12/24/2010

Happy Holidays everyone!!!! Thanks for all the support the last couple years.

Carol, Scott, Chloe, and Safiya

12/7/2010

So time to update:)

Carol is telling me what to put on this post. So for halloween the girls went trick or treating down our street both dressed as butterflies. They got to learn all the in's and out's of that; like we only know on doors with lights on, and we only take 1 piece of candy, not a handful.

Throughout October and November Carol was very busy with therapies at home, as her formal in house rehab we knew was coming to a close at the beginning of December. She spent the majority of her therapy the last couple months working on learning how to cook/work in the kitchen. She has made dinner several times now...which is great. Today, with our nannies great help she hosted a lunch party where she made salads and soup for all of her therapists.

We had a great thanksgiving at our house and at one of my brothers. I got to learn how to cook all the stuff with Carol's direction and her mom's help...turned out good. For me, work has been going very well, and been very rewarding.

Carol's right hand continues to get more function, although far from the way it was....she is continuing hand therapy in our hometown. Carol got a new electric wheelchair, although she only really uses a chair if she goes to the mall or long distances. We are turning kind of a new page in her recovery being done with the all day rehab. She plans on making new different goals, bigger goals. Getting back into the snow somehow, going on walks by herself, maybe getting a dog to help. Figure out ways to teach the girls. She can do so many things with them from changing Safiya's poopy diapers to bathing them.

Chloe turns 4 in a couple of weeks....she is doing very well. The girls in general are getting along sooooo much better. It's like Chloe all of a sudden realized Safiya is going to be around for awhile so why not play with her all the time. Safiya is talking alot, and has developed into a little kid instead of a baby. I guess she came out of her bedroom today, looked at Carol and said "what happened to your hand".....every started laughing and she replied " I am cracking you guys up". She is going to be the class clown. Safiya used the toilet for the first time last weekend, that we had seen anyway. It was rumored she had gone already. Can't wait for diapers to be over....never thought I would have changed as many poopy diapers as I have. The girls still do kindermusick every week in town. Chloe finished soccer, which she loved, and now is trying gymnastics, which she really likes.

We got the xmas tree up the day after thanksgiving....light around the house this weekend?!?

thanks for all support the last couple years.

The Decker

a couple more summer pics

Assorted summer pictures of the girls

9/15/2010

I haven't really had the time to update this thing. We are doing really well....we have been busy working and having work done on our house. Hopefully within the next month or so we will be moving to our new bedroom. Carol is doing pretty well healthwise. Her in house rehab, which remarkably has been ongoing almost daily for two years, will officially come to and end at the end of this year, so she is really busy at home working on learning how to cook again, how to bathe the girls, and all the in's and out's of what she defines as being a mother. We continue to finetune our house to accomodate and enable her to do all of that.

In doing all of that it is a struggle at times with the girls. They are so used to certain things happening at a certain speed, and Carol in general takes a bit longer. Safiya, has really developed her own personality..she is a little comedian/clown...trying to make us all laugh most of the time. Chloe is challenging at times. Don't get me wrong she is great and we love her, but she is much higher maintenance than Safiya, which sometimes makes everything Carol is trying to do a little more difficult. Most people tell us she is just a normal 3 year old, but sometimes we wonder if what happened to Carol has had some effect on her negatively. Anyway.....what else. Chloe is in soccer, which, she is doing great in.

Carol's leg's have gotten pretty stable, and we have developed a really great system at home for her to take care of herself, even more than the last couple years. I will post some pictures of everyone when I can. Thanks for all of the support.

Scott

7/18/2010

So here I am standing in the kitchen taking a painting break, and I hear Carol out in the living room, she has started the TV all by herself and is watching "Wedding Crashers" . You that may really know Carol, know this laugh she has when she thinks something is really funny. She was out giggling this laugh all by herself. I have a heard it a few times the last couples years, not many. This was definitely all be herself invoked, if you know what I mean. Had to post about it, it's the first time in awhile, I have seen her be alone, and just laughing to herself without any other personal interference.....in the nicest ways... it was great:))

6/22/2010

Well things are going pretty good for us, the sun is shining for the first time it seems in a long time. Carol and I had to take Safiya up to Swedish for a minor surgery around her eye last Friday (picture attached:)). She had some small bumps around her left eye. She did great with the sedation and waking up, etc. It seems overnight Safiya is putting together sentences and talking really well. She keeps wanting to sit on the potty like her big sister, but isn't quite sure what to do up their, but she really wants to do the whole thing including flushing and washing hands. Her Birthday party in the tricities was great as well...nice to have the sunshine. I'll attach a couple photos of that also.

Carol's health seems to be doing good. She may be ending formal rehab stuff at the end of summer, or fall. I guess that is a good sign of progress, but feels like cutting the cord a bit. Her prosthetics are going great. She is starting to think more and more about further prosthetic options for her left arm. She has a couple things (hand and hook) but all of that has been on the back burner for quite some time.

Our house is slowly coming together, I keep forgetting to take pictures. Hopefully we will be insulating and sheetrocking in the next couple weeks to month. Talk soon!!

Scott

6/7/2010

Safiya's 2nd birthday is coming up this week, as well as the 2nd anniversary since Carol got sick. We will be doing a "Yo Gabba Gabba" themed party for her at the inlaw's!! Should be fun, we also are going to a wedding this week for one of Carol's friends. Should be a good weekend.

Carol got a new foot for her legs last week. They are alot lighter, she seems to really like them.

The house is still being worked on. Right now it is electrical stuff. The plumbing rough-in has been checked off. The framing has pretty much been done, but has a couple things that have to be fixed before inspection. As always, thanks for the support.

