This is the Schneider-Farris Family's Blog. Keep up with what we are doing by logging into this site regularly! (The reason this site is called "Tragedy and Triumph" is that when I first founded this site, my husband, Dan, had been in a horrible accident, and he recovered. His recovery was a miracle! Go back to the 2005 archives to read our story.)

Friday, October 28, 2005

It's Been 6 Weeks since THE ACCIDENT

Today is Friday, October 28, 2005.

It's been SIX weeks since Dan's accident on Friday, September 16, 2005.

It is a miracle he is alive.

It is a miracle that he is not paralyzed or brain-damaged
or...or...or...or much more hurt...or...

Anyway, it is good to have him inside our house.

Thank you all for your prayers. Continue to pray for a full recovery.

Right now, it is very difficult for Dan to do more than lay down and
transferring to his wheelchair is really hard.

His feet will take along time to heal and he's also dealing with being a temporary diabetic (this may be permanent).

He is feeling pretty good today, but he's been very ill since he arrived home on Tuesday, 10/25. It was encouraging today to see him feel better!

He is so, so tired, but he is able to talk on the phone for quite awhile. Feel free to call Dan at our home number which is 719-527-1015.

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Dan came home today!

Today, Tuesday, October 25, 2005, Dan came home!

He is not able to walk and is very, very tired, but he is HOME!

He came home in time for lunch and ate dinner with us. He visited with the children and also rested.

It will now take several months to recover and walk again, but it is so good to have Dan back inside our house!

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Surgery on left foot successful

At 9:00 PM on Wednesday, October 19, Dan was scheduled for surgery on his left ankle.

The surgery was completed at 1:30 AM and was successful. So many of Dan's bones were broken and they were fixed one by one.

On Thursday, October 20, Dan was in terrible pain for much of the day.

The good news is that if all heals correctly, Dan will be able to eventually walk again (maybe not perfectly, but he'll be able to walk) and even skate!

Also, there is a good possibility that Dan will come home this coming Tuesday, October 25!

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Another day at the park


My parents visited Dan and we all went to the park on Tuesday, 10-18-05. Doesn't Dan look GREAT?!!

Dan's first time outdoors and a haircut


Last evening, Annabelle and Rebekah and I met Dan and Mike at the park next to the hospital and took an evening stroll around the park. Mike pushed Dan's wheelchair and we talked and talked.

How wonderful that Dan can go outside again for short strolls!

My hairdresser, Gail Montoya, also came to the hospital earlier today and gave Dan a haircut. He looks so much younger now. The long shaggy hair had made him look old and tired. Now, even his head looks like it has a new beginning!

I told Dan last night he'd been in a coma for two weeks; he was shocked. He had no idea he'd been out all that long. It has been 31 days since the accident.

(There was a full moon out last night; I remember the nurses and Chaplain saying that the weekend of Dan's accident there had also been a full moon and it seemed like there was more activity at the hospital that particular weekend.)

Sunday, October 16, 2005

A Miracle Did Occur!

I wrote the following message on 9/25/05 to many, many people because I knew only a miracle would make Dan better:

"Please pass the info below anyone who knows me and Dan and who may
care.

My husband Dan was in a horrible accident on Friday 9-16.

There is a very small chance he will live.

Please pray for a miracle. Or please just pray.

We have 3 children (6, 9, 11) who need to grow up with their daddy.
Here's a recent website with their photos:
http://catsonice.blogspot.com/
and here's one I did in Dec 04 on our family:
http://jumpspin.com/dec04/

JO ANN Schneider Farris"

On Sunday, October 16, I learned a true miracle did occur! My father is a physician, and he explained to me what was happening to Dan during the week just before he "woke up." Dan's fever had become so high and his coma was no longer induced; Dan was dying. Then, suddenly the fever disappeared (the medical staff thought an IV line was infected that could have caused the fever, but they weren't sure) and Dan began to breathe on his own and then he suddenly woke up!

