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December 11, 2010 7:29 pm

Hi,  The Kolpacks are all still goin with the program! The last 2 months my laptop crashed. I lost the following update I wrote on Nicole for you. (Now by chance, I found it without anyone helping me, derrr) I bought a new laptop, got it all goin, realized this was lost forsure because the new laptop had a bad hard drive. So I had to buy a 2nd  new laptop, do all the transfers again and figure a way to send the other one back, which is a joke. All this is ok if you have 6 hrs a day to play with it all. I don’t. Any time lately that I did have to write a new update was spent instead by pouting over all of this I’ve had to go through, instead. Then trying to look back at my calendar to try to put these descriptions of our lives on paper a second time. It’s hard to go back to in my mind, although I had a new one partially written. The update’s I’ve written are a great way for me to share at the time, but to make myself go back to those places in my mind, even the good thoughts are way to painful, I’ve learned. I’ve also learned that the patients I have now even empress myself! Yes, that’s right, I’m bragging on myself because of what I endure and more importantly, HOW I choose to endure it. Ever cry over a laptop crash? Ever call the people helping you with your computer and pressure or demand from them that you’re what needs to be the priority? I never did. I would have before. I just have a different way of measuring my problems now and assessing the ways in which I decide to deal with them. Check that out the next time you find yourself getting all tied up over something. Stop to remeasure, reassess. Now I’m so excited that I can now send this to you that I’m not even going to read it.  so …..now you’re updated a bit.  And now I have a half smile inside, yeah. To put together new information on Nicole’s life since the rehab center won’t be so hard for me to do for you now. Had a GREAT day after Thanksgiving thank u party. The friends and family supporting us is breathtaking.  Will be sharing that and much, much more very soon. Keep the prayers comin’. We still need them, Nicole still needs them. Love us Kolpacks.

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November 2, 2010 5:15 pm

From Bonnie Kolpack: Lanny please blog that I’ve just gotten my computer working after my old one crashed. I’ve been without computer life for almost 4 weeks!! As soon as I can, I’ll be giving an update on Nicole. It’ll be later this week. Got to take care of some business n priorities 1st. Can feel everyone’s love and hear the curiosity for Nicole! U’ll all be gettin’ the good, bad and everythin in between soon! Luv Bonnie and thank u all again

