Andre Xavier's Blog, page 6

Day 342 | AUGUST 18, 2022

Good evening, Friends. Today is day 342 of our new and fantastic life.

Today the day started as usual; by the time I got the boys downstairs, it was the time I got the text; our nanny would not come in today due to a personal matter.

Luckily Charlie’s Aunt was here and could help me in the morning while I worked, but at 3 pm, I had to stop working and take over the care of the boys.

Charlie had a busy day; she went to PT and to walk 568 feet. She sent me a cute text that said, do you remember how excited we were when I walked 12 steps!!! It is incredible how far she has come!

It is even more impressive because Charlie is not feeling too well. She is dealing with withdrawal symptoms as she reduces her pain meds; it is not an easy process; please pray for Charlie; she needs to remain strong during this challenging process.

Charlie is powerful. Each day, she pushes herself; she is an inspiration to me; when I think I have it hard with the boys, I think again.

When I came up at 3 pm, I took the boys to the pool, and we had a blast! The biggest surprise was baby Julien, who was scared of the water; today, he was all about the water!

The three of us had such a good time in the pool!

After she wound care, Charlie wanted to go on a little shopping trip, Her Aunt and she went to Marshal’s; Charlie always loved to find a good deal, and they had fun shopping.

I am so glad that Charlie could take some time to do something that she enjoys, I stayed back with the boys, and we ate Pizza; after the shower, the boys were in bed by 8 p!

I am so blessed to have the flexibility to be with the boys when needed, and it is incredible to see how fast Julien is growing. London is the sweetest big brother.

I bathed both boys, changed them into PJs, and brushed their teeth. I remembered that I needed to get Julien’s bottle of milk, so I told London to stay in his room with Julien, and I ran downstairs to get the bottle; when I got back into the room, London was reading a book to Julien in bed, just the cutest moment ever, below is the picture of that moment.

Today was a good day, it started with an unexpected change, but it ended with an incredible day filled with happy moments and loving fun!

I am so grateful to God that our new life is not easy, but it is full of beautiful moments!

Thank you for your support and prayers!

May God Bless You!

André

Day 343 | AUGUST 19, 2022

Good evening, Friends; today is day 343 of our new and fantastic life!

Today Julien was up a little earlier than usual, but not too early, at 6:15 am.

We came down by 7:30 am, and Charlie was already up and waiting for us in the kitchen.

Breakfast was fun; the boys enjoyed their time with mommy more and more. Charlie asked for their help to unload the dishwasher and happily obliged.

Charlie scheduled her to wound care for the early part of the morning, so she would have time to take London to the movies; they had a great time watching League of Super Pets, it makes me so happy to see Charlie doing things that are so normal to most of us, but for her, it is an accomplishment to be celebrated.

I had a busy day at work and started preparing for the book publishing on September 10th! Still, time to secure your copy!

Our new cat Bluey still keeping to himself, but he is starting to explore the rest of the house.

Today was a blessed day, we had some excellent family moments, and I am still so grateful to have Charlie here with us!

Thank you for your prayers and continued support!

Have a good night, and May God bless You.

André

Day 341 | AUGUST 17, 2022

Good evening, Friends. Today is day 341 of our new and fantastic life!Today we had an early start, Charlie and I was up at b6:15 a; we had breakfast and left as the boys woke up around 7 am; we headed to Richmond for her appointment with her burn surgeon.The appointment went very well. Charlie is healing and has tiny openings in her grafts. The decision to go back for the touch-ups paid off, and she is in the final stretch of having her new skin healed.Her doctor has scheduled her for a laser application, and this will be the first of many laser sessions needed to help her neck, smooth the scars and give her more range of motion. Charlie is very excited about this next step in her treatment; she will return to Richmond for the laser treatment on September 1st.Her doctor has cleared her to resume her RA meds, but Charlie has to wait until she sees her Rheumatologist next week before she can continue her RA meds; we are very hopeful for that appointment, and we are so grateful for the medical team taking care of Charlie, she is in a good place right now.The good appointment made us happy!Charlie had a full day! Once we got home, she ate lunch, and in the afternoon, Charlie went to the Albemarle County Police for a free Putt-Putt free backpack, back-to-school supplies, pizza, and snow cone night with the boys, with the help of our nanny, and they had a blast!It was a very well-organized event, and Charlie met several people that knew of her story, and everyone was so kind and respectful. It was a delightful afternoon.And when she got home, her aunt had made one of her favorite childhood dishes, Chicken and Dumplings, the perfect end to a good day!Bluey made his way into my office today, and we got to hang out for the day. He is starting to explore his new home.Thank you for your continued support and prayers.Have a good night, and May God bless You!André

Day 340 | AUGUST 16, 2022

Good evening, Friends. Today is day 340 of our new and fantastic life!

