Not the perfect way to spend a birthday...

but it wasn't bad. She had her favorite meal, B-dubs wings, orange soda and rocky road ice cream. We had cake, but she asked us not to sing =) She got some comfy clothes to wear, and we showed her our tatoos. However, she was on the blog today and knew all about it already!!

That's right, she read the entire blog yesterday. Said it was very nice but made her sad. I am setting it up right now so she can get on her and blog herself real soon!!!

Look for a blog from Cassidy in the next few days!

Aunt B

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Today is Cassidy's 19th Birthday!!!

Happy Birthday baby girl!!

Send her a birthday wish via her email address and I will be sure she gets them!!

starcassidy@live.com

Aunt B

Her Boys

She loved her visit from her boys!! They sat next to her, held her hand, and she loved on them, kissed them and whispered things into their ears. She needed that, she loved it, and they loved it!! So cute!!!

She is just getting better every day!! She is getting more and more like herself. Its just like it use to be hanging out with her....she just doesn't have a whole lot to talk about =)

My blogs are getting shorter and shorter, I know. There just isn't' much going on with her, except therapy and getting better and stronger everyday!!

Aunt B

Another good day..

She is getting stronger and stronger everyday!! I love it!!!

We are headed up there this afternoon with my boys!! They are SOO excited! They haven't seen her yet. I'm sure it will go fine, she is doing much better and she looks like herself, just laying in a bed...she's going to love it!!!

I'll blog after our trip.

...keep praying...

Aunt B

Getting better everyday...

She is more and more herself everyday I see her!! I love it.

I got to sit in on her meeting this morning with her therapists and her doctors. It is great to see that they believe she is doing a miraculous job on recovering. It is not fast enough for us, of course, but they are amazed at the speed she is recovering. It is so nice to hear that from the professionals.

She was so happy to see me today!! She told me all about her therapy, and we talked about Randy Moss and Reggie Wayne. She had a few visitors, but she was very tired. She told me she worked hard in therapy today. I keep telling her if she wants to get out of the hospital, she need to keep working hard.

She is doing wonderful....I couldn't be more proud of all her hard work and dedication.

Aunt B

Good Weekend

She had a good weekend! Still bright eyed and talking more then ever!

One of her friends brought her Buffalo Wild Wings, and I heard she WOLFED them down!! So fast, in fact, they where worried she would choke!! They took her outside on Saturday, and she enjoyed that...except that it was TOO BRIGHT!! She can't live without her sunglasses =)

I talked to her on the phone today!! Still a horse whisper....one of the sweetest sounds I've ever heard!

I am off to see her tomorrow, I can't wait.

Aunt B

Just simply a Miracle....

...it really is. She was amazing yesterday. Talking up a STORM in this cute little horse whisper voice. She says her throat hurts because of the tubes and the oxygen, I'm sure. She says she loves you BUNCHES, and is so sincere and so sweet. She asks a lot of questions, and tells us about her journey she had while asleep. Her short term memory is not working yet (she doesn't remember yesterday) but she remembers everything before the accident and she remembers all of us =)

Her speech therapist yesterday told her mother we are witnessing nothing short of a miracle. She NEVER expected Cassidy to be talking at this rate for a least another 2 months!! She said it was simply amazing.

I want to THANK ALL OF YOU for the miracle. If it wasn't for all of YOU, praying, thinking, wishing, hoping for Cassidy to recover HE may of never returned her to us....

THANK YOU...you all are truly amazing.

Aunt B

OFFICIALLY AWAKE!!

Well, we thought what we where seeing was her being awake..but that is not the case. She is AWAKE, talking and telling us about her adventure while she was sleeping.

She doesn't remember much before today. She has bits and pieces...like she doesn't remember going to the doctor yesterday, but she is still saying she had 50 staples taken out. She was asking for Uncle Gregg, so he made a visit after work. They talked about the emails and blog, she remembers hearing about the blog, but doesn't remember the emails. Not to worry, I have all of them printed out and I will take them tomorrow for her to read.

She asked what happened to her. We said she was in a bad car accident...she asked if the other person was ok!!!! God love her, she was worried about the other driver!!

She also talked about her angels, her grandfather and her sister. She said she saw them, and she knows they saved her life.


...thank you Daddy and Celina...

