Friday, September 30th, 2005 (New Format) ~ Tracy had another great night's sleep. Linda and Mom showered and shampooed Tracy and got her ready for 11 AM Vital Stim swallowing therapy at Georgetown. When they arrived, Tracy's Speech Therapist applied the electrodes to Tracy's throat and turned on the Vital Stim. Tracy started swallowing almost immediately. Then, the therapist gave Tracy a sip of the watered down nectar consistency lemon water. Tracy swallowed right away. She kept swallowing in a timely manner throughout the session after each sip. She had her best session ever, an all time high of 39 swallows! Mom and the therapist were so happy! Please continue to pray that Tracy keeps improving at each session. She has completed four out of the twelve sessions with eight more sessions to go. When these are completed, Tracy will have another Modified Barium Swallow test. Dad made it safely to Bahrain and was able to meet his cousin Phillip Jr., who lives in Saudi Arabia, for dinner. This evening, Mom, Tiffany and Sasha took Tracy to Pentagon Row for girls night out to have dinner at Lebanese Taverna and then to Starbucks for some lattes. They had a great time. We are excited that Mamaw is coming on Saturday. Lesson of the day: Balancing Heaven and Earth : Importance of Being Grounded.

Thursday, September 29th, 2005 (New Format) ~ Tracy had another great night's sleep. Linda and Mom bathed Tracy and got her ready for the day. Tracy did not have any outpatient therapy today. Mom and Linda got Tracy in her chair and out on the balcony for some sunshine. Linda did Tracy's eyebrows, while Mom gave Tracy a manicure. Tracy sure does love her spa days. Then Linda gave Tracy a facial. She really relaxed and enjoyed it. This afternoon, Duncan came over to do Physical Therapy with Tracy. He spent an hour ranging and stetching all her extremities. He spent a lot of time stretching Tracy's hips and trunk, working with her core muscles. Then Mom, Duncan, and Tiffany got Tracy prone over the peanut ball. She tolerated 30 minutes in this position, weight bearing through her knees. After PT, Emil came by and gave Tracy and Mom a massage. Both were long overdue! Dad left for Kuwait this evening and will be gone for a week. He will return next Thursday. Please say a prayer that he arrives safely. We are looking forward to Mamaw coming this Saturday. She will be with us until next Thursday. Tracy's friend Nick is also planning to come this Saturday for a visit. Lesson of the day: Harmony With Nature : Organic Earth.

Wednesday, September 28th, 2005 (New Format) ~ Tracy slept well again last night. Linda and Mom showered and shampooed Tracy and got her ready for her day. Tracy does not have any outpatient therapy today, so Mom, Linda and Gloria plan to take Tracy for a walk on the Mt. Vernon Trail in her jogger. It is a beautiful day, cool in the morning and warm in the sunshine. After Tracy's bath, Gloria arrived and they transferred Tracy to her jogger. They hit the trail, destination the Potowmack Marina in Alexandria. There were a lot of people out on the trail, biking, running and rollerblading. Tracy seemed to really enjoy the sunshine and the fresh air. It was great for everyone to get out and enjoy the day. At 1 PM, Jen came by to do Physical Therapy with Tracy. After an hour of stretching, Jen, Mom and Linda got Tracy on her tummy (prone) for 35 to 40 minutes on the mat. She really relaxed in this position and Jen took advantage of the opportunity to really stretch Tracy's right hip, feet and ankles. Tracy did a good job lifting her head to look in the mirror. Lesson of the day: Healthful Slumber : The Importance of Sleep.

Tuesday, September 27th, 2005 (New Format) ~ Tracy had a good night's sleep last night. Linda and Mom bathed Tracy and put her in her chair to enjoy the beautiful weather out on the balcony. She listened to the tapes that Lisa Spencer gave her on "The Power Within". She really relaxed and enjoyed the time outside and the inspirational tapes. Mom gave her a manicure and Linda did Tracy's makeup. This afternoon, Linda and Mom took Tracy to her Vital Stim session at Georgetown. She started using a chewing motion with her mouth for the first time and swollowed 4 times. Although this was not as much as last time, the new movement of her mouth is promising. On returning home, Duncan worked on range of motion of all Tracy's joints and extremities, paying special attention to her neck and hips. Then Duncan positioned Tracy on the edge of the mat to practice head and trunk control. He then moved Tracy gently side to side, and front and back, with much better control of her head and with no indication of being dizzy. Tracy has also been turning her head more easily to the right these days and focusing her eyes better. This evening, one of Dads oldest and dearest friends from the Navy, Ross and Patricia visited us. It was great seeing them. Lesson of the day: A Cycle of Reflection: Changing of Seasons

Monday, September 26th, 2005 (New Format) ~ Welcome to Tracy's web site! We update this site as frequently as possible in hopes to keep you all posted on Tracy's continued progress. Please let me know if you find an error. Thank you for visiting us and feel free to write Tracy a note in her Guest Book! Your emails mean so much to Tracy and the entire Anzalone family. Current Events: Tracy had a good night's sleep last night. Mom and Tiffany made it back to Crystal City by 7:45 AM in time for Dad to go to work. They flew all night long and were happy when the wheels finally touched down at Reagan National Airport. They had a great time in San Luis Obispo and now realize why Arnold Swattzenager is Governor of California. It is a foreign country! It could be it is further away from the East coast than Europe! Linda and Mom showered Tracy and shampooed her hair this morning in record time since she had 9:00 AM PT with Jen. She really enjoyed her shower (What girl wouldn't?) Jen spent an hour ranging and sretching every joint and extremity and then Mom and Jen sat Tracy up on the edge of the mat for her to practice head and trunk control. She is sitting much squarer and relaxing her right leg down a lot better. We are working towards the goal of Tracy being able to balance herself on a horse, so these skill and balance building sessions are very important. When PT was over, Linda gave Tracy a pedicure and a facial. Tracy really loves her spa days. Tomorrow, Linda will give Tracy a manicure. She is doing a very good job and has really connected with Tracy. This afternoon, Linda and Mom took Tracy to her Speech Session at George Washington University Speech and Hearing Clinic. Melissa and Jen spent time playing different songs for Tracy to see if she likes them. They played the Wallflowers CD which is one of her favorites. Jen and Melissa asked Tracy if she liked football and she blinked twice for YES (Of course, what were they thinking?). Then they asked her if the Miami Hurricanes won last Saturday and again she blinked twice for YES! They asked if her Mom was at home last weekend and Tracy shook her head NO! One of the augmentative technology supervisors came into the observation room to see Tracy in action and to ask Mom some questions about Tracy's upper extremity mobility. We are hopeful that Tracy will be able to use an augmentative communication system in the future. Keep praying for Tracy to help us find an appropriate system of communication. Tracy was a little sleepy during her session despite Mom stretching her arms and using a cold cloth on her face. Linda was working on some sensory stimulation on her feet as well. It was a dreary day and maybe the weather in combination with decreased sleep last weekend finally caught up with our girl. This evening, Emil came by to give Tracy a much needed massage. She was very relaxed and really seemed to enjoy her massage. Lesson of the day: Hidden Treasures : Finding Another Vantage Point

Sunday, September 25th, 2005 (New Format) ~ Welcome to Tracy's web site! We update this site as frequently as possible in hopes to keep you all posted on Tracy's continued progress. Please let me know if you find an error. Thank you for visiting us and feel free to write Tracy a note in her Guest Book! Your emails mean so much to Tracy and the entire Anzalone family. Current Events: Tracy is feeling much better since Dad and Sasha took her to the ER at Bethesda to get a chest x-ray and for the doctor to listen to her lungs. She was totally clear and her chest x-ray was normal which was a relief. She has had some productive coughing since her all-nighter Friday night which seemed to clear her congestion. Tracy slept much better last night. This morning, Dad and Janneth got Tracy bathed and ready for 12 noon Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Church. Mom and Tiffany are trying to make their way back to DC. Their 12:22 flight was canceled and they had to rebook their flight on the 3:30 PM from San Luis Obispo to Phoenix. They are planning to connect in (you guessed it) Las Vegas again, just like their flight last Wednesday that turned into the Red Eye! They are supposed to arrive in DC at 7:30 AM Monday morning! Nothing like a 12 hour flight across North America to bring the girls home! The wedding was right out of a fairy tale, complete with the old mission church, the Navy swordsmen arch for the new Bride and Groom to depart the church, the sword and champagne trick, and (you'll never believe it) "You've Lost That Loving Feeling" sung by the Navy pilots in their Top Gun uniforms (Admiral T leading the chorus)! It was fantastic! San Luis Obispo is a beautiful place, complete with many quaint wineries and great shopping. Mom loved the moderate, dry climate and all of the different types of fruit and herb trees and vineyards, especially the pomengranate and avocardo trees. There was eucalyptus, rosemary, sage and basil growing everywhere as well as lemon, lime and orange trees. Tracy rested well most of Sunday afternoon, making up for lost time last Friday night. She seems much more relaxed with the new Baclofen dosing schedule. Dad did a great job holding down the fort while Tiffany and Mom were away in California. It was wonderful for Mom and Tiffany to be there for our close friends the Tomaszeski's during such a blessed celebration of love and commitment. Liz and her family are always there for Tracy and our family and it felt good to be a part of such a special event. Thanks to Sasha, Gloria, Linda, Emil, Jen, Duncan and Janneth for all of their help. Everyone pitched in to do their part during the week. (Oh, by the way, Mom is back in control of the webpage and really likes the new format that Sasha and Dad created.) Lesson of the day: Walking Your Path: Living a Spiritual Life. Ongoing Events: The Countdown Begins! Less than TWO WEEKS and counting... MOM SET A NEW GOAL OF $1500 ! EVEN THOUGH SHE HAS MET HER GOAL, THERE'S STILL TIME TO DONATE! ~ DEADLINE TO DONATE ONLINE IS 11:59 PM, SEPTEMBER 28TH. ! ~ Please do not send checks since there is a three week turnaround time. Credit cards only! Mom is registered to ride the 50-mile leg of the Tour of Hope on October 8th to raise money for cancer research. Twenty four cancer survivors, advocates, caregivers, physicians and researchers have been selected to ride from San Diego to Washington, DC this fall as members of the Bristol-Myers Squibb Tour of Hope™, marking the third year of the cross-country journey. Driven by their ties to cancer, this team of avid cyclists will cover 3,300 miles of American landscape in nine days to share their experiences and inspire those they meet along the way to learn more about cancer research. Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong will lead the Team at the kick-off in San Diego and into Washington, DC for the finale, and will join the 2005 Tour of Hope Team at points along the route. Mom is riding in honor of Tracy, who although her struggle is with hypoxic brain injury and not cancer, she is a testimony to the "LIVESTRONG" philosophy! If you would like to make a donation in honor of Tracy in support of the Tour of Hope, please go to Deb's Fundraising Page. To make therapy more interesting for Tracy, we are showing her pictures of her friends, and would really appreciate some updated pictures from everyone! Please take a digital picture of your family and send it to drdebanz@aol.com. We will post them in a special album on Tracy's web site and show Tracy how many supporters she has out there! You may include a short message to cheer Tracy along in her therapy! (PS. This was Gloria's idea! She is going to make a scrapbook with all of the pictures and greetings that Tracy receives.) Mom is waiting for Tiffany to show her how to make the link to the album! Dad brought a very special gift to Tracy from his hometown parish pastor, Fr. McDuffy: rosaries personally given to him when he had a private audience at the Vatican with Pope John Paul II. These rosaries are very special because they are considered a secondary relic, something that the prospective saint has personally touched. Thank you cousin Frank Arthur for the beautiful St. Theresa medal. She is Tracy's patron saint. Pope Benedict XVI has approved an expedited process for Beatification and ultimate Sanctification of Pope John Paul II. Please pray to Pope John Paul II specifically requesting that he make Tracy one of the two miracles needed for his Sainthood! Here is his prayer: "Prayer for John Paul II's Intercession". We found Tracy's old files and want to share her last AP English Essay and a paper for her Biology Class from Gulf Breeze High School. This will give you some insight into how special she is and why she will come back to us. Here they are: BLESSED and Euthanasia: Filling God's Shoes. Alternative Therapy Plan Update: Jen, a first year Physical Therapy student in the doctorate of physical therapy program at Marymount, has been coming by to do Physical Therapy with Tracy two to three times per week, on alternate days from Duncan, a third year PT student in the same program. Tracy will be getting physical therapy six days a week! Mom is still working on Occupational Therapy. Tracy is going to George Washington University Speech and Hearing Clinic twice a week for cognitive/speech therapy. She is working with Melissa and Jen, graduate students in the Speech Language Pathology program. If anyone knows of any grants available that would apply to Tracy's needs, please email us at drdebanz@aol.com. We would appreciate any recommendations you may have. Mom is also working closely with Brain Injury Services of Northern Virginia to augment Tracy's therapy needs. The goal is to get her to the next level, so that she can participate more in her therapy and have a better quality of life. Tiffany is enjoying her internship with the USO. She is also busy working on writing her master's project and reading thirteen books (and writing 13 papers) for the Dean's class. Several months ago we featured Ashley Higgin's web site on this page. Ashley suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury nearly one year ago. To catch up on her story go to the link above. Have a great week and God bless!