Today started as usual, and the morning went by fast.

Sadly, Charlie didn’t have a good night; she is dealing with some withdrawal symptoms; we reduced one of her dosages, and it is not easy to come down after such a long time on it, but she is strong and will slowly make progress on her pain management journey. Still, sadly it does affect her ability to feel good.

I had a busy work day, and I also took London for his annual medical check for his school; he is healthy as they come. He was happy to hear that he didn’t need any shots during this visit.

We had a delicious dinner brought in by a friend, and our new cat Bluey spent his day hiding under a piece of furniture; for now, he is not interested in playing much. I was told this is normal for cats; we will give him his time to warm up to us:).

Tomorrow early, Charlie and I will head to Richmond; she has her follow-up with her burn surgeon at the Burn Unit; her grafts are healing well. I think he will be happy to see her progress.

We are so grateful for your prayers and support!

We are now waiting to hear from the company if they can install the vertical stair lift and the cost. I am praying that it will work. Charlie is very hopeful as well.

Have a great night, and May God Bless You!

André

Day 339 | AUGUST 15, 2022

Good evening, Friends. Today is day 339 of our new and fantastic life.

Today We continued our morning routine, boys woke up, came to my room, watched tv while I was showering, and went downstairs, but today Charlie was already up and in the kitchen by the time we came downstairs.

We had breakfast together, and just like that was time for me starting to work at 9 am.

Charlie had her PT Appointment in the early afternoon, so she had the morning to play with the boys a little; she did well at her PT, and she continues to work on her standing and taking steps with the walker; she needs to gain strength to continue to improve her mobility, she is also starting to reduce her pain meds as part of her pain management goals, I am so proud of Charlie to be so strong and disciplined with her PT, OT, and meds.

Today, my main focus was to start my final revision of our book, now is the last chance I have to make any changes or adjustments; it is a little intimidating to think that our book is about to head to the printer as I read the first 100 pages, it is hard to believe that this is our life, it is humbling and heartbreaking to relive those early days in the hospital, just thinking about of the fear I experienced, I have no idea how we managed to remain strong, I am so grateful for all the prayers and support we received during those early months, I am forever thankful for your generosity.

This afternoon one of Charlie's Aunt from Georgia came to visit and will stay with us for a few days, and she brought a big surprise for the boys; we decided to adopt a cat, his name is Bluey, and he came from Georgia!

He is an adorable orange tabby; Charlie is so happy to have her new pet; we hope he will entertain her and the boys and help with her pain and recovery.

I have a meeting with my book editor tomorrow, and we will review the book's final chapters. I am beyond pleased with the book; it has surpassed all my expectations; I can't wait to release it to the world!

I encourage you to secure your copy now and be the first to receive the book once published.

Please continue to pray for us, and thank you for your continued support.

Have a good night, and May God Bless You!

André

Day 338 | AUGUST 14, 2022

Good evening, Friends. Today is day 338 of our new and fantastic life!This Sunday was a good day!I was up at the usual time, got downstairs with the boys, and made the boy's favorite blueberries pancakes today.I was surprised how many did they eat! Baby Julien just loved them.We had to rush a little after breakfast since I still had to get the boys ready to go to church; I managed to get both dressed, and while we waited for Charlie to get prepared, Julien decided to have a full-on meltdown; he was so upset and didn't stop crying for anything, I tried giving him a snack, water, held him, nothing worked. I will be honest; I almost canceled our outing to church; I did tell Charlie that we were not going to go; of course, she brought me to my senses, and we ended up leaving the house, surprisingly, on time. The boys behave well at mass, given that it had been a while since we had attended mass as a family; it is indeed a blessing to have our family together at church, of course; the day we decided to return to church, the opening words of the sermon were “I have come to set the earth on fire.” ( Lk12:49).Charlie enjoyed coming to mass, and after church, we walked to McGuffey park, where the boys played for a few minutes; before the accident, Charlie always took the boys there and to the library since they were close to each other, it was great to see Charlie revisiting some of her favorite places.We returned home for lunch, and while Julien took his nap, Charlie stayed with London while I took a quick nap; I needed; I was having a little bit of a difficult day internally, and the adjustment to my new role was carrying more than I was prepared for, but it is ok, some days will be better than others. Still, the most important thing is to keep moving forward and always remember how blessed I am to have Charlie alive and with us; no matter how hard it is, we have been given a miracle, and for that,t I must remain grateful.After two hours, Julien woke up, and that was my time also to get up; I got Julien changed and came downstairs, I reached London, and the three of us left the house, and that was Charlie's turn to take her nap, so we both got a little needed rest.The boys and I decided to take a trip to Sam's club, and we spent a reasonable amount of time there; we also had an afternoon snack there and returned home right before 6 pm.Dinner was quick, followed by book time with mommy and bedtime with dad.We had a fun and blessed Sunday! Thank You, God, for that!Please continue to pray for us; this coming week, Charlie has her appointment with her burn surgeon, the first after her last hospital stay; we shall see what changes he makes to her excellent care.Thank you for your prayers and support. May God Bless You!André

