Recovery Room Project for Dave
Donation protected
Hello friends, family and supporters!
As you all know, David has reached the goal of lowering his cancer numbers enough to go to transplant. He did a lot of hard time in the infusion center for the past 10 months and it has paid off! We have reached the goal!
The goal, however, is not the end but rather the middle of this journey. It is also, possibly, the scariest time in our lives. Positivity is important and he has a great attitude and I have done my best to stay positive as well. Being strong is vital and part of being strong is knowing that it’s OK to feel all of your emotions. Even the sadness and fear, the pain and the panic. We are feeling those things and we know you are too. It’s OK. It’s human and it’s part of this journey.
In situations where you relinquish control of something, and in this case, control over your life, you feel like you need to focus on something. You need to take control over something.
David took control of his diet. He committed to the Ketogenic diet, and while at first I worried that he was looking at this diet as a cure, I have come to realize that his numbers likely would not have gotten so low without this diet. He took control of a part of his treatment plan and he feels great about the outcome. That is really important and it makes me so happy that he was able to do that for himself.
I have decided to take control of the at-home-recovery stage by providing David with the coolest, most positive and luxury man space I can manage in 2-3 weeks!
David will be recovering in what is currently our den/office/catchall room. Not a very healing space. I have lofty plans for this space and I need your help. I need design ideas, hard labor, probably with sweating and cursing, and funding. I am grateful for whatever anyone can offer to help with this project.
David would NEVER ask for this for himself. Not in a million years. But he deserves it. And we all know he would do it for another person in a heartbeat.
He’ll be in the hospital from July 3rd for up to 3 weeks. I’d like this to be a surprise, so I need to get this done while he is in the hospital. He’ll be home for around 2-3 months and most of that time will be indoors, sleeping and resting.
I am providing a list of things I’m thinking of for this project because if I were you, I’d want the details. Also, if there is something specific you’d like to help with, you can let me know:
*Bed and recliner - We already have these for comfortable seating options.
*Mount TV on wall - We have a small flat-screen that can be wall mounted so he can watch movies and binge shows.
*Gaming system/PlayStation - If anyone has an old gaming system that they were thinking of upgrading or could donate for a few months, he would love it. He sold his PlayStation after Lucas was born because he didn’t think he’d have time to play. I know he loved to play one of the football games and connect with his friends at night before Lucas came along.
*Wall shelves - Since the room is also home to all things Broncos, I’d like to hang shelves to display his memorabilia.
*Paint/Labor - I’m looking to paint one wall because it has wood paneling and its actually where the bed will go. It’s splintery wood so not ideal to lean against, especially with a bald head!
*Blinds for two windows - the current blinds are bulky vertical blinds from 1970. The room is small so I’m looking to save as much space as I can for him to move around.
*Ceiling Fan - He needs a ceiling fan because it gets hot in that room in the summer even with the air on.
*Upgraded bed pillow - I found a fancy microfiber bed pillow that he can rest his neck, back and feet on. Very luxury and manly!
*Outdoor chairs - We happen to have some small lakes in our community and our little deck backs to the overflow of the lake. It’s rather calming to listen to and for the times that he can go outside, I’d also like to get some outdoor chairs and an umbrella to keep him shielded from the sun.
*Medical Safe - David takes a lot of pills daily and Lucas is getting taller and he’s great at climbing. I found a medical safe that we can keep his meds safely locked away in so he can keep them near but know that Lucas can’t get into them.
That’s my plan so far! I hope it can come to fruition in its entirety but even if just a portion of it is accomplished we can be confident knowing David is recovering in a bright, clean and comfortable environment.
Thank you to everyone for all of your prayers, thoughts, good vibes and support.
~Heather & Lucas
https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/whoselomaisitanyway
As you all know, David has reached the goal of lowering his cancer numbers enough to go to transplant. He did a lot of hard time in the infusion center for the past 10 months and it has paid off! We have reached the goal!
The goal, however, is not the end but rather the middle of this journey. It is also, possibly, the scariest time in our lives. Positivity is important and he has a great attitude and I have done my best to stay positive as well. Being strong is vital and part of being strong is knowing that it’s OK to feel all of your emotions. Even the sadness and fear, the pain and the panic. We are feeling those things and we know you are too. It’s OK. It’s human and it’s part of this journey.
In situations where you relinquish control of something, and in this case, control over your life, you feel like you need to focus on something. You need to take control over something.
David took control of his diet. He committed to the Ketogenic diet, and while at first I worried that he was looking at this diet as a cure, I have come to realize that his numbers likely would not have gotten so low without this diet. He took control of a part of his treatment plan and he feels great about the outcome. That is really important and it makes me so happy that he was able to do that for himself.
I have decided to take control of the at-home-recovery stage by providing David with the coolest, most positive and luxury man space I can manage in 2-3 weeks!
David will be recovering in what is currently our den/office/catchall room. Not a very healing space. I have lofty plans for this space and I need your help. I need design ideas, hard labor, probably with sweating and cursing, and funding. I am grateful for whatever anyone can offer to help with this project.
David would NEVER ask for this for himself. Not in a million years. But he deserves it. And we all know he would do it for another person in a heartbeat.
He’ll be in the hospital from July 3rd for up to 3 weeks. I’d like this to be a surprise, so I need to get this done while he is in the hospital. He’ll be home for around 2-3 months and most of that time will be indoors, sleeping and resting.
I am providing a list of things I’m thinking of for this project because if I were you, I’d want the details. Also, if there is something specific you’d like to help with, you can let me know:
*Bed and recliner - We already have these for comfortable seating options.
*Mount TV on wall - We have a small flat-screen that can be wall mounted so he can watch movies and binge shows.
*Gaming system/PlayStation - If anyone has an old gaming system that they were thinking of upgrading or could donate for a few months, he would love it. He sold his PlayStation after Lucas was born because he didn’t think he’d have time to play. I know he loved to play one of the football games and connect with his friends at night before Lucas came along.
*Wall shelves - Since the room is also home to all things Broncos, I’d like to hang shelves to display his memorabilia.
*Paint/Labor - I’m looking to paint one wall because it has wood paneling and its actually where the bed will go. It’s splintery wood so not ideal to lean against, especially with a bald head!
*Blinds for two windows - the current blinds are bulky vertical blinds from 1970. The room is small so I’m looking to save as much space as I can for him to move around.
*Ceiling Fan - He needs a ceiling fan because it gets hot in that room in the summer even with the air on.
*Upgraded bed pillow - I found a fancy microfiber bed pillow that he can rest his neck, back and feet on. Very luxury and manly!
*Outdoor chairs - We happen to have some small lakes in our community and our little deck backs to the overflow of the lake. It’s rather calming to listen to and for the times that he can go outside, I’d also like to get some outdoor chairs and an umbrella to keep him shielded from the sun.
*Medical Safe - David takes a lot of pills daily and Lucas is getting taller and he’s great at climbing. I found a medical safe that we can keep his meds safely locked away in so he can keep them near but know that Lucas can’t get into them.
That’s my plan so far! I hope it can come to fruition in its entirety but even if just a portion of it is accomplished we can be confident knowing David is recovering in a bright, clean and comfortable environment.
Thank you to everyone for all of your prayers, thoughts, good vibes and support.
~Heather & Lucas
https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/whoselomaisitanyway
Organizer and beneficiary
Marcy Jarzabek
Organizer
Mount Laurel, NJ
Heather Blackman
Beneficiary