New Adventures

We hope that everyone is having a wonderful Summer. We are having a fun time trying out Christian's new body and seeing what it can do! He's has had many successes and learning opportunities :) I wanted to share a couple of them with you. Christian went on his first bike ride while we were in Telluride in May. He just decided to do it and he did it with no problems! We were all sooo excited and as you can see by the look on his face, this is where he belongs.

We went up to Pineview Reservoir over the July 4th weekend and Christian attempted the Air Chair. He almost got it too. There is a lot of room for improvement, and again, learning what he needs to work on and do different next time. I'm sure that you will enjoy the video.

Christian is still working very hard and seeing improvements, slowly, but surely. He is on a fishing trip with the boys as we speak and I'm sure basking in the glory of being on the river again. Thank you for keeping him in your thoughts and prayers for he is still in the midst of a miracle. We love you. Safe travels and adventures this Summer.

First Fishing Trip Since the Accident

Darrell Smith and Christian were up fishing this weekend in Idaho. Darrell sent this e-mail out that I thought would be nice to put up on Christian's blog. Justin.

Guys:

Christian and I are up at Fish Ranch. Weather isn't very cooperative--lots of rain and cold--but today we found a few magic moments on the Henry's near my cabin. We floated into a half mile of happy fish and Christian hooked up three times and landed his first fish since his accident last August. It was a big HFK rainbow that exploded on the big bug. Christian also rowed the boat most of the float. He's coming back... he can already cast and row better than pretty much all of you guys. Wading is a different story--he took a swim yesterday--but that gives him something to work on.

Pretty Cool.

DS

1/2 Marathon

Friends and Family

I am participating in a 1/2 marathon next Saturday In Louisville, Kentucky. I will be running/walking 3 miles in a relay with other quadriplegics/paraplegics. We are doing this to raise money and awareness for the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation and Neuroworx. These two organizations are dedicated to helping spinal cord injury victims. I have made the decision to get involved with both of these organizations in an effort to try and help others with a spinal chord injury. I feel so fortunate and blessed to have made such an incredible recovery from my injury. So many people have been involved in this process, and I can't begin to express my gratitude.

I realize that all of you give to many wonderful causes. If you are in a position to give a little or a lot to this effort I would be most grateful. The following is a link to my site:

http://www.christopherreeve.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=454249&lis=1&kntae454249=057B69F599384E36A1B58A5145A34C4D&supId=321945860

You can make a donation by clicking on the link and making a pledge. Every little bit helps.

Thank you for your support.

Christian Deputy

http://www.christopherreeve.org/site/c.ddJFKRNoFiG/b.4048063/k.C5D5/Christopher_Reeve_Spinal_Cord_Injury_and_Paralysis_Foundation.htm

http://www.neuroworx.org/

Christian's Journey 2010

Our Christmas Letter

Merry Christmas to you and your families. We hope that everyone is as grateful and full of love this Christmas as we are. We are coming up on the 4 month anniversary of Chris' accident and things are going exceptionally well. Warning...Christian is back at the wheel and driving!! ha ha! His goal was to be driving by the new year and he has been driving for about a week. We see progress in Christian's body constantly. It has been one hell of a year and we are ready to start a new, but we are very thoughtful on how blessed that we have been. This is a year that we will never forget. We've been at the lowest of lows and the highest of highs. We have learned many things. Most of all we learned that there is love all around us. Our family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, and complete strangers have made all of the difference. We love all of you and wish you a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year.

We wanted to share with you our 2010 Christmas letter...

We Believe in Miracles

One of the many blessings of this time of year is the chance it gives us to connect with you, our friends and family.

This time last year we were in sunny, beautiful Maui on our honeymoon. It was the most fabulous trip. We enjoyed all that the island has to offer. Our days were full of scuba trips, snorkeling, kitesurfing, and a whole lot of relaxing. The highlight of our trip was an experience of a lifetime; we had the rare opportunity to swim with dolphins. It was the most amazing encounter. We had 60 dolphins swimming around us in the middle of the ocean, wild and free. It was surreal to be so close to such gentle, mindful and unrestricted animals. It was amazing.

Springtime brought camping and biking in Southern Utah. We rode many of our favorite trails and attempted some new ones. We camped with great friends in the best camping spots that nature has to offer. We ate wonderfully as Christian cooked on “JESSI’S” new Camp Chef that he surprised her with for her birthday!! A little joke in our family…there is still some training to do.

