Cherie's Progress

Cherie and I at her home in a few weeks ago in September

For those of you who have been following my childhood friend Cherie's Progress since her paralyzing auto accident on 9/30/10 (four years ago this month) I have some news.

First of all, she remains to have a positive attitude. She's been having in-home therapy through the VNA association ever since she came home from Shepherd Center for Spinal Cord & Brain Injury Rehabilitation. The VNA feels as though they have brought her as far as they can, so they helped her make a video and fill out the application to attend Brooks Rehabilitation in Jacksonville, FL for a four week program of multi-disciplined intensive therapy.

If you want to make a tax deductible donation to Cherie so that she may continue to fund her progress, please visit her HelpHOPELive website for more information.

When Cherie first came home from Shepherd Center in Atlanta, GA to Vero Beach, FL, I reached out to my artist friends and asked them to make and send her cards of encouragement, to help keep her spirits up. Cherie has told me over and OVER again how much those cards meant to her, how much the kind words of strangers meant to her.

I'd like to ask you again if you would send a word of encouragement to a stranger to you, but a dear lifelong friend to me. Cherie's mother was an artist, she worked in soft pastel and was the first person to ever take me to an art museum.

Email me for the snail mailing address for notes and cards for Cherie.

Thank You
for being a part
of my Art Journey,
Elizabeth

Cherie's Progress

Cherie and I in October at her home in Vero Beach

A quick note to tell you that Cherie is doing well in South FL and staying warm (note the wrap and at the fancy matching jewelry that I picked out this morning I stayed over to see her in October). 

For those of you who do not know Cherie's story, read about her journey and battle with spinal cord injury here:

http://elizabethsthilairenelson.blogspot.com/search?q=Cherie%27s+progress

Currently her PT and OT therapists are busy filming her standing up in the standing frame and filling out forms to apply for her to return to Shepherd Center for Spinal Cord Rehab in Atlanta where she could gain more training and therapy.

Cherie spent some time there after getting out of intensive care in Florida, but now that she has gained a bit more strength and movement, we are hoping that she is a candidate for even more therapy. 

Keep her in your thoughts and in your heart that she will soon be on the road to Atlanta. She will have to buy a new handicapped van in order to get there, her current one is old and won't make the trip. 

We love you Cherie!! Well wishers can email her or mail her notes and cards of encouragement, which she absolutely LOVES! Cherie's mother was a fine artist who gave me some of my first exposure to museums and art when she and I were just kids. I've know Cherie all my life. 

If you want to send Cherie and art card or words of encouragement, email me for more info:

ejnelson@mac.com

Thank You for being a part of my Art Journey,
Elizabeth

Cherie's Progress

Cherie, up and supporting much of her own weight, with the PT

It's been a while since I did a post on Cherie. I've been visiting her pretty regularly in Vero Beach and she's been making a lot of progress! She's working really hard with all of her weekly therapies and her dedication shows! 

Cherie has started her own amazing blog that tells her story of the accident and the following days, weeks, months of her life. She's an AMAZING writer and she has an incredible story to tell. If you ever wanted to be thankful for being able to scratch your nose, or if you ever felt down on yourself, Cherie's story will make you sit up and take notice of all you have to appreciate in life. 

She sent out this update today, things are looking amazingly positive:

Hello All, 

Just a quickie here… I am gaining so much, so fast that we have actually had to start keeping a journal wherein we write progress incidents almost daily. With the use of the standing frame every week I seem to improve all the more rapidly. Not only am I gaining in muscle tone in my legs but I am also gaining sensation off and on. My level of injury dictates initially, paralysis from the shoulders down. Obviously this isn't true any longer. But the interesting thing is that true sensation does seem to follow the path of the injury from the top down. So now I am feeling hot water, texture from bath towels and more touch specifically along my upper back and upper chest. My cold receptors turned on first which of course is ridiculously uncomfortable when you know it's 80° outside! Now I am getting more warm receptors and hopefully one day my thermostat will level out!

