From David Chen, husband of Theresa Wang, who is recovering from injuries sustained in the Nov. 19 car crash that also injured Colt Brennan:

Aloha to our Ohana,

United 59 from Denver to San Francisco to Kona was not nearly as bumpy as the outbound leg, however the flight was uncomfortable in its own way as this 767 was completely full.

In fact, 14 passengers on the standby list didn’t make it on board and wound up cooling their heels for eight hours until the next flight — not the best of ways to begin a Hawaii vacation, and it brought back old memories of Theresa and me on our first trip to the islands in 1997.

Back then, we were caught up in Calgary morning rush hour traffic and when we finally made it to the airport, it seemed it was too late. As we waited in the snow covered parking lot for the shuttle to take us to the departures level, I still remember looking up at the pre-dawn sky and saying a silent prayer.

That prayer was answered as we learned upon checking in that the flight was delayed for an hour due to mechanical reasons. Looking back, that was certainly not the first time I recall our Lord answering my prayers but it was one of the most memorable.

Fast forward 14 years and for the first-timers on this flight, there was a sense of excitement in the cabin as the attendants did their best to get everyone involved in the festivities.

Once again, I did not win the Halfway to Hawaii contest, missing it this time by a whole 10 minutes. Blame it on the 0300h wake-up call and miscalculating for a tailwind when it should have been a headwind.

While it was difficult to leave Theresa again, we did have a wonderful and miraculous week together as documented in the last update. Theresa was even up and out of bed to send me off that morning and for that I am most grateful. It was hard for her to understand that I was returning to our home in Hawaii to do some work, since for her, home is Craig Hospital for now.

Theresa kept asking if I would be joining her for dinner or any other meals this week.

Finally, I took the tack of asking if she remembered how her Dad used to go away on business trips. That jogged an old memory and it seemed Theresa finally understood why I was going away for a while.

While it is sad for us to be apart, I leave with a warmth in my heart knowing that the progress Theresa has made in the past month is truly remarkable and I dare say it is mostly due to her strength, determination and faith in receiving God’s grace and healing powers.

For the past few weeks, Theresa has had limited range of motion in her left shoulder and arm, complaining of pain whenever her arm is lifted above the head, out to the side, or extended too far forward.

Despite negative imaging results for sprains, tears, fractures, etc., she continues to feel pain on that side. So with no other proof of disability, the highly technical diagnosis the specialists have come up with is that Theresa has a “frozen” shoulder due to lack of usage in the past three months.

Both OT & PT are concentrating their work on freeing up Theresa’s left shoulder by various stretching and lifting exercises but the most success seems to come from the use of overhead pulleys.

When attached to her wrists, this series of ropes and pulleys allows Theresa to use her right arm to control how much stretch and motion the left arm can tolerate, similar to how a puppeteer controls their dolls.

In the course of a week, there has been measurable improvement in Theresa’s left arm motion and flexibility and she is encouraged to use that side more. Otherwise, she will continue to go in circles when wheeling herself down the hallway.

The other significant development this week is that the sutures were removed from Theresa’s right ankle/calcaneus (heel) surgery that was performed a little over a month ago. Recall that this was a repeat surgery to set the ankle properly above the heel, as the original surgery would have created in an unstable ankle/heel connection resulting in pain while walking, dancing, etc.

Over the next few days, additional imaging will be taken of the foot to determine if it can be partially weight bearing, thus allowing Theresa to finally try standing on both feet.

Being able to stand is a major step on her healing journey because it means Theresa will not need to rely on the Guldmann lift to get her from the bed to the wheelchair to the commode or the physiotherapy mat, although she is also learning to transfer using the slider board.

In fact, Theresa was so excited by this development that she phoned to tell me the good news herself. It was wonderful to hear her voice for the first time since I left and we could have talked for hours except that Theresa’s arm was getting sore from holding the phone too long.

Also, I don’t think she realizes there is a 3-hour (soon to be 4-hour) time difference between us so it’s somewhat amusing for me to answer the phone at 0500h and try to shake off the cobwebs while Theresa recaps what she just had for breakfast.

I don’t mind trading sleep for conversation with my wife and I’m sure it’s God’s way of preparing me for the sleep interruptions to follow when Theresa does return home.

In the meantime, I will build up my energy reserves in anticipation of the next visit, hoping and praying that Theresa will be far enough along her healing journey to begin the move to the transitional living unit upon my return.

For these blessings and miracles above all else that has taken place in our lives, I continue to give praise to our Lord for His gifts of grace and healing.

Mahalo,
David

— Find out more:
www.hulaterri.blogspot.com