July 4th 2002 James made it safely back to Bend on June 24th. Since he's been back, he's been able to hang out with friends, and has been active with his hand cycle and swimming in Sunriver. He also had a great visit with Mom, Dad, Uncle Ron & Aunt Avis, and Cousin Amanda, who were visiting Sunriver Resort for a week. He's glad to be out of San Diego and back "home". He is still looking for a place - if you know of any, please email or give him a call at jamesrules@yahoo.com or (541) 383-8061 June 8th 2002 James will once again be competing in the National Veteran's Wheelchair games, this year being held in Cleveland Ohio. The competition takes place July 8-14th. He'll be competing in swimming, table tennis and air rifle events. Good luck James! Here's a link to his Bio from last year's games. June 5th, 2002 From Lisa Chandler James is finally making the move - - leaving the big city of San Diego and back to his hometown of Bend, Oregon. San Diego is just too expensive for someone surving on Social Security. Bend will be much more affordable, and plenty of recreational opportunities for him as well. His last day at his apartment will be June 24th, so he should be in town by the end of June. He'll be at his sister Lisa's until he can find his own place. He can be reached at (541) 383-8061, or you can always email him at jamesrules@yahoo.com. January 7th, 2002 From Will Ferris Hey guys, "Jaime" (James) rode his bike around the parking lot today at the VA ! He did one lap with us (me and Collen)spotting him and another two on his own. It was very cool. I had him dressed in every piece of safety gear we have, but he did'nt need it. It was nuts he had his hand velcroed on and his feet clicked with the clipless pedals. It was very good to see. I did'nt have my camera sorry, next time I will take some pics. Happy New Year! From Lisa Chandler January 1, 2002 James spent the Christmas Holidays with his family in Northern California. He flew to Sacramento on Southwest by himself on December 20, and stayed until December 27th before flying back to San Diego. Big changes have happened since November. After a year in San Diego with James, younger brother Tom has left to pursue his kayaking and other goals. James is now living alone in his apartment in downtown San Diego. His good friends Will and Dan have been taking him grocery shopping, and he is able to navigate the steps to the basement laundry room to wash his clothes. He has been given the ok to drive, but is in search of a new vehicle, preferably a mini-van to be able to get around. Right now he does not have a vehicle. He has applied for Section 8 housing, and is told it should take a few months before he is accepted. His social security check is roughly $800.00 a month, and his rent takes up most of it at $775.00/mo. We are hoping with the Section 8, he'll be able to get affordable, safe housing. James plans on a ski trip to Big Bear CA sometime this month. Stay tuned for details. From Lisa Chandler (James' sister) November 11th, 2001 Wow, it's been a long time in between updates. I hadn't seen my brothers since last May, and I was finally able to get some time off to spend with them down in San Diego, to visit, and also to witness James' progress. I chose my visit to coincide with James' participation in the annual Challenged Atheletes Foundation Half Ironman Triathlon. The race consists of a 1.2 mile open water swim beginning and ending in La Jolla Cove, a 56 mile bike ride through the grueling hills of San Diego's North County, and 13.1 miles up the testy San Diego coastline. James swam the 1.2 miles.as part of a relay team. It was a rainy, chilly day, but everyone was pumped for the event. What an incredible experience. Watching James get into the ocean was such an inspiring site, it brought tears to both Jayson and my eyes. Despite the treacherous crashing waves, James completed the swim, and even walked up the stairs from the beach with the assistance of CAF volunteers. As far as progress, James' improvements have slowed down, but he is still working hard at walking. He recently was fitted for a leg brace and crutches to help with balance. The anti-tip wheels on the back of his chair are gone, along with the handles for pushing. He demonstrated his ability to pop a wheelie in his chair, and can get from a sitting position on the floor back into his chair with no help. Check out pictures from the event here: http://www.cabolisa.homestead.com/CAF110401 From Mom - Virginia Fredericks July 30, 2001 Hello, everyone! This is Virginia, James' Mom. I am so happy to share with you all the tremendous progress that James has accomplished as of last week, when we visited him. (Click here to see pictures) To be able to climb up and down the stairs and to swim in the pool, as well as in the ocean are the two most edifying and miraculous improvements that we have seen James perform. Deo Gratias! James' Dad and I took him to our room on the third floor of the Hotel Del Coronado. Unfortunately, the big elevator in the lobby was out of service, and the other one was too small for the wheelchair. We had to take the service elevator through the kitchen to go up. Going down, James made up his mind to walk down the three flight of stairs. Believe it or not, he did it with no trouble at all. From the hotel, we went to a restaurant across the street, where there was a ramp and and an elevator to go up. Again, he opted not to use the elevator and climbed up two flight of stairs. He went swimming at the beach on Sunday with Tara's Dad, Wil and Kelley(the Vets Recreational Therapist) and swam for half a mile from shore. At that time, the water was pretty cold. James plans to participate in a triathlon on November 4th. It is called San Diego Triathlon Challenge, featured as the world's best challenged athlete competition. He will do swimming for 1.2 miles. In New York James won two gold medals for air gun shooting and table tennis. He also received a silver and a bronze for swimming. Thank you everyone for your moral and material support of James. May the good Lord bless you all. Marvin and Virgina Fredericks July 3, 2001 From Tom Fredericks Hi everyone, Tom here with an update for what's been going on with the boyz in San Diego. Things have been moving along with both James and I. James still continues to make progress in Pysical Therapy and with swimming as well. These days if you saw James swimming in the pool, you would not think he has a disability. He now goes to physical therapy five days a week. Two of those days consisting of swimming. James expects to have a new hand cycle hopefully by next month. A hand cycle is a tricycle style vehicle that has twenty seven gears and is powered by your hands while you are in the sitting position. James just left San Diego on Sat the 30 of June to represent the San Diego Beachcombers (VA Hospital) in New York City at the Annual Veteran's Wheelchair Games. James was picked to represent his team at the opening cermonies dinner that starts off the whole event. The Wheelchair Games are like the Olympics for people with spinal cord injuries and other disabilities. The games will consist of events like Wheel chair basketball, Wheel chair Rugby, Swimming, and other events. James is slated to compete in two events of the swimming category, the freestyle and the back stroke. He will also be competing in the 10 meter Air Rifle event. James received an air Rifle to compete with from his friend, Matt Taylor from Bend. Table Tennis is the last regiment for James' events at the games. I'll let you know how he faired at the games. James is slated to return to San Diego from N.Y. on Friday the 6th of July. The day James gets home, I depart from LA to Padang, Indonesia via Singapore. I will be spending two weeks in Indonesia off the Mentawai chain of Islands Surf Kayaking. Our group of eleven will spend two weeks on