Do you have a little TIME to donate?
Kelly is at home... it takes two people to care for him and Marilyn could use some help. A home health nurse is present much of the time, but Marilyn is alone with Kelly from 2-11 p.m.

If you have a Google account you can take a look at the calendar. If you can volunteer a couple of hours, e-mail your time choices ksff@dittybag.com
to and we will confirm.


See the Google Calender link http://www.google.com/calendar/render?cid=ksff%40dittybag.com

With All Your Heart

Here we are. You've got Kim on the keyboard today. It's a Friday night party at Kelly & Marilyn's. We have Dale and his uke playing sweet old tunes. I got to learn the 3rd part for Dale and Marilyn's signature tune "Love Me With All Your Heart" (or whatever its really called). Great tunes, great harmonies and great company. Please continue to keep Kelly and Marilyn in your thoughts and prayers. Help out in whatever ways that you can. As Marilyn says, "It's all good". Have a great Memorial Day weekend.

stranger than candy...

hola compadres...nikki here...

marilyn is up to her eyeballs in kelly care, so you've got me for your kelly slack spam...kelly came home on thursday evening...no more white walls and funny smells! yee-haw! he is so peaceful at home, resting nicely, and enjoying matfield cafe and john prine in stereo and just enjoying the energy of being home...marilyn has organized everything and their living room is now a lush medical spa, complete with ceiling fan and beautiful views of the river...

this next part of the adventure is going to be great! kelly is home and in familiar surroundings, which is a huge bonus for kelly and waking up...we need your help...in the near future, we are planning an 'ice cream social' i.e. a welcome home party for kelly...up until now, marilyn has asked that individual appointments be made, and is continuing that request, as one on one contact/stimulation is so very good for him...but marilyn wants to invite you all over to get acquainted with kelly at this stage in the game, and really, to relax a little and get to see ya'll! she misses you! we'll get the date set and post it asap...if you want to schedule an individual time, call her @ 312-4310 or 312-4309 or email her at homes@getahome-wichta.com...

for those of you who can't make visits, she understands, as life now is so crazy for all of us! but if you want to help, and can squeeze it in, she's not really getting chance to cook...she just doesn't have time...if any of you would be able to donate some freezable 1-2 serving meals for her to heat up when time doesn't allow her to make a sandwich, she would be so grateful...i asked, and she likes more white then red when it comes to meat and more healthy then not when it comes to comfort food...;-)

marilyn realizes what a huge task she has taken on, and is doing an amazing job keeping everything up and where it needs to be...kelly has such a gift in her care...she hopes you can find a time sooner than later to come see him, and see what they've done with the place, and play a tune or two, or just offer some good juju...

JUNE 2nd Graduation Party!!!

Hi everyone, (This message is from Dustin)

Just wanted to let everyone know that on June 2nd I am having my graduation party in Riverside Park. Yes, it's true I am a college graduate now :) Basically, anyone can come cause it's outdoors so there will be plenty of room (even in the shade). We are going to get started around 12 noon, and it will last til' whenever. Feel free to stop by our come for the entire party. I think it would be great if there was picking going on as well. You know who you are that would enjoy and excuse to do that on Saturday afternoon in the park. Also, you can bring kids if you want there is a playground in the park with an area that shoots water out of the ground that they can run around in too if they want or you can play in the water too if your inner child feels the need :) We will be located just east of the little zoo in Riverside Park in between the two roundabouts.

What you need to bring:

Chairs for sure, drinks if you want, meat if you want to grill something, instruments if you play one, and outdoor games if you would like to play. Pretty much whatever you would bring to have an outdoor party.

If you could PLEASE RSVP to my email address: jdjoyce@wichita.edu by May 26th it would be greatly appreciated. Also, if enough people RSVP I would like to buy a keg and probably cater in some BBQ or something. I will post an update on the blog May 27th to let you know if the food and drinks will be supplied. I'm anticipating they will with enough responses from you :)

PS- Kelly continues to be stable and he has some kind of infection we are fighting. Not yet awake and responsive, but support from friends and family are truly the strength we all need right now. Your continued thoughts and prayers are very much appreciated and needed.