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September 23, 2010 8:45 pm

DAY 145 – Today we brought our daughter home. Next week it will have been 5 full months since she got all fancied up, was on a natural high with the achievements of her life, showed off  and made fun to us how cool she looked, walked over and hugged me and Glenn, then kissed me and Glenn, then simply drove down the driveway. Her and I texted until I think just b4 11:00pm, then I layed down with my cell under my pillow on vibrate.  I awoke to the vibration at I believe 1:30am. to her friend who was at my work thinking I lived there. He told me my daughter was on a mediflight helecopter to Modesto. Out of a deep and confused sleep I gave him the 3rd degree because the Sheriff or CHP hadn’t called me. I tried everyway I could think of to catch him up in his story then I believe I hung up on him and called the Sheriff. Our first instinct is to deny. We all know it. Then when it happened to me I denied it anyway. Yesterday when I was preparing to bring my daughter home, I went grocery shopping. It was so stimulating with happiness to me as I ran into friends and neighbors “Is she home?” “Nope, but i’m gettin’ ready for her right now!”  It made me feel very happy to shop for food that I was planning to make for my family all week!  Five months ago, I would be really grouchy when I went shopping for groceries, it took too much time and too much money. I didn’t like that. I haven’t purchased a lot of food at one time for almost 5 months. When the cashier told me it was $212. I felt happy again! I smiled when she told me how much I saved, I told her it didn’t matter to me at all, didn’t tell her why. When I pulled in at the mail box to check the mail, a car pulled in with a couple in it. He yells out “How’s the girl?” I held out my hand with a little pinching motion. “She gets a little bit better everyday” He didn’t know who I was, they both smiled and gave me the thumbs up, then drove away. That made me happy. After I got home, I looked out at a magnificent sunset, the brightest pink kind. Then I realized I haven’t stopped to see a sunset for almost 5 months. It was Nicole’s favorite color and that made me happy. Today after we brought Nicole to see her big brother, I returned to him a big wooden cross on a leather string that he wanted me to wear way back when we were all preparing for decisions we’d have to make because Nicole wasn’t waking up. He said it’d always brought him good luck. I wore it everyday. Today it made me happy to return it to him. Glenn has had in his pocket, a good luck charm with an angel on it everyday since an old friend gave it to him, just about the same time I got the cross. We have a picture of her hands in Glenn’s while she was in her deepest coma, their hands surround the charm. We will frame the piece of art and return the charm with it to the grand friend. That will make us happy. Tonight we will return to our daughter her hot pink satin pillow that I have slept with and poured gallons of tears into since her accident, and her leopard print pillow Glenn has slept with and I know poured into aswell….wait, i’m gonna do it now…………………….We just did. This made us a bit shaken, and made us happy. Last night I had to put my 11 yr old son to bed early, as he and I were to leave at 6 am to go pick up Glenn and Nicole today. He was for once, happy to get to bed early. Aside from worrying about Nicole waking up and if she did, what she would be like, the next worse thing for all 4 of us has been being seperated apart, juggled and shuffled around, all of us not being together under the same roof at the same time. This was the toughest part, the last part. Tonight, we 4 are all under the same roof, our roof, at home, our home…and we are all happy. It is dark, the TV is on, I am again on the couch tickling my laptop. Glenn is on the other couch and has now fallen asleep. Our son is in his bed and is asleep. Nicole is in her bed and is asleep. My dogs are even snoring. My head I think is too stimulated to wind down yet. I don’t know when i’ll be able to sleep, I’ve gotten up for several hours the last two nights. I was very nervous about how we would care for Nicole and we were especially worried about her walking, worried about the steadyness of it. After an exciting afternoon here, I am at ease with her walking, so much more than I hoped to be. Yes it is a worry, but not as bad as I thought. I think I am worried about trauma. Trauma that can take away real happiness in our lives. I am worried about everybody. All of you and all of us. I don’t know why we were choosen to have this experience, I don’t think i’ll know all the reasons for decades. But I have learned that I truely worry about people, even people I don’t know. I worry about bad things happening to them, and me. I guess I also worry about the littlest things that make me happy being taken away so fast again, and for so long.  I did learn what it feels like to be truely sad. And what it feels like to be truely happy. You know the sayings you hear? “It’s the little things in life that make you happy”  “Good things come to those who wait” Something about the gift that’s called the present. Even these mean different things to me now. Because I know that way back however many years ago when the sayings were born, someone had to good through something, like me. And like you. It is very scary to me now, happiness and sadness. I think that’s why all of us come together to help and love one another when things go bad, we’ve all been through bad times, which creates the cycle. It has made me happy, i’ve already been able to help some people again.    And the world goes on.    Please pray for us, we are praying for you now too. With love from the bottom of our mending hearts, the Kolpacks.  Some have asked ”Will you continue the updates? Hope so.”  Yes, we will, maybe every few weeks or once a month or so, whatever works…gotta life to go live, and…..be happy. Us 4 :)    Never will be able to thank you all enough. Never.

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September 18, 2010 3:12 am

Rogers played for us on his guitar the song he wrote for her..just like he sees her..”Perfect and Whole Nicole” we all sang it to her, she likes the song, she has the CD in her room and listens to it.  Attached is a picture of us that day, myself and husband Glenn and our two kids at the rehab center. There has been an entire village in Tuolumne County and an army of people scattered in the U.S. and other countries as well, that have kept us 4 together and sane (barely sane) throughout our ordeal. We and the rest of our family thank all of you for helping us do this. The prayers, the short words of encouragement, the hugs, have worked, for Nicole and us. Thank you all more than we can ever relay to you, ever. When Nicole comes home she will not need any special medical equipment, she will go to therapists outside the home under the supervision of her team in SF. She may take a long time to shower, get dressed, style her hair and put her make up on…..but she was like that before! So we don’t care if she’s slow for a while. We’ll take it. With smiles on our faces. Pray for us still please, we need it.  Love, Kolpacks