Saturday, September 24th 11:15 PM (New Format) Welcome to Tracy's web site! We update this site as frequently as possible in hopes to keep you all posted on Tracy's continued progress. Please let me know if you find an error. Thank you for visiting us and feel free to write Tracy a note in her Guest Book! Your emails mean so much to Tracy and the entire Anzalone family.Current Events: Friday night Tracy did not rest well. I guess she is starting to miss Mom and Tiffany. Saturday morning, Janneth and Dad showered Tracy and have her ready to watch "SOME FOOTBALL". To start the day off right, Sasha went to Starbucks for some lattes and scones. Although this sounds great, we really do miss Mom and Tiffany. Both Universities of Miami, GO CANES, and Boston College, GO BC, won their games today. Dad has to wait for Monday night to watch LSU and Tennessee, GEAUX TIGERS. Dad and Sasha took Tracy to Bethesda to make sure everything was all right with Tracy. The ER nurse knew Dad from our time in Key West and everything went very smooth. Tracy passed all her tests and we were back home in 3 hours. It is always better to be cautious and for Dad to be Dad and not Tracy's Doctor. Mom and Tiffany are having a great time in San Luis Obispo where they are attending our good friends Liz and Steven Tomaszeski's son's wedding. They have visited several vineyards for wine tasting, hit some unique shops and Mom has even been able to get in some runs. The wedding was the most beautiful event Mom and Tiffany had ever seen. The bride and groom left the church through a tunnel created by Naval Officers' Swords. Seeing young men in choke white uniforms made Mom extremely happy she had married a Navy Man. They will be in California until Sunday night and Dad will be mister mom for one more day. He will have lots of help from Sasha, Gloria, Linda, Emil, Jen, Duncan and Janneth. Dad has one more day to write the page and he knows all of you reading this are looking forward to Mom and Tiffany regaining control of the keyboard.Lesson of the day:Will return when Mom gets back from the wedding in California. Recent Events:The Countdown Begins! Less than THREE WEEKS and counting... MOM SET A NEW GOAL OF $1500 ! THERE'S STILL TIME TO DONATE! ~ DEADLINE TO DONATE ONLINE IS 11:59 PM, SEPTEMBER 28TH. ! ~ Please do not send checks since there is a three week turnaround time. Credit cards only! Mom is registered to ride the 50-mile leg of the Tour of Hope on October 8th to raise money for cancer research. Twenty four cancer survivors, advocates, caregivers, physicians and researchers have been selected to ride from San Diego to Washington, DC this fall as members of the Bristol-Myers Squibb Tour of Hope™, marking the third year of the cross-country journey. Driven by their ties to cancer, this team of avid cyclists will cover 3,300 miles of American landscape in nine days to share their experiences and inspire those they meet along the way to learn more about cancer research. Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong will lead the Team at the kick-off in San Diego and into Washington, DC for the finale, and will join the 2005 Tour of Hope Team at points along the route. Mom is riding in honor of Tracy, who although her struggle is with hypoxic brain injury and not cancer, she is a testimony to the "LIVESTRONG" philosophy! If you would like to make a donation in honor of Tracy in support of the Tour of Hope, please go to Deb's Fundraising Page. To make therapy more interesting for Tracy, we are showing her pictures of her friends, and would really appreciate some updated pictures from everyone! Please take a digital picture of your family and send it to drdebanz@aol.com. We will post them in a special album on Tracy's web site and show Tracy how many supporters she has out there! You may include a short message to cheer Tracy along in her therapy! (PS. This was Gloria's idea! She is going to make a scrapbook with all of the pictures and greetings that Tracy receives.) Mom is waiting for Tiffany to show her how to make the link to the album!Dad brought a very special gift to Tracy from his hometown parish pastor, Fr. McDuffy: rosaries personally given to him when he had a private audience at the Vatican with Pope John Paul II. These rosaries are very special because they are considered a secondary relic, something that the prospective saint has personally touched. Thank you cousin Frank Arthur for the beautiful St. Theresa medal. She is Tracy's patron saint. Pope Benedict XVI has approved an expedited process for Beatification and ultimate Sanctification of Pope John Paul II. Please pray to Pope John Paul II specifically requesting that he make Tracy one of the two miracles needed for his Sainthood! Here is his prayer: "Prayer for John Paul II's Intercession". We found Tracy's old files and want to share her last AP English Essay and a paper for her Biology Class from Gulf Breeze High School. This will give you some insight into how special she is and why she will come back to us. Here they are: BLESSED and Euthanasia: Filling God's Shoes. Alternative Therapy Plan Update: Jen, a first year Physical Therapy student in the doctorate of physical therapy program at Marymount, will come by and work with Tracy. She will be coming about two to three times per week, on alternate days from Duncan, a third year PT student in the same program. Tracy will be getting physical therapy six days a week! Mom is still working on Occupational Therapy. Tracy is going to George Washington University Speech and Hearing Clinic twice a week for cognitive/speech therapy. She is working with Melissa and Jen, graduate students in the Speech Language Pathology program.Thank you to the Marinelli's for the beautiful Mass card for Tracy. We truly appreciate the many prayers, Masses, and Novenas that you send our way! If anyone knows of any grants available that would apply to Tracy's needs, please email us at drdebanz@aol.com. We would appreciate any recommendations you may have. Mom is also working closely with Brain Injury Services of Northern Virginia to augment Tracy's therapy needs. The goal is to get her to the next level, so that she can participate more in her therapy and have a better quality of life.Tiffany is enjoying her internship with the USO. She is also busy working on writing her master's project and reading thirteen books (and writing 13 papers) for the Dean's class.Several months ago we featured Ashley Higgin's web site on this page. Ashley suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury nearly one year ago. To catch up on her story go to the link above. Have a great weekend and God bless!

Friday, September 23rd and Saturday Morning, September 24th, 10:30 AM: ~ (New Format) Welcome to Tracy's web site! We update this site as frequently as possible in hopes to keep you all posted on Tracy's continued progress. Please let me know if you find an error. Thank you for visiting us and feel free to write Tracy a note in her Guest Book! Your emails mean so much to Tracy and the entire Anzalone family.Current Events: Tracy slept well on Thursday night. Friday morning, Dad and Linda bathed Tracy and got her ready for the day. After Tracy's bath, they brought Tracy to her exercise mat for some stretching before going to Georgetown Hospital for Vital Stim. Tracy did the best yet, she swallowed 29 times and we used lemon flavored thicken hydrolyte. Maybe Dad needs to do this every time. Dario, another good friend that keeps Mom and Tracy's hair looking great, came over to layer Tracy's hair. He did a great job and if possible, Tracy looks more beautiful than ever. Dad had to go to the Pentagon for 2 hrs on Friday afternoon and Debbie, another good friend that works with Dad, came over to help Linda with Tracy while Dad was gone. Sasha even came home early from work to make sure all went well with Tracy. Once Dad got back from work, Tracy, Sasha and Dad went out to get some dinner at one of the many local restaurants in Crystal City. They ended the night with some Ice Cream from Cold Stone Creamery. We all need to do this more often. Friday night Tracy did not rest well. I guess she is starting to miss Mom and Tiffany. Saturday morning, Janneth and Dad showered Tracy and have her ready to watch "SOME FOOTBALL". To start the day off right, Sasha went to Starbucks for some lattes and scones. Although this sounds great, we really do miss Mom and TiffanyMom and Tiffany are having a great time in San Luis Obispo where they are attending our good friends Liz and Steven Tomaszeski's son's wedding. They have visited several vineyards for wine tasting, hit some unique shops and Mom has even been able to get in some runs. They will be in California until Sunday night and Dad will be mister mom for another 2 days. He will have lots of help from Sasha, Gloria, Linda, Emil, Jen, Duncan and Janneth. The hardest thing will be for him (me) to write the webpage. So far so good! (-; Lesson of the day:Will return when Mom gets back from the wedding in California.Recent Events:The Countdown Begins! Less than THREE WEEKS and counting... MOM SET A NEW GOAL OF $1500 ! THERE'S STILL TIME TO DONATE! ~ DEADLINE TO DONATE ONLINE IS 11:59 PM, SEPTEMBER 28TH. ! ~ Please do not send checks since there is a three week turnaround time. Credit cards only! Mom is registered to ride the 50-mile leg of the Tour of Hope on October 8th to raise money for cancer research. Twenty four cancer survivors, advocates, caregivers, physicians and researchers have been selected to ride from San Diego to Washington, DC this fall as members of the Bristol-Myers Squibb Tour of Hope™, marking the third year of the cross-country journey. Driven by their ties to cancer, this team of avid cyclists will cover 3,300 miles of American landscape in nine days to share their experiences and inspire those they meet along the way to learn more about cancer research. Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong will lead the Team at the kick-off in San Diego and into Washington, DC for the finale, and will join the 2005 Tour of Hope Team at points along the route. Mom is riding in honor of Tracy, who although her struggle is with hypoxic brain injury and not cancer, she is a testimony to the "LIVESTRONG" philosophy! If you would like to make a donation in honor of Tracy in support of the Tour of Hope, please go to Deb's Fundraising Page. To make therapy more interesting for Tracy, we are showing her pictures of her friends, and would really appreciate some updated pictures from everyone! Please take a digital picture of your family and send it to drdebanz@aol.com. We will post them in a special album on Tracy's web site and show Tracy how many supporters she has out there! You may include a short message to cheer Tracy along in her therapy! (PS. This was Gloria's idea! She is going to make a scrapbook with all of the pictures and greetings that Tracy receives.) Mom is waiting for Tiffany to show her how to make the link to the album!Dad brought a very special gift to Tracy from his hometown parish pastor, Fr. McDuffy: rosaries personally given to him when he had a private audience at the Vatican with Pope John Paul II. These rosaries are very special because they are considered a secondary relic, something that the prospective saint has personally touched. Thank you cousin Frank Arthur for the beautiful St. Theresa medal. She is Tracy's patron saint. Pope Benedict XVI has approved an expedited process for Beatification and ultimate Sanctification of Pope John Paul II. Please pray to Pope John Paul II specifically requesting that he make Tracy one of the two miracles needed for his Sainthood! Here is his prayer: "Prayer for John Paul II's Intercession". We found Tracy's old files and want to share her last AP English Essay and a paper for her Biology Class from Gulf Breeze High School. This will give you some insight into how special she is and why she will come back to us. Here they are: BLESSED and Euthanasia: Filling God's Shoes. Alternative Therapy Plan Update: Jen, a first year Physical Therapy student in the doctorate of physical therapy program at Marymount, will come by and work with Tracy. She will be coming about two to three times per week, on alternate days from Duncan, a third year PT student in the same program. Tracy will be getting physical therapy six days a week! Mom is still working on Occupational Therapy. Tracy is going to George Washington University Speech and Hearing Clinic twice a week for cognitive/speech therapy. She is working with Melissa and Jen, graduate students in the Speech Language Pathology program.Thank you to the Marinelli's for the beautiful Mass card for Tracy. We truly appreciate the many prayers, Masses, and Novenas that you send our way! If anyone knows of any grants available that would apply to Tracy's needs, please email us at drdebanz@aol.com. We would appreciate any recommendations you may have. Mom is also working closely with Brain Injury Services of Northern Virginia to augment Tracy's therapy needs. The goal is to get her to the next level, so that she can participate more in her therapy and have a better quality of life.Tiffany is enjoying her internship with the USO. She is also busy working on writing her master's project and reading thirteen books (and writing 13 papers) for the Dean's class.Several months ago we featured Ashley Higgin's web site on this page. Ashley suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury nearly one year ago. To catch up on her story go to the link above. Have a great week and God bless!

Thursday, September 22nd, 2005 : ~ Lesson of the day will return when Mom gets back from the wedding in California.RESISTING CONTROL: Imposing Your Will On Others. The American spirit is resilient and is working to help the flood victims find a new beginning in response to adversity. People from all backgrounds are coming together to work as a team, to help the survivors of Hurricane Katrina. In the healing process, many of the displaced citizens of New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast are finding peace in the SERENITY OF KNOWING : Acceptance. You can click on Make a Donation to do your share or dial 1-800-HELP-NOW. We ask for your prayers for all of the people who have lost their families, loved ones, homes, businesses, jobs, and pets in New Orleans and the Gulf coast. Please pray in gratitude for all of the people who have opened their hearts and their homes to survivors of Hurricane Katrina.We are looking for a full time personal assistant to work with Tracy Monday through Friday 8 to 4 PM. If you know anyone who is around Tracy's age with similar interests (athletic, loves the outdoors, pool, travel, fashion, make up), has excellent organizational and caring skills and a lot of love to share with Tracy and our family please email Deb at drdebanz@aol.com We are so fortunate that Janneth has been helping Mom out 8 to 12 noon during the week until Mom can find a full-time person for weekdays. Janneth is Tracy's weekend personal assistant. Tracy had another good night's sleep. This morning, Dad and Linda showered Tracy and got her ready for the day. After Tracy's shower, they brought Tracy to her exercise mat for some stretching before going to George Washington University for Speech Therapy. Gloria joined Dad and Linda to help with Dad taking Tracy to therapy without Mom. Everything went great, Tracy received an hour of Therapy where she worked on answering yes and no, enjoying some Dave Mathews music and responding to some different aromas. Following Therapy, they all stopped for a relaxing outside lunch and enjoyed the beautiful fall day. Once they returned home, Dad showed Linda how to stretch Tracy. She is doing a great job getting to know Tracy and helping us with making sure Tracy gets the best care and love we can provide. Duncan came by to give Tracy some more stretching and he and Dad got Tracy on her knees with her trunk on the peanut. She almost made 20 minutes and overall did great. Finally, Emil gave Tracy a much needed massage and she really enjoyed his special touch. After all this therapy and with Dad trying to fill Mom's shoes, Sasha cooked her famous pasta, steamed veggie, and Italian chicken supper. It hit the spot after the busy day. Mom and Tiffany made it to San Luis Obispo to attend our good friends Liz and Steven Tomaszeski's son's wedding. They missed their connecting flight and had to add another leg to their trip. This made them arrive at the hotel at 4:30 AM our time, 1:30 Pacific time. They will be in California until Sunday night and Dad will be mister mom for another 3 days. He will have lots of help from Sasha, Gloria, Linda, Emil, Jen, Duncan and Janneth. The hardest thing will be for him (me) to write the webpage. So far so good! (-; Alternative Therapy Plan Update: Jen, a first year Physical Therapy student in the doctorate of physical therapy program at Marymount, will come by and work with Tracy. She will be coming about two to three times per week, on alternate days from Duncan, a third year PT student in the same program. Tracy will be getting physical therapy six days a week! Mom is still working on Occupational Therapy. Tracy is going to George Washington University Speech and Hearing Clinic twice a week for cognitive/speech therapy. She is working with Melissa and Jen, graduate students in the Speech Language Pathology program.Thank you to the Marinelli's for the beautiful Mass card for Tracy. We truly appreciate the many prayers, Masses, and Novenas that you send our way! If anyone knows of any grants available that would apply to Tracy's needs, please email us at drdebanz@aol.com. We would appreciate any recommendations you may have. Mom is also working closely with Brain Injury Services of Northern Virginia to augment Tracy's therapy needs. The goal is to get her to the next level, so that she can participate more in her therapy and have a better quality of life.Tiffany is enjoying her internship with the USO. She is also busy working on writing her master's project and reading thirteen books (and writing 13 papers) for the Dean's class.Several months ago we featured Ashley Higgin's web site on this page. Ashley suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury nearly one year ago. To catch up on her story go to the link above. Have a great week and God bless!

