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The year was 1983. In Australia, the long-distance foot race from Sydney to Melbourne was about to begin, covering 875 kilometers—more than 500 miles! About 150 world-class athletes had entered, for what was planned as a six-day event. So race officials were startled when a 61-year-old man approached and handed them his entry form.
His name was Cliff Young, and his “racing attire” included overalls and galoshes over his—work boots.
At first, they refused to let him enter. So he explained that he’d grown up on a 2,000-acre farm, with thousands of sheep. His family could afford neither horses nor tractors so, when the storms came, his job was to round up the sheep. Sometimes, he said, it would take two or three days of running.
Finally, they let Cliff enter, and the race began. The others quickly left him way behind, shuffling along in his galoshes. But he didn’t know the plan included stopping each night to rest, so he kept going.
By the fifth day, he had caught them all, won the race, and became a national hero. He continued to compete in long-distance races until well up in his seventies. He was an inspiration to millions and a great encourager of younger runners.[...]
Posted 2014-04-25T01:37:10Z
This was a crazy day. I met the sweetest lady today. She came to our house and she is my new Case Manager from a different company. I have spoken to her on the phone. It is the first time we met in person. I was excited to share with her that..............................................I have an appointment at MaryFreeBed.........finally. She has a trusting face and her energy makes me feel comfortable and she will be with me at my MaryFreeBed appointments and orthopedic appointments. This made me relax a lot. She knows a lot about the things I am about the face and is able to explain things to me in a way I understand. Part of me is careful to trust her after my bad experience with my last case manager - but something tells me she is different - she knows what is going on. She feels different, and trusting my feelings so far has worked out pretty good.
Tomorrow is a good day. It is the beginning of recreating my life. My hope is that they are able to help me with everything I need help with regarding my body in general. I am happy scared and a windy day of feelings right now.
I hope my insomnia doesn't keep me up too long tonight...[...]
Posted 2014-04-25T01:33:44Z
nearly 2 weeks without my primary pain meds due to waiting on approval from autoclaim.....this pain is consuming me....sooooo consuming me......trusting things move smoothly and efficiejtly....waiting on people to do their job and send the records to MaryFreeBed so I can start therapy.....some days are just bleak as night and the only light is hidden up between the trees and I am in a well of pain looking at the light and hoping someone hears my inner screams....and pulls me out...meantime my brain is swimming with puzzle pieces that consume my daily thoughts and my lack of memory and having to repeat myself if frustrating to everyone so I feel isolated within myself sometimes....which probably makes no sense.........but there it is, still the same
I was also brave and spoke with the Officer from the accident scene. I thanked him for being good to my son at the scene and distracting him and being nice to us in the hospital. I also spoke to him openly. He seems trustworthy. I hope my gut feeling is right about that. I hope he does the right thing....
I also spoke with my medical attorney today...that was encouraging and non informative at the same time.
my job is working with me until June, so praying for some answers by then.....I have already passed the 12 week FMLA deal.....so technically they could let me go....but HR told me the local management team advocated to give me an extension....another blessing given to my life.....I don't know what to feel except thanks..........meanwhile I keep being told to reduce my stress.....how can I rrest when there is all this stuff around me that just keeps unfolding..
I am so tired all the time and why does the pain still continue soooooo much....??? Anywhoooooo...
My hope at this point is for people at a certain facility to do their jobs properly so it can continue down the chain to help me get better......I will never give up....it's not in me.......pain or no pain....I have to keep reminding myself that pain means I am alive and that is the focus I must keep......[...]
Posted 2014-04-22T18:53:05Z
Well, Caren has seen her PCP. Dr. Ann is amazing! She told Caren we're in this for the long haul, probably two years.
Also, Dr. Ann expressed to Caren the importance of resting, body and mind/brain. When the brain is exhausted, concussion symptoms are worsened. When the brain is tired, the signals are 'weakened' or confused making signals to the body erratic - body temperature difficult to control, emotions more out-of-control (crying, laughing, extreme fluctuations, etc.), walking becomes more difficult, headaches more frequent, forgetfulness increases, and dizziness more prevalent. Cognitively, Caren is slow to process conversations, and sometimes has a challenge understanding.
