May 1, 2021

Dearest Friends and Family:

I am starting to write this on Friday night April 30th and I am happy to report that Rebecca finished a good week of rehabilitation at Spaulding.

She is gradually getting conditioned to use the diaphragmatic pacer more and more. As many of you know Rebecca is an athlete so her mindset of training and conditioning is going to serve her well in this new world she lives in. She is also learnng to operate a sip and puff wheelchair, a device that is not easy to master.

We take each day as it comes here and try not to get too far ahead of ourselves but at the same time we know at some point Rebecca will be discharged from Spaulding and we have to start thinking and preparing for our next steps. This is very scary to us to put it mildly.

Talking about what we will do next is like trying to drive a car blindfolded. The level of care that Rebecca will need is staggering. For sure Rebecca will require skilled nursing and personal care attendants just to get through a normal day.

For now we take joy in the steps forward, no matter how small, that she is making. She is enjoying her meals and texting her friends. Erik was up this past week to visit. Rebecca loves seeing her brother as it is very uplifting.

A number of Rebecca’s friends also came to visit this past week. However, because of the Covid rules only one friend can be in her room at a time. These visits mean so much to her. They connect her to her past world and she is thrilled to be able to see her friends.

We hope and pray every moment Rebecca continues to make progress. We enjoy each and every moment that we are with her and are overjoyed when she gives us her big smile. I will not lie to you as some of the moments for us are dark. Being displaced is not easy and we miss greatly the comforts and familiarity of our house and neighborhood. We try to take long walks during the day when the weather permits. We have learned that Boston is a walkable city (it is certainly not a driveable city). From Charlestown we can walk across one bridge into downtown Boston. From another foot bridge we can walk into Cambridge. Being near the water is very soothing.

Once again I can not emphasize enough to you how much your support means to us. It is comforting to know that we are all thought of and prayed for. I have never been a religious man but I find myself trying to connect to G-d in my own way each day. I make my hopes and prayers known. The fact that you are all doing the same is very powerful to us. Please continue to think, pray support Rebecca and us. Its importance can not be underestimated.

We love you all. Audrey, Scott Erik and Rebecca.

April 25, 2021

Dearest Friends and Family:

It is six weeks ago today that we received the new Rebecca who transformed our lives.

This past week was an important one. On Tuesday Rebecca underwent surgery at Mass General Hospital (MGH) and had a diaphragmatic pacer successfully implanted. The diaphragmatic pacer (or pacer) electrically stimulates the diaphragm to contract ( something it was not doing after Rebecca’s injury). With her diaphragm able to now contract and pull air into her lungs, Rebecca, we believe will become less dependent on the ventilator and hopefully she can wean herself off the vent entirely at some point in the future.

Like everything else this is a process and requires conditioning. It will take time to develop her diaphragm muscle which has been inactive since her accident. This pacer is relatively new to medical technology and it is not very common as most people who suffer the type of injury that Rebecca did do not survive. The use of the pacer will now become a large component of her rehab.

The quality of care that Rebecca received at MGH was absolutely amazing from the surgeon who performed the procedure to all the residents and the nurses…what a great hospital! Thank you!

Our Rebecca remains tough and determined. She is courageous and brave. She will continue to work hard in rehab. She will also get the rest that she needs which is so important to spinal cord injury patients. We know it is not an easy path and we know it is not a straight path but we continue to forge ahead.

Rebecca is enjoying being able to eat real food. She must still however supplement with a feeding tube. She also loves facetiming and texting her friends All of this however requires assistance. The COVID rules regarding visitors has been strict at Spaulding. However Rebecca was able to get special permission for some friends to visit. This has been wonderful for her and we hope these visits continue as they are a great morale booster.

Boston remains our home for the time being. It is a city that does not have straight roads or good signs. There are however loads of golden retrievers everywhere and all of them seemed to be named “Bailey”. Another important development is that Audrey finally got her haircut and it looks great

Lastly it goes without saying that the emotional support and prayers that we receive from all of you is vital to us. We are aware of all the fundraisers that continue on Rebecca’s behalf. We are humbled by all this generosity. We really do not know what to say except “Thank you”

Love to all, Audrey, Scott and Erik and Rebecca.

April 17, 2021

One quick addendum. Thursday I was able to get a badly needed haircut. This was very pleasing to Rebecca who told me I looked like a mad scientist. The barber charged me the “senior rate” without asking me my age. I don’t know if I was happy about that. Audrey is now looking to get her hair cut so stay tuned!! Scott

April 17, 2021

Dearest Friends and Family:

I wish I could tell you that every step was one forward in the name of progress for our dear Rebecca.

Unfortunately in the world of spinal cord injuries, healing and health insurance companies it doesn’t always work that way. This past week we hit a bit of a rough patch,however she is now okay.

