It is with a heavy heart that I say to you tonight, that Scott has left the building. He passed peacefully this morning, at home, surrounded and loved by those closest to him.

Services will be held this Saturday at 10:30 AM at St. Francis Episcopal Church in Potomac, MD. A good ‘ol Irish wake will follow at the Urbana Volunteer Fire Station 23.  We hope that you can join us.

In lieu of flowers, we hope that you will consider donating instead to the Montgomery County Fire Department Pipes & Drums Band or the Don’t Panic Foundation.

Thank you for all of your continued love and support.

We love you.

We would like to thank Citizen’s for the outstanding care of Scott, and us. We’ve made many friends there and they will be missed.

I also wish to thank all of you for your continued & loving support. We are grateful for your prayers, visits & help.

Once we’re settled, I will write again. Until then, sweet dreams!

The sheer number of individuals stepping forward to help was astounding. The spontaneous cooperation between the Boise and Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services helped immeasurably in our ability to handle the situation in the early days. While we were in Idaho the Boise Fire Department provided emotional support and many of our daily needs. Fundraising activities in Idaho, Maryland, and California have provided significant amounts of money to help cover expenses not covered by insurance. Firefighters at home volunteered their time to ensure Scott is still receiving a paycheck. You have been absolutely amazing and we are so grateful to all of you.

Your prayers, visits and communications are very important to us . We appreciate them and hope they will continue in the future. Again, we thank you for all of your contributions to Scott, and to us, in so many ways.

Sincerely,

Steph, Eda and Dave Doyle

For some of you, dear friends, we do not have your addresses.  We would have preferred to send you a personal note, but unfortunately cannot. We do wish to name you, however. Many thanks to:

Scott’s still hanging in there, but I’m afraid I don’t have anything new to report. He continues to be pretty healthy physically. We’ve had some ups & downs with blood pressure & heart rate, but nothing that’s really worriesome. Scott’s ST thinks his swallow has gotten weaker which is a bit concerning. Scott has his eyes open for several hours a day, but it’s not terribly predictable. You can ask his visitors who have experienced a wide range of “wakefullness”!

“His eyes are always open!”
“His eyes are never open.”
“He closes his eyes the minute I start talking.”

Don’t worry folks, he often closes his eyes the minute I start talking, too.

Jenny & Pat’s wedding was lovely. We had sunshine (a crap shoot for mid-October in Michigan!) a gorgeous bride and a gracious groom. There were no serious hiccups during the ceremony and we all made it through the receptions toasts and first dances with poise. Then we honored Jen’s request to get thier money’s worth out of the bar!

It was a fabulous trip for me all in all. It was super-busy and hectic, but I was honored to be part of Jen & Pat’s day and so happy to see and spend time with my family.

More later! Until then, be safe and be happy!

Since I’ve last updated you Scott has gone to see two more neurologists. Both are here in Frederick. The first offered a diagnosis, but said he would like to see some more information from Dr. Makley from Kernan. The second said that he would like to take some more time to learn more before delivering a prognosis for Scott.

We wait some more…

Kaiser & Elsa are doing well. They accompanied me this weekend to the dropzone. It’s been since May that we’ve been there. We’ve missed our DZ friends (human and canine) so much!

Next weekend my niece is getting married, so I’m busy planning for my trip to Michigan. Eda & Dave will be holding down the fort while I’m gone. They actually have double duty with trips from Berkeley Springs to see Scott and puppy sitting.

I’ll pop in next week with an update. In the mean time, feel free to stop in and visit Scott. He’s always home!

Last week Scott turned 35. We had a small celebration for him. Friends & family joined us throughout the day and we shared cupcakes & Scott stories. While we wished we were celebrating another way, another place, it was still nice.

The day after his Birthday Scott visited his new neurologist, Dr. Rafiq. His opinion varies from that of Dr. Makley’s from Kernan. That means we are gearing up for another opinion with a new neuro in early October.

My weekend was non-stop busy. With Jen coming to visit I knew I’d have some free labor! She was a blessing, doing everything from helping me get organized with financial paperwork to helping me tear out old carpet. Being a nurse, she provided some good medical advice. Being a wonderful niece & friend, she provided a strong shoulder.

Scott continues to be stable medically and has long periods where his eyes are open wide. He is still receiving therapy as well. Unless I have something exciting to report, I think I might only blog again after Scott’s next neuro appointment.

Speaking for Scott’s family, we would like you to know how much we appreciate all that you are doing for Scott. We love seeing your faces when you visit, reading the notes you leave behind when we miss you and knowing that you are still hoping & praying with us.

