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Carl's Blog

Update 2/2/2004


Once again I want to thank everyone for their prayers, letters, thoughts and donations. Tragedy brings out the best in people and we are certainly seeing that in Carl's situation. Everyone has been so supportive. Carl enjoys talking to well wishers at all the wrestling matches, he is open to everyone. I truly believe the fact he is involved with the wrestling team, and his brothers participation, has been a huge blessing. Soon baseball season will start and I am sure he will have a similar experience.

Carl's schedule includes about 4 hours a day of physical therapy. One aspect of therapy is electrical stimulation. I believe that the Ergys machine which stimulates Carl's legs to ride a stationary bike, and the Bioflex suit that gives Carl the ability to contract almost all the muscles that are paralyzed, are breakthroughs in spinal cord therapy that will give SCI patients the ability to keep their body ready for the cure. I want to thank both these companys for existing, and hope they will continue to find products to help the paralyzed.

Carl will walk some day, he will be physically whole. I do not know when or how, but I know it will happen. Tricia and I will live our lives for this pupose and when it happens we will have all of you to thank - all of Carl's new and old friends that keep all of our spirits high.

Thank you,
Peter & Tricia Riccio

Update 1/19/2004


I woke up this morning and went to Carl's room, where he was beginning another day of living with paralysis. His mother and an assistant were stretching him. I have had nightmares almost daily. Vivid images of Carl being hurt, crying, anguishing beyond what parents can take. For some reason today was different. January 19th, 2004 was the first day I did not have a nightmare. I had a dream. This sounds so unbelievable, but it is true. Today, when I went to greet Carl, Barbara and my wife, I told them of my dream. In it, Carl was taking steps with the help of supports and canes. My wife said this is Martin Luther King Day and of course we all think of his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. Just the day before, Pat Murray, a friend and great supporter of Carl’s, visited Dan Paltjon, another friend and fellow paralysis patient. Pat told me of the great news that Dan was making in his effort to walk, strapping on two by fours on one leg and using the other and his arms to walk.

Maybe this great news of Danny, or maybe the spirit of Dr. MLK, or maybe a little bit of both, triggered this dream. Whatever it was, it was great. Hope is the prescription for the mind and spirit, and Carl’s new life is the embodiment of hope and determination. I am sure all who pray and care about Carl will be rewarded someday when you see him and he makes you smile and you walk a way with a little tear and a big smile.

Thank you for your continued support.

Love,
Peter & Tricia Riccio

Update 1/6/2004


I would like to wish everyone a happy and healthy new year. You who continue to support Carl and my family, have been instrumental in our attempt to continue our lives and pursue all of life's dreams. At times, in the last ten months, these dreams seemed unattainable. But I am sure, in no small part, because of the prayers and support of hundreds out there, we have learned to go on.

We were at the Kessler Institute on Sunday for the signing of the stem cell bill by Governor McGreevey. I believe that this is the beginning of the end of many medical problems. The scientific community has been asking for this bill and now they have it. I implore them to put all their efforts into research to see if the hope we all have, because of the passage of this bill, can be turned into cures for thousands who suffer debilitating diseases.

Carl continues to work hard at his class work as well as physical therapy. He attends wrestling practice and fulfills his role as one of the captains of the wrestling team. Anyone who sees Carl at any event, please feel free to come and introduce yourself, he loves to meet people and you will find he will make you feel at ease.

Carl was accepted into Villanova University, his number one choice. We are extremely proud to say Carl will be attending Villanova in the fall of 2004 and I am positive that he will make Villanova proud that they have him.

In the next few months Carl will be challenged with many new experiences and some emotional dates, 1/22 - his first birthday since injury, 2/22 - one year since injury, wrestling matches and baseball games from a wheel chair, and a possible trip to China for an operation that although not a cure, has some promise as to some help. There was a time that these things scared me, made me anxious and depressed, but not any more. Carl has proven to me that whatever it takes, we will go on, we will survive. He will succeed in life for the next 70 years as he has in his first seventeen, this I have no doubt.

Thank you for your continued interest and support.

Love,
Peter & Tricia Riccio

Update 12/20/2003


Once again, thank you for your continued support of Carl. Today is the day before the opening of wrestling season. It is certainly a hard day for me. Our family will be at CBA tomorrow(Saturday) rooting for Watchung Hills, Shane and Tyler. But my eyes will always be on Carl asking what is going through his head? How can he take it? A year ago this week he got the letter that he had made junior All-American in baseball and then went out and won most outstanding wrestler at CBA. These are the thoughts that as a parent, we should try to avoid, but I just have not figured out how yet.

Carl goes to wrestling practice almost everyday, he has over 4 hours of physical therapy daily and a full workload at school, yet he doesn’t miss a thing. He is tough and demanding of himself and those around him. The passing of the stem cell bill just adds legitimacy to his hard work. As his father who watches what he goes thru on a daily basis, I believe he will be one of the first spinal cord injured people to be cured. If he is not, the journey he is on will still bring him success and happiness, and after all, isn’t that what we all strive for?