a Boat and surf many different breaks along the Mentawais chain. We will be working with Scott Lindgren productions and will be filming a segment on Surf Kayaking on the OLN channel for next year. Right now I'm finishing up building a custom kayak for the trip. It will be amazing to be surfing the best waves in the world. I will be back in San Diego on the 22nd or so. James has been working on walking every week. Last week James walked about a hundred feet by himself (with his trainer spotting but not helping) without falling before he needed a rest. He continues to get more and more stronger as the days go by. We are waiting for James to be evaluated to drive a vehicle pretty soon. This will be the next challenge to undertake. Driving. I'll keep you posted.. Well, until next time. Take care -Tom May 20th, 2001 Team SAVE JAMES placed 3rd overall in the Co-ed 30-34 category with a time of 2:01:13. The team took home the coveted mugs. Way to go guys! May 17th, 2001 From Lisa Chandler The boys made it safely from San Diego to Portland last night, arriving at 9:17pm and getting into Bend around 1:30am. They will be here until Tuesday morning. James' younger brother Tom and Brother-in-law Eric will be competing this Saturday, 5/19 in the annual Pole Pedal Paddle race. Their name is "Team Save James" Team members are: Tara Sanders Downhill Ski Tom Fredericks Nordic Ski Cloyd Robinson Bike Eric Chandler Run Jason Wells Kayak Tom Fredericks Sprint James Fredericks Strategic Advisor A get together was held tonight at the Bend Brewing Company, and a good time was had by all. Thanks so much Jay and Theresa for picking up the tab. :) Another get-together is planned for Sunday around 5:00pm at John Doughs Pizza. Please come by and say Hi! As far as James' progress, he continues to amaze us. We were worried about the 6 inch threshold on our front door, as we don't have a ramp. It was no problem for James. He stood up from his chair, held on to the door, and was able to make the step up into the house. Getting into and out of cars is getting easier as well. Stay tuned for further updates this weekend. May 2, 2001 Hola! Amigos, Here is the latest update from sometimes sunny San Diego. We are making more progress down here. James is still working on walking at physical therapy. A couple notes on progress; James can now get into the our Astro van without aid. He can go from his wheel chair and climb into the front seat by himself. This is a real breakthrough for him. James is also walking longer distances on the 15yrd long parallel bars. A couple of days ago he walked eleven lengths between two workouts! Also, James has been using one of the exercise cycles by himself. Next week James is going kayaking with me on Mission Bay for the first time in six months. Today we received a new walker for James for our home use. Now James can have walking exercise at home. There is a mini market about half a block away, it is up a little hill though. James has not been able to become a regular customer, because of the step at the foot of the store. Now, I don't think James will have a problem negotiating the step whenever he has the munchies! We are not completely satisfied with our new neighborhood.... We decided to start looking for a better location more north and closer to the beach. I think we have experienced everything around here, and It's quite boring. We are looking for some better quality action elsewhere.... Oh yeah, we need a better area so James can go for a ride on his hand cycle that he will be ordering! (a hand cycle is a tricycle powered by someone's arms) Progress for me is good as well. I'm learning how to board surf more efficiently, both longboard and shortboard. It's really fun being able to enjoy the good surf spots around San Diego. James and I are planning a trip to Bend for the Pole Pedal Paddle!!! We are thinking about coming up for the weekend of the race. (19th of May) It would be great to see everyone in good ol' Bend. We really miss Oregon! Unfortunately we will only be able to stay four or five days ; ( We will be at our sister Lisa's house @541 383-8061. I'll let you know what days we'll try to make it up. Take care Tom and James April 12, 2001 Hi everyone, This is Tom with the latest update with James and I. There has really been a lot happening with James and I the last couple of weeks. James was released from the V.A. on March 29th. We moved into an apartment very close to downtown San Diego (In the hood). When I say the hood I mean it. I can even solidify this statement by an example today. James and I both had the day off. I had a day off from work at Sammy's woodfired pizza (where I am a bar tender and server) and James had a day off from Physical Therapy as an outpatient, at the Spinal cord injury center at the VA, where he goes to physical therapy three days a week. I had come down with a cold a couple of days ago and was not feeling too well. I decided to take a nap around noon and James was surfing the internet. James heard from outside about five "popping sounds" in a row and did not really think anything of it. "I thought it was some kids lighting off fire crackers" said James. A couple of hours later. Some of the neighbor kids whom I've became friends with, rang the door bell to borrow my in line skate board. "Did you hear about the shooting?" the kids asked me. "What are you talking about?" I inquired... They said there had been a man spotted about 50 yards from our apartment with a gun in his hand. A neighbor called the San Diego police and reported the sighting. The police arrived upon a car of four vagrants (that had supposedly been living out of their car close to our apartment for the last six months). The police surrounded the car and drew their weapons. One of the vagrants pulled out a toy gun (a replica snub nosed revolver) and yelled that he had a gun. The police proceeded to fire five shots at the man and killed him on the spot! All of this happening 50 yards from our house! Its really nice to see that our neighborhood is really making an effort in cleaning itself up! James and I drove by the shooting site tonight and there was a little memorial set up on behalf of the victim. There were candles lit against the fence and several posters hung reading "Injustice because of Predjudice" and kill whitey amongst other anti police slurs. Oh yeah. On other notes, Since becoming an outpatient at the VA James has started with walking exercises. Last Monday he started to use the parallel bars to taid with walking. His first day he walked a full length of the bars, about twenty five yards long. Yesterday he walked four lengths of the bars! James has Transportation provided for him from the VA. He has someone come and pick him up in the mornings and drop him off at home after therapy. He is getting pretty darn self reliant. There are only a few things that I have to do for him at home. He can use the restroom by himself and shower by himself (I only have to scrub the hard to reach spot on his back) and get in and out of bed by himself. We are settling into the domestic life pretty well. Our apartment is ample enough for us. It has Harwood floors and large enough walk ways so james can maneuver around enough without too much trouble. We may have to do a little repair to the walls below the two foot level by the door ways though. We have pretty much all of the modern amenities. Gas stove, new frigerator, stereo, TV, internet with high speed cable connection, futon couch (thanks Monica) kitchen ware (thanks Julia) telephone and answering machine. Our sister Lisa paid us a visit a couple of weeks ago and helped James and I get established into our new apartment and tied up some loose ends that I did not have a chance to address. So far James and I are doing pretty well, despite some minor neighborhood disputes! Life is treating us alright. Sorry about long