Hope to see you soon!

- Dustin

You can also respond to the Blog...

If you want to assist... post it on the Blog!! Then I won't lose it :)

Kelly is coming home...

Alot has happened over the last week... Kelly doesn't "qualify" for a Rehab facility, so the next level of care is "skilled nursing". There are only two locations in Wichita that are accepting trach patients. Dustin and I visited both and without a doubt determined they were NO place for Kelly. So, we are taking on the endeavor of home health care. We are hoping to have home health personnel here through the night, but it takes two people to care for Kelly's special needs.

We need your help! Many of you have been signing up on the schedule to come visit Kelly which is awesome and we would love you to continue to do so. But if you haven't now is the time we need you! The additional need we have in bringing Kelly home is having two people available to assist with his basic needs 24/7. Over the next 30 days (weeks) if you can commit a two hour block of time (or more if you like) to stay with Kelly, we would truly appreciate it. You would not require any special training or abilities, just to assist whoever is here caring for him.

We know this is a huge responsiblity we are placing on you all, but we believe it IS the best thing for Kelly without a doubt. We will re-valuate in 30 days to see how he is doing and move forward from there.

Other opportunties to assist would be cleaning, laundry, meals, errands, shopping etc.

The best way to respond to commit to a time is via email at homes@getahome-wichita.com as phone calls seem to get lost or delayed.

Words cannot express our appreciation for your continued support and love for Kelly and our well being.

Matfield Cafe Band Kelly Slack, Kim Hamlin, Dennis Hardin, Bill Allen

You guessed it! MATFIELD CAFE BAND!

Many of you must have had the opportunity to hear the talents of Kelly Slack, Kim Hamlin, Dennis Hardin and Bill Allen in the one and only Matfield Cafe Band. Kim has kindly placed four tracks on my space for your listening and reminiscing enjoyment :) http://www.myspace.com/matfieldcafeband (copy/paste). Enjoy!

The Road Goes on Forever and THE PARTY NEVER ENDS...

The improvements continue...

Kelly is doing so well, soon we will get "kicked out" of the "Acute" care hospital... we will continue moving forward with rehab continually working on awakening the mind. Kelly has several tricks he performs pretty consistantly... Open his mouth and say "ahhhhhh" and he continues to communicate with grunting noises.

Kelly is so responsive now and learning new things on a daily basis... if you have a spare hour you could drop by and share some music or your favorite story with Kelly... he responds to it greatly.

We depend your continued care,love and support to assist in Kelly's recovery...

YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

Love to all,

Kelly, Marilyn and Dustin

Do you recognize any of these people?

I had a dream...

I recently had a dream that actually awakened me in the night. Kelly was sitting up in his hospital bed and told me how much he appreciates all the care he was receiving and the out pour of love and support from the many people who have touched our lives...

The continued cards, visits and support gives us all strength daily... thanks so much for being there for us.

Kelly, Marilyn & Dustin

Dale the Uke Master

GREAT NEWS!

Kelly has reached another milestone in the last couple of days! His trach is capped! When he was breathing on the trach (after vent removal) he wasn't using his upper airway. With the cap, the trach is bypassed and he is breathing through the his upper airways like us :) He also has use of his vocal chords... so he is experimenting with throat sounds.

Dale Britton just played him a song on the uke and he tracked him with his eyes back and forth across the room. Another first for the day!

Kelly is amazing everyone with his continued improvements. We continue to maintain a positive environment with uplifting stimulations. If you would like to send an email to set a time to visit, my email address is homes@getahome-wichita.com. Please be patient as I admit I am slow to respond. Kelly keeps me very busy throughout the day.

Remember: Your constant comments on the blog, prayers, cards and love surrounds us daily for continued strength and encouragement.