Anyway long and short of it, too much to say and try and condense an update. My hope is that I can transfer from the updates to the blog. I will catch my blog up to present day. And anyone who wishes to keep tabs can sign up to receive updates via e-mail. I have just posted page 7 of my blog. Anyone can comment, anyone can read. I want to be able to help people with the things I share. And just a word of caution if it hasn't already been obvious, I'm not going to sugarcoat what's difficult. On the other hand I am not going to allow the painful parts to dampen or suppress "me" my spirit or my forward motion.

Love you guys, for everything every one of you has contributed past present or ever after. There's a saying "It Takes a Village". Perhaps in some existential way, you are my village! Big hugs!

Cherie

http://castannard.blogspot.com/

Cherie's Progress

With Love From Cherie



Cherie has wanted to create this video for quite some time. On my most recent visit last week we just bit the bullet and ignored all the reasons we had not to done it in the past... "my hair is a mess" "I'm tired" "I don't like this shirt" "Let's just do it next time"

So here it is! For ALL of the artists and wonderful people who reached out to Cherie when she was in ICU for over six weeks at Lawnwood Regional Medical Center and when she was at the Shepherd Center for Spinal Cord Rehab over Christmas. She totally appreciated all of the hand made art and cards that were sent her way to cheer her up EVERY day. When I visited, the mail would come EVERY day, by the bag full. It was an incredible outpouring of support for my best friend. I should make a thank you video too. Cherie says it best, she was always the level headed one of the two of us, I'd probably just start to cry.

Random Cards of Kindness

Cherie at Shepherd Center

And yes, the title of all these posts has been Cherie's Progress (you can search this in the top left corner of this blog to learn more about her amazing journey) so I must tell you that I was lucky enough to sit in on a therapy session at home with her and she's really doing great!

Cherie supporting her own weight on her elbow

Cherie supporting her own weight sitting up for brief moments

She continues to have an amazingly positive attitude and an incredible spirit. Just incredible. Her sister Sue is still caring for Cherie at home. Sue just recently sold her car and they were able to obtain a wheelchair adapted van. 

Here we are after 37 years of friendship!

Best friends! In our youth on Martha's Vineyard

Her physical therapy has been in the home since the hospital where she was going closed down the spinal cord rehab facility. Cherie now has a website where you can give a tax deductible donation. 

We watched President Obama raise amazing amounts of campaign funds with $5 donations. If you can, please consider donating to someone who's fighting every day to keep positive and make progress, one baby step at a time. Someone who has faith and pushes forward despite amazing odds. Someone who I have admired since I was seven years old. Someone who truly deserves a fighting chance. 

thank you!!

Cherie Stannard Spinal Cord Injury Fund

Cherie's Progress

Cherie in the driveway, headed for the van

It's been a couple of weeks since I made the trip down the Florida Turnpike to visit Cherie, but the fun we had is still making me smile. Thanks to the many donations to her website, Cherie now has a wheelchair accessible van!

Cherie in the new van!

We had a ball, for the first time in two years, I was able to go OUT to dinner with Cherie riding in her own chariot. We had dinner beach side and Cherie even had a drink!

Me corrupting Cherie with gin and tonic!

She's so appreciative of all the notes and cards she has received from so many of YOU, my followers and fellow artists, that she has asked me to post a "thank you" here and to let you know that eventually she's going to do a short video to the same effect.

Us trying to keep our eyes open for the photo

Just a little while ago Ellen Lindner, a fabric collage artist and friend of mine was shopping in Vero Beach and ran into Cherie out and about at Homegoods! She immediately recognized her from my blog and went over to say hello.

Cherie emailed me and thanked me for making her into a celebrity.
That kid has the best attitude in the world. :)

Cherie's Progress

Yours Truly (left) with Cherie in Spain, 1985

How about that high waist band? OMG

I'm headed to Vero Beach this morning to visit with Cherie. Thanks to donations and the kindness of strangers through her website, Cherie finally has a handicapped accessible van!! Yes, she was able to purchase a used van and I cannot wait to go "out and about" with her. It's been almost two years since her paralyzing car accident and she has been basically house-bound since September 30, 2010.

Cherie's Help Hope Live website has allowed folks to donate tax deductible donations and this is what added up to the purchase of the van.

I'll catch you all up on how much trouble we get into when I return!

