Recovery Almost Complete - The Pins are out!

Wow, it's been forever since I updated this, so I probably need to put a bit of closure on it.

As mentioned previously her doctor convinced her to keep the brace and pins in her right leg a bit longer. He loosened them to make it easier to move, but he really wanted to be sure the bones were solid. He probably could tell how active she was going to be. ;-)

The good news is that he removed the pins and braces a few weeks ago. Jomie did it without anesthetic just so she would not have to be put under in surgery. I gather it was not pleasant, but she got through it.

She's been walking with the help of the walker to get use to putting more weight on the leg and apparently is doing great. Ever time I hear about weed-eating or trimming trees I get nervous, but it seems she's progressing well. She's suppose to be able to go swimming in a few weeks, once the incisions have healed from where the pins were inserted.

From here on it's mostly just getting her muscles stronger and coordination back.

She is also making plans to have Kenny's ashes spread in the bay, as they did with Shawn years ago. We'll be going down there in December for that and to catch up with everyone.

As always, if you have any questions you are welcome to email me or even just call Jomie via Skype. Email me for her Skype user name. The name will remind you that Kenny came up with it. ;-)

Road to recovery....just got paved!

Jomie visited Dr. Luna in Tepic today hoping to get the pins and braces off....she almost got her wish.

Rather than taking the pins and rods off and replacing them with another external brace Dr. Luna loosened the rods so she could put full weight on her leg and had her walk up and down the hall three times to make sure she was stable.  He has asked her to stay in the current configuration for another month.  In May he promised to take all the hardware off and she should be good to start walking with just a cane for support while her muscles strengthen.

Jomie has been tenacious in exercising her muscles while in the pins and rods and says she feels very strong. The bones are healing very nicely, so another month of transition time will really pay dividends and minimize the risk or a repeat fracture due to incomplete healing.

We couldn't ask for a better prognosis...other than her being nine years old and healing in 10 weeks. ;-)

Jomie's Thank You

Jomie had a thank you to her friends and family published in the Jaltemba Sol today. I thought I'd share it here also...

As many of you know, Kenny and I have made the communities of Guayabitos and La Penita a major part of our lives for over 20 years. In a community made up of people from all walks of life, income levels and ethnic backgrounds, Kenny always seemed to find a way to be part of each group.  While on the surface he was a classic gringo, his background as a common working man made it easy for him to be part of the Mexican community, also.  He dearly loved the simplicity of Mexico.  I guess what I'm trying to say, with the help of my family, is that even being close to so many of you reading this, I truly had no idea the impact Kenny had made on local citizens and area visitors....at least not until it truly overwhelmed me during the lovely recent music festival and fundraiser, and of course the horseshoe tournament that followed.  When folks come up and explain how Kenny had changed their life or break down and cry just by talking about him, and it's people I've never really remembered meeting, you just know that this is what was meant by the phrase "pass it on."

By necessity and background I'm a very pragmatic person, but please, let there be no doubt, how much I humbly and with great gratitude thank all of the local and far-flung community of friends and extended family for what they've provided to me and my immediate family at this sad point in our lives.  I know and appreciate that their support is as much to show their love and respect for Kenny as it is help with my medical expenses.

Jomie

Valentine's Day

We haven't been posting much as Jomie is healing as expected.  She visited the orthopedic doctor in Tepic this past week and he asked her to start putting some weight on the right leg with the two broken bones.  He's got her starting with 10 lbs of pressure, along with a bit more movement of the leg.

She'll go back in March and we'll see how the bones are healing. As mentioned before, she has a retired physical therapist (Nanna) working with her, at least until she(Nanna) heads back north in April. Along with all the other support she has been a real find at this stage of recovery.

Just talking to Jomie we can tell she is probably more troubled by her inability to adequately express her thanks to all her friends for what they've done over the past three months. ;-)

More as we hear about it....

Happy Valentines Day...

Tuesday Night - Concert Results

Wow, what a Sunday.  Tonya is talking to Jomie now and she's still overwhelmed with the whole thing.  Just talking and talking about the bands, the people and the emotions shared during that day.

Just some highlights...

Restaurants in town closed so everyone could attend the concert.

Girlfriends line dancing to "All my Ex's live in Texas" in Kenny's honor in front of Jomie.

They were selling Jomie Dolls. ;-)

The last sausage Kenny ever made was auctioned off by the original buyer.  Original cost was $100 Pesos...it went for $1000 Pesos!

Jomie was there the whole day, Noon to 10PM, and had a blast, talking to folks she knew, folks only Kenny knew and most anyone that just wanted to come and party.  Folks would come up and just need to tell her how much Kenny meant to them, like the lady that had met Kenny at Lover's Beach last year and said he just changed their lives.  They came back this year looking forward to see him again and found themselves at the concert in remembrance.

They even has some folks that flew in from Canada just for the concert and to remember Kenny and help Jomie.

The amount of work that went into this was remarkable.  Folks that never come out and dance were there, even groups that don't socialize normally were working together to make this a tremendous event.  

And a special thanks to the team that sanitized the bathroom at the soccer field. ;-)

More info here....

Jaltemba Sol Front Page

Pictures, Donors and Volunteers

Thursday PM

Talked to Jomie tonight and got caught up a bit.  She sounded as energetic as always and is looking forward to April when the pins, etc. are removed from her right leg.  The afternoon naps are helping.