I remember playing "There Can Be Miracles When You Believe" from the movie PRINCE OF EGYPT in Dan's hospital room. A miracle has truly happened!

Saturday, October 15, 2005

Dan's brothers visit and Joel is "Tiger of the Day"

Dan's brothers, Jack and Pat, visited Dan the weekend of October 14--16. They flew in from California just to see Dan. They spent the day with him at the hospital.



On Saturday evening, October 15th, Joel got to be Jr. Tiger of the Day at The Colorado College Hockey Game! It was a really big honor. My parents showed up at the World Arena just to see Joel! (They had just arrived from Chicago before the game.) Dan's brothers also came to the game to see Joel!

The children and I did not see Dan on Saturday since I felt that seeing Dan's brothers and the children all in one day was going to be too much for both me and Dan. Instead, we just had a nice Saturday at home and rested before the game.

It was absolutely fantastic to see Joel skate with the big CC Tigers in the Opening Ceremonies and watching the game with the children was so fun. I missed Dan's presence at the game; it seemed odd to do such a wonderful activity that we'd always done together as a family without Daddy.

Friday, October 14, 2005

Ate dinner with Dan in the hospital cafeteria

It turned out the car lights did not have a problem. I had been so upset about what happened in Rehab that it seemed I just didn't understand how to turn the car's parking lights off and when the parking lights were on, the other lights in the car didn't work!

However, it took me a long time to get over being so upset by a Rehab nurse named Quentin. What really upset me was that Quentin had told me to be quiet so he could give me his side of how things were done in a hospital. He made me feel stupid and unimportant and didn't seem to have any idea of what my family had been through.

I called Dan on Friday morning and told him I would not visit him again in that Rehab unit. I was really, really upset. The conversation with Quentin had made me decide that I would never enter the Rehab unit again.

Dan was in no shape to deal with this issue, but did talk to someone in Rehab and they called me and worked out that the children and I could have the hour of 4--5 PM daily to visit with Dan. They also began to realize after talking with Dan that he was not mentally able to handle important issues and promised to have someone contact me and inform me about what was going on with Dan. I calmed down just a bit.

So, later that day, we went to the hospital and Mike brought Dan down to the cafeteria in his wheelchair and we had dinner in a quiet spot of the cafeteria as a family.

It was the first time there were no interuptions and Dan talked to me and the kids and he even ate fruit with us!

It was really great and now that I don't have to go in the Rehab unit again, I feel a peace.

Thursday, October 13, 2005

Yom Kippur

Thursday, October 13 was Yom Kippur.

We went to the Children's Service at Temple Shalom in the morning and then went to the hospital to visit Dan.

We were at the Rehab unit a long time that day and at the end of the day, I was shocked that the Rehab nurses had scolded Dan for having his family visit too long. We had been promised that we would get to take Dan outside in his wheelchair and that promise had not come through and we had waited all day for that event.

I called the Rehab unit as I drove home asking to be calmed down since I believed there had been a misunderstanding and I ended up getting extremely upset.

Then, when we returned home, I thought I couldn't turn the lights off in our car (we had just got our car back that day after it being in the body shop to repair the damage from the accident) and had to call AAA to disconect the wires so the battery wouldn't burn out. I was convinced that the auto body shop had done something to the electrical wires that caused this problem.

Larisa picked us up for a Break Fast and we were there very late, but it was good to eat something after being so upset. Larisa made wonderful food and the friends there made me feel loved.

When Larisa took us home, I cried and cried. I seemed to have hit a breaking point.

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Rehab


On Tuesday, October 11, the kids skated at Chapel Hills in the morning and Betty Knight took the girls to Brownies in the afternoon.

Joel and I went to the hospital. Just as we arrived, Dan had been moved to a wheelchair, but it didn't go well, and he threw up, so Joel and I didn't stay long.

We returned later that evening and visited Dan with Betty, Kelli, and the children.

Dan was very talkative. I decorated his room with the children's artwork and the cards Dan had received.