Read more of my posts about Cherie here

Cherie's Progress

Cherie at Shepherd Center for Spinal Cord Rehab in Atlanta last winter

It's been a little while since I updated you on Cherie, my childhood friend who suffered a paralysis after flipping over in her vehicle in September, 2010.

Cherie has a brand new website for donations and they are now TAX DEDUCTIBLE! Yahoo!

Thanks to some big time donations, I am also happy to report that she finally has enough finds to purchase a handicapped accessible van. This is HUGE people, this means she can get out of the house. Previously she was at the mercy of public transport, which would only accommodate doctor appointments.

Can you imagine not being able to go out to eat, or to see a movie, or shopping for almost two years? There were a couple of occasions where she did get out. They rented a van and came up here to Orlando for the screening of "Defining Beauty" and we actually had dinner.

But having her own van is going to allow her something else.... She's agreed to head up the paralysis support group in her community and now can attend regular meetings. Wow, go Cherie, go!!

I'm headed to visit Cherie the end of this month, we plan to get into some trouble now that we have wheels!

If you can donate, even a tax deductible $5, please visit Cherie's webpage on Help Hope Live

Cherie's Progress

Friends forever: Barbara Beasley, Cherie Stannard, Yours Truly

Cherie has a brand new place where you can make TAX DEDUCTIBLE donations! Her uncle worked hard at finding out how to make the possible. She really still needs all the help she can get as she has no health insurance and is relying on Medicaid to pay her bills and they do NOT cover everything she needs.

Cherie and Yours Truly last February on her birthday

President Obama raised a record breaking amount of money for his campaign in $5 increments online. Can you give $5 to help an amazing woman in need?

As of late she has been making progress! She has been gaining strength in both arms and is finding she has more sensation in her right arm. She is able to keep herself up sitting straighter without the benefit of armrests and THIS IS HUGE! It means that the muscles in her torso are getting signals, which means her spinal cord is making pathways and her brain is getting the message. She is also getting tingling in her legs, which is also new. Physical therapy has helped this very much, but PT costs money and Medicaid does not cover all of it.

Here is the link, check it out for yourself and consider a small donation, forward to your family and friends. Do something good for a stranger today. It will make you feel good, I promise.

 http://www.helphopelive.org/find-a-patient/profile/index.cfm/patient/E209D2EA-B1F5-9953-49F117782A848AC7

Cherie's Progress

Cherie (right) and Me sitting on the front porch of her family's cottage on Martha's Vineyard, 1982

Tomorrow is Ground Hog Day. It is also Cherie's 44th Birthday. That means that she and I have been friends for 37 years. Ever since middle school I have called her Hoggatha, on her birthday.

For all of you who have followed along with Cherie's progress on this blog, who have made and sent her art and cards and notes when she was in ICU and at Shepherd Center for Spinal Cord Rehab... I'd love for you to reach out to her once again and send her a birthday email. Yes, that's right, I said email!! Thanks to Dragon software, Cherie now can read and reply to email and Facebook via speech recognition. Email is best because Facebook requires some mouse clicking, which she can't quite do... yet.

Can you take a minute to send her a Happy Birthday email?
cas2268@msn.com

Cherie (right) and I taking a break from touring, Spain, 1985

For those of you who might be new to Cherie's story, the quick synopsis is that she was in a car accident on September 30, 2010 in which she broke her neck and became a quadriplegic. I have been asking artists and folks with big hearts to send her well wishes ever since her accident. www.CherieStannard.com

Cherie has been touched beyond words by the generosity of strangers from far and wide. She has been touched by all the artists who contributed to my fund raising book for her, Art With Heart

Cherie (left) and I on that very same cottage front porch the summer after we graduated high school together, 1987

We have been through thick and thin together, We HAVE BEEN thick and thin together. Do you see us both getting BIGGER and BIGGER in these photos? Well, Cherie was always small, but me...

Cherie (left) and I on that very same cottage front porch, Memorial Day 1988

It has meant a lot to Cherie to have such an influx of kind words from friends of this blog. It has meant a lot to me too. I hope if you have a minute you might send some birthday wishes to Hoggatha. Tell her I sent you. :)

cas2268@msn.com

Cherie's Progress

I know it's been a while since I posted about my friend Cherie. For anyone who has not followed this story, Cherie was paralyzed in a car accident last September 30, 2010. I have known Cherie all my life.