Wednesday, September 21st, 2005 : ~ Lesson of the day: RESISTING CONTROL: Imposing Your Will On Others. The American spirit is resilient and is working to help the flood victims find a new beginning in response to adversity. People from all backgrounds are coming together to work as a team, to help the survivors of Hurricane Katrina. In the healing process, many of the displaced citizens of New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast are finding peace in the SERENITY OF KNOWING : Acceptance. You can click on Make a Donation to do your share or dial 1-800-HELP-NOW. We ask for your prayers for all of the people who have lost their families, loved ones, homes, businesses, jobs, and pets in New Orleans and the Gulf coast. Please pray in gratitude for all of the people who have opened their hearts and their homes to survivors of Hurricane Katrina.We are looking for a full time personal assistant to work with Tracy Monday through Friday 8 to 4 PM. If you know anyone who is around Tracy's age with similar interests (athletic, loves the outdoors, pool, travel, fashion, make up), has excellent organizational and caring skills and a lot of love to share with Tracy and our family please email Deb at drdebanz@aol.com We are so fortunate that Janneth has been helping Mom out 8 to 12 noon during the week until Mom can find a full-time person for weekdays. Janneth is Tracy's weekend personal assistant. Tracy had another good night's sleep. This morning, Mom and Linda bathed Tracy and got her ready for the day. Linda started her trial week as Tracy's Personal Care Assistant. After many interviews, Mom and Dad selected Linda for the one week trial. It was a very difficult selection process with many qualified applicants. Two others were selected as alternates. We are looking forward to the week and getting to know Linda.After Tracy's bath, the maintenance contractors returned to finish cleaning up form the installation of the new climate control units. They painted the ceiling and walls in both Mom's and Tiffany's bedrooms. They look as good as new.This morning, Mom and Linda took Tracy to Georgetown Hospital for her Vital Stim. Tracy swallowed 7 times and tolerated startint back on her next set of 12 treatments. Once we got home, Jen came to do more stretching and range of motion with Tracy. After an hour of stretching, Jen, Linda and Mom got Tracy straddled on the peanut with her legs spread apart. Tracy was able to sit up tall with just a little bit of help. This will help her get ready to return to Lift Me Up for some horse back riding. The big news for today is Mom and Tiffany are on their way to San Luis Obispo to attend our good friends Liz and Steven Tomaszeski's son's wedding. They will be in California until Sunday night. Dad will be mister mom for the next 4 days. He will have lots of help from Sasha, Gloria, Linda, Emil, Jen, Duncan and Janneth. The hardest thing will be for him (me) to write the webpage. So far so good! (-; Alternative Therapy Plan Update: Jen, a first year Physical Therapy student in the doctorate of physical therapy program at Marymount, will come by and work with Tracy. She will be coming about two to three times per week, on alternate days from Duncan, a third year PT student in the same program. Tracy will be getting physical therapy six days a week! Mom is still working on Occupational Therapy. Tracy is going to George Washington University Speech and Hearing Clinic twice a week for cognitive/speech therapy. She is working with Melissa and Jen, graduate students in the Speech Language Pathology program.Thank you to the Marinelli's for the beautiful Mass card for Tracy. We truly appreciate the many prayers, Masses, and Novenas that you send our way! If anyone knows of any grants available that would apply to Tracy's needs, please email us at drdebanz@aol.com. We would appreciate any recommendations you may have. Mom is also working closely with Brain Injury Services of Northern Virginia to augment Tracy's therapy needs. The goal is to get her to the next level, so that she can participate more in her therapy and have a better quality of life.Tiffany is enjoying her internship with the USO. She is also busy working on writing her master's project and reading thirteen books (and writing 13 papers) for the Dean's class.Several months ago we featured Ashley Higgin's web site on this page. Ashley suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury nearly one year ago. To catch up on her story go to the link above. Have a great week and God bless!

Tuesday, September 20th, 2005 : ~ Lesson of the day: SERENITY OF KNOWING: Acceptance. "People don't behave as we'd wish them to, situations turn out differently than we'd imagined, and the end result is often unhappiness. The remedy is acceptance - an open-minded, understanding perception that brings the serenity of knowing every individual, situation, or difficulty is unique and valuable in some way." The American spirit is resilient and is working to help the flood victims find a new beginning in response to adversity. People from all backgrounds are coming together to work as a team, to help the survivors of Hurricane Katrina. In the healing process, many of the displaced citizens of New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast are finding peace in the SERENITY OF KNOWING : Acceptance. You can click on Make a Donation to do your share or dial 1-800-HELP-NOW. We ask for your prayers for all of the people who have lost their families, loved ones, homes, businesses, jobs, and pets in New Orleans and the Gulf coast. Please pray in gratitude for all of the people who have opened their hearts and their homes to survivors of Hurricane Katrina. We are looking for a full time personal assistant to work with Tracy Monday through Friday 8 to 4 PM. If you know anyone who is around Tracy's age with similar interests (athletic, loves the outdoors, pool, travel, fashion, make up), has excellent organizational and caring skills and a lot of love to share with Tracy and our family please email Deb at drdebanz@aol.com We are so fortunate that Janneth has been helping Mom out 8 to 12 noon during the week until Mom can find a full-time person for weekdays. Janneth is Tracy's weekend personal assistant. Tracy had another good night's sleep. This morning, Linda and Janneth showered and shampooed Tracy and got her ready for the day. Linda started her trial week as Tracy's Personal Care Assistant. After many interviews, Mom and Dad selected Linda for the one week trial. It was a very difficult selection process with many qualified applicants. Two others were selected as alternates. Janneth spent the morning training Linda. She will spend tomorrow morning finishing her training. We are looking forward to the week and getting to know Linda. Janneth has been doing a great job training Linda Monday and Tuesday from 8 to 12. After Tracy's shower, the maintenance contractors arrived to put in all new convectors. Mom is not going to know what to do without them flooding once a week! The new ones are really nice. Of course, two of the old ones had one last "Thar she blows!" and spit moldy sludge all over Mom and Tiffany's room during the conversion. Nothing like a little muddy sludge on the ceiling! The new convectors are really streamlined and quiet. This afternoon, Mom and Linda took Tracy down to the Crystal Plaza Shops to get out of the apartment while the contractors were soldering. They hung out in Caribou Coffee for a while until it was time to leave for Tracy's Physical Therapy appointment at Georgetown Hospital at 2 PM. When they arrived, Tracy's therapist spent some time stretching Tracy on the mat. She was very pleased with Tracy's improved comfort on the mat and seemed to think the change in Baclofen dosing was making a difference in her tone. Tracy seemed to be more relaxed and working with her PT instead of fighting her. Tracy's PT was able to get Tracy in different seated positions on the mat, bending her left leg and hip (like a half Indian sit). Then Tracy's PT got Tracy prone over the wedge and Tracy was able to bear weight through her elbows and shoulders. Her spine looked straight and her shoulder blades were mobile, all good news. Once we got home, Duncan came to do more stretching and range of motion with Tracy. He is so good with her and really seems to connect. Tracy really likes it when he works with her feet and ankles. She loves her feet massaged! After an hour of stretching, Duncan and Mom got Tracy prone over the peanut so that she could weight bear through her knees. Tracy tolerated more than 30 minutes on her knees in this position. Alternative Therapy Plan Update: Jen, a first year Physical Therapy student in the doctorate of physical therapy program at Marymount, will come by and work with Tracy. She will be coming about two to three times per week, on alternate days from Duncan, a third year PT student in the same program. Tracy will be getting physical therapy six days a week! Mom is still working on Occupational Therapy. Tracy is going to George Washington University Speech and Hearing Clinic twice a week for cognitive/speech therapy. She is working with Melissa and Jen, graduate students in the Speech Language Pathology program. Thank you to the Marinelli's for the beautiful Mass card for Tracy. We truly appreciate the many prayers, Masses, and Novenas that you send our way! If anyone knows of any grants available that would apply to Tracy's needs, please email us at drdebanz@aol.com. We would appreciate any recommendations you may have. Mom is also working closely with Brain Injury Services of Northern Virginia to augment Tracy's therapy needs. The goal is to get her to the next level, so that she can participate more in her therapy and have a better quality of life. Tiffany is enjoying her internship with the USO. She is also busy working on writing her master's project and reading thirteen books (and writing 13 papers) for the Dean's class. Several months ago we featured Ashley Higgin's web site on this page. Ashley suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury nearly one year ago. To catch up on her story go to the link above. Important: Please send Tracy an email in her guest book. Today is Tracy's 32 month milestone since her accident and injury, and we would really appreciate your emails and prayers. Have a great week and God bless!

Monday, September 19th, 2005 : ~ Lesson of the day: WAKING TO GOODNESS: Mornings: World's rebirth filled with hope and renewal. The American spirit is resilient and is working to help the flood victims find a new beginning in response to adversity. People from all backgrounds are coming together to work as a team, to help the survivors of Hurricane Katrina. In the healing process, many of the displaced citizens of New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast are WAKING TO GOODNESS filled with hope and renewal. You can click on Make a Donation to do your share or dial 1-800-HELP-NOW. We ask for your prayers for all of the people who have lost their families, loved ones, homes, businesses, jobs, and pets in New Orleans and the Gulf coast. Please pray in gratitude for all of the people who have opened their hearts and their homes to survivors of Hurricane Katrina. We are looking for a full time personal assistant to work with Tracy Monday through Friday 8 to 4 PM. If you know anyone who is around Tracy's age with similar interests (athletic, loves the outdoors, pool, travel, fashion, make up), has excellent organizational and caring skills and a lot of love to share with Tracy and our family please email Deb at drdebanz@aol.com We are so fortunate that Janneth has been helping Mom out 8 to 12 noon during the week until Mom can find a full-time person for weekdays. Janneth is Tracy's weekend personal assistant. Tracy slept well last night. This morning, Linda and Janneth bathed Tracy and got her ready for 9 AM Physical Therapy with Jen. Linda started her trial week as Tracy's Personal Care Assistant. After many interviews, Mom and Dad selected Linda for the one week trial. It was a very difficult selection process with many qualified applicants. Two others were selected as alternates. Janneth spent the morning training Linda. She will spend tomorrow morning finishing her training. We are looking forward to the week and getting to know Linda. Jen spent an hour and a half ranging and stretching Tracy and doing some joint mobilization and massage of Tracy's feet and ankles. Since Tracy has Speech at George Washington University Speech and Hearing Clinic, Jen took it easy on Tracy this morning. She spent a lot of time on Tracy's feet and right hip and knee. Tracy was much more relaxed this morning than she has been last week. We hope the changes that Dr. Tornatore made in Tracy's Baclofen doses will make a difference in her tone. This afternoon, Nichole, Tracy's friend and volunteer came over and accompanied Tracy, Mom and Linda to Speech Therapy at GWU. Tracy seemed a little sleepy during her session, and struggled to keep her eyes open. Melissa and Jen tag-teamed doing different activities with Tracy, including applying scented lotions, having Tracy feel different stimuli on her hand such as a tooth brush, a key and a straw. Then they played different music and asked Tracy if she liked the songs. Tracy did not seem to like Bob Dylan but she did like Dave Matthews. She would blink twice for yes and shake her head no. Then they put a straw to Tracy's mouth and had her put her lips around it. Tracy seems to like her therapists. She will return for another session on Thursday at noon. After therapy, Mom, Linda, Nichole and Tracy checked out a cute boutique in the Shops at 2000 Pennsylvania Avenue. Everyone found something cute to buy in Expressions. We will definitely go back again. Alternative Therapy Plan Update: Jen, a first year Physical Therapy student in the doctorate of physical therapy program at Marymount, will come by and work with Tracy. She will be coming about two to three times per week, on alternate days from Duncan, a third year PT student in the same program. Tracy will be getting physical therapy six days a week! Mom is still working on Occupational. Tracy will be going to George Washington University Speech and Hearing Clinic twice a week for cognitive/speech therapy. Tracy is working with Melissa and Jen, graduate students in the Speech Language Pathology program. Thank you to the Marinelli's for the beautiful Mass card for Tracy. We truly appreciate the many prayers, Masses, and Novenas that you send our way! If anyone knows of any grants available that would apply to Tracy's needs, please email us at drdebanz@aol.com. We would appreciate any recommendations you may have. Mom is also working closely with Brain Injury Services of Northern Virginia to augment Tracy's therapy needs. The goal is to get her to the next level, so that she can participate more in her therapy and have a better quality of life. Tiffany is enjoying her internship with the USO. She is also busy working on writing her master's project and reading thirteen books (and writing 13 papers) for the Dean's class. Several months ago we featured Ashley Higgin's web site on this page. Ashley suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury nearly one year ago. To catch up on her story go to the link above. Important: Please send Tracy an email in her guest book. Today is Tracy's 32 month milestone since her accident and injury, and we would really appreciate your emails and prayers. Have a great week and God bless!