Caren expressed concern to Dr. Ann that she is being accused of faking her injuries, especially her brain injury. Dr. Ann kinda' laughed, and told Caren that those judgmental people really aren't important in her life, to "invite them over on one of your bad days." She explained that people are just ignorant, and only go by outward experience. Dr. Ann also explained that there is documented medical proof of her TBI, not to worry, and to be easy with herself. She explained that Caren's physical injuries are healing nicely. Brains, on the other hand, are unique and each brain injury is different. The key is time, and rest.
We are excited that Disability Advocates have been here to the house, Caren has a Case Manager, insurance is slow but sure, AND we are excited for Caren to start therapies.
Thank you, each and every one of you, for your love, support and prayers.[...]
Posted 2014-04-21T22:53:11Z
Posted April 3, 2013 by Barbara Stahura[...]
Posted 2014-04-20T03:18:43Z
Also, I would love to have visitors, or if you have an opportunity, or a comment, email or message, or a phone call. It's nice to share energy with people and I miss working and being around people in general. I just want to let you know that I value you coming here.
Thanks for keeping tabs on this....[...]
Posted 2014-04-20T03:16:45Z
I just want to say thank you to all who have helped me and continue to. I also want to thank the help from the future that is coming forth. I want to say thank you to my family who is a never ending well of support. I want to thank my mom who has been my primary caregiver and helper and is comepletely exhausted. I will never receive anything but my gratitude for it. I want to thank those of you who follow this page each day, each week, or even if this is your first time.
I want to let you all know that things might get worse before things get better and I beg you stay with me through this journey. This is not an easy road......still learning to walk properly again and still dealing with things in a different way than ever before. Perhaps in the end, the reinvention of Caren will be even better and stronger and HOPE will flourish.[...]
Posted 2014-04-20T03:14:29Z
Part of the police report...................
"UPON MY ARRIVAL, WYOMING FIRE AND AMR PARAMEDICS WERE
ALREADY ON SCENE AND IN THE PROCESS OF TREATING BOTH
PATIENTS. I NOTICED THE DRIVER OF ONE VEHICLE WAS LYING IN
THE MIDDLE OF GEZON PKWY WITH A LARGE AMOUNT OF BLOOD
NEAR HER HEAD. HER HEAD WAS ALSO COVERED WITH SEVERAL
BLANKETS AND HER FACE WAS CONCEALED."
......yep.....that was me,,,,[...]
Posted 2014-04-20T03:12:19Z
So it's Thursday night/Friday morning at 3:40 am so still Thursday to me.....today was a long hard painful and deeply emotional day.
I had some xrays redone for my scapula which also showed my ribs....still a lot to work on and heal.... and they had me moving my right arm a lot to see what I could and could not do- I can still only bend it at the elbow and not raise it in the air--- I can only do a chicken wing about a little less than half way with considerable pain still....apparently the 3D xrays they showed me before came from the main hospital which was disappointing because they didn't have the actual machine to do that and I really was hoping to know more about my spine and rib repair and cartilage starting to form or not especially since the ribs are so painnful. We also remembered our last visit when the Dr. called additional people in to see the x ray because "we don't usually see people with these kind of injuries survive" or something to that affect..... they had at least 2 hours worth of questions which was suppppppppppppppppperrrrrr hard on my brain and my emotions.....some questions didn't have answers that even made sense or choices of answers. The woman I was working with though her name was Jane and she makes me feel comfortable and was super patient with my challenges.
Today I got to see my husbands work for the 1st time since he started there...so that was awesome....it was hard to disguise my pain as it kept growing as did my anxiety in the vehicle for so long.....we only stopped there because it was on the way to see THE Van and Austin just had to pee....I just had to see it in person.....for myself. I simply cannot believe it hasn't been destroyed yet. It's like it's been waiting there this whole time for me to see it and find all these puzzle piieces that have been gifted to us.....we took video also (totally the idea of the lady at the car place so I want to thank her for that idea).....My mom took pictures with the rep from the car place with us right there. The rep was also awesome in pointing out damage to the back of the vehicle in specific spots which we added to the video as well. The only part that sucked is both our phones ended up running out of battery life...so that part was emotionally hard to accept as I wanted to say more....but my head was swimming by that time. I saw it and every nook and cranny is now imbedded in my soul. I will say this much. I wasn't prepared for the full emotional impact of seeing that in person.....I did really well for most of it....there was just sooooooooooooooo much .............destruction.