Late Sunday night/ early Monday morning it was suspected Rebecca had an infection and as an abundance of caution a decision was made to have Rebecca tranferred over to Mass General Hospital. After a little more that 24 hours there, she was ready to be discharged. However due to a communication breakdown there was a delay in getting insurance approval for her transfer back to Spaulding. Accordingly she had to remain in Mass General unnecessarily for two more days. This was incredibly frustrating and maddening for all of us. Fortunately Audrey was able to sleep at the hospital with Rebecca and Erik and I were there every day. The care and kindness that Rebecca received at Mass General was unparalleled.

As of Thursday afternoon our dear Rebecca was back at Spaulding and on Friday she was receiving the Speech, PT and OT that she needs to maximize her recovery.

We are hopeful this type of thing does not happen again.

I can only ask all of you to keep praying for our Rebecca. As I have said before your support, whether it be financial, emotional or through prayer means everything to us and helps us get through the more difficult days. Above all we rely on Rebecca and her spirit and love of life to carry us. Thank you all so so much. Love, Audrey, Scott and Erik.

April 10, 2021

Dear Friends and Family:

Today is four weeks since Becca’s accident and the day we began this new phase in our lives. Without getting too deep or philosophical I choose to look at is as the day our Rebecca was reborn.

Audrey and I continue to take it day by day here in Boston. The fact that Rebecca can eat solid food and enjoy it is a game changer. As she told me yesterday she is now gaining the power and ability to control her diet which is very important to her. She is still receiving tube feedings however.

As many of you know talking has been difficult for her with the ventilator however when the vent is adjusted in a certain way she is able to speak and is getting quite adept at it. Yesterday with the assistance of the adaptive tech person and voice conrol through her cell phone she was able to text independently. This is also huge. When she does speak it sounds like her voice.

Rebecca just completed her first full work week here at Spaulding. Everyday is busy for her between PT, OT, Speech and Respiratory. Yesterday she got to go outside for a while on a portable vent and that was great. We continue to hear from the friends that we made at Dartmouth Hitchcock and the medical clinic at Stratton who are all so interested in Rebecca and her progress. That is heartwarming to us.

I have come to realize that while this is a story about Rebecca, it is also a story about Audrey and I. After 26 days staying at Marriott Residence Inns both in New Hampshire and Boston we have moved to a nice apartment provided to us by Spaulding across the street from the hospital. While we have nothing against Marriott Residence Inns, we did get tired of eating Cheerios out of a box and powdered eggs for breakfast. I am looking forward to seeing my new points total. I can not count the number of times that I left my key card in the room locking myself out.

The visitor policy at Spaulding is pretty strict due to Covid but we were able to get permission for a dear friend of Becca’s who goes to school in Boston to visit her today. We are grateful for that. This will be wonderful for Rebecca as she misses her friends.

Once again we want to thank everyone for their wonderful support whether it is sending us meals, donating to the fund, sending us messages, keeping in touch or praying for Rebecca, it keeps us going.

Love to all, Audrey, Scott and Erik.

April 7, 2021

Once again we must thank all of you from the bottom of our hearts for all the support and love you have shown us throughout this terrible ordeal. It has lifted our spirits and helped carry us through this journey. It has provided us some degree of solace in these rough days.

Today our Rebecca was cleared and was able to eat solid food for the first time since her accident. This was a big step in the direction of progress. It made us all so happy. Rebecca has been at Spaulding Rehab now for six days. She receives physical and occupational therapy every day. She also works with a speech pathologist and a respiratory therapist daily. So far we are pleased with the professionalism and dedication of all the caregivers at Spaulding.

Please continue your prayers and thoughts for our wonderful Rebecca. Love Audrey, Scott and Erik

April 1, 2021

Dearest Friends and Family: Earlier today our Rebecca was discharged from Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Centre and was transported via ambulance down to the Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston. The ride was a little over two hours and went smoothly. Audrey was able to ride in the ambulance along with Rebecca, a Respiratory Therapist and a Critical Care Nurse. Once at Spaulding they began assessing Rebecca. Once they are done with their evaluations they will formulate a plan for her. Rehab for someone like Rebecca is complex and is comprised of many different components and specialties. It can also be long and never ending. We continue to be hopeful and pray for miracles for our dear Rebecca who is doing her best to remain strong. We tell her (and ourselves) to try and take one day at a time with this. When that doesn’t work we say take one hour at a time! We will continue to keep you posted on Rebecca’s progress at rehab.

We want to thank everyone again soooo much for all of the financial and emotional support that you have provided to us. We are overwhelmed with the enormity of what has happened to Rebecca. We are equally overwhelmed with all the support and love that has been expressed for Rebecca Receiving your financial support and reading your comments has meant the absolute world to us. It provides us some degree of relief to know that so many people care so much. It reminds us that there is so much good in people and in the world.