Day 337 | AUGUST 13, 2022

Good evening, Friends. Today is day 337 of our new and fantastic life!Today was a good day!I came downstairs with the boys around 7:45 am and made eggs, bacon, and toast for breakfast; it had been a while since we had bacon for breakfast.Charlie joined us shortly after, and we had planned to after breakfast visits our local farmers market, but we looked a little longer to eat breakfast, and by the time I cleaned the kitchen, we felt it was a bit late for the market; instead, we decided to take the boys to a splash park, and London had a blast and Julien did ok, he is not much of a water baby:), the best part was to have Charlie there with us, we had an enjoyable time as a family today.After a couple of hours there, we made our way to the downtown mall, and we went up and down the mall. This was the first time for Charlie since the accident; the mall was full of life, and the live music being played on the mall just created the perfect ambiance for an Al fresco lunch; we ate at one of the downtown restaurants. We stayed on the shaded tables for a while, just taking that moment all in; once again, as a family, we were there, creating new and happy memories.We finished our visit to the downtown mall with a stop at a toy store; the boys loved it! We picked up a couple of toys for them.I could say that we had a perfect Saturday! Thank you, God, for this blessed day!Tomorrow is Church day, and we will attend mass; Charlie is looking forward to it.Thank you for your continued support and prayers.May God Bless You!André

Day 336 | AUGUST 12 2022

Good evening, Friends. Today is day 336 of our new and fantastic lie!Today Charlie had an exciting appointment with her OT, and the reason for the excitement was that she was going to be measured for her compression garments.We started our day as usual, and the morning schedule was working fine; after breakfast, the boys and Charlie had some fun, and I went to work.Around noon, Charlie headed to UVA for her OT appointment, and she was measured for her burn garments; it may sound strange that she is excited about this because they are going to be highly uncomfortable and painful to wear, but this is the next stage of her healing, her scars will improve as she unravels the compression garments.Once back from her appointment, she had wound care, and her grafts are healing well. There is one spot on her left under the thigh with a small opening; we pray for that to close and recover soon.Charlie played outside with the boys, and she even went to our neighborhood playground; this mild weather is perfect for Charlie! She does well with temperatures up to 82 or so degrees. Over that, it gets too uncomfortable.The tradition of story time with mom is ongoing, and the boys love their time with Charlie.Please continue to pray for us; we continue to need strength, wisdom, and faith.We are now really experiencing life in the new reality, which is challenging but rewarding!Thank you for your generosity and prayers!May God bless You!André

Day 335 | AUGUST 11 2022

Good evening, Friends. Today is day 335 of our new and fantastic life!

I am confident I have a system with the boys; both boys wake up around 6:30 am- 7 am. I am also up at that time; London goes to the bathroom, brushes his teeth, and changes from his pajamas, and when Julien wakes up, I go and get him from his crib, change his diaper and bring him with London into our room, and they watch an episode of George while I shower.

By 7:30 am, we come down for breakfast, and by 9 am, our nanny arrives, and I start my work shift.

I will be honest; I was very concerned about my ability to perform the incredible childcare task, but somehow, I can do it and enjoy it.

Charlie has been a fantastic help; her love for the boys is beautiful to watch, and seeing her interact with them is inspiring.

Today Charlie planned a fun day! She went out with both boys and our nanny and her Aid; they went to Target to buy school supplies for London and some other stuff.

She met with a mommy friend there and after a fun time at Target was time for Lunch; they went to Vinny’s, an Italian grill, and the boys loved their pizza!

Before the accident, Charlie was always on the move with the boys, and to see her starting to go out with the boys puts a smile on my face; slowly, life is taking shape.

The afternoon went by fast, and soon was dinner, playtime, book time, and bedtime!

Charlie and I started a conversation about what she may want to do on her “Burnaversary” on September 10th, the day our lives changed forever, she is exploring some ideas, and as soon as she decides what she wants to do, I will let you know. I hope we can count on your support once again.

Here is an excellent article about Burnaversary from our friends at the Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors

https://phoenix-society.org/resou.../the-burnaversary-effect

We are beyond grateful for your support and prayers.

May God bless You.

André

Day 334 | AUGUST 10, 2022

Good evening, Friends. Today is day 334 of our new and fantastic life!

Today Charlie had an inspiring day, and she decided that a video would be appropriate to let you know today’s update; we remain grateful to you and God for his continued blessings.

May God Bless you!

Andre

https://www.facebook.com/551045544/videos/782746029836650/