Andre Xavier's Blog, page 2

Day 465 | December 19, 2022

Good evening, Friends, Today is December 19th, on our new and grateful life.

It has been a few days since I wrote here, but December is a hectic month in our household.

The month started with all of us getting Covid ;(, thankfully Charlie did well and recovered just in time for the most magical time of the year! There was a two-week setback regarding her PT and OT, but thank God; she did not have a RA flare-up since she had to be off her meds for one week.

As you saw in my last update, we start decorating early, and as soon as the first week of December passes, it is time for birthday planning. First, we have London, he turned six on the 17th, and Julien’s birthday is today, the 19th! If you know Charlie, you know that she loves and learned how to throw lavish parties and that we did; each boy had a little birthday celebration, London asked to go ice skating, and Julien had a construction-themed party at our house; it was just so amazing to see Charlie doing what she loves, for the loves of her life.

One of the most exciting updates is that Charlie was able to be back in the kitchen baking! This is one of her passions; for a while, this was one thing she didn’t think she could do, which made her sad.

Charlie being the warrior she is, found a way to make it work. She was back in our kitchen, baking her famous cookies, chocolate chip with sea salt, snickerdoodles, cake batter cookie, brookie, and many other types of cookies, she recruited me and her aid to help her mix the dough, but she did everything also. You should see her smile; she felt so accomplished.

I can’t imagine the feeling of doing something that you love, but for a moment, you didn’t think you would ever be able to do it again! I am so proud and happy for Charlie!

She is living proof that we set our limitations; anything is possible if you put your mind to it, no matter what anyone says.

Charlie continues to work very hard with PT and OT.

Here is a link to Charlie’s podcast interview; this is a medical podcast, and for the first time, her surgeon talks about her case; I highly recommend this interview from Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association.

https://fb.watch/hj7aoUvmYx/

Lastly, I would like to thank you for your continued support of our boo; you still have time to order it from Amazon, and it will arrive on time for Christmas!

Thank you, May God Bless You.

André

Day 452 | December 06, 2022

Good evening, friends. Today is December 6 of our new and grateful life.

It is so good to be writing this journal entry; so much has happened since Thanksgiving.

As some may know, December is a hectic month at our house; our boys have birthdays and Christmas, one of Charlie’s favorite holidays!

The day after Thanksgiving, Charlie started to decorate our first tree; this was the tree for her bedroom, she did a beautiful job, and she was beyond excited that she was able to decorate her tree!

Soon after, the second tree went up, which was for London’s room, an adorable tree to London to add any ornaments he wanted.

And, of course, Julien also has his tree in his room, and this tree has an animal theme with super cute ornaments.

Last but not least, our family room tree, the 7 feet peacock theme tree, is gorgeous; Charlie has decorated every one of those trees.

We are halfway done with the outdoor lights, and Charlie is not happy that it is taking me this long.

Besides being busy decorating, Charlie has also been very busy at her PT and OT, and she is starting to see some improvements; the most impressive of all is that last week, Charlie decided that she was ready to use the stairs to go into our basement!

She was cautious, and with my help, she made her way to the basement, and when she got down there, we were both in disbelief! She did it! She walked downstairs!

It had been over a year since she last saw our kid's playroom and TV room; she was so happy!

In Charlie’s fashion, she immediately told me we needed to organize and clean up the basement!

We spent a wonderful afternoon in the basement, playing with the boys, and we even watched a movie; it was surreal to see Charlie there! To this day, I am still in awe of her strength!

The challenging part was to go up the stairs; slowly, she made her way up, and she overcame the pain, and just like that, she did something that we were not sure would be possible!

Now, she is working on her strength and courage to go upstairs to our bedroom, which is a much larger stair and is hardwood; I am confident that she will be able to do so, but we are also being very cautious because she can’t fall, when you spend as much time as she did in the hospital, you can develop osteoporosis, and that is the case for Charlie.

Since we have two birthdays in December plus Christmas, Charlie is busy wrapping gifts, and she is again overcoming her physical limitations. She is doing a beautiful job wrapping the presents! These are simple but incredible milestones for us, and we celebrated every single step in her recovery!

I am continuing to be busy with work, and I just finished writing an E-book in collaboration with a non-profit; as soon as they publish, I will share a link here.

I was able to lower the price of my book, now is a great time to get a copy as a gift during this Christmas season.

Life is moving fast, and each day is a gift; we still have a long road ahead, but we remain humble and grateful.