I drove to Vero Beach this weekend to spend Saturday and Sunday with Cherie and her family. We had a great time. Cherie and I enjoyed catching up, eating sushi, and enjoying the warm weather in Vero Beach.

We looked on Facebook at some pictures of "kids" from our neighborhood and people we went to school with. We remembered some stories and people we had not thought about in a very LONG time and it was lots of fun! Cherie and I have been friends since we were about four years old.

I'm SUPER HAPPY to tell you that she has regained some significant movement in her arms (not hands)! She is left handed, and she can move her left arm, from the elbow, in and out, back and forth, and hopes to soon be able to drive her wheelchair with it via a joystick. Right now she is using the head array to control the chair. This is big news, because her injury is C4-5, which is very high up in her neck. The therapists are very excited and continue to use electric stimulation on her hands and arms!

If you are looking for a place to make a small donation that can make a big difference this holiday season, Cherie has a charitable trust in her name: www.CherieStannard.com. You can donate via PayPal or credit card there and any amount helps. Cherie has no health insurance and Medicaid is very limited in what they cover.

If you would like to purchase a wonderful book of art from artists around the world that I put together, Art With Heart is a great coffee table book and 100% of the profit margin goes to Cherie: http://www.blurb.com/books/1854848

I received a very very special gift from Cherie and her sister Sue while I was visiting. Some of you remember that Cherie's mother was an artist, and my first artistic influence. She took me to visit an art museum for the first time, and I used to love to look at her work and watch her use watercolor and pastel at the easel in her studio. This painting, a copy of a Degas, hung in Cherie's home as LONG as I have known Cherie. Jean Stannard painted this painting as a lesson painting, to learn the techniques of Degas. I always admired how beautifully it was executed and was especially drawn to the lighting on the dancer.  I  can still picture where this painting hung in their home as I always enjoyed walking past it, heading up the stairs to Cherie's room!

Cherie and Sue surprised me and GAVE Me this painting! Jean passed away several years ago, and they said that they could not imagine anyone who deserved the painting more than me. They said that Jean would be happy to know I had it.

I can't tell you how much this means to me and how close I have been to Cherie all my life. This gesture was truly generous and I am much appreciative. I just thought I'd share it with you this morning, as we approach Christmas.

Cherie's Progress

Global Peace Film Festival Poster

I'm happy to say that the Global Peace Film Festival is working with me to raise funds for my paralyzed friend Cherie. They have agreed to give 50% of proceeds from the sales of posters to her charitable trust. 

The posters this year feature my original artwork and are all hand signed! 

What's the connection between Cherie and Global Peace Film Festival you ask? They are screening the film "Defining Beauty; Ms. Wheelchair America" here in Orlando. Cherie is making the trip up to Orlando from Vero Beach on Thursday, September 22 to speak at the film screening. It's at the Plaza Cinema Cafe in Downtown Orlando.

Come out and see the film and meet Cherie if you live close.
Click here to purchase your signed copy of the poster and donate to TWO great causes!

Cherie's Progress

Today I met with the folks from the Global Peace Film Festival in Orlando. They are screening the film "Defining Beauty; Ms Wheelchair America" this year. I have agreed to donate artwork and graphic design for their collectible poster, and they have agreed to auction off two original pieces of Paper Paintings collage art through the festival. 50% of proceeds of the poster sales and the Dove artwork will go to Cherie, and 50% will go toward Global Peace.

Ironically when I got home from the meeting today, I had a wonderful note in my email box from Kerry Trementozzi who found my art online. This is a photo of Kerry, who became a quadriplegic at the age of 16. She told me that my blog posts about Cherie really moved her and she wanted to reach out to me as a fellow artist and she wanted to reach out to Cherie to give her some support. Kerry has been a quadriplegic for 30 years.

Kerry wrote such a wonderful note about her story and how important a positive attitude can be, I wanted to take a moment to share it with you:

When I look back when I was 1st injured I always feel - wow if me or my family could have talked to other people who have already gone through this it could have made it a little bit better. 