Please continue to keep Rebecca in your prayers and thoughts every day. Love to you all. Scott

March 28, 2021

Thank you to everyone for all you have done so far for our dear Rebecca! Below is Audrey and my story concerning what happened. Love to you all. Scott

March 13, 2021 was like any other Saturday for me. I knew my two kids were both skiing that day at Stratton Mountain in Vermont. I swam laps that morning and spoke with my wife Audrey about whether she had any preferences for dinner. Audrey had gotten together with a friend to go for a walk and I decided to take a ride down to Jones Beach and walk on the boardwalk. Something I loved to do. It was a beautiful day weather wise. It took me about 20 minutes to drive down to the beach and just as I was parking the car my cellphone rang.

It was a strange number. When I answered the phone it was my son Erik who immediately told me that Rebecca was in an accident and was found unconscious in the woods on the mountain. He told me she was going to be airlifted to Dartmouth Hospital in New Hampshire. He knew no more. I immediately started trying to reach Audrey on her phone and at the same time I began driving home. I reached Audrey when I was just about home and she immediately began walking back to come home so that we could head up to New Hampshire. Shortly after I got home Erik called me again. He was at the medical clinic at Stratton and he put me on the phone with one of the Doctors. I was told the situation was dire; that my dear Rebecca was found without a pulse and that while they had revived her she kept losing it and they had to keep doing CPR to get her back. I was told that she was without oxygen for a period of time and this could result in her being brain damaged or brain dead. It was made clear to me that she may not survive the helicopter ride to Dartmouth and that the team of no less than 20 doctors had done everything they could to save her. I was then told Erik would be brought in to see his sister for what may be the last time.

Over the next three hours we functioned as robots. We packed some clothes and medicine we needed, grabbed some waters and snacks. We dropped off the dog at our dog sitter and began the five hour ride up to New Hampshire. How were able to do this is still a mystery to me. While I am not overly religious I believe G-d carried us and gave us the strength to function in what was the most awful day of our lives. I fully expected to receive a call that she did not make it and that our trip up there would be a short one. How my son Erik functioned and remained calm is a testament to what an amazing young man he is.

About halfway into the ride we called Erik who was in New Hampshire near the hospital. Rebecca was at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Centre which is a Level I trauma center. Having been here now for two weeks I can only call this hospital truly amazing. While it may not be geographically convenient you must trust me that this is the place you would want to go if something was very wrong medically. Erik could not go in because of Covid but was told that Rebecca had arrived critical and was now stable. We then called the ER and spoke with someone who went through a ton of medical jargon and said Rebecca although seriously seriously injured was following basic neurologic commands. We were also told that it appeared Rebecca had sustained some very severe neck fractures very high up on her neck. They were bringing her in for an emergency MRI and would make a determination if emergency surgery was necessary. Later that night we were told emergency surgery (meaning that evening) was not necessary. She would however need surgery over the next 48 hours to stabilize her spine. The doctor also confirmed how severe the fractures were and that she did not have the ability to breathe on her own and that she was on a ventilator.

We were told the next day the Hospital was lifting COVID restrictions and we could come in and visit. We booked our room at a local Marriott Courtyard and spent the night trying to sleep.

Oddly enough I was scheduled to have my second COVID vaccine shot on March 14th the day after Rebecca’s accident. My appointment was at 2:20. So the following morning I drove from New Hampshire back down to NY to get my second COVID shot. After I got my shot I went home spent the night at home and packed up all the things that we had forgotten the day before when we first drove up to New Hampshire

Amongst this terrible day for all of us, there were some little miracles:

1-Stratton just happened to have a team of the best-top notch physicians on staff that day. Some of whom specialize in trauma. These Doctors refused to give up on Rebecca and did whatever it took to save her life doing whatever lifesaving measures are needed to keep her heart beating……. a miracle

2-Rebecca needed to go to a Level 1 Trauma Center. Their first choice of Trauma 1 Medical Centers is Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon New Hampshire, but there needs to be a helicopter available to air lift her there. Their second choice Trauma -1 Medical Center is Albany Medical Center. When Rebecca had her accident a helicopter from Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center had just become available and flew right to Stratton to get Rebecca. …a miracle

2-On our way up to New Hampshire, we called the ICU where Rebecca was taken and were told she was “critical but stable.” …”but stable.” …a miracle

3-Despite being without a pulse and needing CPR multiples times, Rebecca’s brain MRI, neurologic exams, and cognition were all normal. …a miracle.

We have now been here for over two weeks. We are trying to get Rebecca medically stable enough where she can be transferred to a Rehab centre in Boston.