Aunt B

Kicking butt, taking names!

She is trying to talk more! She whispered the nurses name this morning. Eating and doing some therapy, that's the agenda for today.

My sister will be there tonight and I am headed up to see her tomorrow afternoon, so I'll blog more tomorrow evening, kay!

Thank you to everyone with all your thoughts, prayers and emails. I can't WAIT until she is well enough to read this blog, and understand what support she had!

Aunt B

Looking Good!

The Uncle Greggester went and seen her on his lunch break today! She had just got back from the doctors office. She had 50 staples removed...and she told Gregg herself, in a whisper, "FIFTY"!! I tell ya, the tube was stopping her from talking!!!

She also had her neck brace off, and holding her head up just fine. Gregg said she looked great, looked like Cassidy, hanging out in a bed!!

She had Cream of Wheat for breakfast, drinking out of straw and fed HERSELF some pureed mashed potoatoes and chicken!!! You GO GIRL!!!

Progress, progress....love it!!!

Keep those prayers going, it is working!!

Aunt B

Tired Girls..

Cassidy and Aunt B =)

Sorry such a late update, I just walked in the door from the hospital an hour ago.

Had a great visit with my girl. She worked hard in therapy this morning and was very tired. She enjoyed just chillin' with Aunt B and watching the Bill Cosby show =)

She decided to go ahead and take her feeding tube out all by herself last night =) They did the swallow test, and she is doing good. They do have a Pick in her to get some good food to her, but no more tube. She is eating a little bit of apple sauce and ice chips. Her mom is going to try chocolate pudding tonight =)

This stuff about her not being able to talk is CRAZY!! That girl had me lean down and she was mouthing something? I said what? You need to whisper it? I put my ear down again and I heard "GREGG" in a whisper. I said "Your Uncle GREGG?" She then wrote on her board "when he come see me?" !!!!!!! That little SNOT!! =) She loves her Gregg!! She just LITE up when he visited her this weekend and was hanging on his every word...too adorable!!

She has an adventure tomorrow, she is headed to the doctor by AMBULANCE! She thought that sounded like fun! She has an appointment with the doc that did her fancy surgery on her hip and leg...just a follow up. He will be so excited to see her smile.

Until tomorrow....

Aunt B

Moving right along...

Meeting with Doctors went well. I haven't got the details from my sister yet, but I'll be hanging with her all day tomorrow.

Speech Therapist was with Cassidy today. She is doing good on swallowing, and they are going to try and take her feeding tube out and see if she can eat. They think maybe the tube is preventing her from eating or talking...we shall see. Big day tomorrow...can't wait!!

I will blog tomorrow for sure, I'll be up there myself. Can't wait!! I love seeing her smile these days!!!

Aunt B

Makes me SOOO happy!!

She is doing even BETTER today!!

I couldn't wait for Uncle Greggster any longer...hes a busy man.

She got to wear her Colts Jersey today, sat up and watched the game...doing much better!! She still cannot talk, eat or completely hold her head up yet, but she is making progress!!!

Meeting with the doctors tomorrow and more therapy. She's getting there!!!

CORRECTION: The PLAN was for her to watch the game, but she was unable too due to the Brighthouse/Channel 8 thing...

Aunt B

Thanks GIRLS!!

Thank you B-Dub (Buffalo Wild Wings) girls!! We talked to a few of you, and decided to take your tips and buy Cassidy a brand new 120GB Zune!!! (like an IPOD) We went with this because it seemed to be the most space for your money and has a MUCH bigger screen and easier buttons for navigation. We are hoping this will help with her hand and eye coordination and give her some sanity by having some of her music.

How WONDERFUL you all are to donate your tips!! And we will make sure SHE KNOWS you girls bought it for her!!!

I have about 20 CD’s of hers that I am going to get to MP3’s and put on the Zune. If there is any song that you just know Cassidy would LOVE to have on her new Zune, please email me at starcassidy@live.com the Title and the artist. Once I get a list compiled, I will download them.

Think of the song she ALWAYS turned up on the radio in the car…or the song you ALWAYS HAD to listen to and sing at the top of your lungs!! Music can take you back to a very specific time and place in your life just by hearing THAT song….let’s do that for her and help her escape every now and then….just make sure it is a HAPPY memory, kay =)

Thanks girls!!