Sunday, September 18th, 2005 : ~ Lesson of the day: PEELING THE ONION : Breaking through barriers! The American spirit is resilient and is working to help the flood victims find a new beginning in response to adversity. People from all backgrounds are coming together to work as a team, to help the survivors of Hurricane Katrina. In the healing process, many of the displaced citizens of New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast are breaking through barriers in PEELING THE ONION You can click on Make a Donation to do your share or dial 1-800-HELP-NOW. We ask for your prayers for all of the people who have lost their families, loved ones, homes, businesses, jobs, and pets in New Orleans and the Gulf coast. Please pray in gratitude for all of the people who have opened their hearts and their homes to survivors of Hurricane Katrina. We are looking for a full time personal assistant to work with Tracy Monday through Friday 8 to 4 PM. If you know anyone who is around Tracy's age with similar interests (athletic, loves the outdoors, pool, travel, fashion, make up), has excellent organizational and caring skills and a lot of love to share with Tracy and our family please email Deb at drdebanz@aol.com We are so fortunate that Janneth has been helping Mom out 8 to 12 noon during the week until Mom can find a full-time person for weekdays. Janneth is Tracy's weekend personal assistant. Tracy had another good night's sleep last night. This morning, Dad and Janneth bathed Tracy and got her ready for 12 noon Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Church. Dad gave Mom the morning off and let he get on her bike and hit the Mt. Vernon Trail. With the Tour of Hope less than three weeks away, Mom needed to get some miles under her belt in order to ride the 50 mile ride. She rode from Crystal City to Teddy Roosevelt Island and then back to Crystal City to Old Town Alexandria. Although not quite 50 miles, it was still some mileage under her belt. Mom. Dad and Janneth took Tracy to 12 noon Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Church on 23rd Street. The congregation still prays for Tracy in the Prayers of the Faithful and has been praying for her for the past year and a half. It must be helping. After Mass, Mom, Dad and Janneth went to Starbucks for a latte and a scone. This afternoon, Tiffany and Sasha stayed with Tracy while Mom and Dad went back out on the Mt. Vernon Trail and rode. They went from the Mt. Vernon Trail to the 4 mile run to the W and OD Trail to the Custis Trail. It was a two hour ride and about a 20 mile tour. There were blue berries, wild flowers, and old rail road cars to see along the way. It was a beautiful Fall day. Mom is truly addicted and trying to find a cart that Tracy can ride in behind Dad. This evening, Sasha stayed with Tracy while Mom, Dad and Tiffany had dinner with Rick, his mom Mary, and friend Mara at Legal Seafood. It was really a wonderful meal with fantastic company. Everyone had a great time and wished that Tracy and Sasha could have been there too. Tomorrow, Linda will start her trial week as Tracy's Personal Care Assistant. After many interviews, Mom and Dad selected Linda for the one week trial. It was a very difficult selection process. Two others were selected as alternates. Janneth is going to train Linda two days this week. We are looking forward to the week and getting to know Linda. Alternative Therapy Plan Update: Jen, a first year Physical Therapy student in the doctorate of physical therapy program at Marymount, will come by and work with Tracy. She will be coming about two to three times per week, on alternate days from Duncan, a third year PT student in the same program. Tracy will be getting physical therapy six days a week! Mom is still working on Occupational and Speech Therapy. Tracy will be going to George Washington University Speech and Hearing Clinic twice a week for cognitive/speech therapy. The clinic is run by graduate students and there are no insurance barriers, it is a private pay arrangement on a sliding scale. If anyone knows of any grants available that would apply to Tracy's needs, please email us at drdebanz@aol.com. We would appreciate any recommendations you may have. Mom is also working closely with Brain Injury Services of Northern Virginia to augment Tracy's therapy needs. The goal is to get her to the next level, so that she can participate more in her therapy and have a better quality of life. Tiffany is enjoying her internship with the USO. She is also busy working on writing her master's project and reading thirteen books (and writing 13 papers) for the Dean's class. Several months ago we featured Ashley Higgin's web site on this page. Ashley suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury nearly one year ago. To catch up on her story go to the link above. Important: Please send Tracy an email in her guest book. Today is Tracy's 32 month milestone since her accident and injury, and we would really appreciate your emails and prayers. Have a great week and God bless!

Saturday, September 17th, 2005 : ~ Lesson of the day: TAKING TIME : Remembering to live! There is a saying: Life is what happens while you are busy making plans. While not entirely true, there are real benefits to taking the time to experience life's positive aspects. Tracy's injury occurred 32 months ago. Since that time, many very talented and caring people have participated in her care: friends, family, therapists, doctors, nurses, etc. Thank you all for being a very significant part of Tracy's recovery! The American spirit is resilient and is working to help the flood victims find a new beginning in response to adversity. People from all backgrounds are coming together to work as a team, to help the survivors of Hurricane Katrina .TAKING TIME to remember the positive that has come out of such a natural disaster: people coming together to help others in need. You can click on Make a Donation to do your share or dial 1-800-HELP-NOW. We ask for your prayers for all of the people who have lost their families, loved ones, homes, businesses, jobs, and pets in New Orleans and the Gulf coast. Please pray in gratitude for all of the people who have opened their hearts and their homes to survivors of Hurricane Katrina, TAKING TIME We are looking for a full time personal assistant to work with Tracy Monday through Friday 8 to 4 PM. If you know anyone who is around Tracy's age with similar interests (athletic, loves the outdoors, pool, travel, fashion, make up), has excellent organizational and caring skills and a lot of love to share with Tracy and our family please email Deb at drdebanz@aol.com We are so fortunate that Janneth has been helping Mom out 8 to 12 noon during the week until Mom can find a full-time person for weekdays. Janneth is Tracy's weekend personal assistant. Tracy had a good sleep last night. This morning, Mom and Janneth showered and shampooed Tracy and got her ready for her 12 noon Physical Therapy with Duncan. Mom had a hair appointment, she was long overdue. Duncan spent an hour ranging and stretching Tracy. I can not emphasize how important this is to Tracy's range and flexibility. After several sets of stretches, Duncan got Tracy on the edge of the mat to practice trunk and head support. She tolerated 30 minutes. Tracy was very tight this morning, after Dr. Tornatore adjusted her Baclofen doses. He pushed her bolus dose ahead 7 AM from 6 AM. We will give it a week or so to see if the time needs to be pushed back to 5 AM. This afternoon, everyone watched Miami beat Clemson at football. It was a close call, but Miami finally pulled through in the 3rd overtime. Sasha was also pretty happy that UM won! Mom and Tiffany were rooting for Boston College to beat the Seminoles from Florida State! The game is still going on. Keep your fingers crossed because FSU is currently ahead! This evening, Mom and Dad spent some more time interviewing Personal Care Assistants for Tracy. They had a full interview schedule last night too. There are so many qualified and caring applicants! Tracy is truly blessed! Alternative Therapy Plan Update: Jen, a first year Physical Therapy student in the doctorate of physical therapy program at Marymount, will come by and work with Tracy. She will be coming about two to three times per week, on alternate days from Duncan, a third year PT student in the same program. Tracy will be getting physical therapy six days a week! Mom is still working on Occupational and Speech Therapy. Tracy will be going to George Washington University Speech and Hearing Clinic twice a week for cognitive/speech therapy. The clinic is run by graduate students and there are no insurance barriers, it is a private pay arrangement on a sliding scale. If anyone knows of any grants available that would apply to Tracy's needs, please email us at drdebanz@aol.com. We would appreciate any recommendations you may have. Mom is also working closely with Brain Injury Services of Northern Virginia to augment Tracy's therapy needs. The goal is to get her to the next level, so that she can participate more in her therapy and have a better quality of life. Tiffany is enjoying her internship with the USO. She is also busy working on writing her master's project and reading thirteen books (and writing 13 papers) for the Dean's class. Several months ago we featured Ashley Higgin's web site on this page. Ashley suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury nearly one year ago. To catch up on her story go to the link above. Important: Please send Tracy an email in her guest book. Today is Tracy's 32 month milestone since her accident and injury, and we would really appreciate your emails and prayers. Have a great weekend and God bless!

Friday, September 16th, 2005 : ~ Lesson of the day: CREATING ROOTS: Finding a comfortable sanctuary, a safe place to call home. The American spirit is resilient and is working to help the flood victims find a new beginning in response to adversity. People from all backgrounds are coming together to work as a team, CREATING ROOTS to help the survivors of Hurricane Katrina find a safe haven, a place to call home. Give the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast a comfortable sanctuary. You can click on Make a Donation to do your share or dial 1-800-HELP-NOW. We ask for your prayers for all of the people who have lost their families, loved ones, homes, businesses, jobs, and pets in New Orleans and the Gulf coast. Please pray in gratitude for all of the people who have opened their hearts and their homes to survivors of Hurricane Katrina, CREATING ROOTS! We are looking for a full time personal assistant to work with Tracy Monday through Friday 8 to 4 PM. If you know anyone who is around Tracy's age with similar interests (athletic, loves the outdoors, pool, travel, fashion, make up), has excellent organizational and caring skills and a lot of love to share with Tracy and our family please email Deb at drdebanz@aol.com We are so fortunate that Janneth has been helping Mom out 8 to 12 noon during the week until Mom can find a full-time person for weekdays. Janneth is Tracy's weekend personal assistant. Tracy had another good night's sleep. This morning, Mom and Janneth bathed Tracy and got her ready for her 11 AM Physical Therapy with Jen. Janneth brought her adorable little girl Leanna. She has the darkest deepest eyes and such an angelic face. She is a doll. Tracy really enjoys having Leanna visit her. Mom got to escape to get a manicure and pedicure while Janneth and Tiffany stayed with Tracy (and Leanna). It was her turn and she was well overdue. Jen spent some time ranging and stretching Tracy. She really loves it when Jen stretches her hips and works on joint mobilization with her feet and ankles. It is so important to keep her joints mobile. Then Mom and Jen got Tracy positioned prone (on her tummy) on the peanut. Tracy really relaxed in this position while Jen worked with Tracy's hips and knees. This position helps Tracy to weight bear through her knees which helps to maintain bone mass and prevent osteoporosis. Tracy tolerated 20 minutes in this position. This afternoon, Dad and Mom took Tracy to get her Baclofen pump refilled and her doses adjusted. It will take a week or so to see whether the adjustments made a difference in her tone. This evening, Mom and Dad spent some time interviewing Personal Care Assistants for Tracy. They had a full interview schedule last night too. There are so many qualified and caring applicants! Tracy is truly blessed! Alternative Therapy Plan Update: Jen, a first year Physical Therapy student in the doctorate of physical therapy program at Marymount, will come by and work with Tracy. She will be coming about two to three times per week, on alternate days from Duncan, a third year PT student in the same program. Tracy will be getting physical therapy six days a week! Mom is still working on Occupational and Speech Therapy. Tracy will be going to George Washington University Speech and Hearing Clinic twice a week for cognitive/speech therapy. The clinic is run by graduate students and there are no insurance barriers, it is a private pay arrangement on a sliding scale. If anyone knows of any grants available that would apply to Tracy's needs, please email us at drdebanz@aol.com. We would appreciate any recommendations you may have. Mom is also working closely with Brain Injury Services of Northern Virginia to augment Tracy's therapy needs. The goal is to get her to the next level, so that she can participate more in her therapy and have a better quality of life. Tiffany's best friend from Key West High School, Jacquie, is visiting her this evening from Virginia Beach. She is enjoying her internship with the USO. Tiffany is also busy working on writing her master's project and reading thirteen books (and writing 13 papers) for the Dean's class. Several months ago we featured Ashley Higgin's web site on this page. Ashley suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury nearly one year ago. To catch up on her story go to the link above. Important: Please send Tracy an email in her guest book. We are approaching her 32 month milestone since Tracy's accident and injury, and we would really appreciate your emails and prayers. Have a great week and God bless!

Thursday, September 15th, 2005 : ~ Lesson of the day: OPPORTUNITIES TO GROW . Tracy had her Modified Barium Swallow Test last Monday and she showed improvement: OPPORTUNITIES TO GROW! Her Speech Therapist wants Tracy to have 12 more sessions of VITAL STIM therapy. The plan is to give Tracy oral trials of nectar consistency juices in conjunction with the Vital Stim therapy. Please keep those prayers coming because they must be working. The American spirit is resilient and is working to help the flood victims find a new beginning in response to adversity. People from all backgrounds are coming together to work as a team to help the survivors of Hurricane Katrina. Give the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast OPPORTUNITIES TO GROW. You can click on Make a Donation to do your share or dial 1-800-HELP-NOW. We ask for your prayers for all of the people who have lost their families, loved ones, homes, businesses, jobs, and pets in New Orleans and the Gulf coast. Please pray in gratitude for all of the people who have opened their hearts and their homes to survivors of Hurricane Katrina! We are looking for a full time personal assistant to work with Tracy Monday through Friday 8 to 4 PM. If you know anyone who is around Tracy's age with similar interests (athletic, loves the outdoors, pool, travel, fashion, make up), has excellent organizational and caring skills and a lot of love to share with Tracy and our family please email Deb at drdebanz@aol.com We are so fortunate that Janneth has been helping Mom out 8 to 12 noon during the week until Mom can find a full-time person for weekdays. Janneth is Tracy's weekend personal assistant. Tracy slept well again last night. Mom and Janneth bathed Tracy and got her ready for her 12 noon speech evaluation at George Washington University Speech and Hearing Clinic. Mom, Dad and Liz took Tracy to her appointment at GWU. Everyone met Mike who is the program director and then Tracy, Mom, Dad and Liz spent some time with the therapists, Melissa and Jen. They asked some questions, and then Mom, Dad and Liz joined Mike and several other students in an observation room while Jen and Melissa got to know Tracy and conducted a speech evaluation. It was a wonderful set up and Mom and Dad are looking forward to bringing Tracy back for therapy. She will be going to GWU (the other George twice a week for therapy. This afternoon, Duncan came by to do Physical Therapy with Tracy. He spent an hour stretching and ranging all of Tracy's extremities and spending alot of time on her hips and neck. Then Mom and Duncan got Tracy positioned on the edge of the mat to practice head and trunk control. Duncan got Tracy propped on her elbows so that she could bear weight through her shoulders. He also worked on righting response leaning Tracy from side to side. Tracy tolerated sitting for about 40 minutes. Alternative Therapy Plan Update: Jen, a first year Physical Therapy student in the doctorate of physical therapy program at Marymount, will come by and work with Tracy. She will be coming about two to three times per week, on alternate days from Duncan, a third year PT student in the same program. Tracy will be getting physical therapy six days a week! Mom is still working on Occupational and Speech Therapy. Tracy will be going to George Washington University Speech and Hearing Clinic twice a week for cognitive/speech therapy. The clinic is run by graduate students and there are no insurance barriers, it is a private pay arrangement on a sliding scale. If anyone knows of any grants available that would apply to Tracy's needs, please email us at drdebanz@aol.com. We would appreciate any recommendations you may have. Mom is also working closely with Brain Injury Services of Northern Virginia to augment Tracy's therapy needs. The goal is to get her to the next level, so that she can participate more in her therapy and have a better quality of life. Tiffany worked hard at the USO Gala last evening. Shaquille O'Neil, John Ellway, and Wayne Newton were celebrities who made an appearance. The USO raised over a million dollars for our US service men and women. Tiffany is also busy working on her master's project and the Dean's class. Her last semester is really flying by. Several months ago we featured Ashley Higgin's web site on this page. Ashley suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury nearly one year ago. To catch up on her story go to the link above. Important: Please send Tracy an email in her guest book. We are approaching her 32 month milestone since Tracy's accident and injury, and we would really appreciate your emails and prayers. Have a great week and God bless!