duration between up dates. Thanks for everyones tremendous support! Take care -Tom and James March 29, 2001 Today was the BIG DAY! James was released from the hospital and is all settled in the new apartment in San Diego. He was given a power wheelchair to navigate the steep hill outside the apartment, as well as a manual chair. Also delivered compliments of the VA were a hospital bed and hand rails for the bathroom. On order are ramps, a speakerphone, a bed table and more medical supplies. He is working on getting transportation from the VA to the apartment on his physical therapy days. He will have regular physical therapy sessions on Monday Wednesday and Friday each week. In addition, he can still go on outings with the Spinal Cord Patients - such as to the movies, the pool, restaurants and sporting events. The recovery continues, and James is happy to be out on his own again. Special thanks to the entire staff of the SCI Center. :) March 24, 2001 From: Lisa Chandler Eric and I flew to San Diego to spend a week helping James with the big move from the VA Hospital to independent living in their own apartment. We will be here for a week. Tom has found an apartment! Not necessarily affordable, but it is wheelchair accessible. The new address is 1932 K Street San Diego CA 92101 Phone: 619-255-0880 Yesterday James received a pass for the weekend to come and go as he pleases from 8:00am - 10:00pm. He is staying with Tom in the ILA, where he is cooking his own meals, taking his meds on his own, and doing everything else that a normal person would do indepenently. We took advanatage of his liberty pass, going to several shopping centers, and buying a new Nintendo games: "Conker's Bad Fur Day". This is the first time James has left the hospital unsupervised. He is able to transfer himself without any help from his wheelchair to a car. His improvements since our last visit in December have been remarkable. Yesterday he was playing ping-pong and pool from his wheelchair. We will have pictures and more updates on the website soon. Stay Tuned! March 3, 2001 From: Tom Fredericks Hi everyone, this is Tom with the latest update on James. We found out this week, that James' release date from the Spinal cord injury center at the VA hospital will be on the 28th of March. A week before James' scheduled release, he will be at an independent living apartment adjacent to the Spinal cord injury center. This will help James become accustomed to living in a real world situation. Currently I've been looking for an apartment for James and I to live in here, in San Diego. James will continue Physical therapy at the Spinal cord injury center on an outpatient basis several days a week. Progress with James continues to move forward. With James' halo off now, he will start going to the pool and start practicing Hydro therapy. James has also been practicing standing exercises in PT. The first time he stood upright,he was only able to stand for about a minute. Now he can stand upright almost five minutes. He has also started working out on a standing machine that is similar to a nordic ski exerciser. The machine enables James to stand up right and it has pivoting arm exercisers that are connected to the feet straps that move as well, simultaneously giving him a work out to the arms and legs. James is also doing transfers from his wheel chair to his bed pretty much by himself. Someone needs to be there only to make sure his legs are blocked to prevent slipping. James has had a couple of visitors from out of town in the last couple of weeks. Our friend Jayson Bowerman flew down to spend the Presidents day weekend with James and our Mom and Dad and Our eldest brother, Tony. Mark Gamba who provided many of the action pictures of James in the website, stopped by for an evening. A kayaker friend from Oregon, Gabe Gunning hung out for several days on his way to the east coast, and played video games with James and respectably got flogged by James. Also, a fellow Hot shot firefighter collogue, Hass stopped by on his way to Florida. The amount of progress that James is making is very substantial and continues to surprise and impress the medical staff who work with him. We are all very proud of James' progress and also the quality and professionalism that his team at the SCI has provided. Stay tuned for the next update! Take care, -Tom 3/2/01 From: Lisa Chandler Release date from VA Hospital set for March 28th James' release date from inpatient status at the VA Hospital will be on March 28,2001. His last week at the hospital - March 21-28 will be spent in a mock-apartment located within the Spinal Cord Center. This apartment is a studio with full kitchen, double bed, couch, bathroom. There is no special adaptive equipment. He will learn to be independent by improvising, overcoming and adapting to obsticles. There will be no nurses on call while he is in the mock apartment. Meanwhile, the search for a real apartment in San Diego for James is on. There are leads on a few places, including one that is a 1 bedroom apartment specifically for seniors/disabled at a very reasonable (for San Diego) $495.00/mo. Cross your fingers that this one works out! James' main goals recently have been standing excersizes. With help to get in a standing position, he is able to balance himself with no help for short periods of time. This is very promising! :) Progress wise, James is doing very well. His improvments and goal achievements cause him to outgrow the wheelchairs, and he is on his 4th chair, each chair allowing him more functionality. James' Halo Removed on 2/16/01!! 2/16/01 From: Lisa Chandler After 70 days in the Halo, it was finally removed on 2/16/01. He will still wear a neck brace for support for a while. Click here for the full update and pictures from Tony James's older brother Tony, parents Marvin & Virgina, and his good friend Jayson Bowerman are all in San Diego visiting him this weekend. More pictures should be posted soon! Although not definite yet, James' tentative release date from inpatient status will be March 18th. He will spend the last 2 weeks in the VA center in a mock apartment without any special adaptive equipment, where he will learn to take care of himself independently. 2/5/01 From Kathy Dunn, Clinical Nurse Specialist: "James is doing very well. He is now feeding himself all of dinner and lunch and will be adding breakfast soon. He is working on the first stage of his self-medication program, and has his indwelling catheter out and is on intermittent catheterization again. He is getting small amounts of return each week, including some movement in his right fingers and thumb. I will try to send another update soon." 2/1/01 From: Tom Fredericks Hey, Guys This is Tom with the latest update with James. Today James had a chance to go on an outing to the movie theater. James and a couple other patients went to see the movie, Traffic. A movie about some serious drug trafficking and back stabbing. I guess according to James it's worth the effort to see it. Last week James had a moment in the spot light. The evening news at about three or four local stations showed a brief segment on James. Last Wednesday the 24th of Jan, James surprised the life guards who were the first ones to arrive at the scene of his accident. They happened to be a group of trainees who were training blocks away from the accident. On the 24th they graduated from their lifeguard training program. James arrived at the end of their ceremonies and gave them a surprise visit, and thanked them for their heroic efforts. Lt. Brant Bass put together an eleven minute video with footage taken from the accident and interviews that he filmed with James, his doctor Chris Kaufman, Will Ferris and myself. It was a very compelling video that portrayed the events leading up to the accident,the rescue and recovery that James is making. When James