Aunt B

PS We DID visit today and she is doing good! I’m going to get Uncle Gregg to blog on that later!

NEW INK

My family and I got tattoos in honor of Cassidy last night. If you know Cassidy, you know she will LOVE this. She has 3 herself. It is a cross with the letter C in it surrounded by shooting stars. Her mother, her 2 sisters, me and her GRANDMOTHER got it!! That's right, my mother got her first tattoo at the age of 70 for Cassidy!!! She ROCKS!!

Cassidy is doing good today. Going thru therapy and sleeping well after being stimulated all day. I really like this place, I think they are going to do great things with Cassidy.

Uncle Greggster plans on making a visit on Saturday, maybe I can get him back on here with all his wisdom and blog =)

Love you all!

Aunt B

WHAT PROGRESS!!!

She was sitting up in a wheelchair when I got there!! Lots of therapist in and out making her do things so we can see just what she is capable of.

And her EYES!! My gosh, they are wide open and beautiful!!! She will look right at you with her big doe eyes...so beautiful. I read her all your emails...she loved it. I had her FULL attention when I was reading those. Some made her laugh, some made her cry...and we got BIG smiles out of her!! It really does help to have those to read to her. Especially the ones that talk about what YOU are doing, or how you are missing her in your daily life...or recalling a funny time that she has had with you...those where the ones she enjoyed the most!! Loved it!!!

It is heartbreaking to watch in one sense and then you are also so EXCITED just to see her sitting up and alive. Mixed emotions, I tell ya.

The staff at the rehab center is WONDERFUL. They all seem VERY surprised that it was her first day there, and they are positive she is going to make a full recovery. You should see the look of surprise they have on their faces as they watch her determination and will to do what they ask. They have no idea how much of a fighter this little girl is...and how determined she can be!

Love the place and loved the progress! We did talk to the nurses and they thought a schedule for visitors was a GREAT idea!! They really do not want her over stimulated or too many visitors at once. The schedule is the plan, and we will start in a few weeks. They wanted to wait until she is settled in, resting and maybe communicating a little better so she won't be so frustrated when you do get to visit. We'll get ya up there, promise. It is just a lot for her to take right now.

Keep those emails coming...it is a great way for you to communicate with her right now, and I think she really enjoyed it.

...keep praying for a FULL recovery so we get the old Cassidy back!......

See my girl today!

I'm going to see my girl today. I've been away too long. I want to check out the new place myself and see her smiling face.

Her mom said she slept pretty well last night, even got herself all curled up and snoring...a cute delicate snore, of course =)

I'm taking some of your emails....if she is up for it, I'll be reading them to her today...I can't wait.

I'll blog more after I return.

Aunt B

SORRY!!

Busy day for me and Cassidy!!

I was unable to help Cassidy today, but she did get moved to a rehab facility on the east side. The speech therapist did pay a visit this morning. It has been determined that due to the brain damage she has suffered, she can not talk or eat right now. She WILL over come this in therapy and this is one of the FIRST things they will be working on.

The new facility has strict rules and strict visiting hours. I believe we are going to try and come up with some sort of schedule in the next few weeks so some of you can start visiting. We need to let her settle and let the therapist start doing their jobs.

I hope to be contacting some of you in a few weeks to set up some visits...only time will tell.

Cassidy is embarking on a whole new chapter in her life, and a very hard one. This is going to be so hard on all of us to watch her go through this. I fully believe she will come out of this...maybe even stronger then before, but that does not make the road to success easy.

...keep praying....

Aunt B

...Waiting...

We are still waiting on the evaluation to see if she is getting moved today or what is happening next.

She was restless last night. She's having a hard time. She can't quit wake up all the way yet, and I think she is sick of just sitting there. We all know she never sits still for long.

I hope the evaluation and the move will help stimulate her brain and get her moving in the right direction.

I'll let you know as soon as I know something...

Aunt B

Doing good!

She just keeps getting better and better!! They moved her out of ICU into just a regular room. She will be evaluated this week to see what facility she will need next for rehabilitation and therapy.

The moved wore her out, but she is stronger then ever!! I just can't believe it!! She is doing better and better everyday!! She still isn't talking, sitting up, eating or swallowing YET but that is all to come in time!!