Mom picked the boys up from school and I was needing to go to bed like NOW. I remember eating something as I was nauseaus got to the bed and fell "OUT" around 4ish and didn't wake up until almost 9pm....no energy whatsoever ....it has taken me forever to type this but I figured with my insomnia the effort of typing would make me sleepy.....so I will try to update you with something positive tomorrow or sometme this week.....there is something amazing I am leaving to mom to talk to you about that added another piece to the piuzzle for us, but she wanted to post about that and quite honestly it should be her that tells you what THAT is all about....
I do notice my depression increasing and my feeling of being helpless increasing. My HOPE while very much was there today is a kite in the wind that I am fiercely keeping my brain to focus on so it doesn't blow away.
Today I am overwhelmed tomorrow offers new opportunities for healing and growth.
Still looking for a traffic Attorney....ugh....just no time to deal with that today....[...]
Welcome to the Caren Robinson support family! This site is for family and friends, old and new, to organize our efforts to support this extraordinary person. This page will serve as your home base for rallying the troops, receiving updates , and raising dearly needed funds to support Caren Robinson. Here's the plan:
Your First Step: Please take 30 seconds to click on the "Follow" button on the top right of this page. This will allow you to receive updates, read journal entries, make donations, share Caren Robinson’s story on social media, and help the family with week-to-week calendaring needs. Though not mandatory to follow Caren Robinson’s page, we encourage you to easily create an account with your name and email in order to be able to post photos, leave comments and sign up as a helping hand on the Calendar page. Feel free to upload a photo of yourself to your profile so we can get to know and recognize others on Caren Robinson’s support team. After clicking “Follow” above, read on to learn more about what you can do to help.
Journal: This tab is where you can read the latest entries posted for Caren Robinson and our support team. You may see additional authors writing updates here to help alleviate pressure for Caren Robinson and expedite information sharing. Each post is followed by a photo and name of the author of the entry. You can reply with supportive comments to any journal entry, or click on the name of its author to send a private message.
Posts: This is where you can leave an encouraging message for Caren Robinson and family, and to read thoughts left by others! If you have something pressing you'd like suggest that everyone sees (e.g. a fundraiser or upcoming event you're spearheading), please don't hesitate to contact us via private message so we can consider sharing it more widely in the Journal sections. There will undoubtedly be many coordinated efforts and events ahead, and we want to make certain they’re organized and publicized through this site to help drive the greatest possible impact.
Calendar: Please see this important section to learn what the family needs NOW. This will be an especially helpful section for locals in close proximity to Caren Robinson. This is an up-to-date calendar which will list the family's immediate needs such as child-care, rides, and meals to help most in the short term. If you see a need posted and can fill it, please sign up through the calendar page directly (i.e. not through private communication) to let us and others know that you've committed to that need. Please check back often to help out with the most recently posted needs!
Donations: The very most impactful way to help Caren Robinson’s is to make a direct donation right now. After insurance participation, bills and related costs are expected to reach several thousand dollars. This fund will be used at the sole discretion of Caren Robinson and family to help manage all related expenses, and will give them the flexibility to take time off work as needed to directly support Caren Robinson’s. Donations can be made securely using credit or debit card for any amount. PostHope.org generously makes these donations free of any fees. All donations, large and small, come with the eternal gratitude. Thank you for your generosity in considering what amount you are personally able to give.
Perhaps more importantly, you will also find the tools to share your donation and Caren Robinson’s story with friends and family via Facebook and social media. After donating, please click the social media buttons to share far, wide, publicly and OFTEN! We believe that many kind strangers online will feel moved by Caren Robinson’s journey.
Notifications: After clicking “Follow” above, you’ll then see a tab to manage “Notifications”. If you feel you’re receiving too many or too few email notifications, please check this section to tailor notifications to your areas of interest. For example, if you want to receive journal updates but not new calendar posts, or any combination of notifications from this site, you can do set them to your preference this section.
Don’t Forget! If you haven’t done so already, please click “Follow” on the top right. It’s your very next step to showing your support!
Love,
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