Cheri sounds like me, positive upbeat & never give up, not that it hasn' t been hard at times - I'm still paralized from chest down w/some arm & wrist movement but no finger movement. I always say take it one day at a time. There are good days & bad, the 1st few years are hard but it sounds like her family is there for her, I know that is so important.

Cherie's Progress

Cherie has Gained Some Independence!

I'm happy to say that I went down to Vero Beach to visit Cherie this weekend since I have completed my triathlon and the training is giving way to a little bit more free time. It's absolutely surreal to me that I have the physical ability to accomplish athletic goals and Cherie has to struggle to move her body at all. Despite everything she's been through, you can see from this big smile that she remains in good spirits. She has more movement in her forearms and is driving her temporary electric wheelchair with head controls!

For those of you who are new to this blog, my childhood friend Cherie Stannard rolled her vehicle on the morning of September 30, 2010 and suffered a broken neck. She is now a parapalegic and being cared for by her sister and brother. She had no health insurance and the other driver did not stop. You can see my previous posts about Cherie here.

I am happy to say that when I arrived, Cherie and her sister had made me birthday champagne cupcakes! Sue did the cooking and Cherie said she directed the whole process. Cherie loves to cook, so often times she will talk Sue through some of her favorite creations. One of these awesome dishes were the mozzarella and tomato open faced sandwiches toasted in the oven that Cherie and her sister made us for lunch!

Cherie is scheduled to receive her custom fitted electric wheelchair on Monday, the 18th. She now has a shower chair thanks to her boyfriend's brother in law who donated the funds. You might be surprised to know that a shower chair for a quadriplegic person runs about $2500. Medicaid does not cover this.

Cherie's brother does stretching and range of motion physical therapy with her daily, he gets up at 5am to reposition her in bed and her brother in law gets up at 6am to administer her meds. Her sister does all of Cherie's personal care, and then her sister and brother use the manual Hoyer Lift to transfer her out of bed and into her chair. The dedication of her family to her care is incredible, and this care is a full time job. Visiting this weekend I got a chance to truly appreciate all that is required just to get Cherie up and out of bed, showered, dressed, and into her chair.

We can all learn a little something about love and dedication from this family, and we can all learn something about the power of positive thinking from Cherie. She is looking forward to mastering her voice software and beginning to work on writing a book. When we were kids, Cherie wrote amazing poetry, every single day. She is a talented writer and I can see her reaching her goal of writing a book. The book that she wants to write will help to teach people like you and me that a person with disabilities is just like anyone else you know. As a matter of fact, up until September 30, 2010, Cherie was just like you and me. She had goals and dreams and lived an independent life.

Your whole life can change in an instant, it can happen to any one of us. Cherie wants to encourage us to find it in our hearts to give a smile and an encouraging word to the next person we see in a wheelchair, rather than avert our eyes, look away or give a wide berth. She wants to remind us that that person in the wheelchair has feelings and wants to be accepted just like anyone else.

In order to achieve her goal of writing this book, Cherie needs adaptive equipment that Medicaid is not going to pay for. I have sold  art and created a coffee table art book to help her family with funding such expenses. There is a benefit concert on Martha's Vineyard on July 31st in her honor.

To learn how you can donate funds to Cherie's charitable trust, visit www.CherieStannard.com

To preview and/or purchase a book of art that I designed with donated work from amazing artists all over the world, visit http://www.blurb.com/books/1854848. All funds go to Cherie's family

Cherie's Progress

It's been a while since I posted about Cherie's progress. For those of you who are new to this blog, you can catch up on the story of my childhood friend who was paralyzed in a life changing car accident on September 30th, 2010 from previous posts.

I have asked you to make and send cards and notes to her, first at Lawnwood Regional Medical Center and then at Shepherd Spinal Cord Rehabilitation Center. I have asked you to consider contributing to or purchasing a copy of the book that I created for her on Blurb, with proceeds going to her family.

I'm still trying to help raise money for Cherie and her family. Cherie has no health insurance, she is not married and has no children. Her sister and brother have quit their jobs in order to provide 24-hour care for her in Vero Beach, FL in the home of her sister Sue.  They are still in need of simple things like a front door ramp, widened doorways, a shower chair, and other adaptive equipment as Cherie is paralyzed from the shoulders down.