entered the ceremonies shortly after the viewing of the video, he received a standing ovation from everyone including the new trainees. There were about four different local San Diego television stations documenting the event. James was interviewed for several minutes with the reporters and had a chance to chat with some of the lifeguards that assisted with his rescue. James is still making progress on a daily basis. He has already exceeded goals this week that were intended to be goals to achieve next week! He is able to sit up on a mat by himself, without using his arms to support him,only using his abs and back muscles. James has regained mobility in his right hand with his thumb and index finger. He is able to pick up items of food and feed himself! James is still working hard in physical therapy six days a week and is able to wheel himself anywhere in the Spinal cord injury center. We are working towards getting James in shape to play Nintendo 64! Every friday evening is rapidly becoming pizza and Nintendo night. Don't worry we will whip him into video game shape real soon! Stay tuned for the next update folks! Take care -Tom 1/17/01 From: Tom Fredericks Hi everyone, This is the latest update on James as of 1/17/01. Last week James, myself, and our parents who were on speakerphone had a meeting with his rehabilitation team. The meeting went really well. James' rehab team included his Doctor, Nurses, Physical therapist, Occupational therapist, Recreational therapist, and Psychologist. Overall everyone had really good things to say about James and his recovery. James' Doctor talked about some of the medication that he is on. He is on a blood thinner because of some blood clots in his legs. He is also on a medicine called baclafin, which helps prevent muscle spasms in his legs. Although James is still paralyzed from the waist down, he has pretty much regained feeling in most of his lower body. For the most part he can tell me exactly where I'm touching him on his body below the chest. It is really awesome seeing him progress in regaining feeling throughout his body. Right now he can move his toes and his ankle on his right leg. James can also bend his knee a couple of inches too! His left leg is progressing more slowly then his right, but as of last week he was able to move his left toes. As of yesterday he was able to move his left ankle a little bit as well. Bladder. James cannot control his bladder yet, but he does have sensation and can feel it when he is going. From talking to his staff and other patients, his progression with sensation and movement this early after the accident is pretty remarkable. James' physical therapist, Kurt says that James has been exceeding all the goals that have been set for him so far. His latest goal is to wheel himself from his room down the hall to the elevator and go down stairs to physical therapy by himself. He completed this goal today! Currently James is rolling around in a pretty sporty "Quickie" wheelchair he even has some sporty rubber coated wheel chair gloves. He needs these gloves because he still has no movement in his fingers. His range of mobility is getting better in his arms and shoulders. He can raise his hand to his mouth but not any higher yet. It will still be about 2-1/2 to three months before James will have his "halo" removed. Once the halo is removed from his head, life will be two hundred percent better. The halo is acting as a cast for his neck so his vertebra can heal correctly. James had surgery at the end of December, so it takes about three months to fully heal. James is really stoked about all the support that he has received from family, friends back home, Co-workers from the Hot-shots, and the Kayak community. All of your support is greatly appreciated. Stay tuned for the next update. Take care, -Tom Previous Updates 1/17/01 Alder Creek Kayak & Canoe hosted a slide show of local Paddler Ross Henry's trip to New Zealand. At the end of the presentation, it was announced that a raffle would be held as a fundrasier for James' cause. All proceeds from the raffle will be MATCHED by Alder Creek. Another slide presentation and fundrasier will be held on February 8th, with presentations by Bob Woodward and Lana Young. Stop on by! Visit the Alder Creek website at http://www.aldercreek.com 1/16/01 Added New Action Shots of James, courtesy of Bend Photographer Mark Gamba. Thanks Mark! If you like his work, please visit his website at http://www.markgamba.com. 1/9/01 James is doing well and sounding good over the phone. He eats breakfast in bed, eats lunch in the dining room in his wheelchair, then dinner in bed. He says he can now wiggle his toes on his right foot, and push himself down the hall in his wheelchair. He can't turn his wheelchair yet, just move himself staight, but this is a great start. He is working hard with physical therapy every day, which tires him out, but he's optimistic about his recovery. He is staying in his wheelchair longer & longer every day. Today he was in his chair for 5 1/2 hours! 1/6/01 Check Tom's lastest voice message on the message board! We have a good possibility of having a renter for James' house in Bend. A co-worker of Lisa's is interested in renting the house by herself. James will pay $100.00 a month to keep his room and belongings there, and she will pay the other $545.00 until he gets back. Just waiting for the application to go through now. 1/5/01 James now has a speaker phone in his room, and he can answer & hang up by hitting it with his wrist. This will enable him to control the phone himself instead of having a nurse hold the phone to his ear. Remember, since it's a speaker phone, your call is not exactly private! 1/4/01 Tom back from Idaho. 1/3/01 Sent out an email to local friends - looking for housemates for James' house. If you know of anyone looking for a place to rent, please contact us! 1/2/01 (From Kathy Dunn, Clinical Nurse Specialist) James was still running a fever over the weekend, but was up in his chair and going to therapy (except yesterday due to the holiday) on Sat, Sun, and today. He has some more tests today and I don't know the results yet. He can talk on the phone. His direct phone number is 858 535-5729. By convention we will help the patient answer the phone if he is in his room, but leave it unanswered if he is not there, so if it rings and rings just try calling back at a different time. You can also call the SCI nurses station if you need any information at 858 552-7453. I have included here for you a copy of his team member's phone numbers as well so that you can contact anyone directly if you desire. Let me know if you are not sure who to contact about any questions. 12/31/00 Tom takes a much needed break to spend New Years in Idaho. He will be back on the 4th. 12/29/00 Found out that James' roommate in Bend will be moving out at the end of January. This brings up the problem of what to do about rent, or what to do with James' stuff. 12/28/00 James finally makes the big move from UCSD to the VA Spinal Injury Cord Center in La Jolla California. The move went well, and James is happy to get out of UCSD. Parents head back home to Oroville. 12/19/00 James had major surgery to replace 3 crushed disks with bone taken from both his hip and from other doners. 12/18/00 Parents drive down from Oroville visit James 12/16/00 Eric and Lisa head back to Bend after a week long visit to San Diego. 12/15/00 Tony flies down from Sacramento to be with James. 12/9/00 Eric & Lisa arrive from Oregon to spend a week with James. 12/8/00 James moves out of ICU to the 7th floor. His IV and oxygen are removed. 12/7/00 James remains in ICU. 12/6/00 Accident happens. James is transported immediately to UCSD (University California San Diego) Hospital. The accident is broadcast on local news stations in San Diego. |
