Lilypie Kids Birthday tickers

Lilypie - Personal pictureLilypie Kids Birthday tickers

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Say a prayer for The Coffey family

Eric Coffey is the youngest of 4 brothers and I consider him an old, dear friend of mine. His oldest brother Keith was in a terrible dirt bike accident on Friday that left him with some very serious injuries. So Im adding Keith and Eric and their family in my prayers. As Matt Garnes put it, Keith is a great friend, father and brother who kicks ass at everything he does. Last I heard he had no feeling from the chest down, a broken clavicle, broken sternum, punctured lung in addition to a crushed T5 & T6 vertebrae. He is resting in the hospital after a long surgery to rebuild his spine. My heart goes out to the whole Coffey family as I can empathize with the situation.

I especially empathize with Eric as he was my classmate. I know he has a beautiful heart, a gentle heart, and a deep love of his family. I met Eric in the 4th Grade at Wrightwood Elementary and after losing touch, we reconnected several years ago after Sean ran into him and Keith (Sean's classmate at Serrano High School) at the farewell Oingo Boingo concert in Las Vegas. Keith is the oldest, then Jason, then Darren and last but definitly not least there is Eric. Eric is a classical guitarist and he and his brothers are definitely old souls. Their eyes are windows, that seem to tell stories much older than their physical years. At least Erics always did. We moved from Wrightwood in July '91 but I remember Eric and his brothers rather vividly. Keith has always been Superman, the most outgoing of the 4, and a fire fighter.

After I read the news of Keiths accident, I began to think about the Coffey brothers. The brothers are extremely tight which has helped them through the various trials of their lives. Keith is an awesome older brother and family man. Jason I never really knew, except for impressions from his brothers. The majority of memories I have of Darren are from when Eric & I were at Pinon Mesa Middle School together. I can see Darren vividly playing football during gym class and looking out after Eric, he was hard to miss with his red hair. Eric was always the quiet soleful one but Darren brought him out of his shell. Darren was killed doing what he loved on January 26th, 2008 (See the following links for more info) The brothers have been very dedicated to keeping Darrens memory alive through his website and memorial fund. As a matter of fact, Keith held a fundraiser early this month at his house to raise money for the fund.

http://www.sbsun.com/portlet/article/html/fragments/email_article.jsp?article=8105191&hostName=www.sbsun.com&section=/&siteId=208&siteName=San Bernardino County Sun

http://www.rimoftheworld.net/columns/neufeld/forest

Please keep Keith, Eric and their family in your thoughts and prayers. I revisted Darren's Memorial website today and I found the following quote that I love.

N
o one beats him at his game
For very long but just the same
Who cares, there's no place safe to hide
Nowhere to run--no time to cry
So celebrate while you still can
cause any second it may end.
And when its all been said and done
Better that you had some fun
Instead of hiding in a shell-why make your life a living hell?
So have a toast, and down the cup
And drink to bones that turn to dust,
No one lives forever!

Friday, August 28, 2009

Update # 51, August 23, 2009

Sunday, August 23, 2009

#51, August 23, 2009
Friday was the day that we drove Sean's Hummer to the dealer for lease turn-in. With a couple of signatures, we gave them the keys and they gave us the license plates. That evening Sean told Andrea that he had to drive his car, and Andrea explained that he needed to be able to grab the steering wheel and the shifter to do that, and that both she and he needed to do exercises to strengthen their hands, and he seemed satisfied with that. As always, thanks for your good thoughts and prayers. Sean's progress is slow but steady, with more strength returning to his hands and legs. We'll update you as he progresses.
Posted by Paul and Andrea Knott at 10:37 PM 0 comments Links to this post