Scott and Carol

5/17/2010

5/7/2010

Well what is new. It is late, and I thought I would leave a post. Haven't done one from home in a long time. Usually do a rushed update at work these days.

So the unpacking continues....this way different than renting. This being our first owned place...we or maybe I have a larger sense of doing things the right way, and every little scratch in something is more upsetting than it ever has been. For some reasons Safiya keeps coloring all the walls, something she has never done anywhere else. Chloe broke her wrist/arm on Sunday doing a summersault (sp?) over the sofa onto the single pane HUGE window in the living room....the window she has been explicitly told to not mess with. Anyway...Tuesday was a busy day for nanny and Carol at her pediatrician getting that all taken care of. She has a really small arm splint...it's funny. For some reason Safiya has had a runny nose ever since we moved in here....This morning was the first time they actually seemed to sleep in normally. Here's hoping that trend will continue.

Things have been moving forward with our small remodel to the house. I hope it is all done in a couple months. What else has been going on......Carol is going right along. She has this place super organized, at least what has been set up so far. There is an assigned place for everything, especially in the kitchen. The weather has been not so good here, so we haven't actually spent much time outside in our yard, but hope to this weekend. I got Carol a hammock for mother's day. Something she has wanted since we bought the house. We'll see how that works out. Health/rehab wise Carol got some sort of final impression/mold for her current legs today. I will try and post some new pictures soon, once I find where the camera is. Thanks for all the support, and attention on Facebook.

Scott

4/27/2010

Well we finally moved last weekend. It so fun being in our own house for the first time ever. Carol and I have been married for 12 years, and moved almost the same number of times. We finally are throwing away all the cardboard we have saved for over a decade!! Thanks for all of our families and friends help. I don't have any pictures yet, but I will post when I can. Also, thanks for all the support. It has been really cool seeing our hometown, and the world remotivate us.

On Carol news, Carol has changed prosthetists to one closer to our hometown. A few of my patients, are patients of his (Greg Davidson), and have been telling us about him for quite awhile. Carol was very nervous about cutting ties up in Seattle, but she is super excited about the change, plus it is way closer for us. She has a plastic surgery consult with the surgeon at harborview today. He is the doctor who did most of her initial skin graft's/surgeries at harborview. Carol is wanting to look into the possibility of cosmetic stuff that could be done to help make her scarring look better. I am sort of thinking she may have to look elsewhere, as harborview is more of a trauma center. But I guess we will see.

Things are going pretty good with the girls. They are sharing a room for the first time, so that has been an interesting change this week. Let's just say I don't need my alarm clock anymore. They are up at 5:30-6 screaming and playing in their room. Funny, but not at the same time!!

thanks
scott

Facebook Page to Support an Extreme Home Makeover for the Deckers

Hello Blog Followers!
My name is Sara, I'm a friend of Scott and Carol's. There is a group of us working on a package to nominate the Deckers to be considered for ABC's Extreme Makeover Home Edition. We have started a Facebook group to promote support and include in our package to ABC. The response has been OVERWHELMING! In one weekend we have had over 4,000 people join the page in support. We would like to invite you all to join the page as well.

If you are a member of Facebook, log in and follow the link below to join.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=112160658809224&ref=nf#!/group.php?gid=112160658809224&ref=mf

Please take a minute to join the "discussion tab" on how this story has touched your life, or give us a brief post of support. Also, if you could invite all of your friends to join us as well we can keep this train rolling :) Let's make this happen for the Deckers!!

Love,
Sara, Emily and Katie

4/4/2010

Easter morning fun!!

4/1/2010

Well it has been some time so I think I should catch everyone up on what has been going on with us. I have tried to leave a couple posts in the last couple month (lengthy ones) that have gotten erased somehow. It's unmotivating to do it again for some reason. Here's hoping I have better luck here. So first Carol: She is doing well. The main reason for the slowdown in updates, is generally because of the slowdown in progress. I mean that in a good way actually. mainly I think what Carol is doing lately is becoming much more independent. She rarely uses her wheelchair nowadays. She is getting a new leg today actually, I can't remember which one. We haven't had the last surgery on her right leg, mostly becuase Carol's extended family has been having alot of health issues themselves, and Carol didn't want to be in the hospital at the same time. Carol's mom had a heart surgery and a couple of her aunts have cancer, and her stepmom had cancer as well. So crazy couple years for her family to say the least. What else......we have been very busy with work, and getting our house ready to move into, which is moving very very slowly. We are moving into it next month even though it is not technically ready.

At the beginning of the year Chloe started a ballet class here in town. They had a recital in March I think. I tried to attach the video, unsuccessfully. She did great, but was hilarious. Chloe is 3 now, and Safiya will turn 2 in June. That will be the 2 year reunion of Carol getting sick. Safiya talks very well for her age, saying lots of please and to much "no thank you's" if you ask me:)

I am doing good too!! Gotta run

Thanks for all the support

scott

2/5/2010

1/11/2010

So I just have to write a quick post. I just realized that Chloe is growing up. She has a first day of preschool tomorrow, ballet on Wednesday, and music class on Thursday. She needs her own palm pilot soon. She was showing me on the calendar her busy schedule. For some reason I always thought Carol would be more worried about "dropping" her off at school. Carol and I were talking tonight, and she reminded me that Chloe goes to preschool tomorrow. I was like ok, so do you go with her? Carol had to remind that no...we just drop her off for awhile. I responded, will you just be waiting in the parking lot? Carol said no, she will be at home and they will call if there is a problem. Funny....I am nervous for her. That's all!!


Scott

1/8/2010

Happy New Year....been awhile. Life has been very busy over the holidays. Carol is doing pretty well, Chloe is still not potty trained but turned 3 on new years eve. Safiya and Chloe are playing well together. There has been so much I don't even know what to post. I will put some pictures and video instead!!