Recently I reconnected with an old friend from our hometown, Tom Mihalek. Tom, Cherie and I all attended Westfield High School together. When I told Tom of Cherie's story, he wanted to help. Tom's sister was in a life threatening car accident when he was a kid and he remembered how hard it was on his family. It just so happens that Tom Mihalek owns a company that makes a health care related product. This product is the PERFECT Card©, a Portable Electronic Records For Emergency Care and Treatment. Basically this USB card (MAC and Windows compatible) is YOUR portable records protected and in the palm of your hand. Click here to view the emergency records report.

TravelerER has a very special offer, they are willing to donate 100% of proceeds of this product to Cherie's charitable trust fund.

Please click to enlarge the letters here from Tom Mihalek and learn a bit more about his product and how he plans to share the proceeds with Cherie. The offer for you is FREE SHIPPING AND HANDLING when you utilize the CS2011 promo code. This code also signifies that your purchase proceeds will be applied to the Cherie Stannard charitable trust.

Our goal is to sell 1000 pieces! Spread the word to family and friends. This is a great product for a wonderful cause.

BUY IT NOW!
and use promo code CS2011

Cherie's Progress

Me and the Birthday Girl, February 2, 2011

Today got out on the FL Turnpike in my smart car and made the 2+ hour trip to Vero Beach to visit Cherie for her birthday. Got stuck behind a couple of big HUGE trucks carrying citrus on route 60 in Vero and could not help but wonder how the ones on the bottom do not get totally crushed. Then I figured, they probably do since FL citrus is primarily for juice anyway....

Cherie has been home less than a week and they are still trying to work out a system for her care, but overall she seemed really well as did her sister and sister in law. I finally got to meet Milla (say mee-lah) the cat subject of many awesome portraits! She stepped on my iPhone and almost sent a text from the kitchen table.

Cherie's tracheotomy has been surgically closed and should be healed soon, hence the gauze you see at the base of her neck in this photo. Doesn't she just look great with her big smile and her new hair cut? She is in a temporary wheel chair here until her custom made ride is ready.

We spent the day eating, drinking tea, and talking -- just like the old days! We had a very nice visit, her sister Sue and sister in law Alison took advantage of my being there to run some errands and gather up some birthday surprises. The plan is that the family will have order-in Thai food tonight in celebration of Cherie's 43rd.

I'm was really touched at one point when Cherie choked back the tears to tell me that all the cards and letters she has received as a result of this blog have meant more to her than I could ever know. She said that she could never thank me (and all of you) enough for that. She told me that she was amazed at the ripple effect that I had caused, all over the world, by throwing in that stone and asking people to reach out to a stranger in need.

So thank you she says. from the bottom of her heart on her 43rd birthday.

Cherie's Progress

Cherie (right) and I, somewhere in Spain, 1984

Cherie is making the long trip home to Vero Beach today from Atlanta! She's all finished at Shepherd Center for spinal cord rehab. They are driving 10 hours, stopping every half hour for her to reposition. She is returning to her sister's house and I encourage anyone who'd like to send a hand-made or even a store-bought card to welcome her home! The family has used donated funds from www.cheriestannard.com and the book I produced, to help pay for a manual lift, installing a ramp, and widening doorways in their home.

February 2nd is Cherie's 43rd birthday, won't you consider sending her a note? I'm planning to drive down and visit her. I'm sure that embarking on this new year of her new life is overwhelming, and I know that our thoughts and cards can only help.

Thanks for caring about Cherie:

Cherie Stannard
c/o Sue Merrick
515 11th Court
Vero Beach, FL 32962

Cherie's Progress

Cherie in her room at Shepherd Center in December

It's been a while since I noted Cherie's progress and I wanted to let you all know that her time at the Shepherd Center for Spinal Cord Rehabilitation in Atlanta has been extended! Her original discharge date was January 13, but they have given her another week, now she will discharge on January 19 and hopefully continue to receive outpatient services after that, until the end of the month.

