We Love Steve

SPRING

2007-04-08T16:48:00.000-07:00

STEVE IS DOING GREAT. We took the hospital bed out and replaced it with his old bed. He is not using the wheelchair at all. He walks with a cane and we go out in the car. We can park for free at meters with his disabled parking placard! I have not been able to update the blog in many months. The room is actually STILL available!!
ANY TIME people want to drop by for a visit I know Steve would like it. He is into listening to new music and has been going to the record store on occasion to buy, He would totally dig any old friends showing up with something cool on CD

ROOM AVAILABLE

2006-10-22T10:31:00.000-07:00

Steve needs a ROOMMATE! rent reduction offered for the right person who can spend a few hours a week helping him out, or straight rent. Nice sized room with 2 closets and own bathroom, near Mormon Temple in Oakland - great neighborhood!
Contact me by clicking on to the link to my name on this blog home page or in a comment here......thank you SPREAD THE WORD

We Love Steve

all hail mikhail

2006-09-02T19:12:00.000-07:00

we're going to mikhails' 30th birthday tomorrow at the HazMat and Steve will be there.....
also trying to go to the Oakland A's game Sept. 22 and maybe go see Celtic Frost Oct. 3 at the Fillmore
whoopeeeeee

AUGUST 7

2006-08-07T16:57:00.000-07:00

Well it is ONE YEAR ago today that we got that terrible phone call that Steve was in the hospital. That was one LONG night and days of frightened waiting afterward to see what would happen. His odds were not good at all on August 7, 2005. I cried so many tears I thought my heart was splitting open. Now when I see Steve I can never be mad at him for anything because I just have to think back to when I thought I might never see him again. Each day is a gift to enjoy and savor. We had lunch today and I brought him a Slayer 6/06/06 t-shirt. He replied "EPIC". And thank you. So I said thank you back. I'm glad he is around!
Then we listened to Celtic Frost. EPIC.

METAL heads

2006-06-19T20:34:00.000-07:00

new pictures and we didn't leave the cane behind on the sidewalk!

get up and go

2006-05-29T18:48:00.000-07:00

standing around will never have the same meaning

We Love Steve

2006-05-14T20:38:00.000-07:00

moving along with life, therapies and spring cleaning....we planted a vegetable garden yesterday and Steve is sorting his closets and wheeling himself around the house in his wheelchair. He stood up to reach for stuff on the shelf in his closet and is starting 1:1 with a speech therapist at the Aphasia Center this week. I think we'll try to go in the car to an A's game soon and we;'ve been taking walks around the neighborhood in which his right leg starts bouncing up and down like it used to when he was antsy......pretty wild! They need a new stove at the house and I've been paying some extra help a few days a week out of the donation fund......donations are always welcome and we still have t-shirts available. Happy mother's day to anyone reading who's a mom!

YAHTZEE

2006-04-03T11:39:00.000-07:00

hey thanks to the comics and Rusty and everyone who made it out in the rain last night. It was not a huge turn out but it was INTIMATE and I did enjoy myself......Doctor Larry from Highland also came out which was very cool. For anyone who is going through something similar, what has seemed to work really well is varying home care workers to the extent possible and having on-call people (WHICH Steve still needs by the way); a day program to get therapy and socialization while living at home; and in Steve's case he cn benefit from the Aphasia Center in Oakland which has support groups for people with aphasia and also 1:1 speech therapy. The next step in his care plan will be to get him started with services there. He can do home speech exercies also, even just repeating numbers of the alphabet is good and fun too.

New Photos

2006-03-26T13:07:00.000-08:00

I just added some new photos of Steve and friends during his recovery to the photo gallery. Siobhan says she'll be sending more soon, so keep checking back for more in the near future!

We Love Steve

2006-03-25T20:26:00.000-08:00

STeve is starting a program during the day for therapy at Summit Hospital in oakland. We are trying to keep him really upbeat about going cuz it's scary to go to a new placed where you don't know anyone, especially when you can't answer people's questions. I am proud of him that he went 3 days last week and rode on the program van alone! He really is a trooper.

BENEFIT

2006-03-20T22:15:00.000-08:00

Alcoholocaust Presents A Stand-up Comedy Showcase:

Sunday April 2nd
7 to 10 pm @ the Golden Bull- A Steve Chinn Benefit
412 14th St, Oakland, 94612
$5

John Hoogasian
Kristopher Tinkle
Jacob Sirof
Sherri Sirof
Justin Scales
Big Al Gonzales
Kurt Weitzmann
Julian Vance
Nato Green
Justin McClure
Alex Koll
Nelson Martini
Big Reg
Stroy
Samantha Chanse

Hosted and Organized
by Rusty Mahakian

APRIL 2 GOLDEN BULL

2006-03-18T13:57:00.000-08:00

ANOTHER BENEFIT coming up on April 2 at the Golden Bull in Oakland - comedy showcase thanks to Rusty and Alcoholocaust presents -
A Stand-up Comedy Showcase:

Sunday April 2nd
7 to 10 pm @ the Golden Bull- A Steve Chinn Benefit
412 14th St, Oakland, 94612
$5