Wednesday, September 14th, 2005 : ~ Word of the day: PATIENT PERSEVERANCE!: Christine Cresswell left this evening. We miss her already. She had a nice visit with Tracy and our family. Tracy had her Modified Barium Swallow Test last Monday and she showed improvement: PATIENT PERSEVERANCE! Her Speech Therapist wants Tracy to have 12 more sessions of VITAL STIM therapy. The plan is to give Tracy oral trials of nectar consistency juices in conjunction with the Vital Stim therapy. Please keep those prayers coming because they must be working. The American spirit is resilient and is working to help the flood victims find a new beginning in response to adversity. People from all backgrounds are coming together to work as a team to help the survivors of Hurricane Katrina. Help them begin with PATIENT PERSEVERANCE to work hard to rescue, recover and rebuild New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. You can click on Make a Donation to do your share or dial 1-800-HELP-NOW. We ask for your prayers for all of the people who have lost their families, loved ones, homes, businesses, jobs, and pets in New Orleans and the Gulf coast. Please pray in gratitude for all of the people who have opened their hearts and their homes to survivors of Hurricane Katrina! We are looking for a full time personal assistant to work with Tracy Monday through Friday 8 to 4 PM. If you know anyone who is around Tracy's age with similar interests (athletic, loves the outdoors, pool, travel, fashion, make up), has excellent organizational and caring skills and a lot of love to share with Tracy and our family please email Deb at drdebanz@aol.com We are so fortunate that Janneth has been helping Mom out 8 to 12 noon during the week until Mom can find a full-time person for weekdays. Janneth is Tracy's weekend personal assistant. Tracy slept well again last night. Mom and Janneth showered and shampooed Tracy and got her ready for her 1 PM Physicial Therapy session with Jen. Janneth and Christine gave Tracy a manicure. She loves having her nails done. Christine visited with Tracy and caught her up on all their friends' gossip and plans. During Physical Therapy, Jen spent some time ranging and stretching Tracy's extremities and hips and then sat her on the edge of the mat to practice head and trunk control. Then Mom, Christine and Jen got Tracy prone (flat on her tummy) on the mat and Jen stretched her right hip and worked with her ankles. Initially, Tracy was propped on her elbows to weight bear through her shoulders. She was trying to pick up her head and look in the mirror. Tracy is getting stronger and doing a better job holding up her head. Then Jen stretched her arms up over her head. She tolerated prone for about 20 minutes. This evening, Tania came by to give Tracy a massage. Tracy was very relaxed on the mat while Tania massaged her. Alternative Therapy Plan Update: Jen, a first year Physical Therapy student in the doctorate of physical therapy program at Marymount, will come by and work with Tracy. She will be coming about three times per week, on alternate days from Duncan, a third year PT student in the same program. Tracy will be getting physical therapy six days a week! Mom is still working on Occupational and Speech Therapy. Tracy is scheduled for a Speech evaluation next Thursday, September 15th at George Washington University Speech and Hearing Clinic. The clinic is run by graduate students and there are no insurance barriers, it is a private pay arrangement on a sliding scale. If anyone knows of any grants available that would apply to Tracy's needs, please email us at drdebanz@aol.com. We would appreciate any recommendations you may have. Mom is also working closely with Brain Injury Services of Northern Virginia to augment Tracy's therapy needs. The goal is to get her to the next level, so that she can participate more in her therapy and have a better quality of life. Tiffany worked hard at the USO Gala this evening. Shaquille O'Neil, John Ellway, and Wayne Newton are among the celebrities making an appearance. She is busy working on her master's project and the Dean's class. Her last semester is really flying by. Several months ago we featured Ashley Higgin's web site on this page. Ashley suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury nearly one year ago. To catch up on her story go to the link above. Important: Please send Tracy an email in her guest book. We are approaching her 32 month milestone since Tracy's accident and injury, and we would really appreciate your emails and prayers. Have a great week and God bless!

Tuesday, September 13th, 2005 : ~ Word of the day: BABY STEPS ! Christine Cresswell arrived safely today from Spokane via Detroit and it was really nice to see her. Tiffany and Rick made tacos, rice and refried beans this evening for dinner. It was really, really good! Tracy had her Modified Barium Swallow Test yesterday and she showed improvement: BABY STEPS! Her Speech Therapist wants Tracy to have 12 more sessions of VITAL STIM therapy. The plan is to give Tracy oral trials of nectar consistency juices in conjunction with the Vital Stim therapy. Please keep those prayers coming because they must be working. The American spirit is resilient and is working to help the flood victims find a new beginning in response to adversity. People from all backgrounds are coming together to work as a team to help the survivors of Hurricane Katrina. Help them begin with BABY STEPS in all the hard work to rescue, recover and rebuild New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. You can click on Make a Donation to do your share or dial 1-800-HELP-NOW. We ask for your prayers for all of the people who have lost their families, loved ones, homes, businesses, jobs, and pets in New Orleans and the Gulf coast. Please pray in gratitude for all of the people who have opened their hearts and their homes to survivors of Hurricane Katrina! We are looking for a full time personal assistant to work with Tracy Monday through Friday 8 to 4 PM. If you know anyone who is around Tracy's age with similar interests (athletic, loves the outdoors, pool, travel, fashion, make up), has excellent organizational and caring skills and a lot of love to share with Tracy and our family please email Deb at drdebanz@aol.com We are so fortunate that Janneth has been helping Mom out 8 to 12 noon during the week until Mom can find a full-time person for weekdays. Janneth is Tracy's weekend personal assistant. Tracy slept well again last night. She only woke up coughing once all night long. Mom and Mary bathed Tracy and got her ready for her 1 PM appointment at Georgetown Hospital for a wheel chair evaluation. Tracy's Occupational Therapist, Physical Therapist and the representative from Chesapeake Rehabilitation Equipment assessed Tracy's positioning in her wheel chair, and made recommendations for modifications. We are looking forward to the adaptations that they have recommended. It will be a major improvement from the current wheel chair which is way over due. These changes will help Tracy to sit better in her chair, look around and interact with her surroundings. Nichole, Tracy's friend and volunteer, came by to visit Tracy. It has been several weeks since Nichole has been able to visit Tracy. It was so good to see her. This evening, Duncan came over and spent several hours with Tracy. He started with stretching her extremities and spent some extra time stretching her hips. Tracy loves having her hips stretched. Then Mom and Duncan got Tracy on the edge of the mat so she could practice head and trunk control. Duncan was able to stretch Tracy's arms down on the mat. Then Mom, Nichole, Christine, and Duncan got Tracy on the peanut ball straddled. Tracy tolerated almost forty minutes sitting on the edge of the mat and the peanut ball combined. Alternative Therapy Plan Update: Jen, a first year Physical Therapy student in the doctorate of physical therapy program at Marymount, will come by and work with Tracy. She will be coming about three times per week, on alternate days from Duncan, a third year PT student in the same program. Tracy will be getting physical therapy six days a week! Mom is still working on Occupational and Speech Therapy. Tracy is scheduled for a Speech evaluation next Thursday, September 15th at George Washington University Speech and Hearing Clinic. The clinic is run by graduate students and there are no insurance barriers, it is a private pay arrangement on a sliding scale. If anyone knows of any grants available that would apply to Tracy's needs, please email us at drdebanz@aol.com. We would appreciate any recommendations you may have. Mom is also working closely with Brain Injury Services of Northern Virginia to augment Tracy's therapy needs. The goal is to get her to the next level, so that she can participate more in her therapy and have a better quality of life. Tiffany started her third week of a six week internship with the USO. They are working on the annual Gala fundraising event that is scheduled for this Wednesday evening. Shaquille O'Neil, John Ellway, and Wayne Newton are among the celebrities making an appearance. Several months ago we featured Ashley Higgin's web site on this page. Ashley suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury nearly one year ago. To catch up on her story go to the link above. Important: Please send Tracy an email in her guest book. We are approaching her 32 month milestone since Tracy's accident and injury, and we would really appreciate your emails and prayers. Have a great week and God bless!

Monday, September 12th, 2005 : ~ Word of the day: IMPROVEMENT ! Tracy had her Modified Barium Swallow Test today and she showed IMPROVEMENT! Her Speech Therapist wants Tracy to have 12 more sessions of VITAL STIM therapy. The plan is to give Tracy oral trials of nectar consistency juices in conjunction with the Vital Stim therapy. Please keep those prayers coming because they must be working. The American spirit is resilient and is working to help the flood victims find a new beginning in response to adversity. People from all backgrounds are coming together to work as a team to help the survivors of Hurricane Katrina. Help them begin to see IMPROVEMENT! in all the hard work to rescue, recover and rebuild New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. You can click on Make a Donation to do your share or dial 1-800-HELP-NOW. We ask for your prayers for all of the people who have lost their families, loved ones, homes, businesses, jobs, and pets in New Orleans and the Gulf coast. Please pray in gratitude for all of the people who have opened their hearts and their homes to survivors of Hurricane Katrina! We are looking for a full time personal assistant to work with Tracy Monday through Friday 8 to 4 PM. If you know anyone who is around Tracy's age with similar interests (athletic, loves the outdoors, pool, travel, fashion, make up), has excellent organizational and caring skills and a lot of love to share with Tracy and our family please email Deb at drdebanz@aol.com We are so fortunate that Janneth has been helping Mom out 8 to 12 noon during the week until Mom can find a full-time person for weekdays. Janneth is Tracy's weekend personal assistant. Tracy slept well again last night. She only woke up coughing once all night long. Mom and Mary bathed Tracy and got her ready for her Modified Barium Swallow test at 2 PM at Georgetown Hospital. Liz came over to visit and to help get Tracy's speech bag organized and ready for her test. During her MBS, Tracy's speech therapist mixed several consistencies of juice with barium. First, the therapist tried nectar consistency lemon water mixed with barium. There was a delay with the first swallow, but then Tracy had several really strong swallows and got the nectar consistency down. (This stuff does not taste too good, but Mom promised that with practice and success there are better things to come, margaritas, pina coladas, etc.). The speech therapist then tried some honey consistency solution and Tracy had more difficulty maneuvering it back in her mouth. She was able to get some back, but did much better with the nectar consistency. Bottom line: Tracy showed enough improvement that her therapist wants to do 12 more sessions of Vital Stim! This is terrific news! Tracy's wheel chair fitting is scheduled for Tuesday, September 13 at 1 PM at Georgetown Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinic. We are really looking forward to getting her chair and seating system upgraded so she can sit better in her chair, look around and interact with her surroundings. This evening, Tracy does not have any Physical Therapy, so Mom, Dad, Sasha and Tiffany took Tracy for a walk/run in her jogger. It was a beautiful evening, and everyone was eager to hit the Mt. Vernon Trail. Tracy really enjoyed the sunshine and fresh air, as did the rest of the group! Sasha cooked dinner this evening. Everyone is taking a turn to help out! She made a delicious Greek Chicken Pita dish! Alternative Therapy Plan Update: Jen, a first year Physical Therapy student in the doctorate of physical therapy program at Marymount, will come by and work with Tracy. She will be coming about three times per week, on alternate days from Duncan, a third year PT student in the same program. Tracy will be getting physical therapy six days a week! Mom is still working on Occupational and Speech Therapy. Tracy is scheduled for a Speech evaluation next Thursday, September 15th at George Washington University Speech and Hearing Clinic. The clinic is run by graduate students and there are no insurance barriers, it is a private pay arrangement on a sliding scale. We are so excited to see Christine Cresswell, Tracy room mate from the Gonzaga in Florence program. She will be here tomorrow! If anyone knows of any grants available that would apply to Tracy's needs, please email us at drdebanz@aol.com. We would appreciate any recommendations you may have. Mom is also working closely with Brain Injury Services of Northern Virginia to augment Tracy's therapy needs. The goal is to get her to the next level, so that she can participate more in her therapy and have a better quality of life. Tiffany started her third week of a six week internship with the USO. They are working on the annual Gala fundraising event that is scheduled for this Wednesday evening. Shaquille O'Neil and Wayne Newton are among the celebrities making an appearance. Several months ago we featured Ashley Higgin's web site on this page. Ashley suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury nearly one year ago. To catch up on her story go to the link above. Important: Please send Tracy an email in her guest book. We are approaching her 32 month milestone since Tracy's accident and injury, and we would really appreciate your emails and prayers. Have a great week and God bless!