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This page was last updated on: July 10, 2002
July 4th 2002 James made it safely back to Bend on June 24th. Since he's been back, he's been able to hang out with friends, and has been active with his hand cycle and swimming in Sunriver. He also had a great visit with Mom, Dad, Uncle Ron & Aunt Avis, and Cousin Amanda, who were visiting Sunriver Resort for a week. He's glad to be out of San Diego and back "home". He is still looking for a place - if you know of any, please email or give him a call at jamesrules@yahoo.com or (541) 383-8061 June 8th 2002 James will once again be competing in the National Veteran's Wheelchair games, this year being held in Cleveland Ohio. The competition takes place July 8-14th. He'll be competing in swimming, table tennis and air rifle events. Good luck James! Here's a link to his Bio from last year's games. June 5th, 2002 From Lisa Chandler James is finally making the move - - leaving the big city of San Diego and back to his hometown of Bend, Oregon. San Diego is just too expensive for someone surving on Social Security. Bend will be much more affordable, and plenty of recreational opportunities for him as well. His last day at his apartment will be June 24th, so he should be in town by the end of June. He'll be at his sister Lisa's until he can find his own place. He can be reached at (541) 383-8061, or you can always email him at jamesrules@yahoo.com. January 7th, 2002 From Will Ferris Hey guys, "Jaime" (James) rode his bike around the parking lot today at the VA ! He did one lap with us (me and Collen)spotting him and another two on his own. It was very cool. I had him dressed in every piece of safety gear we have, but he did'nt need it. It was nuts he had his hand velcroed on and his feet clicked with the clipless pedals. It was very good to see. I did'nt have my camera sorry, next time I will take some pics. Happy New Year! From Lisa Chandler January 1, 2002 James spent the Christmas Holidays with his family in Northern California. He flew to Sacramento on Southwest by himself on December 20, and stayed until December 27th before flying back to San Diego. Big changes have happened since November. After a year in San Diego with James, younger brother Tom has left to pursue his kayaking and other goals. James is now living alone in his apartment in downtown San Diego. His good friends Will and Dan have been taking him grocery shopping, and he is able to navigate the steps to the basement laundry room to wash his clothes. He has been given the ok to drive, but is in search of a new vehicle, preferably a mini-van to be able to get around. Right now he does not have a vehicle. He has applied for Section 8 housing, and is told it should take a few months before he is accepted. His social security check is roughly $800.00 a month, and his rent takes up most of it at $775.00/mo. We are hoping with the Section 8, he'll be able to get affordable, safe housing. James plans on a ski trip to Big Bear CA sometime this month. Stay tuned for details. From Lisa Chandler (James' sister) November 11th, 2001 Wow, it's been a long time in between updates. I hadn't seen my brothers since last May, and I was finally able to get some time off to spend with them down in San Diego, to visit, and also to witness James' progress. I chose my visit to coincide with James' participation in the annual Challenged Atheletes Foundation Half Ironman Triathlon. The race consists of a 1.2 mile open water swim beginning and ending in La Jolla Cove, a 56 mile bike ride through the grueling hills of San Diego's North County, and 13.1 miles up the testy San Diego coastline. James swam the 1.2 miles.as part of a relay team. It was a rainy, chilly day, but everyone was pumped for the event. What an incredible experience. Watching James get into the ocean was such an inspiring site, it brought tears to both Jayson and my eyes. Despite the treacherous crashing waves, James completed the swim, and even walked up the stairs from the beach with the assistance of CAF volunteers. As far as progress, James' improvements have slowed down, but he is still working hard at walking. He recently was fitted for a leg brace and crutches to help with balance. The anti-tip wheels on the back of his chair are gone, along with the handles for pushing. He demonstrated his ability to pop a wheelie in his chair, and can get from a sitting position on the floor back into his chair with no help. Check out pictures from the event here: http://www.cabolisa.homestead.com/CAF110401 From Mom - Virginia Fredericks July 30, 2001 Hello, everyone! This is Virginia, James' Mom. I am so happy to share with you all the tremendous progress that James has accomplished as of last week, when we visited him. (Click here to see pictures) To be able to climb up and down the stairs and to swim in the pool, as well as in the ocean are the two most edifying and miraculous improvements that we have seen James perform. Deo Gratias! James' Dad and I took him to our room on the third floor of the Hotel Del Coronado. Unfortunately, the big elevator in the lobby was out of service, and the other one was too small for the wheelchair. We had to take the service elevator through the kitchen to go up. Going down, James made up his mind to walk down the three flight of stairs. Believe it or not, he did it with no trouble at all. From the hotel, we went to a restaurant across the street, where there was a ramp and and an elevator to go up. Again, he opted not to use the elevator and climbed up two flight of stairs. He went swimming at the beach on Sunday with Tara's Dad, Wil and Kelley(the Vets Recreational Therapist) and swam for half a mile from shore. At that time, the water was pretty cold. James plans to participate in a triathlon on November 4th. It is called San Diego Triathlon Challenge, featured as the world's best challenged athlete competition. He will do swimming for 1.2 miles. In New York James won two gold medals for air gun shooting and table tennis. He also received a silver and a bronze for swimming. Thank you everyone for your moral and material support of James. May the good Lord bless you all. Marvin and Virgina Fredericks July 3, 2001 From Tom Fredericks Hi everyone, Tom here with an update for what's been going on with the boyz in San Diego. Things have been moving along with both James and I. James still continues to make progress in Pysical Therapy and with swimming as well. These days if you saw James swimming in the pool, you would not think he has a disability. He now goes to physical therapy five days a week. Two of those days consisting of swimming. James expects to have a new hand cycle hopefully by next month. A hand cycle is a tricycle style vehicle that has twenty seven gears and is powered by your hands while you are in the sitting position. James just left San Diego on Sat the 30 of June to represent the San Diego Beachcombers (VA Hospital) in New York City at the Annual Veteran's Wheelchair Games. James was picked to represent his team at the opening cermonies dinner that starts off the whole event. The Wheelchair Games are like the Olympics for people with spinal cord injuries and other disabilities. The games will consist of events like Wheel chair basketball, Wheel chair Rugby, Swimming, and other events. James is slated to compete in two events of the swimming category, the freestyle and the back stroke. He will also be competing in the 10 meter Air Rifle event. James received an air Rifle to compete with from his friend, Matt Taylor from Bend. Table Tennis is the last regiment for James' events at the games. I'll let you know how he faired at the games. James is slated to return to San Diego from N.Y. on Friday the 6th of July. The day James gets home, I depart from LA to Padang, Indonesia via Singapore. I will be spending two weeks in Indonesia off the Mentawai chain of Islands Surf