Over the next few weeks Carl and our family will go through some emotional times. Athletically, of course, this will be the first year without wrestling. First the CBA tournament and then the counties, where Carl would be going for his fourth title in a row, and, of course, much more importantly, it will be the first holiday season since our lives have been so drastically changed.

Somehow Carl will get me and my family through it and we will be stronger than ever. Please have a happy and healthy holiday season.

Thank you,
Peter & Tricia Riccio

Update 12/19/2003


We want to thank everyone who worked so hard on the stem cell bill, especially Renee Springhorn, Carl’s aunt. She has been working on getting the message to our assemblymen for 6 months. The opposition to the bill became so ridiculous, and the misinformation they implied was so ghoulish, that those who knew the truth about the stem cell bill became so worked up that they worked even harder.

Carl’s mother, sister and Aunt Linda were in Trenton for the vote. At one point they became so upset with the speech of one assemblymen against the bill, that they stood up and voiced their disgust and were almost escorted out. I have no doubt that their being at the vote put us over the top. GREAT JOB!!

The hope now is that since the greatest medical research state in the US has opened their pocket books to stem cell research, we will shortly see if stem cells are the answer to many medical problems facing all of us such as parkinson’s, alzheimer’s, diabetes and spinal cord injury.

Research is just what it implies: spend the money, experiment with the cells and see if it works. What all of us can do is hope and pray that it does. In the mean time, no one will be hurt, no lives will be lost because of stem cell research, no people will be cloned, and no human parts factories will be built. The truth finally came to the forefront. Maybe only by 51% of the vote, but the results, we hope, will help 100%.

Governor Jim McGreevey will be at the Kessler Institute, West Orange, NJ on Sunday January 4th at 2:00 PM to sign into law the new stem cell bill. Carl Riccio and Tricia Riccio have been invited as special guests to witness the signing of hope. Anyone is welcome to attend.

Thanks for everyone’s help and interest,
Peter & Tricia Riccio

Update 11/27/2003


First we want to wish everyone a happy and healthy Thanksgiving. When tragedy hits your family the emotions that surround you run the gamut from hate and despair to hope and resolve. The fact that Carl is handling his situation better than I could imagine is definitely helpful and healing.

Another part of my healing process is philosophizing over him, my family, and life itself. Some very hard days are ahead for Carl and our family. Wrestling begins this Friday and to explain what that sport does to a family is hard if they are not wrestlers. Although Carl’s main sport was baseball, when wrestling started he was 100% a wrestler. It was in our blood, as important a part of our lives as anything else. I have agonized over the fact that I still have two sons wrestling and every workout, every match, every tournament will be an emotional nightmare. Carl’s dreams of winning four counties, regions and state medals are always on my mind and I worry how my family, and especially Carl, handles the emotional pain that will definitely be at every match.

I realize how ridiculous this must sound when we are talking about someone who cannot even move his hands, but it is there and to deny it would be wrong. Parents live vicariously through their kids and I am definitely guilty. Athletics are with us for a short time and the pleasure we receive from watching our kids succeed in sports is priceless.

I am sure Carl will make it through the emotional days ahead: the first wrestling practice, the first match, the counties, where Carl had remarkable success, postseason etc. He will make our family proud, he will make us cry, he will show me class and dignity that few have, and the pleasure we receive from watching him succeed in life will be priceless.

Thank you,
Peter & Tricia Riccio

Update 11/16/2003


I know that I am repetative at times in my updates on Carl, but I can not help but continue to thank everyone who reads this forum. Everyone in my family reads every letter. We mostly keep our emotions to our self but one thing is for sure, through our tears, we are all so grateful to all whose words and prayers honor Carl. The fact is that many of you do not even know Carl, but I can assure you he is so good that I am embarassed when people give me credit for how he is. I hope something I did helped guide him to be such a good person because it certainly was not through example.

Carl's grandmother passed last week,she was a tough and good person who had a very tough life. She had 8 kids that she brought up by herself and suffered with diabetes that ravaged her body. I knew her for over 25 years and never once heard her complain about her life no matter how tough things got. Grandma promised me on more than one occasion that she would talk to someone in heaven who could do something for Carl. He is so much like his grandmother, he has never complained about the fate he has endured over the last 9 months. I believe that if anyone could get through, her faith and persistance will get the job done.

Carl works so hard on all his rehabilitation and if God just gave him the slightest impulse through a nerve to a muscle, he will get that muscle strong and functional. Four months ago we were so depressed when we found out that he was not eligible for an experimental procedure to repair the peripheral nerve in Carl's left bicep. At the time he had no movement at all in his left arm, but they said they felt a twinge deep and ever so slight, and therefore he was not eligible for the experimental operation. We decided that if it is in there, we must work hard to get it functional. We were not really given much hope of this but Carl has worked so hard that on November 18th the joystick on his wheelchair is being moved from his right arm to his left. With this, his left arm will be considered functional and although he might take a few weeks to control things as good as he does now, you know he will.