John Hoogasian
Kristopher Tinkle
Jacob Sirof
Sherri Sirof
Justin Scales
Big Al Gonzales
Kurt Weitzmann
Julian Vance
Nato Green
Justin McClure
Alex Koll
Nelson Martini
Big Reg
Stroy
Samantha Chanse

Hosted and Organized
by Rusty Mahakian

We Love Steve

AUCTION and SHOW Wed. 3/8/06

2006-03-07T08:46:00.000-08:00

come on out and bid on some really cool stuff and see some cool bands

BLOG delay

2006-02-26T08:37:00.000-08:00

I can't believe no one has blogged this since JANUARY so anyway here goes. Steve is doing well overall. If you want to visit him show up and go back to his bedroom or go around back to see if he's outside (if it's nice out) - I think a lot of people feel weird about visiting but he and I have a lot of fun every time I visit and it's not a chore to make him laugh. ANYWAY - he still needs more relief workers and it is not really hard work. UPCOMING BENEFIT show, go to Steve's main page for the flyer.
We Love Steve

Paralyzed 'NOT!'

2006-01-16T21:23:00.000-08:00

I just got back from visiting steve for the past three days and it seems like he has regressed a bit since last I saw him three weeks ago. He is only able to get therapy a couple times a week and has one more week of this before he goes out for therapy at two local centers. Slow going eh.

It seems that the music therapy has been working really well for him. Steve does not appear to be totally paralyzed though. Some movement occured in the right leg and arm several times while I was there. I picked up both his wrists/hands to dance with him to music while he sat in bed and he pushed his whole right arm forward with a stretch to meet my resistance and fully flexed his hand to push me. This was very exciting. He also expressed himself appropriately with words I've never heard him say before.

I am hoping that the therapy he gets in a couple weeks will help restimulate whats been neglected since he's returned home. Sheila has been absolutely awesome but she can't do it all. If anyone would like to come by and do some light mindful stretches with him that would really help.

He unfortunately caught a cold this past week and has almost fully recovered but this is so tricky for him because his immune system if compromised can hinder A LOT of healing. He has also developed GOUT again...which gives him unrelenting pain at times and has made him not want to get out of bed. This is so not good. All the nurses at the hospital have told me that the bed is the enemy. He has been resting to get over the cold and the gout seemed to be disipating by the time I left.

What I see is that his diet has to be really watched. The diet for stroke recovery and gout conflict a little in regards to oatmeal and eggs but besides that seem pretty right on.

Sooooooooooo.....
If you bring food to steve PLEASE, I know its tempting, but NO SWEETS, CHOCOLATE, COFFEE, CAFFEINE, BEER, RED MEAT, WHITE SUGAR. We need to keep him on a low spice whole food diet through the cold and flu season and avoid gout so he can do his therapy. thanks guys. nutritious snacks are great!

ciao for now

LATEST

2006-01-16T13:44:00.000-08:00

It is hard to write these days as time seems to blend into itself and each day is much like other days but overall our Steve is holding up very well. He has what is termed severe expressive aphasia so he can say various words and sing but full sentences are all garbled and frustrating for him. he points to things and says no or yes and usually we can figure out what he's trying to say. Good thing we're such good friends too so we can laugh together afterward when it takes a while to understand, and it's a relief for him when you finally get it. The right side of his body is still totally paralyzed but he is adapting and learning ways to move around, and therapy at home has helped to strengthen the right arm/shoulder and leg. With help, Steve can go from the bed to the wheelchair and to a chair and he mostly does it himself but for safety he needs one person right there and it helps if you cue him verbally and make sure he's ready for the motion. His dad is slowly having the btahroom remodeled for better accessibility and the wheelchair ramp is not quite finished. Also, he still needs home health care workers to relieve his brother and cousin so anyone who might like to work for him even a few hours a week or weekends please e-mail me or Sheila.......a lot of what he needs is company and supervision in case he needs help......cooking and changing the album!
cheers
We Love Steve

sex bomb baby yeah!

2005-12-29T16:51:00.000-08:00

today is thursday and i went to visit steve for a bit. sheila had just made him lunch and he was watching a spanish soap opera. he is very happy today, we were both laughing a bunch. he is looking really good. he is doing better and better every time i see him, and he's always smiling. i was spinning some vinyl for him and he had me straighten out some of his records which were out of their covers or backwards or upside down. it seems like he has them almost classified in different genres. he sang almost all of the words to "highway to hell", we listened to venom, fang and flipper and we sang along to that too. then he had me put on vivaldi: bolero and he just sat back humming the tune. then it was time for physical therapy, so i left. i just have to say sheila is such a nice person and she is so great with steve.

i'm looking forward to going on an excursion hopefully in the near future.

YEAHHH Happily Home

2005-12-19T18:30:00.000-08:00

Steve got home thursday fine and the new ramp is excellent, professional and couldn't be better. Mark has just the rails to put on and its finished. Steve was "omigodding" all over the place especially when he saw his cat donnie and the SHACK. The first few days were pretty hecktic with getting steve settled in so its probably a good thing that he had only a few visitors. Kevin came over on friday and hooked up his stereo which was key...its just wrong that the boy had no music right away - but now he do.