Until next time, God bless!

Anyway, you all know how tough Scott is. Other than a pink elbow, he was just fine.

Regarding Scott’s health, in general, he is still rock solid. He opens his eyes (when he wants to) and makes the funniest faces. My favorite is the one Eda has dubbed his “petulant child” face. Therapy continues on and we have enjoyed many visits from family and friends.

Next week is shaping up to be a busy one. Scott’s turning 35 (he is officially an old man! ), we have an appointment with the new neurologist, and my niece, Jenny, is coming into town for a visit.

I will talk to you soon. I wish you all a good night and sweet dreams!

Scott is doing well, friends. He had some blood pressure issues early this week, so Dr. Aziz made the decision to take Scott off of his Strattera. You may remember that strattera is commonly used for ADHD, but it is also a neuro-stimulant. Dr. Aziz feared that it might have been contributing to his high blood pressure, however.

He seems to be doing fine without it though. He may be a little sleepier (again) but he still opens his eyes quite a bit. His arms & legs seem to be relaxing more as well. He almost always looks incredibly comfy. So much so that I’ve been tempted more than once to join him for a nap!

We’ve had some wonderful visits and gotten some nice treats this week. Thanks, everyone, for dropping by!

Talk to you soon!

Just a quick post to let you know we are doing well. Scott still seems to be comfy and content at Citizens. The staff has impressed us and I feel like he’s in great hands.

The residents are delightful and take good care of us, too. Mary peeks in on Scott at night and says prayers for us daily. Joe has given both dogs toys and has checked on me to make sure I’m doing okay. TJ just shows up randomly in Scott’s doorway, but always has the biggest smile. Lloyd wants to know, always, “When are you bringing those dogs back?”

Speaking of dogs, Kaiser & Elsa have spent a few days at Daveda Farm. That’s Dave & Eda’s llama farm; A.K.A. summer camp. They will return home tomorrow afternoon. I will get a week’s worth of doggie kisses in about 2 minutes. I can’t wait!

This week we have received some wonderful visits. I’m reminded by each of them just how special & important Scott is to people (other than me!) It was so good to see you all, by the way, and we look forward to next time! We have also been getting to know our staff and our neighbors a bit better. We are surrounded by good people.

Speaking of good people, (segues a little weak tonight ) thanks again to all of you who are keeping Scott in your thoughts & prayers and are going out of your way to help us out. We are forever grateful.

I will talk to you again soon. Good night!

Scott’s been well. He’s  still getting his low-key therapy and incredible care from the nursing staff. It seems to me that he’s beginning to open his eyes more and more over the last week or so. Staff reports that there is more movement from his arm & legs and especially his toes. We’ve also seen tons of crazy facial expressions. We don’t know exactly what it all means, of course, but maybe he’s beginning the adjustment to the Baclofen’s sedating effects.

We’re still trying to get Scott the right wheelchair. (Or his wheelchair right.) He seems to want to slide out of the two he’s had so far. As you can imagine, that would be disastrous! Little adjustments are being made here and there by therapy staff and I’m sure we’ll get it all hammered out…

Scott’s more popular than he realizes. Not only does he have a huge network of family and friends, he now has some fans. Some of the residents at Citizens have expressed how nice it is to have special visitors like Kaiser, Elsa and the MCFFP&D. They think Scott’s pretty special. Wait until they actually get to meet him!

So, what  if you’re not a dachshund or a piper? Don’t worry, you are welcome too! As a reminder, Scott’s now at:

Citizen’s Care & Rehab
1900 Rosemont Ave
Frederick, MD 21702
Room D-1 

If you’re wondering what to do when you visit, here are a few ideas:

• Talk to him! (I know. Duuhhh…) Bring all of your good stories and best gossip! Or just tell him how much he’s missed at the _____. 
• Read to him. Juicy love stories are his favorite. (Just kidding, of course!) 
• Bring him a change of tunes. Scott has a CD player and an iPod dock in his room. Feel free to bring in your favorites to share. 
• Show him your pictures. When Scott’s eyes are open, he seems to focus well on, and be interested in, photos. 
• Touch him. Nothing is more comforting or healing than human touch. Just don’t tickle. Or touch his feet!  Not only does he not like it under normal circumstances, but it seems to aggravate the excessive muscle tone in his legs.

You can really drop by at any time. Please just keep in mind that if you stop in before 4pm, you might have to wait for a therapy session to be over. If you come by after 8pm, keep it down to a dull roar. Scott’s roommate, Floyd, loves his sleep!

Thanks so much to those of you who have been visiting. It does us all good to see and hear from you!