Jamie and Family

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Winner!!

Congratulations to Mr Wheatley, Jamie's junior year Math teacher. You have won the NOOK Simple Touch! Thank you for your donation!

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Delay!

I'm so sorry, but I'm unable to announce the winner of the NOOK Simple Touch tonight. It will have to be tomorrow, Sunday 7/31. Hopefully, we'll have time for Jamie to do the actual drawing. Thank you for your understanding!

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Things Happen So Fast!

Sorry it's been so long since I last posted an update on Jamie. She came home on July 9th. She has been doing some outpatient therapy from nine in the morning until four in the afternoon. That's a long day! She's walking with the help of a cane, or if it's a long distance, she'll use her chair. She went to an Angel's game last week. I heard that she walked outside without a cane this week. The therapists are working on her cognitive thinking, too. She's able to text now, too. She is such a miracle, this child.

Jeremy, Jamie's big brother, and his wife, Tiffany, came to visit us for a week. We had such a nice time showing them around town. Actually, they showed themselves around most of the time. Hopefully, they will be moving here in a year or two. It was so nice to spend some one-on-one time with them. My sister has four children, so it's rare to spend alone time with just one of them. I can't believe that Jeremy is old enough to be married. I changed his diapers! He's turned into such a great young man. Cindy and Alan have done such a great job with all of their children.

I would like to thank everyone that has donated and entered to win the NOOK Simple Touch. We have raised $785 with this little blog. Your generosity has been overwhelming. I will be leaving for CA on Saturday. I'm looking forward to meeting everyone that will be attending the Welcome Home party for Jamie. I can't wait to lose my voice by saying "Thank you, thank you" to everyone that I meet.

We will be doing the drawing on July 30, as scheduled. I'll post the winner that evening, probably. Thanks again, and good luck!

Monday, June 20, 2011

It Keeps Getting Better

I got a text from Jeremy today telling me that they took out Jamie's feeding tube. I know she must be so relieved! From what I've been told, she hated that thing and tried to pull it out herself whenever she could. She's been eating semi-solid foods like yogurt, mashed potatoes, ice cream, and Jamba Juice. Her CaringBridge site says that she's even eaten some cupcake! That reminds me of when I was there in March for Jeremy's wedding. Chanda, Jamie, and I got to the reception place early so we could set up the cupcakes and there were many jokes and threats to steal a few cupcakes before the party even started. We didn't, but I did make sure to box up the leftovers to leave with the family, but really, for Jamie, because she loves them so much.

My mom, Jamie's grandma, says that she was able to talk on the phone with Jamie yesterday. What a blessing! She said that Jamie was easy to understand, that she just spoke slowly and softly. Of course, we all cried when we learned that Jamie was talking again. I actually managed to sleep through the night Sunday night. I was just so relieved to know that she was talking.

Jamie is such a special girl. She's always been such a sweet girl, even when she was a baby. All of my sister's children are great kids. Jeremy, Justin, Chanda, and Jamie are all smart, kind, and compassionate people. They are good looking, too! My sister and her husband, Alan, have done such a great job raising them. I joke with Cindy all the time, asking her "How did you get such great kids?" The truth is that they were blessed, but they also worked hard to teach them how to be good people. I don't know any two parents that have done a better job with their children.

This Raffle for the Nook Simple Touch is still ongoing. The winner will be announced on July 30. This page is getting tons of views, but not tons of donations. If everyone that has viewed this page has said a prayer for Jamie, I thank you. Her entire family thanks you. I truly believe that the power of prayer is healing her, slowly but surely. I am looking forward to posting more updates with Jamie's progress. Thank you for stopping by!

Friday, June 17, 2011

Great News!

Hi, all. Last Tuesday marked three weeks since Jamie's accident. She is improving all the time and her doctors keep saying, "It looks promising." Jamie is able to go outside and earlier this week, she laughed. Chanda (Jamie's sister) said it wasn't like her regular laugh, it was more like she was trying to laugh. She also smiled a bit. This is HUGE news because the family hasn't seen much facial expression from her and she usually has a sad look on her face.

Today I got a text from my sister that simply said, "Jamie said "mom." I can't even imagine how wonderful that was to hear! Just reading the text from my sister moved me to tears. I posted that up on my Facebook page and Jeremy (her oldest brother) commented that she said "yeah" the other night. What?! Praise the Lord, she is talking! I've been waiting for that since they took her out of her coma.

Jamie is still doing her physical therapy and in the next couple of weeks her physical therapy will be three hours at a time instead of the 30-45 minutes that she's getting now. Thank you everyone for your support and prayers. Please continue to pray for Jamie, God is answering them.

I got much of this information from Jamie's CaringBridge site. I'd like to thank Chanda for keeping that up to date. I can't wait to post more updates with news of her improvement!

Also, don't forget about the NOOK Simple Touch Raffle. Any donation above five dollars earns you a chance. If you give ten dollars, you'll be entered twice. If you give fifteen dollars, you'll be entered three times. I bet you've figured out the math by now. I'll be posting the other fundraisers that are being held in the Fountain Valley, CA area in case any of you Spuds Readers live out there and would like to attend. Thanks for stopping by!