Banking in Mexico is not quite like it is here, but with some help from her friends she was able to open up an account in her name, which will help us take care of some financial matters locally. She was also able to take care of some other mundane, but critical admin items that needed to be done under the circumstances.

She was wondering why her ribs were still sore and I mentioned that the fact that she's doing a push-up on the walker every time she moves around may have something to do with it...not to mention these are the same ribs that were severely bruised. ;-)

Lots of activity going on in preparation for the fundraiser on Sunday.  The music festival will be an all-day event, but they are going to have a recliner for her to rest on during the day. It was obvious she was looking forward to seeing everyone.  She continues to be astounded by the number of people that are helping out.  For readers that have never been down there it's hard to appreciate the help both Kenny and Jomie have provided to various folks down there, which is being passed on is spades.

Kenny's karma is coming back in full force.

Friday PM

Check out the latest on the Jaltemba Sol... 

by Redneck Mothers on Thu Jan 08, 2009 7:31 am

Kenny would do anything to promote music. For example, he and Jomie went to Beaumont, on their vacation, just to do video for our little clip on "Down In Beaumont." 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvPoKGyWVSs !

The Redneck Mothers are a premier band in the Puerto Vallarta area with roots in La Penita & Guayabitos, with close ties with Kenny. I knew Kenny loved music, but I never realize how visual he could be. The footage Kenny shot is pretty insightful, particularly with the sound track.

Check it out...

Thursday PM - All is well

Stan and Eleanor got her to Tepic and back, though I gather it was more stressful on Stan driving than for Jomie in surgery. ;-)

Per Sydnee...

"Doctor is very pleased with the way things went today, and very pleased with Jomie's progress.  Cleaning to be done once a week and stitches to come out in 15 days ....  Patient to return to Tepic in one month."

Thursday AM - Benefit Music Festival News

Ben and Dot at the Jaltemba Sol have done a great job helping to organize and get the word out about the benefit concert.

Some recent links on regional publications:

PV Scene

Banderas News

I hope they can handle the crowds if this really starts to draw outside La Penita and Guayabitos. ;-)

(Jomie should be having her minor surgery right now, so no updates yet.)

Tuesday PM

Jomie had her checkup with Dr. Luna in Tepic today.  He was very pleased with how the burns were healing and was very impressed that she had not developed any infections.

X-rays did show a bit too much space between a couple of the bones so she will go back on Thursday to  have them repositioned together.  It will be done on an outpatient basis, so hopefully no surprises.

We'll update everyone after this surgery, most likely on Friday.

Stay safe....

Sunday PM

We talked to Jomie this afternoon.  She's been working with a retired physical therapist who has done wonders in showing her how to efficiently move her body from bed to chair, etc., without putting her "don't touch the ground leg" at risk.  At this point she is able to move around her room and even out to the kitchen where everyone hangs out, just using the walker.  This has also begun to build up her upper body strength.

Not much else happening.  She still gets a steady stream of visitors and is looking forward to seeing her orthopedic surgeon this week....which means a trip back to Tepic and the first time she's traveled in anything but an ambulance for the last four weeks.

She pretty much communicates outside Mexico via Skype, but I have started to push her to learn how to read her email, etc., but not enough to publish her address yet. ;-)

Next update will most likely be after the doctor visit, mid-week or so.

Happy New Year!

Tonya and I just got off of Skype with Jomie.  The local doctor redressed her wounds today and continues to be pleased with the progress.  Most all the abrasion burns and stitches are healed.  The doctor cleaned the pins and rewrapped the leg and all looks good.  She goes back to Tepic for a checkup by Dr. Luna, her orthopedic surgeon, next week.

She's getting around her bedroom with the walker without any help, but generally stays in the wheelchair when she's out of bed.

They 'partied' at the house last night, mostly listening to the local fireworks.  She got invited out a number of times, but decided not to push her luck just yet.  Got my vote, for sure. 

Not much else to report, but she will have a Skye phone in a few weeks, courtesy of Teresa, so it will be easier for her to send/receive calls. Basically it's like a regular phone, but connects wirelessly to the Internet for accessing Skype.

If anyone has any questions, just email me.   

Monday PM

Just a quick note for readers of his blog to check out the Monday night edition of the Jaltemba Sol.  They have a great poster up about the Benefit/Music Festival...and more importantly a great picture of Kenny.

http://www.jaltembasol.com/

(Scroll down a bit)

Enjoy...

Sunday PM

We finally got to talk to Jomie last night on Skype. She was in good spirits with friends continuing to come by and visit. Christmas was fun with food and friends showing up. Even Eleanor and Stan got a break to go to a party as Sydnee assumed Jomie-watching duty.

Her local doctor came by and removed her remaining stitches, cleaned all the dressings and pins and wrapped her back up. He was very pleased with her progress, particularly with the healing of the abrasion burns.  He'll be back next week for another cleaning, then the following week she's off to Tepic for a check-up with her orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Gilberto Luna.

Not much else to report and she's probably the warmest of anyone reading this blog, since it was in the 30s(F) even here in San Antonio last night.

If you want her Skype address or other info, just email me.