Kayaking. Our group of eleven will spend two weeks on a Boat and surf many different breaks along the Mentawais chain. We will be working with Scott Lindgren productions and will be filming a segment on Surf Kayaking on the OLN channel for next year. Right now I'm finishing up building a custom kayak for the trip. It will be amazing to be surfing the best waves in the world. I will be back in San Diego on the 22nd or so. James has been working on walking every week. Last week James walked about a hundred feet by himself (with his trainer spotting but not helping) without falling before he needed a rest. He continues to get more and more stronger as the days go by. We are waiting for James to be evaluated to drive a vehicle pretty soon. This will be the next challenge to undertake. Driving. I'll keep you posted.. Well, until next time. Take care -Tom May 20th, 2001 Team SAVE JAMES placed 3rd overall in the Co-ed 30-34 category with a time of 2:01:13. The team took home the coveted mugs. Way to go guys! May 17th, 2001 From Lisa Chandler The boys made it safely from San Diego to Portland last night, arriving at 9:17pm and getting into Bend around 1:30am. They will be here until Tuesday morning. James' younger brother Tom and Brother-in-law Eric will be competing this Saturday, 5/19 in the annual Pole Pedal Paddle race. Their name is "Team Save James" Team members are: Tara Sanders Downhill Ski Tom Fredericks Nordic Ski Cloyd Robinson Bike Eric Chandler Run Jason Wells Kayak Tom Fredericks Sprint James Fredericks Strategic Advisor A get together was held tonight at the Bend Brewing Company, and a good time was had by all. Thanks so much Jay and Theresa for picking up the tab. :) Another get-together is planned for Sunday around 5:00pm at John Doughs Pizza. Please come by and say Hi! As far as James' progress, he continues to amaze us. We were worried about the 6 inch threshold on our front door, as we don't have a ramp. It was no problem for James. He stood up from his chair, held on to the door, and was able to make the step up into the house. Getting into and out of cars is getting easier as well. Stay tuned for further updates this weekend. May 2, 2001 Hola! Amigos, Here is the latest update from sometimes sunny San Diego. We are making more progress down here. James is still working on walking at physical therapy. A couple notes on progress; James can now get into the our Astro van without aid. He can go from his wheel chair and climb into the front seat by himself. This is a real breakthrough for him. James is also walking longer distances on the 15yrd long parallel bars. A couple of days ago he walked eleven lengths between two workouts! Also, James has been using one of the exercise cycles by himself. Next week James is going kayaking with me on Mission Bay for the first time in six months. Today we received a new walker for James for our home use. Now James can have walking exercise at home. There is a mini market about half a block away, it is up a little hill though. James has not been able to become a regular customer, because of the step at the foot of the store. Now, I don't think James will have a problem negotiating the step whenever he has the munchies! We are not completely satisfied with our new neighborhood.... We decided to start looking for a better location more north and closer to the beach. I think we have experienced everything around here, and It's quite boring. We are looking for some better quality action elsewhere.... Oh yeah, we need a better area so James can go for a ride on his hand cycle that he will be ordering! (a hand cycle is a tricycle powered by someone's arms) Progress for me is good as well. I'm learning how to board surf more efficiently, both longboard and shortboard. It's really fun being able to enjoy the good surf spots around San Diego. James and I are planning a trip to Bend for the Pole Pedal Paddle!!! We are thinking about coming up for the weekend of the race. (19th of May) It would be great to see everyone in good ol' Bend. We really miss Oregon! Unfortunately we will only be able to stay four or five days ; ( We will be at our sister Lisa's house @541 383-8061. I'll let you know what days we'll try to make it up. Take care Tom and James April 12, 2001 Hi everyone, This is Tom with the latest update with James and I. There has really been a lot happening with James and I the last couple of weeks. James was released from the V.A. on March 29th. We moved into an apartment very close to downtown San Diego (In the hood). When I say the hood I mean it. I can even solidify this statement by an example today. James and I both had the day off. I had a day off from work at Sammy's woodfired pizza (where I am a bar tender and server) and James had a day off from Physical Therapy as an outpatient, at the Spinal cord injury center at the VA, where he goes to physical therapy three days a week. I had come down with a cold a couple of days ago and was not feeling too well. I decided to take a nap around noon and James was surfing the internet. James heard from outside about five "popping sounds" in a row and did not really think anything of it. "I thought it was some kids lighting off fire crackers" said James. A couple of hours later. Some of the neighbor kids whom I've became friends with, rang the door bell to borrow my in line skate board. "Did you hear about the shooting?" the kids asked me. "What are you talking about?" I inquired... They said there had been a man spotted about 50 yards from our apartment with a gun in his hand. A neighbor called the San Diego police and reported the sighting. The police arrived upon a car of four vagrants (that had supposedly been living out of their car close to our apartment for the last six months). The police surrounded the car and drew their weapons. One of the vagrants pulled out a toy gun (a replica snub nosed revolver) and yelled that he had a gun. The police proceeded to fire five shots at the man and killed him on the spot! All of this happening 50 yards from our house! Its really nice to see that our neighborhood is really making an effort in cleaning itself up! James and I drove by the shooting site tonight and there was a little memorial set up on behalf of the victim. There were candles lit against the fence and several posters hung reading "Injustice because of Predjudice" and kill whitey amongst other anti police slurs. Oh yeah. On other notes, Since becoming an outpatient at the VA James has started with walking exercises. Last Monday he started to use the parallel bars to taid with walking. His first day he walked a full length of the bars, about twenty five yards long. Yesterday he walked four lengths of the bars! James has Transportation provided for him from the VA. He has someone come and pick him up in the mornings and drop him off at home after therapy. He is getting pretty darn self reliant. There are only a few things that I have to do for him at home. He can use the restroom by himself and shower by himself (I only have to scrub the hard to reach spot on his back) and get in and out of bed by himself. We are settling into the domestic life pretty well. Our apartment is ample enough for us. It has Harwood floors and large enough walk ways so james can maneuver around enough without too much trouble. We may have to do a little repair to the walls below the two foot level by the door ways though. We have pretty much all of the modern amenities. Gas stove, new frigerator, stereo, TV, internet with high speed cable connection, futon couch (thanks Monica) kitchen ware (thanks Julia) telephone and answering machine. Our sister Lisa paid us a visit a couple of weeks ago and helped James and I get established into our new apartment and tied up some loose ends that I did not have a chance to address. So far James and I are doing pretty well, despite some minor neighborhood