May God Bless You, and thank you for your support.

Andre

Day 440 | NOVEMBER 24, 2022

Good evening, friends. Today is 11/24/2022 in our new and grateful life.

Happy Thanksgiving to you!

This holiday season is extra special to us; as you may remember, Charlie was at the ICU last year, fighting for her life.

Today is a day to give thanks, but it is essential to practice gratitude daily; yes, you must practice gratitude.

I have so much to be grateful for, my list goes on and on, and of course, the number one on that list is Charli; her survival is nothing short of a miracle, and her recovery is an inspiration to me.

Today at our meal, I read my last year’s journal entry, and I could feel all the emotions I had when I wrote that; the fear and frustration were tangible but also the gratitude; I am now more confident than ever that being grateful it is a powerful tool to overcome any difficulty.

I was in charge of our meal today, and we ended up with a decent spread but nothing even close to the food Charlie used to make, luckily Charlie was able to make two of her dishes, and they were the best

I will end tonight’s entry with the same ending I had one year ago, and I kindly ask you to open up your heart.

Now it is my turn to ask, what are you grateful for? Please allow yourself to be vulnerable and go beyond the easy things to be thankful for. Go one layer deep and share with us what you are grateful for this Thanksgiving.

Thank you for all your support and generosity toward us.

May God Bless You!

André

Day 434 | NOVEMBER 18, 2022

Good evening, friends. Today Is 11/18/22 in our new and grateful life.

We had so much gone on in the last few days, and I am happy to report that we are entering Charlie's favorite time of the year, the holidays.

This Thanksgiving and Christmas are going to be extra special, last year Charlie was fighting for her life at the ICU, and this year she is home; she is decorating Christmas trees; she is wrapping the boy's Christmas gifts, she is planning their birthday parties, and this brings her so much joy! And I am so grateful and happy to see her happy!

Last weekend, Charlie was the guest speaker at the Orange County Chamber of Commerce annual gala, and she gave a remarkable speech, truly inspirational.

Charlie continues to work very hard with her PT and OT team; she is undergoing laser procedures. Most importantly, she is the best mom, enjoying every moment with the boys; it is beyond a blessing to Witness her progress.

We are both involved with different charities, I also did a talk to a group of federal Army Civilians and soldiers, and it was so humbling to have such an incredible opportunity to share our story and see the impact it can have; I plan to continue to talk and hopefully inspire people, and I continue to write, more to come shortly.

Our boys are growing so fast, and for some reason, time is going by fast these days.

I remain grateful to God and all of you for your support.

I wish you a great weekend, and please continue to pray for us.

May God Bless You.

André

Charlie Anne Xavier, on finding gratitude- First Speaking Engagement.

This past Saturday was a very special one for us; Charlie was the guest speaker at the 98th gala event at the Orange County Chamber of Commerce; it was also the first time Charlie and I had the opportunity to dress up and attend an event without the kids or one of her aid.

Please take a moment and watch this inspiring talk that Charlie gave at the event, I was beyond impressed, and I am sure you will be too; please share this video as many times as possible; Charlie is starting to explore the idea that one day she may become a motivational speaker, we appreciate your support.

#Tedtalk

https://youtu.be/mp6QUdGCS7c

Day 425 | NOVEMBER 09, 2022

Good evening, friends. Today is 11/9/22 in our new and grateful life.

I am so grateful for all the incredible love and support we received once again at the second annual Cheers for Charlie; it was a great event, and this time was extra special because Charlie was there and so many of you had a chance to meet her in person, I would like to thank everyone that donated and participated of the silent auction, and in particular the incredible mom friends, they have done once again a fantastic job raising funds to our family, thank you!

Charlie is doing good. She has achieved an enormous milestone; as of Monday, she has been opioid-free! Yes! She beat her own goal of being off by thanksgiving! I am so proud of her; I witnessed that she did not let it stop her! Congratulations, Charlie, you did it! You are free of opioids. Well done!

I am sure many of you are dealing with the kids' colds; both of our boys have been fighting a cold on and off for the last few weeks; let’s hope this is the end and not the start of the flu season.

I continue to work on my writing, and soon I will also be doing talks. I am very grateful for the opportunity to turn my traumatic experience into a positive lesson to share with anyone in need, it is not easy to deal with mental health issues alone, and I hope my words can help someone in need.

Charlie is also getting ready for her first talk at a private event this weekend. She is also very excited to share her unbelievable experience, she has the gift of storytelling, and I am so happy to see her sharing that with the world.