Much love and thanks,

Kelly, Marilyn & Dustin

YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

I know many of you must be thinking... is there something I can do to help. Kelly is doing very well right now. We await awakening of the body and mind. A slow and tedius process, but moving ever forward. Remember... baby steps.

Here's how you can help! Constant and POSITIVE energy/stimulation will assist in the wake up process, which may include live music, telling stories, showing photos, hand/foot massage, reading a book or a multitude of ideas this creative group can devise. By the way... we had a yogi chanter with nikki this morning...WOW... talk about positive energy!

It's still important to call with a time that is convenient for you... I know the "schedule" must seem cumbersome, but without it, everyone comes at once or not at all. On occassion our visitors don't meet the hospital "schedule" which means you may get booted during baths, turning, etc. Please call Kelly's cell at 312-4310.

PROTECTIVE ENVIRONMENT INCLUDES: Positive vibes and energy. Positive comments.
NOT INCLUDED: Questions or discussion of what happen, what the doctors say, what the future holds.

Kelly's Latest Milestone

Hi Everyone! Thanks so much for continued love, support and prayers. I have a milestone update to report. Kelly has been off the ventilator for the last 36 hours -- no misinformation this time... the vent machine is unplugged! In a nutshell, Kelly is not on any type of life support! He is sustaining on his own. He opens his eyes, and appears responsive to voice interactions - especially music. I know many of you would like to drop by to visit... please feel free to leave a voice mail message on Kelly's phone 316-312-4310 and I will do my best to return your call and schedule a visit time. PLEASE DON'T DROP BY to visit... it helps us all SO much if we can schedule a special time with Kelly so he doesn't get to overwhelmed.

Thanks again so much for the outpour of love, care, concerns and prayers... we depend on you all for daily strength.

Best wishes and Happy Easter to all.

Kelly, Marilyn & Dustin

Kelly, Tom, Tommy (Winfield 97'ish)

Beatin' the Bug!

We received some “misinformation” regarding the ventilator… turns out Kelly is breathing on his own but still dependent on the vent. We also had a setback; Kelly contracted a bug, acinetobacter. This is a hospital infection being brought to the state by soldiers in Iraq which preys on trach patients and those with weak immune systems. There are several different types, some resistant to antibiotics, but we are seeing improvement.

Kelly is participating in daily physical therapy. Some days his eyes are open other days he sleeps a lot. He continues with his daily baby steps, however he remains in “coma” state. Once we beat the bug, we can get back to concentrating on creating a growing state of awareness.

Please know we need and appreciate your continued love, support and prayers. Visitors are still being kept to a bare minimum and we hope that you can understand and appreciate we are giving Kelly the best possible care in a protective environment. Your cards, calls, prayers and good wishes continue to be a major support and rock in all our lives. Our daily activities would not be possible without the outpour of love and goodwill we feel surrounding us.

Bless you and your families… take care of each other and know we keep you all in our prayers as well.


Marilyn, Kelly & Dustin

The New News

What an amazing core of loving and caring friends we have. Thank you so much for your ongoing and continued care and support. You have no idea how much it helps to hear your kind words and to know that your positive thoughts and prayers are coming, so don't worry about leaving to many posts on the website. We love to read them. Kelly has made some baby steps today. His latest improvement - breathing on his own.

Words cannot express our appreciation of your continued support. It is our wish all of the wonderful people who love and care about Kelly could visit him and wish him well. He's just not ready yet. Your posts on this blog give us daily strength. Know that we are taking the best possible care of Kelly. We know we don't have to say it, but we will anyways. Please keep the positive thought, vibes, prayers, and whatever else you've got comming Kelly's way.

Love you all,

MJ and DJ

The Latest on Kelly:

Hello everyone.

First of all Kelly, Dustin and I want to thank you so much for your outflow of love, care, concerns, tears, cards, donations, support, tough love and more. Actually, words cannot express how much we appreciate your generosity and love.

I know many of you have heard rumors, guesses and possibly nothing about what happened or Kelly’s condition. If you are experiencing these and other emotions, it is my hope this post will put you at ease.