Personally, this was a hard day for all of us as we didn't know if Sean #1 fully understood that we were turning his H3 back in and #2 because it was such a thing for Sean when he got it. After driving Hummers (the original H1s I guess) in the Air Force and realizing they were one of the few heavy-duty trucks he could comfortably fit in, which is a major feet for someone 7 feet tall. (He has issues with head clearance in my CRV so I angle the seat for him). He seriously thought about getting a H2 and so for his 32nd? birthday, rented one for his birthday weekend. It was fully decked out with heated leather seats in the back, and mom & dad enjoyed riding in it on the way back up to Denver to turn back in. When Sean was still stationed in Virginia and his Jeep started to clunk out on him, he drove it back here on leave and Darwin up at Al Serra Chevrolet at Chapel Hills took great care of him.
Initially Sean was looking for another manual Jeep but after the one he originally found in stock online wasn't available any longer. But since he was active duty military he actually got a better deal on the H3 than he had expected for that Jeep. Apparently Colorado Springs is much freer with military discounts (or as I see it, take better care of our military) than his area in Virginia which surprised me. Anyway, it was auspicious timing because he was on leave heading to a training class in Mississippi right before Hurricane Katrina was due to make landfall. His blog picture (http://pk71knott.blogspot.com/) was taken a few days after he got it. My parents felt much better about him drving through or near a hurricane since he was in his H3. Needless to say his training class was cancelled in Mississippi and Sean loved his H3. As a matter of fact as he was considered 'essential personell' when his base would have closures due to fierce storms in Virginia (the base was actually below sea level), he had no excuses to not come in and possibly swing by to pick up some of his coworkers on the way.
As mom & dad blogged previously, we had talked to Sean a few times in the months before his emergency surgery about what he was thinking about doing when the H3's lease expired this month. Those conversations made the decision to turn it back in slightly easier on my parents. Also Sean's doctors have told us that when he's able to drive again in the future, it will have to be an automatic, not a manual transmission. But it definitely a bittersweet day at least for me, as I know that Sean as well as mom and I all share a mutual love of driving to clear our heads, and think through things.
We got used to driving when we lived in the picturesque mountain community of Wrightwood, CA, which was nestled in the San Gabriel mountains. As beautiful as it was, certain things like a wide variety of shopping options were limited to "going down the hill" as we used to say. It was a 30 minute drive to my dad's work at George Air Force Base (which has since closed), approximately 30 minutes to Victorville, an hour to San Bernadino but just over 2 to get to Disneyland or Magic Mountian, Barstow was 4 1/2 to go to the Outlet Mall or on the way to Las Vegas which was a little over 6 1/2 if I remember correctly (depending on traffic of course). Driving to us was no big deal and we would trek all over Southern California to Sean's many basketball games or tournaments.
Anyway, it's amazing the little things that we take for granted until they're taken away from us. I look forward to the day that Sean will be able to drive again and everyday I thank God that Sean's still with us and for every progress he makes. No matter what sibling rivalry we may have had in the past, I'm so glad that he's here and part of our lives. He is truly a living example of God's wonder and his will and fight to survive over unspeakable odds as 99 out of 100 people would not have made it out of the operating room after his initial emergency surgery January 15th, let alone continued to battle, survive and thrive after all the obstacles that have been thrown at him so far. We have some wonderful guardian angels watching over our family and I am eternally grateful and blessed to have them watching over all those that are so precious to me.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Update #50, August 14th

Friday, August 14, 2009

#50 Update, August 14th
Today was the first time we saw any frustration in Sean. One of his medications was changed to a lower level and it will now be increased back. He is getting stronger everyday. The right side of his body is showing great improvement in coordination. We have been playing some of his CDs and he will occasionally sing along with them. I thought the other day he was going to get up and dance but he didn't. Steady and sure is the course.Thanks for continuing to pray for him and us, we feel it and know it helps a lot.
Posted by Paul and Andrea Knott at 10:52 PM

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Update #49, August 4th, 2009

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

#49, August 4, 2009

Yesterday we took Sean to Gunnison, Colorado, to see two of his friends from high school, Jeff & Annie Steinmann. Jeff & Sean played basketball together; Annie was Sean's classmate (Serrano High School, Class of '90) and his junior prom date, whom he introduced to Jeff who graduated a year ahead of them (Serrano HS '89). They were staying in southwestern Colorado with their family, and Gunnison is about halfway between us and them. He enjoyed spending time in his Hummer (the H3 in his profile picture) and seeing them for the first time in about seven years. He had some trouble recognizing the kids, which is normal. The day was really nice - not too hot or cold, and enough clouds to let us enjoy the park.
On the way back, Sean was able to handle his drink by himself and take sips on his schedule, which indicates that he is regaining dexterity in his hands.
We'll post some photos so that you can see the Knotts and the Steinmanns.