Since Cherie has no health insurance and the rehab is being paid by Medicaid, we are all very happy and thankful for this extra time she has to perfect her skills with adaptive equipment. When I was there she told me that she was learning to operate the computer completely by voice, with Dragon software. She was also learning to control her electric wheelchair with "sip and puff" technology. Basically, since she is paralyzed from the shoulders down, all adaptive equipment utilizes "sip and puff" which is basically using a tube positioned near her mouth at all times, to blow or inhale, as a controller for highly specialized equipment.

Cherie maintains a positive attitude, she has made friends with another patient across the hall from her and now has someone to talk to and share down-time with. Her sister told me that they all enjoyed Christmas dinner in Cherie's room. It snowed in Atlanta this Christmas, I think it was the first time it did that in about 100 years! Maybe this is a sign of very special things to come for Cherie.

I wanted also to report that my fundraising book Art with Heart has raised over $500 to date for Cherie's family, which they are utilizing to convert her sister's home to accommodate Cherie, building ramps and widening doorways. The biggest expense they face is a customized van, the expense of this is overwhelming.

visit www.cheriestannard.com

Update on Cherie at Shepherd Center

Cherie is small blonde girl in poncho, holding her shoulders is her sister Sue, who is holding her shoulders again these days. Off to the far left in the orange turtle neck is her brother Rich

Cherie has spent the last three days straight OFF the ventilator! This is a huge step and was the focus of the holiday weekend at Shepherd Center. Her sister and brother have been there with her, learning how to participate in her care; skills for the future. On Dec 9, their spouses will also be making the trip to Atlanta to take orientation classes as well as cheer Cherie on in her progress. This family is amazingly dedicated, and as a result they are financially burdened. If anyone has any ideas on how to help with living expenses for Cherie's support system, ideas are welcome. Both her sister and brother have had to quit their jobs and commit to providing her care upon release from Shepherd in 4-6 weeks.

Cherie's Progress

Cherie visits me at college, 1986

I visited Cherie today and I'm happy to say that when I got in the room I HEARD her say "Oh, Hi!" Actually with her own voice. She has been doing 2+ hours at a time off the ventilator lately, with a speech collar in place so that she can use her voice and be heard. She asked the nurse's to set her up so that when I got there, she could talk.

I nearly cried, I have not heard her say anything since September, and to actually be able to talk back and forth with her was wonderful.

One of the things she told me in about an hour of speaking was "I am getting so many nice cards, EVERY single day. I want so badly to tell you something to write on your blog, to thank people." She was too tired to dictate today, but I told her next week we will see how she feels. Stay tuned for that!

She told me a story of a a card she received from a woman who told her she had bought it years and years ago and saved it, she loved it so much. This week, she sent it to Cherie. Thank you all so much for your kindness and generosity.

She told me that yesterday she called her brother Rich, and actually told him on the phone, "Happy Birthday" He cried. Wouldn't you?

Rich lives in Colorado and since the accident has made two trips back and forth to Florida. Since Cherie's father died, Rich has tried to be her protector in this ordeal. He has quite a heavy burden on his heart and mind.

Cherie's Progress

I visited Cherie on Wednesday, as I do every week. I'm happy to say that she has art cards taped to her walls and had a great big smile on her face when she mouthed (she cannot speak due to the tracheotomy and the ventilator) "I am getting TONS of great cards, THANK YOU!" We had a great visit. I'm happy to report that she was in good spirits and looked much better than last week. She was smiling and "talking" to me for about an hour.

What more could you ask for? One card of note that was pinned up was my dear friend Robin Maria Pedrero's work in pastel. Many thanks to all of you who have taken the time to send a Random Card of Kindness to Cherie, you are making her smile!

They have gotten her up into a wheelchair a couple of times and she's been able to sit and be disconnected from the ventilator for a few hours at a time. Shepherd Center in Atlanta has accepted her for rehabilitation after evaluating her in person last week. Now we just need to get a Medicaid approval for an extension of benefits (they limit the time in to 45 days, Cherie's accident was September 30 and she has been in ICU since) as well as an approval for FL state benefits to extend to GA. Shepherd Center is on of the best spinal cord rehabilitation facilities in the country. They will teach her how to adapt to her limitations with specialized equipment.

Please keep Cherie in your thoughts and keep the cards and notes coming!