neurological rehab
specialist on Thursday to assess the increased tone
and potentially give her another series of botox
injections

Sun.3/13

Kathleen had another non-eventful day, but did enjoy a
wheelchair ride (with Rachel on her lap) to the
community center to watch the children play. Mike would 

like to thank St. Francis High School for running a concert
to benefit Kathleen's recovery Tuesday night at 6pm. 

Here's a new link about stem cell drug. . 

Fri. 3/11-Sat. 3/12

Kathleen again explored the neighborhood in her
wheelchair, then visited Kentucky Fried Chicken and
spent some time with a couple of her sisters.

Still without contact with Kathleen's doctors who have
not returned several calls, the family called doctors
at both Valley Medical Center and a regional Kaiser
center for physical rehabilitation to get some answers
regarding the increase in her tone.

Thu. 3/10

The Davey family is once again interested in receiving
recommendations for someone who can give Kathleen
regular massages and aromatherapy at a reasonable
price.  (the doctors have suggested both)

Kathleen is ramping up for a case study on nutritional
supplementations which increase neurogenesis.  People
who have contacted Mike regarding advice and options
for anoxic brain injury are encouraged to contact him
again about the opportunity to join the study.

Wed. 3/9

Brain Repair can be induced to occur by outside forces 

(despite what was presented by doctors at Kaiser 2 weeks 

after Bean arrived.)

Kathleen's g-tube is still loose but appears to be in
place.  The nurse called today and will come by
tomorrow to look at it.

Kathleen has been very alert but shaking much more
than normal.  Her tone has increased the past week,
especially the past few days, but the Davey's have
been unable to get in touch with her doctors to
potentially add to her dantrium.

Tue. 3/8

The cap to Kathleen's feeding tube split last
Thursday.  Kaiser was notified and the family has
still not received an answer as to what to do.  Today,
however, Kathleen's feeding tube began to pull out of
her stomach altogether.  Another call was put into
Kaiser and the family is again waiting as to what to
do (and will not feed her until the matter is resolved).

Mon. 3/7

Kathleen had physical therapy on the mat and speech therapy 

at the same time. She opened her mouth and vocalized on 

command. She had a long evaluation by Kaiser appointed 

Physical Medicine and Rehab doctor to determine what 

Kathleen’s long term need may be.

Sun. 3/6

Kathleen again got a chance to enjoy the backyard sun
and had a good day other than being a bit diaphoretic
(sweaty).

Sat. 3/5

Kathleen had a good day.  She spent some time in the
backyard while family members played and worked in the
garden.  She also was very responsive to the voices of
family members...sometimes jerking or sitting at
attention when hearing voices.

Fri. 3/4

Kathleen got a new trach on Friday.  It is softer and
able to bend when she is turned or moves on her own so
she has less irritation.

Kathleen had another good PT session on her exercise
table while she listened to Rachel read Alexander and
the Terrible, Horrible, Rotten Really Bad Day.

Kathleen speech therapist noted Bean's progress, "She
does vocalize and is trying to use her tongue."

Here is an editorial that Mike found regarding Terri Schiavo 

and PVS.

Thu. 3/3

Please note: The Care for Kathleen Walk/Run has been 

moved to Sunday, June5.  

Wed. 3/2

Kathleen had a great therapy session with ball work on
her newly set up exercise table.

In the evening Kathleen was very phlegmy and had
difficulty with her breathing at times.

Tue. 3/1

Kathleen took advantage of the beautiful day to cruise
down to Winchester Blvd in her wheelchair.  After a
long time in the wheelchair she was able to get up in
the standing frame for 30 minutes.  Kathleen's
strength is increasing so she is able to get out more
and may be strong enough to accompany the family for a
dinner out soon.