Summer weekends were full of fishing, more biking, and a Reed family vacation to sunny California. California was fabulous and spending time with our family was wonderfully entertaining, as always. Fly-fishing is one of our favorite weekend activities. Christian rows Jessi and Aspen down the river watching and waiting for a giant trout to rise. Chris is the best guide. With his help, Jes caught the biggest trout ever to swim the river! Due to technical difficulties there are no pictures to share. I know what you’re all thinking…tis the season to believe. ☺

We live a pretty adventurous and carefree life. As many of you know, that adventurous spirit brought us to where we are today. Christian’s accident in August brought many things into perspective. Life is fragile, we are not invincible, but also that we will not change how we live our lives. We have a love for life and adventure, that is who we are and who we will always be. This is another one of our adventures and we will come through it, maybe with a few more scars, but through it together. We have had more blessings and miracles this year then we thought were possible. Christian is progressing steadily every day and we are very grateful. He hopes to be on skis by spring. With some luck and practice, maybe this year Jessi can keep up.

We realize that we could not have made it through the year without you, our friends and family. Your thoughts and prayers have kept us hopeful on the gloomiest of days. We love each and every one of you dearly. We are especially thankful for all of you this year. We are thankful for each other and our strength and courage to get through this somewhat gracefully. We are thankful for Christian’s doctors, nursing staff, flight crew, and therapists. Their knowledge and encouragement saved Christian’s life and has made this experience much more bearable.

Our home and our hearts are full of love and gratitude. We wish the same to you this Christmas season. Thank you for your love, support and friendship. Merry Christmas and Happy 2011!

All our love-

Christian and Jessi

A Prayer In Song

Saturday, September 25, 2010
The Barbershop Harmony Society's Rocky Mountain District Fall Convention attendees, meeting in Layton, Utah, dedicated a wonderful musical performance of "Irish Blessing" to Christian's recovery. It was a tender out-pouring of love and good will from barbershop harmony friends. Thank you.

May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
May the rain fall soft upon your fields, And,
Until we meet again may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Speed Typing

I type with two fingers now. It’s not fast but I am typing and I am grateful. This is my first post and written document that will be longer than two sentences. I’ve written a few emails and text messages but nothing more than a sentence or two. This is good therapy until I buy some good dictation software.

I am doing very well. I’ve been home for almost a month. It’s been nice to be home and the adjustment from hospital to home was easier than I expected in large part due to my wonderful wife. She does most of the work keeping our house and me up and running. If you ever break your neck I hope you have a great wife like I do to take care of you.

My days are filled with lots of therapy. I spend two to four hours, Monday to Friday in occupational or physical therapy. It’s going very well and I continue to get stronger and more coordinated every week. My walk is getting more natural. It’s far from perfect but I can safely get around on my own in almost any condition.

My physical therapy now includes working in pool. It’s fun and extremely tiring. I’ve now run in the pool. It’s not pretty but it’s a miracle that I can do it. I hated running before the accident and I don’t think that feeling has changed. I’d rather be learning to ski or bike but all in good time. The pool running is good for now.

In addition to walking and running I am working on lots of strengthening exercises especially on my hips, core and shoulders. I also spend a great deal of time stretching. My muscles are very tight. This is common for spinal chord injuries. I lack range of motion and the stretching helps increase my range of motion, reduces injuries and just helps me get better. I think in a few months I’ll be more flexible than I was before the accident.

Nikki, my occupational therapist suggested I bring my fly rod to therapy, Thursday. We spent the last 20 minutes of our session working on my cast. It was better than I than I expected. I was able to throw 30 to 40 feet without to much trouble, now controlling the direction is a different story, but I’ve got months, until next summer, to work on that. It’s exciting to discover that some of the things I love to do will be possible sooner than latter. Stay tuned for reports on skiing, snowmobiling, biking, rowing, diving and kite surfing. Speaking about adventure I am getting close to driving again. I need to increase my reaction time a little, but I am hopeful by the new year that I’ll be behind the wheel again. I’ll make sure to warn you all so you can stay clear. It was only few weeks ago that I was struggling just to move my arms.

I do want to thank everyone for your continued support and prayers. Jessi and I feel so blessed to have so many wonderful friends and family. We are so grateful that you are all part of our lives. I am certain that your prayers on our behalf have not gone unanswered.

I will do my best to keep the blog updated as I make additional progress. I appreciate all the posts that were made by our family and Matt. There were many, many, hours spent writing and posting entries on the blog to keep everyone informed. I have had so many people tell me how much they have appreciated the blog. I want to especially thank my brother Justin, and Dad for their numerous posts.

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving and finds many things to be grateful for this holiday.

Note: there may be some overlap between this and the video. i forgot what i said on the video that we shot we shot two weeks ago