Sunday, September 11th, 2005 : ~ Word of the day: SELF-REFLECTION !!!!! ~ We pause to remember those who died four years ago as a result of terrorist attacks and we thank all of our military who are in the line of fire to assure that all Americans remain FREE! The American spirit is resilient and is working to help the flood victims find a new beginning in response to adversity. People from all backgrounds are coming together to work as a team to help the survivors of Hurricane Katrina. Spend some time in SELF-REFLECTION to determine how you can help the displaced people from New Orleans and the Gulf coast. You can click on Make a Donation to do your share or dial 1-800-HELP-NOW. We ask for your prayers for all of the people who have lost their families, loved ones, homes, businesses, jobs, and pets in New Orleans and the Gulf coast. Please pray in gratitude for all of the people who have opened their hearts and their homes to survivors of Hurricane Katrina! We are looking for a full time personal assistant to work with Tracy Monday through Friday 8 to 4 PM. If you know anyone who has excellent organizational and caring skills and a lot of love to share with Tracy and our family please email Deb at drdebanz@aol.com We are so fortunate that Janneth has been helping Mom out 8 to 12 noon during the week until Mom can find a full-time person for weekdays. Janneth is Tracy's weekend personal assistant. Tracy slept well again last night, however, everyone is still waking up coughing. Mom, Tiffany, and Sasha have the same symptoms. It has to be allergies. Mom was able to persuade the management to install new convectors in our apartment. The contractors are coming Monday to measure for them. We hope this will alleviate the respiratory issues that we are having since the flood. Mom and Janneth showered and shampooed Tracy this morning and got her ready for the day. Tracy did not have any Physical Therapy today. Mom and Dad spent all day trying to catch up. Last week was a long, busy one. We hope this week is better. Dad went to the commissary while Mom and Janneth cleaned Tracy's room. This afternoon, Mom, Dad and Tracy went to the Oak Leaf Open House at Surgeon General and Mrs. Arthur's. It was very nice to meet all of the people who had made meals for our family when Tracy came home from the rehab hospital several years ago. This evening, our good friend Tas and her friend Katie came over to visit and to have Chinese food with us. Tiffany, Rick and Sasha also joined us. It was really great to visit with Tas and hear about her senior year at Georgetown. We hope to visit again with her soon. Tracy's Modified Barium Swallow has been rescheduled to Monday, September 12th at 2 PM. Her wheel chair fitting is scheduled for Tuesday, September 13 at 1 PM at Georgetown Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinic. We are really looking forward to getting her chair and seating system upgraded so she can sit better in her chair. Alternative Therapy Plan Update: Jen, a first year Physical Therapy student in the doctorate of physical therapy program at Marymount, will come by and work with Tracy. She will be coming about three times per week, on alternate days from Duncan, a third year PT student in the same program. Tracy will be getting physical therapy six days a week! Mom is still working on Occupational and Speech Therapy. Tracy is scheduled for a Speech evaluation next Thursday, September 15th at George Washington University Speech and Hearing Clinic. The clinic is run by graduate students and there are no insurance barriers, it is a private pay arrangement on a sliding scale. If anyone knows of any grants available that would apply to Tracy's needs, please email us at drdebanz@aol.com. We would appreciate any recommendations you may have. Mom is also working closely with Brain Injury Services of Northern Virginia to augment Tracy's therapy needs. The goal is to get her to the next level, so that she can participate more in her therapy and have a better quality of life. Tiffany starts her third week of a six week internship with the USO. She is working three days a week with the USO and the rest of the time on her focus groups and masters project. Last Tuesday evening, Tiffany conducted her second focus group with the caregivers of survivors of brain injury. She was able to collect some valuable information. This project will hopefully lead to a more efficient way for them to share and receive ideas on the NVBIS web site.http://www.braininjurysvcs.org. Several months ago we featured Ashley Higgin's web site on this page. Ashley suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury nearly one year ago. To catch up on her story go to the link above. We can't wait for Christine Cresswell to visit us. She will be here next Tuesday! Important: Please send Tracy an email in her guest book. We are approaching her 32 month milestone since Tracy's accident and injury, and we would really appreciate your emails and prayers. Have a great week and God bless!

Saturday, September 10th, 2005 : ~ Word of the day: SELF-DIRECTION !!!!! ~ The American spirit is resilient and is working to help the flood victims find SELF-DIRECTION in response to adversity. People from all backgrounds are coming together to work as a team to help the survivors of Hurricane Katrina. Spend some time in SELF-DIRECTION to determine how you can help the displaced people from New Orleans and the Gulf coast. You can click on Make a Donation to do your share or dial 1-800-HELP-NOW. We ask for your prayers for all of the people who have lost their families, loved ones, homes, businesses, jobs, and pets in New Orleans and the Gulf coast. Please pray in gratitude for all of the people who have opened their hearts and their homes to survivors of Hurrican Katrina! We are looking for a full time personal assistant to work with Tracy Monday through Friday 8 to 4 PM. If you know anyone who has excellent organizational and caring skills and a lot of love to share with Tracy and our family please email Deb at drdebanz@aol.com We are so fortunate that Janneth has been helping Mom out 8 to 12 noon during the week until Mom can find a full-time person for weekdays. Janneth is Tracy's weekend personal assistant. Tracy slept well again last night, however, everyone is still waking up coughing. Mom, Tiffany, and Sasha have the same symptoms. It has to be allergies. Mom and Janneth bathed Tracy this morning and got her ready for the day. Tracy had Physical Therapy with Jen and Duncan (her first co-treat) at 11:30 AM. Duncan and Jen spent some time stretching and ranging Tracy'a extremities. They shared their ideas on strategy and techniques. It was the first time that Jen and Duncan met, so it was a very successful meeting of the minds. Then, Duncan and Jen sat Tracy on the edge of the mat, and worked on stretching her arms down on the mat. Tracy practiced head and trunk control with Duncan supporting Tracy. Tracy sat for about 10 - 15 minutes in this position, and then it was down on her knees (quadriped) over the peanut ball. Dad and Mom assisted Duncan and Jen. Tracy was weight-bearing on her knees with good form over the peanut. Jen and Mom were on each side of the ball, and told Tracy to turn her head right and left to look at them. Tracy did a good job with alot of effort and turned her head both ways. She tolerated 20 minutes in this position. Tracy's Modified Barium Swallow has been rescheduled to Monday, September 12th at 2 PM. Her wheel chair fitting is scheduled for Tuesday, September 13 at 1 PM at Georgetown Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinic. Alternative Therapy Plan Update: Jen, a first year Physical Therapy student in the doctorate of physical therapy program at Marymount, will come by and work with Tracy. She will be coming about three times per week, on alternate days from Duncan, a third year PT student in the same program. Tracy will be getting physical therapy six days a week! Mom is still working on Occupational and Speech Therapy. Tracy is scheduled for a Speech evaluation next Thursday, September 15th at George Washington University Speech and Hearing Clinic. The clinic is run by graduate students and there are no insurance barriers, it is a private pay arrangement on a sliding scale. If anyone knows of any grants available that would apply to Tracy's needs, please email us at drdebanz@aol.com. We would appreciate any recommendations you may have. Mom is also working closely with Brain Injury Services of Northern Virginia to augment Tracy's therapy needs. The goal is to get her to the next level, so that she can participate more in her therapy and have a better quality of life. Tiffany finished her second week of a six week internship with the USO. She is working three days a week with the USO and the rest of the time on her focus groups and masters project. Last Tuesday evening, Tiffany conducted her second focus group with the caregivers of survivors of brain injury. She was able to collect some valuable information. This project will hopefully lead to a more efficient way for them to share and receive ideas on the NVBIS web site.http://www.braininjurysvcs.org. Several months ago we featured Ashley Higgin's web site on this page. Ashley suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury nearly one year ago. To catch up on her story go to the link above. We can't wait for Christine Cresswell to visit us. She will be here next Tuesday! Important: Please send Tracy an email in her guest book. We are approaching her 32 month milestone since Tracy's accident and injury, and we would really appreciate your emails and prayers. Have a great weekend and God bless!

Friday, September 9th, 2005 : ~ Word of the day: TEAMWORK!!!!! ~ The American spirit is resilient and works together to demonstrate TEAMWORK in response to adversity. People from all backgrounds are coming together to work as a team to help the survivors of Hurricane Katrina. Show your TEAMWORK by donating to help the displaced people from New Orleans and the Gulf coast. You can click on Make a Donation to do your share or dial 1-800-HELP-NOW. We ask for your prayers for all of the people who have lost their families, loved ones, homes, businesses, jobs, and pets in New Orleans and the Gulf coast. Please pray in gratitude for all of the people who have opened their hearts and their homes to survivors of Hurrican Katrina! We are looking for a full time personal assistant to work with Tracy Monday through Friday 8 to 4 PM. If you know anyone who has excellent organizational and caring skills and a lot of love to share with Tracy and our family please email Deb at drdebanz@aol.com We are so fortunate that Janneth has been helping Mom out during the week until Mom can find a full-time person for weekdays. Janneth is Tracy's weekend personal assistant. Tracy slept well again last night, however, everyone is still waking up coughing. Mom, Tiffany, and Sasha have the same symptoms. It has to be allergies. Mom and Janneth showered Tracy this morning and got her ready for the day. Tracy had Physical Therapy with Jen at 12:30 PM. She spent some time stretching and ranging Tracy'a extremities. Tracy has been tighter over the past several days. Then, Jen and Mom got Tracy prone flat on the geomat and propped her up on her elbows. Tracy did a very good job lifting her head to the right and the left and also looking in the mirror. She was able to get her head all the way up off the mat for several seconds. Tracy tolerated about 15 minutes in this position and then Jen and Mom got Tracy seated on the edge of the mat. Tracy did a good job relaxing her arms so that Jen could put them on the mat. It was a little more difficult today because she was so tight. Tracy also worked real hard to turn her head to the right to look at Jen. This is very difficult for her because of her muscle spasm, (ATNR: Asymmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex). She tries hard to overcome the spasm and turn her head to the right. This evening, Sasha and Mary, a nurse recommended to us by Brain Injury Services, stayed with Tracy while Mom, Dad, Tiffany and Rick went to the Alan Jackson concert in Manassas. It was a lot of fun! Liz stopped by to meet Mary and to see Tracy and Sasha. They seemed to have everything under control. Tracy's Modified Barium Swallow has been rescheduled to Monday, September 12th at 2 PM. Her wheel chair fitting is scheduled for Tuesday, September 13 at 1 PM at Georgetown Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinic. Alternative Therapy Plan Update: Jen, a first year Physical Therapy student in the doctorate of physical therapy program at Marymount, will come by and work with Tracy. She will be coming about three times per week, on alternate days from Duncan, a third year PT student in the same program. Tracy will be getting physical therapy six days a week! Mom is still working on Occupational and Speech Therapy. She received a call from a Speech Therapist at George Washington University today and is scheduled for an evaluation next Thursday, September 15th. The clinic is run by graduate students and there are no insurance barriers, it is a private pay arrangement on a sliding scale. If anyone knows of any grants available that would apply to Tracy's needs, please email us at drdebanz@aol.com. We would appreciate any recommendations you may have. Mom is also working closely with Brain Injury Services of Northern Virginia to augment Tracy's therapy needs. The goal is to get her to the next level, so that she can participate more in her therapy and have a better quality of life. Tiffany finished her second week of a six week internship with the USO. She is working three days a week with the USO and the rest of the time on her focus groups and masters project. Last Tuesday evening, Tiffany conducted her second focus group with the caregivers of survivors of brain injury. She was able to collect some valuable information. This project will hopefully lead to a more efficient way for them to share and receive ideas on the NVBIS web site.http://www.braininjurysvcs.org. Several months ago we featured Ashley Higgin's web site on this page. Ashley suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury nearly one year ago. To catch up on her story go to the link above. We can't wait for Christine Cresswell to visit us. She will be here next week. Important: Please send Tracy an email in her guest book. We are approaching her 32 month milestone since Tracy's accident and injury, and we would really appreciate your emails and prayers. Have a great weekend and God bless!

Thursday, September 8th, 2005 : ~ Word of the day: STRENGTH!!!!! ~ The American spirit is resilient and finds STRENGTH in adversity. The "flood victims" are showing their STRENGTH in starting over after Hurricane Katrina. Show your STRENGTH by donating to help the displaced people from New Orleans and the Gulf coast. You can click on Make a Donation to do your share or dial 1-800-HELP-NOW. We ask for your prayers for all of the people who have lost their families, loved ones, homes, businesses, jobs, and pets in New Orleans and the Gulf coast. We are looking for a full time personal assistant to work with Tracy Monday through Friday 8 to 4 PM. If you know anyone who has excellent organizational and caring skills and a lot of love to share with Tracy and our family please email Deb at drdebanz@aol.com We are so fortunate that Janneth has been helping Mom out during the week until Mom can find a full-time person for weekdays. Janneth is Tracy's weekend personal assistant. Tracy slept well again last night, however, everyone is still waking up coughing. Mom and Tiffany have the same symptoms. It has to be allergies. Mom and Janneth bathed Tracy this morning and got her ready for the day. Tracy did not have anything planned this morning, so Mom took advantage of the free time. Mom and Tracy went out on the balcony and got some sun. It was a beautiful day, sunny with low humidity. Mom spent the day giving Tracy a manicure, pedicure, facial, and eyebrow waxing. It was just like old times! Mom sure does a good job in the Super Spa Department! This afternoon, Emil came to give Tracy a much needed massage. Tania also gave Mom a massage. This has been a rough week, so Mom was long overdue. It was very relaxing. Tania and Emil make a good team! This evening, Duncan came to do Physical Therapy with Tracy. He spent the first 30 minutes stretching and ranging Tracy's extremities and joints, focusing on joint mobilization of her feet and ankles. Then, Mom and Duncan postioned Tracy on the edge of the mat and had her relax her arms down on the mat. She was tighter today than yesterday. Then Mom and Duncan transferred Tracy to the peanut ball. They got her straddled on the peanut, working to stretch her abductors and to get her knees bent and feet on the floor. This is all in preparation for therapeutic horseback riding, so that Tracy will be able to sit on a horse. Tracy's Modified Barium Swallow has been rescheduled to Monday, September 12th at 2 PM. Her wheel chair fitting is scheduled for Tuesday, September 13 at 1 PM at Georgetown Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinic. Alternative Therapy Plan Update: Jen, a first year Physical Therapy student in the doctorate of physical therapy program at Marymount, will come by and work with Tracy. She will be coming about three times per week, on alternate days from Duncan, a third year PT student in the same program. Tracy will be getting physical therapy six days a week! Mom is still working on Occupational and Speech Therapy. She received a call from a Speech Therapist at George Washington University today and is scheduled for an evaluation next Thursday, September 15th. The clinic is run by graduate students and there are no insurance barriers, it is a private pay arrangement on a sliding scale. If anyone knows of any grants available that would apply to Tracy's needs, please email us at drdebanz@aol.com. We would appreciate any recommendations you may have. Mom is also working closely with Brain Injury Services of Northern Virginia to augment Tracy's therapy needs. The goal is to get her to the next level, so that she can participate more in her therapy and have a better quality of life.Tiffany is finishing up her second week of a six week internship with the USO this week. She will work three days a week and work on her focus groups and masters project the other two days a week. Tuesday evening, Tiffany conducted her second focus group with the caregivers of survivors of brain injury. She was able to collect some valuable information. This project will hopefully lead to a more efficient way for them to share and receive ideas on the NVBIS web site.http://www.braininjurysvcs.org. Several months ago we featured Ashley Higgin's web site on this page. Ashley suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury nearly one year ago. To catch up on her story go to the link above. We can't wait for Christine Cresswell to visit us. She will be here next week. Important: Please send Tracy an email in her guest book. Several weeks ago was the 31 month milestone since Tracy's accident and injury, and we would really appreciate your emails and prayers. Have a great week and God bless!

