January 21st, 2011 by Conor

Some more pictures from the ride day up at Northstar.

Photos by Ian Mcleod and Jonathan Herre

January 21st, 2011 by Conor

I started riding again this year after 15 years of not being on the mountain. A lil bit after I started Danny’s accident happened. My mom knew his dad so I told her what happened, she then bought me a helmet. So what I’m getting at is with every negative there i a positive. Because of Danny I am riding with a helmet. Thought it only be right I rock it for him. Cause if this can happen to him with his skills, it can happen to anyone.

~Heather Snow

January 21st, 2011 by Conor

Videos from Annie Perley

January 20th, 2011 by Conor

Hi Conor… Although my only connection with you is “Kennett Alumni 2001” and do not know your brother personally, when I heard of his accident I was genuinely concerned for him and your family. I must admit, among many others, I have been slightly addicted to following Danny’s progress online. I am truly encouraged by the band of people coming together for the common goal of wishing Danny well. I was offered a side job to paint a neighbors bathroom, and thought it would be a great source of income that I could donate to your family. Thank you for allowing this very difficult experience to inspire my feelings of compassion.
All my best …. Jennifer Bell

January 20th, 2011 by Conor

I had to take this out of the frame and scan it over. God I miss being that young and naive. Miss you guys! Danny when you get better I’ll give you another blow-out, Jersey shore style… Who would have thought Pauly D got his hair style from your pissed off Q-tip?? Who the hell let us put peroxcide in our hair?

January 20th, 2011 by MIchelle

It’s 2:24 PM. Usually I’m sleeping right now, but today I made it in early. I walked in this afternoon to him snuggled up with his stuffed bear. It’s absolutely adorable. I don’t want to gush about it and I usually am the last of my girlfriends to use the word “cute,” but really, you’ve got to see this. Even Doctor Gorsuch had a good laugh when he walked in to Danny and his cuddle buddy. It’s is funny and cute at the same time.

About an hour ago Danny had his physical therapy and occupational therapy appointments. They stayed for about forty five minutes until Danny was too dizzy and over it. The physical therapist did some upper and lower body simple workouts; raising his hands above his head, lifting his legs up one at a time, and tossing a ball back and forth. The occupational therapist had Danny write his name, the year, and different colors that she held up on a piece of paper. I watched anxiously to see how his writing was and to my surprise it was perfect.

The only area that I’ve found Danny to be struggling a bit with is his short term memory. If I ask him questions about yesterday, sometimes he’ll remember and other times he’ll look at me confused. From what I gather, he is doing absolutely amazing in all areas for this stage of recovery. Everyone is impressed. This includes myself. We had no idea what the extent the injury would effect him, but it’s been surprising everyday to watch Danny improve.

Although there are times that Danny might seemed bummed out or over being strapped down to the bed, there are also many time throughout the day that I feel like Danny is dealing with this as best as you could expect. He’ll smile if something funny happens and make everyone smile with him. Today he made us all laugh when the therapist joked about being left out and Danny passed him the ball instead of me. That’s probably a bad example, but it shows he still has his sense of humor.

At the risk of sounding too mushy in this post, I will also say that he still makes me blush multiple times a day. I had to include this stuff because I have to give him credit for all of the positives. The doctor also mentioned that the fact he is having these complex emotions shows that he is still capable of having them and that is yet another positive. All in all today has been a good day. He’s finally getting some sleep now and I haven’t had to hold him back from trying to escape yet, which he didn’t remember from yesterday. I really wish you guys could see him and that teddy bear!

-Michelle

January 20th, 2011 by Conor

Sounds like the snow isn’t the greatest today but the crew at Northstar is doing what they can to have a fun time.

January 20th, 2011 by Conor

Danny wasn’t in much of a good mood to begin with so I certainly wasn’t gonna try to push him to video it. Even though I had only planned on videoing his hand it just wasn’t gonna happen. He reached his hand into the bed and pulled about 8 names out. several fell into his bed (so I guess some of you ladies still kinda won) and then there were 3. Michelle spread the three names out for him and he settled on Stephanie Rawson. Until next time. More fun hospital raffles to come.

January 20th, 2011 by Conor

Well I thought I was doing bad last night when I got kicked out of the ICU room, tonight, I didn’t even make it in there. I was packing up my stuff in the lobby to head in when I looked up to see Michelle rather randomly. Right around midnight is when I usually head into the room. About that time Michelle rounded the corner with a rather discouraged look. I don’t remember what she said specifically, only that I didn’t believe her at first. She explained that the nurse was trying to give Danny some space so that he might be able to sleep better. This surprsed me because I had been in there for the last 15 nights in a row. Why was tonight different I wondered.

I headed to Danny’s room anyway because I had to get some things out of there if I wasn’t going to be able to get in there at all. When the locking doors opened to the ICU I was met by the nurse who explained to me that Danny was sleeping so I could come on back in and hang out if I wanted. I diverted my attention from the informative nurse and looked over towards Danny’s room. Right when I looked over Danny threw up a wave which to me said something like “Please get me the hell out of this place I can’t stand it and I want to be home. NOW.” I informed the nurse that Danny wasn’t sleeping.

Before I had headed to the ICU to get my stuff I was contemplating even going in. I figured it if had been that hard for Danny to sleep that he probably would be pretty pissed if he was woken up by me. So When I realized he was awake I was excited I wouldn’t be bothering him. As I walked in the room he proceeded to try to roll over and get out of the restraints that were holding him down. I’m not talking about rolling around in discomfort, I’m talking about moving around and fighting with some rage to get out of the position he has been forced into. The nurse took a minute but was able to calm him down.

Michelle and I decided to head out of the ICU for the night at midnight but not before we mentioned to our nurse, as well as another favorite (;-)), that Danny really needed to be watched closely. Michelle had some concerns about Dannys care based on Dannys behavior earlier in the evening. Twice while she had been in the room she had seen Danny try to get up out of bed. I realize the nurses watch patients closely as a job, but, sometimes they get busy, and I wouldn’t put it past Danny to do something wild. He is extremely uncomfortable, now he’s alone, and he doesn’t want to be there one bit. As we walked away from the hospital I couldn’t help but imagine Danny sleeping with one eye open waiting and watching the nursing staff while planning his escape. I really hope he doesn’t go for it.

I will not make the same mistake tomorrow. Even if they kick me out for the Graveyard shift I will have already been in the room a little earlier in the night. Super bummer that I saw Danny for about 10 minutes today. So for those of you around the country that feel helpless waiting for updates and info, I had a taste of it today. It sucks.

It’s 3:19 and usually I am about halfway through my shift. Instead, I am going to bed.

Good Night Danny, and I hope that’s just what it is…
Conor

January 20th, 2011 by MIchelle

It’s 4:14 AM. I’m laying in bed trying to think of something other than Danny laying in his room alone. If you’ve read what Conor wrote, then you know that Danny needed to get some rest and that we were asked to give him some space. I don’t blame the nurse for asking this of us. If I were trying to get some sleep, it would be pretty difficult with other people in my room. On the other hand, Danny is on a mission to get out of that bed. I had to restrain him twice today and eventually I was able to talk Danny out of making a run for it. Even though he can speak now, he still has yet to hold a conversation. There are times when he is squirming around in bed, red in the face, and his fists are balled up and flexed, but he won’t say a word. These times are painful to watch. These times break my heart because all I want to do is help him. I think, for the most part, that he has the worst headache of his life. He rated it a ten on a scale of 1-10. Hopefully tomorrow is less painful. Get some sleep Danny. See you in my dreams.

-Michelle