On March 9, around 12am Kelly suffered from a sudden cardiac arrest. He had no symptoms, had not been ill… to date we still don’t know what caused this event. He did not have a heart attack or a stroke… as I understand it, the cause was more of an electrical malfunction in the heart. The echo showed no signs of heart damage. Kelly suffers from acquired brain injury (not traumatic) and is diagnosed with anoxic brain injury (lack of oxygen). He is on a ventilator, but is breathing 60% of the time on his own. His heart is strong and pumping on its own. Kelly has not regained consciousness yet, however the EEG shows active brain waves. He is currently taking daily baby steps… and this is why we haven’t been able to offer much information. In the next few days we hope to move him to a specialty care hospital that specializes in coma arousal therapy and anoxic brain injuries. Kelly is looking at a long-term recovery. We continue to see small improvements (opening eyes, toe wiggles and head movements) which continue to encourage a positive outcome.

We understand you all feel many concerns and would like to visit Kelly. We are highly protective of Kelly’s environment which allows no room for negativity or tears. We don’t discuss anything about what happened, will happen or his condition in the room. As a result, visitation is very limited. It is overwhelming to try to accommodate such a massive amount of visitors and return phone calls. I know that may sound harsh… but we have to put aside our own needs and feelings… Kelly is our number one priority. We will post updates on the blog, but not on a daily basis… remember… baby steps = milestones. We will report milestonesJ

Please be patient and continue to send your generous love and prayers. It is truly in His hands as to what the outcome will be… we are here to serve, provide unconditional love and support to Kelly. You, the friends and family who love and care about him through your continued support give us strength on a daily basis. We love to read your new posts and comments on a daily basis… we love and need you all.


All our love,
Kelly, Marilyn & Dustin

Having Fun In the Hospital

Thanks Richard for the picture, everyone who sees it has a question or positive comment. Usually something like "why does it say blind dog?" I just laugh and tell them that it's a blues thing. I would teach them about Muddy Waters inventing electricity too, but I don't want to overwhelm them :)

Dustin Would Like Your Help With This:

Hi everyone, this is Dustin (Kelly's son) and I have been thinking about making a book for Kelly while we are waiting for him to get better. I am thinking it would be nice to put something together that includes all of his friends and families greatest memories or stories with Kelly.

This idea has been sparked from so many stories being shared in the room at the CICU and the good feelings associated, so please feel free to repeat some of the ones from the room that you have already told.

I also would like to include photos in the book so if you have a relevant photo to the story that would be great.

Please send your story to kellyblinddogstories@yahoo.com and attach the largest format of photo that you have.

Thank you for your help on this, I think he would really enjoy this. Maybe down the road if anyone else would like a copy I can see about that. For now I just think it would be a great gift for him.

Also, there will be another update coming later today about Kelly's status. I can tell you for now that not much has changed, but his lungs are really clearing up and he has been opening his eyes quite a bit today.

Love you all,

Dustin

How to leave a Comment:

At the bottom of every post there will be an area that reads " Posted by Dustin Joyce and Marilyn Joyce at 2:59 PM 1 comments."

All you have to do is click on the word "comments" and a separate window will open allowing you to write whatever you want and read other comments that have been posted.

Be sure to click "Publish Your Comment" when you are finished writing.

If you would like to be sure your post was published refresh the main page and read through the comments to see what you just published.

To Our Many Friends and Family:

Hi everyone,

Mississippi Blind Dog Kelly Slack along with his family thank you all so much for your continued thoughts, prayers and support. Kelly remains in critical condition. We are anticipating a slow recovery, but he is taking baby steps toward improvements everyday.

We understand so many people would like to visit Kelly in the hospital, however, critical is CRITICAL. Constant, well-meaning visits at this point in his recovery may be detrimental to his overall recovery.

KNOW... we love you all very much.

Also, please feel free to leave comments on this page. Especially stories of your favorite times/memories with Kelly. Really anything you would like to say about/to Kelly, Marilyn, or Dustin would be appropriate to leave on the comments page here.