disputes! Life is treating us alright. Sorry about long duration between up dates. Thanks for everyones tremendous support! Take care -Tom and James March 29, 2001 Today was the BIG DAY! James was released from the hospital and is all settled in the new apartment in San Diego. He was given a power wheelchair to navigate the steep hill outside the apartment, as well as a manual chair. Also delivered compliments of the VA were a hospital bed and hand rails for the bathroom. On order are ramps, a speakerphone, a bed table and more medical supplies. He is working on getting transportation from the VA to the apartment on his physical therapy days. He will have regular physical therapy sessions on Monday Wednesday and Friday each week. In addition, he can still go on outings with the Spinal Cord Patients - such as to the movies, the pool, restaurants and sporting events. The recovery continues, and James is happy to be out on his own again. Special thanks to the entire staff of the SCI Center. :) March 24, 2001 From: Lisa Chandler Eric and I flew to San Diego to spend a week helping James with the big move from the VA Hospital to independent living in their own apartment. We will be here for a week. Tom has found an apartment! Not necessarily affordable, but it is wheelchair accessible. The new address is 1932 K Street San Diego CA 92101 Phone: 619-255-0880 Yesterday James received a pass for the weekend to come and go as he pleases from 8:00am - 10:00pm. He is staying with Tom in the ILA, where he is cooking his own meals, taking his meds on his own, and doing everything else that a normal person would do indepenently. We took advanatage of his liberty pass, going to several shopping centers, and buying a new Nintendo games: "Conker's Bad Fur Day". This is the first time James has left the hospital unsupervised. He is able to transfer himself without any help from his wheelchair to a car. His improvements since our last visit in December have been remarkable. Yesterday he was playing ping-pong and pool from his wheelchair. We will have pictures and more updates on the website soon. Stay Tuned! March 3, 2001 From: Tom Fredericks Hi everyone, this is Tom with the latest update on James. We found out this week, that James' release date from the Spinal cord injury center at the VA hospital will be on the 28th of March. A week before James' scheduled release, he will be at an independent living apartment adjacent to the Spinal cord injury center. This will help James become accustomed to living in a real world situation. Currently I've been looking for an apartment for James and I to live in here, in San Diego. James will continue Physical therapy at the Spinal cord injury center on an outpatient basis several days a week. Progress with James continues to move forward. With James' halo off now, he will start going to the pool and start practicing Hydro therapy. James has also been practicing standing exercises in PT. The first time he stood upright,he was only able to stand for about a minute. Now he can stand upright almost five minutes. He has also started working out on a standing machine that is similar to a nordic ski exerciser. The machine enables James to stand up right and it has pivoting arm exercisers that are connected to the feet straps that move as well, simultaneously giving him a work out to the arms and legs. James is also doing transfers from his wheel chair to his bed pretty much by himself. Someone needs to be there only to make sure his legs are blocked to prevent slipping. James has had a couple of visitors from out of town in the last couple of weeks. Our friend Jayson Bowerman flew down to spend the Presidents day weekend with James and our Mom and Dad and Our eldest brother, Tony. Mark Gamba who provided many of the action pictures of James in the website, stopped by for an evening. A kayaker friend from Oregon, Gabe Gunning hung out for several days on his way to the east coast, and played video games with James and respectably got flogged by James. Also, a fellow Hot shot firefighter collogue, Hass stopped by on his way to Florida. The amount of progress that James is making is very substantial and continues to surprise and impress the medical staff who work with him. We are all very proud of James' progress and also the quality and professionalism that his team at the SCI has provided. Stay tuned for the next update! Take care, -Tom 3/2/01 From: Lisa Chandler Release date from VA Hospital set for March 28th James' release date from inpatient status at the VA Hospital will be on March 28,2001. His last week at the hospital - March 21-28 will be spent in a mock-apartment located within the Spinal Cord Center. This apartment is a studio with full kitchen, double bed, couch, bathroom. There is no special adaptive equipment. He will learn to be independent by improvising, overcoming and adapting to obsticles. There will be no nurses on call while he is in the mock apartment. Meanwhile, the search for a real apartment in San Diego for James is on. There are leads on a few places, including one that is a 1 bedroom apartment specifically for seniors/disabled at a very reasonable (for San Diego) $495.00/mo. Cross your fingers that this one works out! James' main goals recently have been standing excersizes. With help to get in a standing position, he is able to balance himself with no help for short periods of time. This is very promising! :) Progress wise, James is doing very well. His improvments and goal achievements cause him to outgrow the wheelchairs, and he is on his 4th chair, each chair allowing him more functionality. James' Halo Removed on 2/16/01!! 2/16/01 From: Lisa Chandler After 70 days in the Halo, it was finally removed on 2/16/01. He will still wear a neck brace for support for a while. Click here for the full update and pictures from Tony James's older brother Tony, parents Marvin & Virgina, and his good friend Jayson Bowerman are all in San Diego visiting him this weekend. More pictures should be posted soon! Although not definite yet, James' tentative release date from inpatient status will be March 18th. He will spend the last 2 weeks in the VA center in a mock apartment without any special adaptive equipment, where he will learn to take care of himself independently. 2/5/01 From Kathy Dunn, Clinical Nurse Specialist: "James is doing very well. He is now feeding himself all of dinner and lunch and will be adding breakfast soon. He is working on the first stage of his self-medication program, and has his indwelling catheter out and is on intermittent catheterization again. He is getting small amounts of return each week, including some movement in his right fingers and thumb. I will try to send another update soon." 2/1/01 From: Tom Fredericks Hey, Guys This is Tom with the latest update with James. Today James had a chance to go on an outing to the movie theater. James and a couple other patients went to see the movie, Traffic. A movie about some serious drug trafficking and back stabbing. I guess according to James it's worth the effort to see it. Last week James had a moment in the spot light. The evening news at about three or four local stations showed a brief segment on James. Last Wednesday the 24th of Jan, James surprised the life guards who were the first ones to arrive at the scene of his accident. They happened to be a group of trainees who were training blocks away from the accident. On the 24th they graduated from their lifeguard training program. James arrived at the end of their ceremonies and gave them a surprise visit, and thanked them for their heroic efforts. Lt. Brant Bass put together an eleven minute video with footage taken from the accident and interviews that he filmed with James, his doctor Chris Kaufman, Will Ferris and myself. It was a very compelling video that portrayed the events leading up to the accident,the rescue