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August 31, 2010 6:46 pm

We just submitted a letter of thanks to our local newspaper theuniondemocrat.com. for that glorious benefit we had for our daughter. Glenn and I are still very humbled by all the hard work and efforts of our loved one’s. It’s going to be hard to get over. Nicole has a very strenuous schedule these days: 7 therapys per day that last 45mins to 1 hr each. Eats her own 3 meals that take about 30mins each, as well as a shower and rest each day. That doesn’t leave a lot of time for anything else. Her short term memory will still take time to recover. Her long term (prior to the accident) spot on..always has been. She is coming out here and there with her own thoughts: I was video taping her eating soup because she was very smooth and nothing was falling out of the spoon, she was staring at me while each spoonful found its way into her mouth. After the 4th or 5th spoonful, her eyebrows frowned and a disgusting look came over her face while she floped the spoon down “Why are you video taping me?” she asked. She thought that was pretty stupid of me, cool huh? She also said once when she was doing something that she was “Too tired to do the rest of this” I asked her if she wanted me to do the rest for her “Yes.” So these thoughts of her own that she is now coming up with, processing, then saying…yeah, again like hearing the angels sing! They are weaning her a bit this week into her own independance: So far, they have had someone at Nicole’s side 24/7 to aid and help her in any way. After practicing for the last couple of weeks, there will be someone sitting outside of her door, not inside her room and when Nicole wants something, or help, etc, she is to press the “Call button” then say to them what it is she is wanting. The person at the door will still watch her every move for safety though. As of today, Nicole has a new honey brown hair color, thanks to her dad buying it for her at Walgreens! Oh, yeah, also thanks to him and his tireless efforts, Nicole can walk ! Yep…all by herself !! Thanks Glenn, you are my hero and I love you, your proud wife, Bon. Please keep your prayers comin’….they are workin’

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August 28, 2010 3:55 am

Click here if you would like to make a donation to help out with the medical bills, thanks!

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August 19, 2010 5:27 am

The last few weeks have been a bit overwhelming for Nicole’s parents, in great ways and hard ways as well. All emotionally, Nicole is better each day than the day before. So that’s all good. This Sunday is the All So Famous Fundraiser in Tuolumne County that our Best Friends and Family have busted their butts for, so Nicole can have the very best when we bring her home. It is so wonderful, we have seen all the one’s that love us and our daughter, step up to the plate. It is always known that’s what we all do with the one’s we love. What isn’t known…the strangers that step up too. I was on a bus in San Francisco, holding some of the fliers for the fundraiser, didn’t realize they were “Word side out”, a lady asked if I was putting on a fundraiser while she was walking by getting off the bus, I said “No, but my family and friends are” as I said it, she stuffed a $20. bill in my pocket so fast that I didn’t even get to thank her..she was off the bus. Some friends had our son at the frosty in Jamestown, when he came home he handed me a $20. bill and said a lady gave it to him after he said “There’s my sisters poster again!!” she told him she wasn’t going to make it to the fundraiser but to “Please give this to your mom.” At my office the other day, there was a plain, white envelope that said “To The Kolpack’s” I opened it…there were five one dollar bills in it. $5. A stranger gave us $5., if that doesn’t touch you, nothing ever will. For 27 years i’ve busted my butt with my husband and our business so that “Someday” my husband could kick back a little. He’s older than me and the fact that he’d had a couple of hard knocks in his life and lost a son to a car accident all before I met him made me wanna do nice things for his life. The few weeks before Nicole’s accident, was that “Someday” It didn’t last long, but we did get to feel it and I was very proud that I’d helped get him to that point. None of us know what our future will bring, what I was always afraid of was someone dying, this situation was something that never even crossed my mind, I think i’ve learned now what it means when people say “If you have your health, you have everything.” Nicole and Glenn both made me so proud this week. Glenn has several business licenses, several state business licenses, a drivers license that covers him operating vehicles, motorcycles, and big rigs. He operates any type of heavy equipment or machinery you stick in front of his face. He’s a private pilot, and takes many un-required classes to challenge himself in the field every year, he has to pass several physicals and flying tests for that every so often as well. He called me this week from SF and I’ve never heard his voice so enthusiastic…!!!! He was beaming when he explained to me that the physical therapist had trained him and he now has his own “license” to take Nicole for a walk all by himself. Yep, they’re on the loose! She still needs minimal physical assistance to walk…but I know with him at her side, it won’t be long. On Sunday, Nicole and I were at a “faith” and positive thinking group. There were probably about 15 patents and about 7 or so others, family members, counselors, preacher, therapists, etc. I let her and her therapist go in for the first little while on their own, then as I was walking down the hall I saw through the opened door before I went in…I stopped in my tracks because my daughter was speaking in front of the entire group moving her arms around and looking at each of the people, strangers in the group. I was too far away to hear what she was saying, and I don’t know how all of it came out because when she has a lot to say, usually a lot of it will tend to roll and blend together, but Nicole was putting her point across. I saw courage in that strong little girl that most of us adults don’t have. I waited, I didn’t want to interfere or mess up her train of thought, a few minutes after she was done, I went in and sat down next to her wheel chair quietly…and felt her hand reach down to grab mine…Then, together, we both listened to others. We met a lady from the Sacramento area that was just admitted to the rehab center, we 3 introduced ourselves to her and her husband, the lady was telling us that she had been jogging and was hit by a car, she had so many broken bones that she was in a coma for 10 days, and she couldn’t walk. Nicole pointed at her and said “I’ll teach you.” The lady said “Well thank you.” and smiled at Nicole. Nicole looked at her with a very stearn face and pointed to her again and said “No…I’ll teach you… I’ll teach you.” The lady said “I’d like that, as soon as i’m ready, i’d like that” Nicole smiled and said “Ok!” Look forward to seeing all our friends, family, and newfound stranger-friends at the fundraiser! Us Kolpacks will never be able to thank you all enough…Bye