Charlie’s healing is ongoing; she is doing an MRI tonight, and her doctors are trying to find out what is the cause of her knees not being able to bend; there are many expectations around the MRI results, and there is a real possibility that they may not give us any answers, and we are praying that is not the case, Charlie wants to walk, she wants to have a little bit of her mobility back, she is learning to live with the use of her left hand only, but she really would love the help of her legs to walk again, right now that is what we are praying for. I kindly ask you to join us in prayer.

Charlie continues to receive the laser treatment, and she goes to VCU once a month for the procedure, it is too soon to see any improvement in her scars, but we are hopeful.

Thank you for your continued support of our book; we remain relevant on the Amazon lists; the holidays are an excellent opportunity to give a loved one the gift of love and hope.

I am working on getting the book's price a little lower so more people can afford it.

We remain grateful to God for this incredible second chance; I am thankful for your support, and please continue to pray and follow our journey; soon, we will have exciting news to share about our non-profit Work.

Thank you, and May God Bless You!

André

Day 416 | OCTOBER 31, 2022

Good evening, friends. Today is 10/31/22 on our new and grateful.

It has been a few days since I posted here; life is getting busy, and time is more limited; I appreciate your continued support.

Today is Halloween, and it is Charlie's favorite holiday; she was so excited to celebrate her first Halloween since the accident and had so much fun with the boys besides the rain; she even had two costumes!

Charlie is in the final stretch of her becoming free of opioids; she is just weeks away, and she is no longer required to see the pain management clinic; she will be off on her own very soon, and I am so proud of her, she has been so determined to come off the pain meds, and here she is, so close to achieving this challenging goal. Still, by now, we all know that nothing is impossible for Charlie.

I am almost finished with my e-book; I will let you know once it comes out; it will be an excellent resource for anyone experiencing a traumatic event in their lives; it is so gratifying to know that my experience will help someone in a tough time in their life.

Our boys are doing great; they are getting to experience time with mommy. Charlie is doing her best to provide them with everything possible experience; she is back to being an incredible mom, and we are so grateful to have her with us!

Charlie is also busy; she participated in a blood drive in her honor, and it is just amazing how much good keeps coming from her tragic accident.

Not a day goes by that I don't think about how blessed and grateful I am for the second chance God gave us.

I am still dealing with symptoms of PTSD; just this past weekend, I was by a fire pit, which triggered me. It took me some effort and meditation on mind fullness to get me back to a good place; I have learned that it will take some time to overcome those horrible symptoms, but I keep reminding myself how blessed I am; my deepest sympathy to anyone also dealing with PTSD, take on the day at a time, look around, there is so much to be grateful for.

We are also busy requesting donations for items for the silent auction at the cheers for Charlie event; we are also participating in a few other events to help other charities; it is very humbling to be part of the non-profit world; so much to learn.

Charlie's doctors are still investigating what is causing her knees not to bend; for now, it is a waiting game.

Charlie still has three openings in her skin; we hope they will heal on their own; she has also done her second laser session and is doing well with the laser.

Please continue to pray for her recovery and also pray for her continued strength to overcome pain.

I invite you to join us on November 6th at Patch Brewing Co. For the second annual Cheers for Charlie!

Thank you for the continued support of my book; if you haven't purchased it yet, now is an excellent time to buy it; it can also be a great holiday gift.

Thank you, and May God Bless You!

André

How Charlie Anne Xavier beat the odds with the help of the Evans - Haynes Burn Center

Good evening, Friends. Today is 10/21/22 in our new and grateful life!

We have been busy the last week; Charlie is very active with her mom's friends and our boys.

Fall is here, and it is one of Charlie's favorite seasons, she loves to decorate, and we must have close to a dozen pumpkins on our front porch. It looks perfect.

Charlie has made excellent progress this past week; she has reduced her opioids dosage to the point that she is no longer seeing the pain management clinic; she is very close to being completely free from her pain meds; I am beyond proud of her, it takes incredible resilience to come off opioids, and Charlie is doing it, besides the great pain she endures on a daily base.

Her RA meds are doing their job, and she has gained a little more range of motion on her knees and hands; now she will undergo imaging tests to investigate further what is the cause of her knees not bending; please pray for her, she is determined to walk, and with the grace of God this may happen in the future.

I am staying busy with work, but I am also working on my advocacy, and I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to give back; I have been feeling so grateful lately as we start to do things as a family; it is just amazing to have Charlie here with us, the idea that I Almost lost her is just a memory, and the focus is in today, the present. We have so much to be grateful for!