Kate and Patrick came by one night and we all played blackjack. It may seem like he doesn't understand much but thats not true. Its just hard when he gets confused and can't say what he wants to say. He's doing better everyday though.

Steve got his second acupuncture treatment this morning and it went really well. He was looking forward to it all week. His aphasia is going away but because of the new environment he gets overstimulated really fast so....talk slow one person at a time. Try to ask him simple questions. Having to make a choice over this or that sends his minds reeling a bit. He's practicing walking with Sheila, Doug and Mark and getting stronger everyday. He's on a waiting list for therapy now that he's left the hospital. So all the therapy he was getting all day long has now halted to whenever it can be fit in the day.

He is hungry for speech therapy for anyone game enough to do some with him.
and we woke up this morning listening to ACDC, the Ramones, OZZI, and Aerosmith, which blew his mind. He can sing much easier than talk so this is awesome practice for him.

He doesn't have a nurse and the family has been told that it may take months to get someone in there. So if anybody has nursing/home care skills we need you. Contact Sheila at locationmakeup@aol.com

Its been recommended that if you have the slightest cold/flu come by to visit but pick up one of those hospital masks if you can. If steve gets a secondary infection that kind of setback can really do alot of damage for him now.

WEll, lots more happened but dem is the highlights.

what up?

2005-12-18T14:47:00.000-08:00

i just got back into town, has anyone been over to visit at the house? how are things going? do doug or steve need anything that y'all know of. i wanna go visit maybe tomorrow, anyone wanna come with?
robin
yomamahar@earthlink.net

this is NUTS

2005-12-13T20:42:00.000-08:00

Steve is coming home Thurs. 12/15 during the day....and hopefully he'll get some acupuncture soon after (Sunday?) and start going to some outpatient therapy......his phone # will be the same - not sure if he'll want to use the phone but maybe we can help him to take calls at set times and he'll be able to hear people talk to him! Keep your fingers and toes crossed.

We Love Steve

2005-12-09T10:14:00.000-08:00

THANK YOU all for coming out to the show last night and to the bands and Jay!! We can buy steve a folding metal wheelchair ramp now for his steps - Merry Christmas STILES - also got some good pics so I'll try to pots those on the site later.

benefit 12/8/05 OAKLAND meeeoooowwwwww

2005-12-06T21:11:00.000-08:00

don't forget the benefit
I played some guitar for Steve tonight and he said "awesome". He was not in the cafeteria but was wearing his flannel pj's. The ramp is ON for this weekend for sure but I think there's enough help. Anyone who wants to haul bags of yard waste away is more than welcome to bring a truck on OVER to the house on RHODA

steve said my naaaame! reowr

2005-12-06T13:47:00.000-08:00

i visited steve yesterday evening (monday) and brought him some more Tu Lan for dinner. he was especially stoked about the emperial rolls. he is eating really well, but he doesn't like taking pills, but he needs them for pain. the thing is he will take them if given to him but i don't think he will take them on his own. (i think they are giving him motrin but i'm not sure.) i didn't realize until after we'd eaten that he has been doing his meals in the cafeteria area, i didn't think to help him up until later, because other times i visit, the first thing he wants to do is get up and out. he is looking fucking great! he showed me the scar on his head and the scar on his stomach. the new thing that i noticed about him in his speech, is that he likes to make this sound "reowr" sort of like a meow but like what you would say to a sex kitten. it is really cute. his vocabulary is expanding and he sure likes to swear! considering the pain he's having he is still in great spirits. his right leg was bothering him and he was showing me the places that hurt, he told me "pain" and "hurts" but the whole time he smiled and shook his head like no biggie. he really likes his privacy. he kept having me make sure that every inch of his curtains were closed. it makes it a lot darker in his space, but i think he likes it that way. so when i had to go i was making sure his curtains were all straight and his "roommate" directly across from him said, "goodbye ms. chinn!" to me. i said "see ya later! but i'm not ms. chinn, my name is robin." then from behind the curtain i heard steve call my name, "robin!". i thought he was calling me back, so i peeked back in, and he was smiling. he didn't need anything, i think he was just happy to have an old word back.

HOMEWARD BOUND

2005-12-03T10:05:00.000-08:00

Discharge date from the hospital is set for Dec. 15. EXCITING and also kind of overwhelming. It is the realm of the unknown for Steve and his family......hopefully all will go well.....and we're looking at enrolling into a day program in Oakland where he can be during the weekdays, also aphasia center support groups. Then he can be busy and supervised and get therapies ongoing!!!

"Look No More Staples"

2005-11-29T08:14:00.000-08:00

yesturday Steve had the staples taken out of his head and stomach, it was painless. He was really glad to have them taken out, sayin "awwwwww" and "YES" and smiling very enthusiastically! I'm glad they did it there and we did'nt have to go all the way to Highland for it. Steve was in an excellent mood yesturday, wearing his new winter sweater my mom got him. He even wanted to go outside to see the rain and said "fresh smelling"..