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August 8, 2010 7:29 pm

DAY 99 – It’s Bonnie, I am in Sonora today. My mom was with Nicole last night and today, while she was there, she had Nicole email me, ( type in the email ). It looked sorta like this: dkkkkkktognmaslgjdjkdkk !! Then my mom narrated in words I could read. She’s also called us and put Nicole on the phone. How cool is that to answer your phone and it be your daughter sayin “Hi Mom” If any of you out there think thats to much of a regular thing that goes on in your day…I sure would appreciate you making it a cool thing in your day instead. A special thing that lights up your day and night. Really special. Let’s see this week Nicole is: Walking more smoothly with her therapist assistance. I tested her myself when I was standing with her at the sink the other day. I let real loose of her to see how much she can stand on her own. It was really pretty strong and way more stable than I realized. Of course I didn’t let go of her, but none the less I was surprised at how sturdy it was. Her voice is “Filling in” better everyday. It sounds like her, but everyday it sounds like her more. Like maybe her voice sorta started out like when we wake up in the morning, then it smooths into our regular voice. That’s kinda how her voice has been, just more filled in everyday. I got some pretty good questions from you all. I think these two are something I should share with all of you: Has she ever had seisures? Nope. Never. Can she see out of the eye that was swollen after the accident? She says she can. She reads ok. There is a super eye specialist that saw her the first week she went to SF and said her muscles and tendons were all in tact in the eye and he’d see her again in 6 weeks or so. I believe that will be here in a week or so. I’ll report what he says about the eye exam to you. Our family had a terrible scare: My sisters 17yr old son fell from a skate board, hit his head, had bleeding in his head, spent 3 days in the hospital waiting for that HORRIFIYING first 72 hours to see if or how much the brain swelling was. Glenn and I were up most of the first night. It brought back terrible, upsetting stuff we went through with Nicole, and it was too much to think our family may have to go through this again. It’s very heartbraking to think someone you love, like your sister is headed down one of the worst roads, and you know the way. There is good news, (better than it could’ve been). He was released with a bad concusion, will have bad headaches for 6 weeks and is banned from contact sports for the year. Gosh, to me and Glenn that was such good news. It’s been neat being able to sit around and talk and laugh and eat with Nicole. Can hardly wait till we can bring her home. Keep the prayers comin for her full and complete recovery. Thanks, Getting a lot of feedback and response to her fundraiser Aug 22. Glenn and I will be there. nicolewillwalk.com for the details. Love Ya, Glenn and Bon

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August 2, 2010 10:44 pm

DAY 92 – Our daughter is coming along. She can do the basic things that we can do….just will have to fine tune them in the next hand full of months there at rehab before we can bring her home. Bring her home, that’s a thought that is really nice to have on our minds. For A LONG TIME, we were not given that idea. Now we are. How much fine tuning she’ll be able to do, we’ll all have to wait and see. But it looks so much better than we all anticipated. They’re goal is to have her doing these things on her own when they release her to go home: eating, dressing, walking, talking, making some food, all with little or no assisstance. Will she need help? Yes. Will she do it all as fast and fine tuned as us? Eh.. If it happens it’ll be a long time. She will have to continue therapy at home for a few years forsure. But they do say these are the goals they’ve set based on their experience. OK, well take that. The thoughts and mind organization, and carring out well planned things…That’s all a slower, more wait and see later down the road thing. They’ve always said too that her age is on her side. But again, check out what we do have…yeah…cool stuff. We’ve been putting together some pictures for you readers, soon will have it ready for you. In the mean time, enjoy this picture of Nicole and myself! She uses her voice now, yes it is pretty, just like always. The best I can describe her state of mind is this: She’s about 80% there. Most of the time her choice of words are on. Sometimes she’ll come out with something that isn’t on. Then toward her more tired times, the last few words of the sentence will roll out all together. To watch all this take place…it’s neat, scary, great, amazing, shocking, cool, and terrible….all at the same time. Me and Glenn are sure glad to have you all here with us for it. Thanks. Please pray for her full and complete recovery and for her emotions to be ok during all of this. Love, Kolpacks