I would like to, once again, invite you to the 2nd Annual Cheers for Charlie. We would love to meet and talk with as many of you as possible.

The boys are doing very well; for the last few days, we have been fighting a cold; they are growing and loving their mommy.

Tonight, I would like to share this beautiful and well-done story done by our friends at VCU Media; this is the first time Charlie’s surgeons spoke on camera about her case; it is a fascinating interview from the medical point of view. You will have the chance to see some medical professionals who helped save Charlie’s life.

Also, I must warn you that the video will show the picture that Charlie texted me when the accident happened. It is very graphic.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support.

May God Bless You!

André

Read the article here!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cii16s0DHMM&t=1s

Day 399 | OCTOBER 14, 2022

Good evening, Friends. Today is 10/14/ 22 in our new and grateful life.

Life is starting to fall into place as we navigate our new reality; each day is an opportunity to learn, grow and practice gratitude.

Charlie is doing good; she continues to inspire me daily with her determination and love for our family, medically speaking she is making progress with her PT team, and as you saw in the latest TV interview, she can take a few steps on her own, that stills beyond amazing to me, another massive update is her progress in coming off the opioids, she is working with a pain management clinic. Still, knowing Charlie, she is taking their recommendations to the next level, and she is very close to being off of opioids; I am just in awe of her will and ability to overcome pain!

I now know that addiction and medical dependency go hand to hand. A robust support system and a strong mindset is the key to avoiding addiction, but let’s be honest, it is not easy. My heart goes out to the many people suffering from addiction, it is not an easy road, but with love, support and faith, anything is possible; I now have a different perspective on opioid addiction.

I have been working on finding ways to personally give back since I am so grateful for all the prayers, support, and donations we have received this past year and continue to receive, now I feel that I can start to give back, and I have been blessed with a great opportunity, I will keep in suspense. Still, I can say that will involve me writing; I am so excited to use my words to help people in need of support; as you know, Advocacy is a big part of my new life; stay tuned; more to come on this new and exciting project.

Bluey, our cat, and I are becoming best friends; he now follows me, and every time I eat, he also wants to eat; he is an excellent addition to our family.

We continue to work with the media to share our story; more recently, we did our first live podcast, this is a new podcast from the Phoenix Society, and we were so honored to be on their episode number three.

We are now getting ready for the second annual cheers for Charlie Annual Fundraiser; this is a perfect example of the power of our community on this event. We have asked local businesses or anyone willing to donate gift certificates, services, or anything that their company could offer, and we are so impressed by the incredible generosity of our community; I would like to invite you to this event at Patch Brewery, and for the chance to finally meet Charlie Anne in person, the boys and I will also be there.

If you can’t attend in person, I have good news; you will also be to bid online on the many items at the silent auction.

You can also help by donating anything you would like; you can do so by emailing

cheersforcharlieanne@gmail.com

Or sign up directly here - https://bit.ly/3N1KyQX

I appreciate you; I miss posting daily; I hope you can continue to pray for us; God is giving us the strength to keep moving.

The other night I was having trouble sleeping, so I started to write, and I came up with this reflection that I would like to share with you:

"Being vulnerable creates connection and intimacy in our relationships. It allows us to share our authentic selves with others and to feel connected on a deeper level. It also allows us to receive love, compassion, and understanding from others. When we're able to let down our guard and be vulnerable with someone we trust, we can experience true closeness—the kind of closeness that feels like coming home" AX.

In my case, I went a step further and showed vulnerability to thousands of people daily for over a year, and I can say with certainty that I felt the love, compassion, and understanding, and for that, I am grateful; thank you!

Have a good night, and may God bless you!

Andre

Watch Charlie and Andre's first live podcast interview with the Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors.

Cheering On Charlie: A Loved One’s Journey Supporting a Burn Survivor

After a burn injury, burn survivors often face a lifelong journey to healing. While the burn injury itself directly impacts the life of the survivor—caregivers, family members, and loved ones that support the burn survivor also face new challenges in the new roles they have taken on.

Today we’re chatting with the Xavier’s about their story of survival, and discuss Andre’s new book, “I Almost Lost Her”, now available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Almost-Lost-Her.../dp/B0B2ZLDBH3

Here's the link to the video: https://bit.ly/3RVng09

https://www.facebook.com/PhoenixSocietyforBurnSurvivors/videos/764763871253697