So here we are almost 10 years later, refreshing Scooter's Adventure Blog.  Karis thought it would be fun to dig around in the archives of the "interweb" and she found my blog.  I just finished reading about my fried Dan Barker who fell while hiking near in the Camp Verde area.  Life is an adventure and my friend Jim Smith gave me the nickname "Scooter".

I am not sure what all will go in this blog, nor do I know if it will be worth reading, but I do like how it keeps track of life as well as thoughts I have regarding my faith.  I have some good faith updates - at least they are exciting for me to process. 
klm

Home Sweet Home

Dano is coming home today and I think everyone is pretty excited. I am sure Dan is looking forward to being back on camp after 4 1/2 weeks of being in the hospital. I will be sure and get some pictures of him this afternoon and post them for you all. For those of you who have given to Dan a huge THANK YOU! It doesn't seem like it is enough, but thank you! I am also going to see if I can get some picts from his Mom when he was in ICU so you can see where we have come from in such a short time.
Our local newspaper is doing an article on Dan's accident which is kind of exciting. At some point I plan on taking Dan over to the Rim Rock Fire Department so he can meet them. They asked for updates and for them I am sure that seeing Dan walking and talking would be encouraging.
Have a great Day and I will post more on the homecoming tonight!
K

Good Talk Dan

I had a great time today with Dan just hanging out and talking. I was there from about 3 pm to 6 pm, even had me a $3 meal. It was good to just sit and talk about what is going on and where he is going to go from here. Dan still needs our prayers, I think a big prayer request would be for patience. In his words "I am just done with all this" referring to the casts, the pain in his head and face, his wound vac, the time in the hospital. I know that all of you who know Danny know that what he is going through now is a big challenge for him. To not be able to get out and do things is a bit tough on him.
Another thing that he has talked about with several people and we talked about it quite a bit today is "if God let me live he must have plans for me...i just don't know what they are". Dan realizes that it is by the grace of God that he is even alive. He believes there is a purpose for his life and he is really seeking God to know what that purpose is. Toward the end of our conversation I asked him what specifically to ask for prayer for and this was it. (I brought up the patience one and he agreed.) This is what Dan is processing and what he asked prayer for. He and I have talked about the fact that working in maintenance at UCYC is not his lifetime career. While he is good at it, really we have seen that he is gifted at working with the kids here at camp. He is also thinking about the medical field. He recently did very well in an EMT class and has thought about becoming a paramedic. Regardless he is searching for God's purpose and would really appreciate the prayers.
As far as how long Dan is going to be there, we still don't know for sure, but the Physical Therapist that was in the room this evening said 3 to 4 days. I questioned her further and she only said they have been talking about Dan and he is doing very well. I am not one go get my (or yours for that matter) hopes up, but he is doing well and I don't think he will be there for 3 weeks as was initially planned.
Keep praying and thank you to those who have given to the Dan Barker Medical Fund...to the rest of you thanks for the prayers and if you can give I know it would be appreciated beyond words.
Thanks,
Kris

Awesome Phone Call

DAN CALLED ME TODAY!!! Actually his mom called me, but he was the one who answered. Steve said that last night he had some crazy dreams about aliens, which isn't a surprise to me as he has told me and Jim Smith some of his dreams and they are crazy. Anyway when his parents came in he was relieved. He told them he thought they had deserted him, so he was a little disoriented when he woke up. In the night he worked the wires off that hold his jaws together so I guess they won't take those off Monday after all. He had some pureed food last night through a straw and today they were going to feed him some solid food. Anyway he asked his parents if they had Greg (my brother) or my phone number and asked them to call me. He still has the trach so he is figuring out how to talk with that in by covering it up. He wanted to know what happened. I told him, but the nurse came in to give him some medicine so we didn't talk too much, but he said he would call me back. When I told him I met the guy who saved his life by going for help he thought that was pretty cool and I think he will look forward to meeting Cory. I am looking forward to the next call I get from Dan. I honestly don't know how to explain how fast he is recovering except for the grace of God. Three weeks ago I didn't know if he would live, now he is likely to be moved to a rehab hospital early next week. Isn't God amazing!
K

Dan and Memorial for Kenny Bailey in Prescott

Talked to Linda this evening and she said they have had a good day. They removed all the tubes except for the feeding tube, wound vac and trach. Dan is scheduled to have his jaw unwired Monday so I would expect then to pull the trach fairly soon too. He has also been moved from the step-down unit (a little lower form of ICU) to his own private room today so that was good. Dan is starting to talk, a therapist showed him how to cover the trach so he could get air past his vocal cords, but Dan has figured out someway of doing it without that. Leave it to Dan to find his own way of doing things. Overall good news and a good day.

There is going to be a memorial service for Kenny Bailey at PCC here in Prescott on Wednesday at 11 am. I am looking forward to it and look forward to seeing Polly tomorrow.

Life is good and it is good to be home. Have a great night.
K

Lots of Good News

After we left Dan this afternoon they did another x-ray on his jaw and after that they went ahead and took off his neck collar. That was really good for him. They also have removed the other chest tube and took out his catheter. He was up twice today walking around and they took him outside in a wheelchair. I am sure he loved being outside, but the air made him cough quite a bit. Hope to hear from the Dr. soon on unwiring his jaw, which was part of the jaw x-ray. He was making some sounds after the collar was off so he is starting to try and use his vocal cords. Pray they unwire his jaw soon so they can start to feed him and can remove the trach. Pray that tomorrow is as productive as today. We want Dan closer to home so we can see him more often, selfish I know but it is also a sign he is making good progress. He has lost a lot of weight and is pretty thin maybe lifting will be part of his rehab I am sure he will gain the weight and muscle as soon as he can. Can't wait to have him over for pancakes on a Saturday morning to fatten him up.
Kris

Just Saw Dan

WoW!  Dan has made a lot of progress in the last 10 days since I last saw him.  He recognized us and was moving his arms.  He showed me that he could move all of his finges and was trying to communicate with me.  He did write down who came to see him this morning.  I could tell it was frustrating to not be able to talk and he could couldn't have any water and he wantd some pretty bad.  The hospital in Flag was saying he would be in PV Tueday but a lot still has to happen before that transition can happen.  They did xrays on his neck and those results were good they are going to xray his jaw and if that comes back good they will remove the neck collar.  They can unwire his jaw anytime and that has to happen as well as removing the trach so he can eat.  The chest tube on his right lung is out and the one on the left can go anytime and they also need to remove the stomach tube.  All of that needs to happen before the move so we will have to see if it actually happens by Tuesday or not.  He still has the wound vac and a catheter I believe.  Overall he looks good and seems to be doing very well.  He has been off of pain medication for several days and has only had a little sedative at night once in the past 4 days.  I should have more news later from Steve regarding the jaw xray.  Be praying for everything to happen quickly and smoothly so he can get to PV and start on the therapy.   His parents are doing well and it was very encouraging to see him.
Keep praying and I will post another update later today and of course as things happen.
K