and recovery that James is making. When James entered the ceremonies shortly after the viewing of the video, he received a standing ovation from everyone including the new trainees. There were about four different local San Diego television stations documenting the event. James was interviewed for several minutes with the reporters and had a chance to chat with some of the lifeguards that assisted with his rescue. James is still making progress on a daily basis. He has already exceeded goals this week that were intended to be goals to achieve next week! He is able to sit up on a mat by himself, without using his arms to support him,only using his abs and back muscles. James has regained mobility in his right hand with his thumb and index finger. He is able to pick up items of food and feed himself! James is still working hard in physical therapy six days a week and is able to wheel himself anywhere in the Spinal cord injury center. We are working towards getting James in shape to play Nintendo 64! Every friday evening is rapidly becoming pizza and Nintendo night. Don't worry we will whip him into video game shape real soon! Stay tuned for the next update folks! Take care -Tom 1/17/01 From: Tom Fredericks Hi everyone, This is the latest update on James as of 1/17/01. Last week James, myself, and our parents who were on speakerphone had a meeting with his rehabilitation team. The meeting went really well. James' rehab team included his Doctor, Nurses, Physical therapist, Occupational therapist, Recreational therapist, and Psychologist. Overall everyone had really good things to say about James and his recovery. James' Doctor talked about some of the medication that he is on. He is on a blood thinner because of some blood clots in his legs. He is also on a medicine called baclafin, which helps prevent muscle spasms in his legs. Although James is still paralyzed from the waist down, he has pretty much regained feeling in most of his lower body. For the most part he can tell me exactly where I'm touching him on his body below the chest. It is really awesome seeing him progress in regaining feeling throughout his body. Right now he can move his toes and his ankle on his right leg. James can also bend his knee a couple of inches too! His left leg is progressing more slowly then his right, but as of last week he was able to move his left toes. As of yesterday he was able to move his left ankle a little bit as well. Bladder. James cannot control his bladder yet, but he does have sensation and can feel it when he is going. From talking to his staff and other patients, his progression with sensation and movement this early after the accident is pretty remarkable. James' physical therapist, Kurt says that James has been exceeding all the goals that have been set for him so far. His latest goal is to wheel himself from his room down the hall to the elevator and go down stairs to physical therapy by himself. He completed this goal today! Currently James is rolling around in a pretty sporty "Quickie" wheelchair he even has some sporty rubber coated wheel chair gloves. He needs these gloves because he still has no movement in his fingers. His range of mobility is getting better in his arms and shoulders. He can raise his hand to his mouth but not any higher yet. It will still be about 2-1/2 to three months before James will have his "halo" removed. Once the halo is removed from his head, life will be two hundred percent better. The halo is acting as a cast for his neck so his vertebra can heal correctly. James had surgery at the end of December, so it takes about three months to fully heal. James is really stoked about all the support that he has received from family, friends back home, Co-workers from the Hot-shots, and the Kayak community. All of your support is greatly appreciated. Stay tuned for the next update. Take care, -Tom Previous Updates 1/17/01 Alder Creek Kayak & Canoe hosted a slide show of local Paddler Ross Henry's trip to New Zealand. At the end of the presentation, it was announced that a raffle would be held as a fundrasier for James' cause. All proceeds from the raffle will be MATCHED by Alder Creek. Another slide presentation and fundrasier will be held on February 8th, with presentations by Bob Woodward and Lana Young. Stop on by! Visit the Alder Creek website at http://www.aldercreek.com 1/16/01 Added New Action Shots of James, courtesy of Bend Photographer Mark Gamba. Thanks Mark! If you like his work, please visit his website at http://www.markgamba.com. 1/9/01 James is doing well and sounding good over the phone. He eats breakfast in bed, eats lunch in the dining room in his wheelchair, then dinner in bed. He says he can now wiggle his toes on his right foot, and push himself down the hall in his wheelchair. He can't turn his wheelchair yet, just move himself staight, but this is a great start. He is working hard with physical therapy every day, which tires him out, but he's optimistic about his recovery. He is staying in his wheelchair longer & longer every day. Today he was in his chair for 5 1/2 hours! 1/6/01 Check Tom's lastest voice message on the message board! We have a good possibility of having a renter for James' house in Bend. A co-worker of Lisa's is interested in renting the house by herself. James will pay $100.00 a month to keep his room and belongings there, and she will pay the other $545.00 until he gets back. Just waiting for the application to go through now. 1/5/01 James now has a speaker phone in his room, and he can answer & hang up by hitting it with his wrist. This will enable him to control the phone himself instead of having a nurse hold the phone to his ear. Remember, since it's a speaker phone, your call is not exactly private! 1/4/01 Tom back from Idaho. 1/3/01 Sent out an email to local friends - looking for housemates for James' house. If you know of anyone looking for a place to rent, please contact us! 1/2/01 (From Kathy Dunn, Clinical Nurse Specialist) James was still running a fever over the weekend, but was up in his chair and going to therapy (except yesterday due to the holiday) on Sat, Sun, and today. He has some more tests today and I don't know the results yet. He can talk on the phone. His direct phone number is 858 535-5729. By convention we will help the patient answer the phone if he is in his room, but leave it unanswered if he is not there, so if it rings and rings just try calling back at a different time. You can also call the SCI nurses station if you need any information at 858 552-7453. I have included here for you a copy of his team member's phone numbers as well so that you can contact anyone directly if you desire. Let me know if you are not sure who to contact about any questions. 12/31/00 Tom takes a much needed break to spend New Years in Idaho. He will be back on the 4th. 12/29/00 Found out that James' roommate in Bend will be moving out at the end of January. This brings up the problem of what to do about rent, or what to do with James' stuff. 12/28/00 James finally makes the big move from UCSD to the VA Spinal Injury Cord Center in La Jolla California. The move went well, and James is happy to get out of UCSD. Parents head back home to Oroville. 12/19/00 James had major surgery to replace 3 crushed disks with bone taken from both his hip and from other doners. 12/18/00 Parents drive down from Oroville visit James 12/16/00 Eric and Lisa head back to Bend after a week long visit to San Diego. 12/15/00 Tony flies down from Sacramento to be with James. 12/9/00 Eric & Lisa arrive from Oregon to spend a week with James. 12/8/00 James moves out of ICU to the 7th floor. His IV and oxygen are removed. 12/7/00 James remains in ICU. 12/6/00 Accident happens. James is transported immediately to UCSD (University California San Diego) Hospital. The accident is broadcast on local news stations in San Diego. |