Sunday, June 12, 2011

A Raffle

We donated a NOOK Simple Touch e-Reader to raffle to benefit Jamie. Every person that donates five dollars or more will be entered to win it! The Simple Touch retails for $139. It could be yours for a measly five bucks! For those folks that have already donated, first, THANK YOU. Secondly, if you donated twenty dollars, you'll be entered four times. If you donated twenty-five dollars, you'll be entered five times, and so on. Got it? This little gadget is pretty cool. It uses the same e-ink that the NOOK First Edition does, but is a touch screen like the NOOKCOLOR. The battery can last for up to two months on just one charge! The six inch touch screen is as crisp and clear as the printed page and can be easily read even in bright sunlight. It weighs in around 7.5 ounces and can hold ONE THOUSAND books, magazines, and newspapers. We will announce the winner on July 30, 2011. If you want to know more about the device, check out the website here:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/nook/features/index.asp

As time goes on, I'll be raffling off gift cards to various places. Please tell everyone you know about Jamie's website. Let's see how many people will enter to win! Thank you for stopping by!

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Good News!

I got this information from the CaringBridge site:

Jamie ate four and a half ounces of Jamba Juice! And, she got to stand up for a couple of mintues with assistance, hopefully soon she'll be able to dance her way out of that hospital! Jamie got to go outside again today and next week the family might be allowed to bring their dog, Molly, to help with Jamie's therapy. Jamie almost was able to say "Hi". Right now Jamie's only way of communicating is with yes or no questions, one finger for yes and two fingers for no. She also has a chart with different pictures and words on it that she can point to, to tell us what she needs and how she's feeling. We ask that everyone please continue to pray for Jamie, and praise the Lord for answering those prayers.



Today at the Sam's Club Fundraiser, they'll be selling root beer floats and selling raffle tickets for the 32" Plasma Television. Also, Lamppost pizza is donating $50 dollar giftcards to raffle off as well.

This site has already had one donation. Thank you so much!

Friday, June 10, 2011

About This Blog

Hello. My name is Christy Vail Wheeler. I'm Jamie Maddux's aunt, her mother's sister. I created this blog as a way to help Jamie. She was in a horrible car accident in Fountain Valley, CA. I copied this from Jamie's CaringBridge page:

"Jamie Nicole Maddux was on the way to meet some friends for lunch. As she was leaving her neighborhood on Rose St. and was crossing Bushard she was T-boned by a car going northbound on Bushard Street. Jamie's car spun and then rolled completely over, landing back on her tires. FVPD Officer Rick Nilos responded to the accident within 15-20 seconds. He could see Jamie slumped over in her car and could tell she wasn't breathing. He immediately felt drawn to help Jamie. After failing to break Jamie's window, the officer crawled through the back window of her Ford Focus coupe and pulled the lever of Jamie's seat so she could lay flat. After adjusting her jaw, Jamie began to breathe. She was rushed to UCI trauma center. She suffered three fractures to her pelvis and a bleed in her brain. She was put in a medically induced coma."

The newspaper reported on the accident, too: http://www.ocregister.com/news/-301819--.html

Sweet Jamie has since been moved to a rehabilitation hospital and is showing great signs of improvement. We all know that it is because of the power of prayer. There are many, many people praying for Jamie and we all appreciate it more than I can say. Jamie is able to communicate with her hands, which is very encouraging. My sister, Cindy, recently told me that Jamie fed herself an ounce or so of yogurt. Jamie is spending some time outside in her wheelchair. She's getting better, baby step by baby step.

It's killing me that I'm not able to be there for my sister and her family. For those of you that don't know me, I live in TN. I realize that if I were there, I wouldn't be able to actually DO anything to make Jamie heal faster. This is what I can do. I can spread the word that there is a beautiful, kind, smart, loving girl out there that needs our help. If you can donate, please do. The money goes into a separate checking account and each month I'll send my family a check. Any amount of money is helpful. If you aren't able to send money, please send prayers.

If you live in the Fountain Valley area, there are several fundraisers that you can attend. Sam's Club is donating vanilla ice cream and root beer to make root beer floats outside of their store on Saturday, June 11. Many FVHS students amd members of GSA and Baron Bridge Builders have agreed to sell root beer floats, as well as collect donations and raffle off a $100 Sam's Club Gift Card to contribute to Jamie Maddux's hospital/rehabilitation bill.

Also, on June 22, Dippin' Dots Ice Cream Store on Newhope donating a part of every purchase to the Maddux family.

The community has been amazing for my sister & her family. I want everyone that has helped them to know that the ENTIRE family appreciates it, even the folks you've probably never met. Perfect strangers have kept a lump in my throat and tears of gratitude in my eyes. Chanda says that there will be a block party when Jamie comes home. I plan to attend that. Maybe then I can thank each of you. Until then, please re-post this blog on ALL of your social media. Then, get your friends to do the same. Thank you again!