Boogie-Woogie played by Paula Mendell

This post has nothing to do with Josh and his brain injury.  I thought I would post it for your listening pleasure.  Hope you like it.  Josh is my biggest fan !  Haha.  He thinks I hung the moon since his brain injury.  It wasn't exactly that way before the injury.  

Brain Injury Walk at DeAnza Cove, March 2014

I haven't updated Josh's blog since May of 2013.  That is pretty bad!  I guess I am burnt out as Josh's primary caregiver and no longer the cheerleader I once was....  Woe is me!  Since May of 2013, not too much has changed in Josh's life.  The good thing is he has not passed out recently!  Yah!  His orthostatic hypotension is under control (drop in blood pressure causing one to pass out (yuck!) and Josh is staying hydrated.  So, no trips to the emergency room lately.  That's a good thing!

Last Saturday (March 29th), we did the San Diego Brain Injury Foundation Walk at DeAnza Cove and it went quite well.  Josh, Zack (Josh's loyal and dedicated teacher), Natalie (his sister), Rachill (Natalie's friend) and I all walked for the cause.  They called it a walk for recovery.  I wish it were as simple as that.  You walk a few miles and you're recovered!  That would be wonderful.  It was actually quite emotional for me.  When we arrived at De Anza Cove, I was overwhelmed with emotion to see so many brain injured survivors there for the cause -- victims of car accidents, amputees, people in wheelchairs, people with walkers, stroke victims, aneurism victims, heart attack victims --  it is all so SAD I can't tell you.  Josh was a real champ!  He walked the three miles with ease.  In looking around me, I was immediately thankful that Josh was not in a wheelchair, could read  write, and speak.  So many victims are in wheelchairs and on life support (feeding tubes and trachs) and will be for the rest of their lives.  Although Josh is compromised in so many ways (no working memory, balance issues, perseveration, dysarthria (slurring of the speech)), he is not on any life support.  This is a wonderful thing!

Here's Josh wearing his Brain Injury Awareness, Survive Headstrong, Walk for Recovery tee shirt with his teacher Zack Dyl (far right), Natalie (second from the left) and Natalie's friend, Rachill at the big event.  I haven't checked the numbers yet, but I heard they raised over $50,000 !  That's pretty good, but really a drop in the buck in the big scheme of things.  Brain injuries are extraordinarily expensive!  As the sign above says, "Brain injury costs society an estimated $60 billion per year"!!  If you think you have excellent health insurance coverage, think again...  A brain injury is costly and can be financially devastating to families.  Not only are you dealing with the emotional aspect of the injury 24 hours a day, you have to provide care to your loved ones.  Very pricey....

But Josh is worth every penny!

Here's Josh holding a copy of his friend's book which was just published called The Skinny Confidential by Lauryn Evarts.  There is beautiful Lauryn.  My daughter, Natalie and I went to Lauryn's booksigning event at Rancho Valencia last weekend and picked up a personally autographed copy for Josh.  He was thrilled.  Josh and Lauryn have known each other their entire lives.  He has has adored Lauryn since grade school....  

The next blog entry will be on perseveration.  What is that you ask?  Stay tuned....

Love from the Mendell Family --  Happy Belated New Year!  This photo was taken New Year's Day, 2014 at Fletcher Cove in Solana Beach.  xoxoxoxo