Wednesday, September 7th, 2005 : ~ Word of the day: BALANCE!!!!! ~ The American spirit is resilient and finds strength in adversity. The "flood victims" are trying to find some in their lives in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Add some BALANCE in your life by donating to help the displaced people from New Orleans and the Gulf coast. You can click on Make a Donation to do your share or dial 1-800-HELP-NOW. We ask for your prayers for all of the people who have lost their families, loved ones, homes, businesses, jobs, and pets in New Orleans and the Gulf coast. Mom and Janneth spent some time holding Tracy's right arm and shoulder and helping her touch her nose, her cheek, her chin, her ear, etc. Then Mom got her makeup and put the various brushes in her hand for her to apply her lipstick, her blush, her eyeshadow. Tracy really seemed to like having her makeup applied. Although she is unable to apply it herself, she was able to turn her head to the right several times to reach her left cheek or eye with the brush in her right hand. Tracy slept well again last night, however, we are all waking up coughing. Mom and Tiffany have the same symptoms. It has to be allergies. Mom and Janneth got Tracy showered and ready for her 1:00 Physical Therapy session with Jen. She spent some time ranging and stretching every extemity and really concentrated on Tracy's feet. Jen is working on joint mobilization therapy with Tracy's feet and ankles. Then, Jen really worked Tracy's hips, stretching them out. Tracy really likes her hips stretched. After stretching, Jen and Mom got Tracy prone (on her tummy) with weight bearing through her shoulders and elbows. Tracy did a good job lifting her head, turning it to the right, and looking in the mirror. Jen was able to stretch Tracy's feet, hips and spine in this position. She tolerated 15 minutes in this position. Then, Mom and Jen got Tracy sitting on the edge of the mat and Jen was able to stretch Tracy's arms down to the mat. Tracy did a good job looking to the right where Jen was sitting. She tolerated about 15 minutes in a seated position. Tracy's ability to sit and balance herself on a plastic barrel is needed in order for her to be ready for therapeutic horseback riding. Tuesday morning, Mom and Liz took Tracy to Lift Me Up! for a riding assessment. Tracy did a good job stretching her legs around the barrel, but is not quite able to relax her right leg down around the barrel. She still flexes her right hip, which is not providing her the stability at this time to sit safely on a horse. The goal to work on in Physical Therapy would be to get Tracy to sit straddled on the peanut ball, and also to work on getting Tracy's right hip down by getting her prone on the mat. We also need to work on strengthening Tracy's trunk so that she can sit up on a horse and also to encourage her to reach with her arms so that she can hold the pommel. Tracy's Modified Barium Swallow has been rescheduled to Monday, August 12th at 2 PM. Her wheel chair fitting is scheduled for Tuesday, September 13 at 1 PM at Georgetown Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinic. Alternative Therapy Plan Update: Jen, a first year Physical Therapy student in the doctorate of physical therapy program at Marymount, will come by and work with Tracy. She will be coming about three times per week, on alternate days from Duncan, a third year PT student in the same program. Tracy will be getting physical therapy six days a week! Mom is still working on Occupational and Speech Therapy. She received a call from a Speech Therapist at George Washington University today and is scheduled for an evaluation next Thursday, September 15th. The clinic is run by graduate students and there are no insurance barriers, it is a private pay arrangement on a sliding scale. If anyone knows of any grants available that would apply to Tracy's needs, please email us at drdebanz@aol.com. We would appreciate any recommendations you may have. Mom is also working closely with Brain Injury Services of Northern Virginia to augment Tracy's therapy needs. The goal is to get her to the next level, so that she can participate more in her therapy and have a better quality of life. Tiffany started her second week of a six week internship with the USO this week. She will work three days a week and work on her focus groups and masters project the other two days a week. Tuesday evening, Tiffany conducted her second focus group with the caregivers of survivors of brain injury. She was able to collect some valuable information. This project will hopefully lead to a more efficient way for them to share and receive ideas on the NVBIS web site.http://www.braininjurysvcs.org. Several months ago we featured Ashley Higgin's web site on this page. Ashley suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury nearly one year ago. To catch up on her story go to the link above. We can't wait for Christine Cresswell to visit us. She will be here next week. Important: Please send Tracy an email in her guest book. Several weeks ago was the 31 month milestone since Tracy's accident and injury, and we would really appreciate your emails and prayers. Have a great week and God bless!

Tuesday, September 6th, 2005 : ~ Word of the day: SHARING!!!!! ~ The American spirit is resilient and finds strength in adversity. Try a little SHARING to lift your spirits! You can show your SHARING by donating to help the displaced people from New Orleans and the Gulf coast. You can click on Make a Donation to do your share or dial 1-800-HELP-NOW. We ask for your prayers for all of the people who have lost their families, loved ones, homes, businesses, jobs, and pets in New Orleans and the Gulf coast. Tracy slept well again last night, however, she has still been waking up coughing. Mom and Tiffany have the same symptoms. We think it is allergies. Mom and Janneth got Tracy bathed and ready for her 11:00 appointment at Lift Me Up! Mary Jo, a certified therapeutic horseback riding instructor and Veronica, a recreational therapist, spent some time evaluating Tracy's ability to sit and balance herself on a plastic barrel. Tracy did a good job stretching her legs around the barrel, but is not quite able to relax her right leg down around the barrel. She still flexes her right hip, which is not providing her the stability at this time to sit safely on a horse. The goal to work on in Physical Therapy would be to get Tracy to sit straddled on the peanut ball, and also to work on getting Tracy's right hip down by getting her prone on the mat. We also need to work on strengthening Tracy's trunk so that she can sit up on a horse and also to encourage her to reach with her arms so that she can hold the pommel. This afternoon, Mom, Dad and Tracy went to Fairfax to the Caregiver's Support Group sponsored by Brain Injury Services of Northern Virginia. Mom and Dad met a lot of very nice people who are also caregivers for survivors with brain injury. It was very informative and we are looking forward to returning on October 8th. While Mom and Dad were in the support group, Tracy was being entertained by Brian a recreation therapist with BISNV. We met Brian at the ADAPT clubhouse the day that Tiffany did her first focus group several weeks ago. He took Tracy for a walk outside to see the fountains. She seemed to like being outside and enjoyed listening to the fountains. After the support group finished, Tiffany came and conducted her second focus group with the caregivers. Mom was the recorder. She was able to collect some valuable information. This project will hopefully lead to a more efficient way for them to share and receive ideas on the NVBIS web site.http://www.braininjurysvcs.org. Tracy's Modified Barium Swallow has been rescheduled to Monday, August 12th at 2 PM. Mom and Liz gave Tracy about 4 ozs of nectar consistency lemon water today by mouth and Tracy swallowed it all! We will continue to practice swallowing until her MBS. Alternative Therapy Plan Update: Jen, a first year Physical Therapy student in the doctorate of physical therapy program at Marymount, will come by and work with Tracy. She will be coming about three times per week, on alternate days from Duncan, a third year PT student in the same program. Tracy will be getting physical therapy six days a week! Mom is still working on Occupational and Speech Therapy. She received a call from a Speech Therapist at George Washington University today and is scheduled for an evaluation next Thursday, September 15th. The clinic is run by graduate students and there are no insurance barriers, it is a private pay arrangement on a sliding scale. If anyone knows of any grants available that would apply to Tracy's needs, please email us at drdebanz@aol.com. We would appreciate any recommendations you may have. Mom is also working closely with Brain Injury Services of Northern Virginia to augment Tracy's therapy needs. The goal is to get her to the next level, so that she can participate more in her therapy and have a better quality of life. Tiffany and Rick made it back safely after a long and drawn out trip. They had a really good time in Texas and were even able to get a day trip to Mexico. Tiffany is looking forward to starting her second week of a six week internship with the USO this week. She will work three days a week and work on her focus groups and masters project the other two days a week. Several months ago we featured Ashley Higgin's web site on this page. Ashley suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury nearly one year ago. To catch up on her story go to the link above. Thanks cousins Guy, Dawn and Sophia Lillian for the cute shirt and book. We love them! Important: Please send Tracy an email in her guest book. Several weeks ago was the 31 month milestone since Tracy's accident and injury, and we would really appreciate your emails and prayers. Have a great week and God bless!

Monday, September 5th, 2005 : ~ Word of the day: SPONTANEITY!!!!! ~ The American spirit is resilient and finds strength in adversity. When the rest of the world seems to be focused on regaining control of their lives, we have been trying to add a little SPONTANEITY to ours. You can show your SPONTANEITY by donating to help the displaced people from New Orleans and the Gulf coast. You can click on Make a Donation to do your share or dial 1-800-HELP-NOW. We ask for your prayers for all of the people who have lost their families, loved ones, homes, businesses, jobs, and pets in New Orleans and the Gulf coast. Tracy slept well again last night, however, she has still been waking up coughing. Mom and Tiffany have the same symptoms. We are not sure whether it is a cold or allergies. Mom and Janneth got Tracy showered and shampooed and ready for the day. At 11:00 AM, Jen, one of Tracy's two Physical Therapy aides, came over to work with Tracy. Today was the first official session with Jen. Dad spent time showing Jen some stretching and range of motion techniques that he uses with Tracy. Jen did an outstanding job stretching Tracy from head to toe. Then, Mom, Dad, Janneth and Jen got Tracy prone (on her tummy) on the mat with her arms stretched over head and her hips square. Tracy's spine looked very straight and her hip relaxed too. They worked on stretching her hamstrings and her feet in this position. Tracy tolerated 15 mins in the prone position. Then, they got Tracy seated on the edge of the mat with her feet on the wedge. Tracy did a good job with head and trunk control. She was very relaxed. Jen and Dad worked on relaxing Tracy's arms down by her side. She really did a good job relaxing her arms down on the mat. She tolerated sitting for about 20 to 30 minutes. Jen and Duncan do a really good job working with Tracy. They will be working with Tracy 6 days a week, alternating days. This afternoon, Tania came over and joined Mom and Tracy at the pool. They decided to not go in the water since it was a little cool but instead, soaked up the sun! Today is the last day that the pool will be open for the season, so they made sure to get every last ray of sunshine. We are working on the goal of getting Tracy strong enough to sit on a horse and reach to hold the reins. We will go to Lift Me Up, the riding program in Great Falls tomorrow to meet Mary Jo, the hippotherapist. She will evaluate Tracy to see if she is ready for the program. Tracy's Modified Barium Swallow has been rescheduled to Monday, August 12th at 2 PM. Mom and Liz gave Tracy about 4 ozs of nectar consistency lemon water today by mouth and Tracy swallowed it all! We will continue to practice swallowing until her MBS. Alternative Therapy Plan Update: Jen, a first year Physical Therapy student in the doctorate of physical therapy program at Marymount, will come by and work with Tracy. She will be coming about three times per week, on alternate days from Duncan, a third year PT student in the same program. Tracy will be getting physical therapy six days a week! Mom is still working on Occupational and Speech Therapy. She received an email from the director of the Speech clinic at George Washington University today and will pursue taking Tracy there for Speech Therapy. The clinic is run by graduate students and there are no insurance barriers, it is a private pay arrangement on a sliding scale. If anyone knows of any grants available that would apply to Tracy's needs, please email us at drdebanz@aol.com. We would appreciate any recommendations you may have. Mom is also working closely with Brain Injury Services of Northern Virginia to augment Tracy's therapy needs. The goal is to get her to the next level, so that she can participate more in her therapy and have a better quality of life. Tiffany and Rick's return flight was postponed until tomorrow. They are visiting Rick's family in Alice, Texas for the LONG weekend. Tiffany starts her second week of a six week internship with the USO this week. She will work three days a week and work on her focus groups and masters project the other two days a week. As part of Tiffany's master's project, she is conducting a focus group to explore ways to improve the NVBIS web site for users, specifically survivors of acquired brain injury and their caregivers. She recently conducted the Focus Group with the survivors at the ADAPT program in Alexandria. She has one more Focus Group to conduct tomorrow evening, September 6th.. This one will be with the caregivers of the survivors of acquired brain injury. This project will hopefully lead to a more efficient way for them to share and receive ideas on the NVBIS web site.http://www.braininjurysvcs.org. Several months ago we featured Ashley Higgin's web site on this page. Ashley suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury nearly one year ago. To catch up on her story go to the link above. Thanks cousins Guy, Dawn and Sophia Lillian for the cute shirt and book. We love them! Important: Please send Tracy an email in her guest book. Several weeks ago was the 31 month milestone since Tracy's accident and injury, and we would really appreciate your emails and prayers. Have a great week and God bless!