I helped Dan call his sister Penny, his parents, and his cousin Jim and Aunt Edna.

We left his quite late; it was almost 8 PM.

Monday, October 10, 2005

Moved to Rehab

Dan was moved to the Rehab Unit on the evening of Monday, October 10.

It was a very cold day and night and scouts was cancelled, but Joel got picked up for hockey practice at the World Arena.

Sunday, October 09, 2005

A weekend of visiting and talking



We spent a great deal of Saturday and Sunday in Dan's room playing and talking and visiting and enjoying Daddy being back with us.

Thursday, October 06, 2005

Dan can talk!


I wrote the following to some friends on the evening of Thursday, September 6:

"Well, the trac is out of Dan's throat and he called me on my cell
phone this afternoon!

I couldn't wait to get back to the hospital!

The children and I got dinner from the hospital cafeteria and ate
with Dan in his room and just acted like we were all eating dinner at home around the
table and we talked and talked and talked about anything and
everything, from skating, to dolls in the girls' rooms, to sleepovers
at friends' houses, to Joel's interest in WWII, to if we returned
library books, to who had called and who had visited!

Anyway...he is back with us and now just needs to physically recover
so he can go home. I have no idea how long that will take, but it is
sure neat to have a husband that is alive and knows his children and
can communicate with us!

Am I happy! (What's amazing is that one week ago I considered him
close to death and look what has happened!)"

Wednesday, October 05, 2005

Dan moved out of the ICU 10-5-05


The next few days were exciting ones as Dan communicated to us in sign language and is moved out of the ICU.

One day we arrived and Dan was just sitting in bed looking totally like himself, but still not being able to talk.

We talked to him about everything that day! It was fun to use sign language, but it also became a bit frustrating for Dan too when we didn't understand his signs or the words he spelled.

Finally, he was moved from the 4th floor to a room on the 6th floor in the Trauma Care unit.

I spent some time talking to him in sign language one day and the conversation was very serious. I cried and held Dan as he displayed this strong emotion. I felt his pain.

What horrible thing had happened on Friday, September 16, that could have caused such anger and pain? Dan doesn't remember what happened, but I remember the pain he displayed in sign language that day. Will we ever know what happened?

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

Rosh Hashanah Tuesday, October 4


On Rosh Hashanah, on Tuesday, October 4, the children and I and Mike went to the mountains of Woodland Park to the Mountain Minyon and to the Tashlich service at Monument Valley Park.

Now that Dan was awake, I felt that there really was a new beginning for our family as this New Year began. Daddy was alive.

Saturday, October 01, 2005

Dan wakes up

On Saturday, October 1, a family from Joel's new hockey team picked him up and the girls and I linked up with Joel at the Chapel Hills ice rink later that morning.

I was really sad. I had seen the way Dan looked on the ventilator all week and there was just no indication that his condition had improved. A trac had been put in his throat on Thursday night that had given me some hope.

I had heard he had been taken off the ventilator a bit on Friday.

Joel and Rebekah went with Betty and Kelli Knight to a festival at Rockledge Ranch and Annabelle stayed with me.

Annabelle had pleaded with me not to have to go to the hospital now. She didn't want to see Daddy anymore. He was not the daddy she knew. I told her that we wouldn't stay long.

We parked at the park and Annabelle and her little doll stroller and her doll enjoyed the walk inside the hospital.

Dan had been moved to a new room since the Trac operation.

When I entered the room, Dan was looking around and he was awake. He acted like nothing was unusual and talked to me in sign language and smiled and threw kisses at me and Annabelle.

A doctor and a nurse rushed in and were so excited that Dan was awake! I had been the first to see him awake!

It was quite at time of rejoicing! I called Dr. Wood and he came to the hospital while I was still there and visited Dan.

Dr. Wood and Annabelle and I left at the same time. We all were so happy.

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Jo Ann Schneider Farris has participated in skating for most of her life as a competitor, coach, and author.

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