Tricia and I live our lives to help Carl, and eventually to see him cured. I am sad every day, and thoughts of what he is missing and how he would be are with me on a daily basis. I know this will never go away but I can tell you more and more I look at him and my family and I am so proud they are so good and so strong and Carl is the reason this is possible. He is so strong and so good, he is a natural leader and definately the heart of our family. Thank you again, Carl's friends, teachers and extended family, and everyone who reads and writes on this website. Your support is what has gotten us this far.

Thank you,
Peter & Tricia Riccio

Update 11/3/2003


Carl got some good news recently scoring over 1300 on his SATs. We were all holding our breath as the scores were read to us over the phone. We feel that with Carl's GPA and his SAT scores, he should be a good candidate for most colleges.

We are working out most of our daily routines and Carl adjusts well to everything. The bad days are those that Carl is sick, which is one of the added burdens of spinal cord injury.

Carl's grandmother is very sick and will not live long. We talked to her yesterday and she told us that number one on her agenda when she leaves this earth and gets a chance to speak to the powers that be, is to ask for some special attention for Carl and if God sees fit, to cure him as fast as possible.

Sports have been a big part of Carl's life, and wrestling a big part of his sporting life. We are in for a lot of emotional days ahead with his two brothers wrestling on the same team Carl was a member of when he was injured. We were at Phillipsburg the other day for Shane and Tyler's first match of the preseason. It was very emotional. The three of us sat in that special lockeroom at Phillipsburg and cried tears of sorrow that our brother,child and leader was not with us for the first time in over ten years.

We will have many more days like that, but we will go on and Carl will continue to help our family survive and thrive.

Thank you,
Peter & Tricia Riccio

Update 10/17/2003


It is always great to read all the emails to Carl. Our family is continually heartened by the endless support. Life generally is not easy, and the unexpected roadblocks can be unbearable. I must thank all of Carl's friends and faculty at Watchung Hills. They have made a very difficult situation better. Once again I must tell you Carl is so special, I cannot imagine a person dealing with his situation any better than him.

My wife lives her life for Carl, and the fact is that the general working public could never understand that "a few days" is an eternity when an elevator, a van, a wheel chair or a hospital bed is broken. This week alone all of these things have been broken and Carl's mom fought for action and although frustrating she gets it done. On the bright side, Carl's hard work is definately making him stronger. He is hoping to be able to use a power assisted manual wheel chair called the I-GLIDE. We will soon be testing it out.

Carl is a big Yankee fan and along with his two brothers, shane and tyler, we had a great night watching the ghost of Babe Ruth help the Yankees to the American League Championship. I cherish those times when Carl is his old self, commanding the room with his expertise and laughter.

Carl was presented with a great honor last week being voted Mr. Watchung Hills. More than a couple of people expressed their amazement that Carl was able to go through the whole process and not be embarassed because of his handicap. I do not say this to belittle these thoughts, because I have them everyday. This is one of the reasons that Carl is able to go on and amaze everyone, he knows that he should never be embarassed because of a handicap. On the contrary, you must be more ourtgoing, more oblivious to the worlds misgivings. Live life to the fullest, miss nothing, do everything. This is Carl, I see it everyday. We could not be more proud.

Thank you,
Peter & Tricia Riccio

Update 10/2/2003


The saying goes, time heals all wounds. I certainly hope so. I know that because Carl has been so tremendous through this whole mess. He has given me the strength to repress the feelings of anxiety and depresssion that comes when dwelling on what he is missing, can't do, or what he would be doing if he hadn't been injured.

We are going on. Our home is still a mess, but we finally have the elevator in and working. This gives Carl the freedom to go anywhere in our home by himself. We have purchased many exercise machines for our home so that we can keep Carl physically strong and ready for the future cure. Carl approaches his therapy sessions just like he approached his baseball and wrestling workouts. He is a master of all the machines and is a perfectionist in their use. We are now getting his schedule worked out so each exercise is mapped out and shortly we will have all Carl's therapy sessions and workouts scheduled like a well oiled machine.

Carl's friends are tremendous, they are always over and include Carl in everything. His brothers, Shane and Tyler, are amazing in that they help Carl without even a hint of anxiety. Carl, Shane and Tyler, despite the age difference, have always been extremely close, and for Tricia and I, this is a source of happiness. I would love to record Carl giving Shane and Tyler a wrestling or hitting lesson. For me, I could not be more proud of all of them.

Tim Case, a fellow patient at Kessler, has just had an operation in China. The hope is that it will return some function. We are in constant contact with Tim and two other Americans that have just had the operation. Needles to say, we are all excited for them and the fact that if succesful, Carl will be on a future plane to China. This is not a cure, but a first step, and we are greatful for the doctor in China as well as the American patients who are paving the way for Carl and hundreds like him.

Once again, we thank everyone for their interest in Carl, he is truly the wind beneath our wings.

Thank you,
Peter & Tricia Riccio
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