Sunday, September 4th, 2005 : ~ Word of the day: RESILIENCE !!!!! ~ The American spirit is resilient and finds strength in adversity. What better way to love your neighbor than to give. You can click on Make a Donation to do your share or dial 1-800-HELPNOW. We ask for your prayers for all of the people who have lost their families, loved ones, homes, businesses, jobs, and pets in New Orleans and the Gulf coast. Tracy slept well again last night, however, she has still been waking up coughing. Mom and Tiffany have the same symptoms. We are not sure whether it is a cold or allergies. Mom and Dad got Tracy ready for the day, and then Mom and her friend Glen took off on their bikes and hit the Mt. Vernon Trail. Today they were riding to Mt. Vernon. It was a beautiful sunny day with low humidity. Dad got Tracy in her chair and they headed for the van. Dad and Tracy surprised Mom and Glen and met them at Mt. Vernon to have lunch. It was a great surprise! After lunch, Mom and Glen headed back to Crystal City from Mt. Vernon. This evening, Tania came over and joined Mom, Dad and Tracy in the pool. It was a little cool, but still felt good. Tracy did not relax much because she was pretty chilly. We all tolerated about 15 minutes and then got out and got warm. Tomorrow is the last day that the pool is open. We are sorry to see if close. After dinner, Tania gave Dad a very much needed massage. Mom will have her turn tomorrow. Tomorrow morning, Jen. a first year Physical Therapy student in the doctorate of physical therapy program at Marymount, will come by and work with Tracy. She will be coming about three times per week, on alternate days from Duncan. Tracy will be getting physical therapy six days a week! Mom is still working on Occupational and Speech Therapy. She received an email from the director of the Speech clinic at George Washington University today and will pursue taking Tracy there for Speech Therapy. The clinic is run by graduate students and there are no insurance barriers, it is a private pay arrangement on a sliding scale. We are working on the goal of getting Tracy strong enough to sit on a horse and reach to hold the reins. We will go to Lift Me Up, the riding program in Great Falls next Tuesday to meet Mary Jo, the hippotherapist. She will evaluate Tracy to see if she is ready for the program. Tracy's Modified Barium Swallow has been rescheduled to Monday, August 12th at 2 PM. Mom and Liz gave Tracy about 4 ozs of nectar consistency lemon water today by mouth and Tracy swallowed it all! We will continue to practice swallowing until her MBS. Mom has been busy working on developing a creative approach to Tracy's therapy routine. She is working on developing a team of talented therapists and students from a variety of local universities to work with Tracy. Network seems to be the key in building a talented team for Tracy. Some ideas she is pursuing is Hippotherapy, pool therapy, hiking in her jogger, and fun outings. With Fall on its way, it will be the perfect setting for outings to the many nature parks in the area. If anyone knows of any grants available that would apply to Tracy's needs, please email us at drdebanz@aol.com. We would appreciate any recommendations you may have. Mom is also working closely with Brain Injury Services of Northern Virginia to augment Tracy's therapy needs. The goal is to get her to the next level, so that she can participate more in her therapy and have a better quality of life. Tiffany and Rick headed to Mexico today for some shopping. She and Rick are visiting Rick's family in Alice, Texas for the LONG weekend. Tiffany finished her first week of a six week internship with the USO this week. She will work three days a week and work on her focus groups and masters project the other two days a week. As part of Tiffany's master's project, she is conducting a focus group to explore ways to improve the NVBIS web site for users, specifically survivors of acquired brain injury and their caregivers. She recently conducted the Focus Group with the survivors at the ADAPT program in Alexandria. She has one more Focus Group to conduct next Tuesday, September 6th.. This one will be with the caregivers of the survivors of acquired brain injury. This project will hopefully lead to a more efficient way for them to share and receive ideas on the NVBIS web site. http://www.braininjurysvcs.org. Several months ago we featured Ashley Higgin's web site on this page. Ashley suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury nearly one year ago. To catch up on her story go to the link above. Thanks cousins Guy, Dawn and Sophia Lillian for the cute shirt and book. We love them! Important: Please send Tracy an email in her guest book. Several weeks ago was the 31 month milestone since Tracy's accident and injury, and we would really appreciate your emails and prayers. Have a great weekend and God bless!

Saturday, September 3rd, 2005 : ~ Phrase of the day: UNITED WE STAND !!!!! ~ Today we are focusing on "UNITED WE STAND." The American spirit is resilient and finds strength in adversity. The gospel this evening said to LOVE ONE ANOTHER! What better way to love your neighbor than to give. You can click on Make a Donation to do your share or dial 1-800-HELPNOW. We ask for your prayers for all of the people who have lost their families, loved ones, homes, businesses, jobs, and pets in New Orleans and the Gulf coast. Tracy slept well again last night, however, she has been waking up coughing. We are not sure whether she has a cold or allergies. Mom and Janneth showered and shampooed Tracy this morning and got her ready for the day.Dad spent some time stretching Tracy and then they moved her to her chair. She spent about two hours in her chair and seemed to tolerate it well. She is also tolerating wearing her purple neoprene splints. Dad and Mom moved Tracy to the mat, and Dad got Tracy seated on the edge of the mat. She tolerated about 30 minutes. This evening, Mom and Dad took Tracy to 5:30 PM Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church. It was the first time that we had gone to this Mass. After Mass, Mom, Dad and Tracy went to Pentagon Row and had dinner outside at Sine's Irish Pub. It was a nice night and a good change. We are working on the goal of getting Tracy strong enough to sit on a horse and reach to hold the reins. We will go to Lift Me Up, the riding program in Great Falls next Tuesday to meet Mary Jo, the hippotherapist. She will evaluate Tracy to see if she is ready for the program. Mom received an email from the director of the Speech clinic at George Washington University today and will pursue taking Tracy there for Speech Therapy. The clinic is run by graduate students and there are no insurance barriers, it is a private pay arrangement on a sliding scale. Tracy's Modified Barium Swallow has been rescheduled to Monday, August 12th at 2 PM. Mom and Liz gave Tracy about 4 ozs of nectar consistency lemon water today by mouth and Tracy swallowed it all! We will continue to practice swallowing until her MBS. Mom has been busy working on developing a creative approach to Tracy's therapy routine. She is working on developing a team of talented therapists and students from a variety of local universities to work with Tracy. Network seems to be the key in building a talented team for Tracy. Some ideas she is pursuing is Hippotherapy, pool therapy, hiking in her jogger, and fun outings. With Fall on its way, it will be the perfect setting for outings to the many nature parks in the area. Yesterday afternoon, another student came by to meet Tracy. She is a first year physical therapy student at Marymount and just completed her bachelors in athletic training from George Mason University. We are looking forward to her working with Tracy too. If anyone knows of any grants available that would apply to Tracy's needs, please email us at drdebanz@aol.com. We would appreciate any recommendations you may have. Mom is also working closely with Brain Injury Services of Northern Virginia to augment Tracy's therapy needs. The goal is to get her to the next level, so that she can participate more in her therapy and have a better quality of life. Tiffany made it safely to Corpus Christi Texas Friday night. She and Rick are visiting Rick's family for the LONG weekend. Tiffany finished her first week of a six week internship with the USO this week. She will work three days a week and work on her focus groups and masters project the other two days a week. As part of Tiffany's master's project, she is conducting a focus group to explore ways to improve the NVBIS web site for users, specifically survivors of acquired brain injury and their caregivers. She recently conducted the Focus Group with the survivors at the ADAPT program in Alexandria. She has one more Focus Group to conduct next Tuesday, September 6th.. This one will be with the caregivers of the survivors of acquired brain injury. This project will hopefully lead to a more efficient way for them to share and receive ideas on the NVBIS web site.http://www.braininjurysvcs.org. Several months ago we featured Ashley Higgin's web site on this page. Ashley suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury nearly one year ago. To catch up on her story go to the link above. Thanks cousins Guy, Dawn and Sophia Lillian for the cute shirt and book. We love them! Important: Please send Tracy an email in her guest book. Several weeks ago was the 31 month milestone since Tracy's accident and injury, and we would really appreciate your emails and prayers. Have a great weekend and God bless!

Friday, September 2nd, 2005 : ~ Word of the day: HELP NOW !!!!! ~ Today we are focusing on donating to the relief efforts that have been organized in support of the aftermath from Hurricane Katrina. You can click on Make a Donation to do your share or dial 1-800-HELPNOW. We ask for your prayers for all of the people who have lost their families, loved ones, homes, businesses, jobs, and pets in New Orleans and the Gulf coast. Tracy slept well again last night. Her nausea seems to have subsided. Mom bathed Tracy this morning and got her ready for the day. Liz came over and they got Tracy in her chair and out on the balcony. She really enjoyed the sunshine. It was a perfect day with low humidity. Liz painted Tracy's toenails a cool purple metallic! Then Mom massaged her feet and legs. She really relaxed. Liz did her make-up. Tracy really loves having her eye make-up applied. Then Mom braided her hair. It was a true spa day. Later in the day, Mom and Liz brought Tracy inside to cool off. They transferred her to the mat, and stretched her legs out on a therapy ball. Then they took chilled sensory stimulation clay and put it in her hands. They were able to stretch Tracy's fingers around the cool clay that had a eucalyptus scent. In the afternoon, Tania came by to give Tracy a much needed massage. She really seemed to enjoy Tania's relaxing massage. Tracy does not have any Physical Therapy today, but Tania was sure to give Tracy a good stretch. The goal is to get Tracy strong enough to sit on a horse and reach to hold the reins. We will go to Lift Me Up, the riding program in Great Falls next Tuesday to meet Mary Jo, the hippotherapist. She will evaluate Tracy to see if she is ready for the program. Mom received an email from the director of the Speech clinic at George Washington University today and will pursue taking Tracy there for Speech Therapy. The clinic is run by graduate students and there are no insurance barriers, it is a private pay arrangement on a sliding scale. Tracy's Modified Barium Swallow has been rescheduled to Monday, August 12th at 2 PM. Mom and Liz gave Tracy about 4 ozs of nectar consistency lemon water today by mouth and Tracy swallowed it all! We will continue to practice swallowing until her MBS. Mom has been busy working on developing a creative approach to Tracy's therapy routine. She is working on developing a team of talented therapists and students from a variety of local universities to work with Tracy. Network seems to be the key in building a talented team for Tracy. Some ideas she is pursuing is Hippotherapy, pool therapy, hiking in her jogger, and fun outings. With Fall on its way, it will be the perfect setting for outings to the many nature parks in the area. Yesterday afternoon, another student came by to meet Tracy. She is a first year physical therapy student at Marymount and just completed her bachelors in athletic training from George Mason University. We are looking forward to her working with Tracy too. If anyone knows of any grants available that would apply to Tracy's needs, please email us at drdebanz@aol.com. We would appreciate any recommendations you may have. Mom is also working closely with Brain Injury Services of Northern Virginia to augment Tracy's therapy needs. The goal is to get her to the next level, so that she can participate more in her therapy and have a better quality of life. Tiffany made it safely to Corpus Christi Texas last night. She and Rick are visiting Rick's family for the LONG weekend. Tiffany finished her first week of a six week internship with the USO this week. She will work three days a week and work on her focus groups and masters project the other two days a week. As part of Tiffany's master's project, she is conducting a focus group to explore ways to improve the NVBIS web site for users, specifically survivors of acquired brain injury and their caregivers. She recently conducted the Focus Group with the survivors at the ADAPT program in Alexandria. She has one more Focus Group to conduct next Tuesday, September 6th.. This one will be with the caregivers of the survivors of acquired brain injury. This project will hopefully lead to a more efficient way for them to share and receive ideas on the NVBIS web site.http://www.braininjurysvcs.org. Several months ago we featured Ashley Higgin's web site on this page. Ashley suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury nearly one year ago. To catch up on her story go to the link above. Thanks cousins Guy, Dawn and Sophia Lillian for the cute shirt and book. We love them! Important: Please send Tracy an email in her guest book. Several weeks ago was the 31 month milestone since Tracy's accident and injury, and we would really appreciate your emails and prayers. Have a great weekend and God bless!

Thursday, September 1st, 2005 : ~ Word of the day: DONATE!!!!! ~ Today we are focusing on donating to the relief efforts that have been organized in support of the aftermath from Hurricane Katrina. You can click on Make a Donation to do your share. We ask for your prayers for all of the people who have lost their families, loved ones, homes, businesses, jobs, and pets in New Orleans and the Gulf coast.Tracy slept well again last night. Last evening, she was nauseous again and vomited a little, so Mom and Dad decided not to give her the evening tube feeding. It must be the change in the Baclofen that is making her nauseous. Dr. Tornatore adjusted Tracy's night time doses because she is sleeping and does not need the higher doses. This should adjust itself in a day or two. Mom and Jenny showered and shampooed Tracy and got her ready for the day. She seemed very relaxed when Duncan came over for Tracy's Physical Therapy session. He spends the first part of the session stretching and ranging Tracy's extremities, spending a lot of time stretching her hips. Then he positioned Tracy on the edge of the mat, and leaned her to the right and left, encouraging her to bear weight through her forearms and shoulders. Then he put a large bolster between her knees and worked with her upper extremities, stretching her right and left arm down to reach the handle. The goal is to get Tracy strong enough to sit on a horse and reach to hold the reins. We will go to Lift Me Up, the riding program in Great Falls next Tuesday to meet Mary Jo, the hippotherapist. She will evaluate Tracy to see if she is ready for the program.Mom received an email from the director of the Speech clinic at George Washington University today and will pursue taking Tracy there for Speech Therapy. The clinic is run by graduate students and there are no insurance barriers, it is a private pay arrangement on a sliding scale. Tracy's Modified Barium Swallow has been rescheduled to Monday, August 12th at 2 PM due to a flood we experienced in our apartment last night. The pipes burst and all of the HVAC convectors flooded in all of the bedrooms and family room. We had maintenance in our apartment until 1 AM cutting up the carpets, removing the soaked padding, and trying to stop the leak. It was a small problem compared to the devastation in New Orleans and the Gulf coast. Mom has been busy working on developing a creative approach to Tracy's therapy routine. She is working on developing a team of talented therapists and students from a variety of local universities to work with Tracy. Network seems to be the key in building a talented team for Tracy. Some ideas she is pursuing is Hippotherapy, pool therapy, hiking in her jogger, and fun outings. With Fall on its way, it will be the perfect setting for outings to the many nature parks in the area. Yesterday afternoon, another student came by to meet Tracy. She is a first year physical therapy student at Marymount and just completed her bachelors in athletic training from George Mason University. We are looking forward to her working with Tracy too. If anyone knows of any grants available that would apply to Tracy's needs, please email us at drdebanz@aol.com. We would appreciate any recommendations you may have. Mom is also working closely with Brain Injury Services of Northern Virginia to augment Tracy's therapy needs. The goal is to get her to the next level, so that she can participate more in her therapy and have a better quality of life.Tiffany finished her first week of a six week internship with the USO this week. She will work three days a week and work on her focus groups and masters project the other two days a week. As part of Tiffany's master's project, she is conducting a focus group to explore ways to improve the NVBIS web site for users, specifically survivors of acquired brain injury and their caregivers. She recently conducted the Focus Group with the survivors at the ADAPT program in Alexandria. She has one more Focus Group to conduct. This one will be with the caregivers of the survivors of acquired brain injury. This project will hopefully lead to a more efficient way for them to share and receive ideas on the NVBIS web site.http://www.braininjurysvcs.org.Several months ago we featured Ashley Higgin's web site on this page. Ashley suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury nearly one year ago. To catch up on her story go to the link above. Thanks cousins Guy, Dawn and Sophia Lillian for the cute shirt and book. We love them! Important: Please send Tracy an email in her guest book. Several weeks ago was the 31 month milestone since Tracy's accident and injury, and we would really appreciate your emails and prayers. Have a great week and God bless!