Bodie came home today [16 Aug 1999] after 4.5 months in hospital and rehab center. He looks happy and healthy, except of course he is a quadraplegic with only minimum use of right arm and hand. He has lost at least 50 pounds and all of his muscle. Thank goodness he can speak andreason normally. He was in good spirits today being home. The ramp is done so he can wheel into the house and the door to the bedroom hasbeen widened. However his bed is in the living room. He has a loanerelectric wheelchair until his new one is delivered. They have an electric lift so Yvette can transfer him from bed to chair. Also they have a $20,000 air bed to prevent bed sores. And they've purchased aused van that is lift equipped and perfectly set up for the wheelchair.It is really a nice vehicle. Their neighbor is rigging a shower in thegarage since the bathroom hasn't been modified yet and won't be until the great State of FL comes up with some funds.
Having Bodie home means
Yvette won't have to make the long hour
trip to Palm Bay every day. The challenge
of homecare starts now for Bodie, Yvette and all of us. Bodiewill
be picked up daily to go to the rehab center for physical therapyfor four
hours. Also there will be a homecare nurse that stops in on some
kind of schedule. Yvette is taking some time off from work to seehow things
go. It will be interesting to see how young Stephen reacts to Daddy
needing the lion's share of attention.
The insurance from the lady that hit him still hasn't been settled. It's unknown whether Yvette and Bodie will ever see any of that or if it will beimmediately siphoned offby the medical bills. The lawyers are fighting that. It's ironic thatwhen the bills are nearing a million dollars it's kind of hard to worryabout it. If it was a few thousand Yvette would be pulling her hairout.
If you have any questions let me know.
Regards to all of you who have stuck with us through this terrible time. Now the long haul begins. It might be a good time for another round of cards welcoming Bodie home.
- Steve
12 November 1999
[picture of Bodie in new electric wheelchair with Yvette, 11-99]
SUBJECT: Class Fundraiser for Steve Coester's Son in Law
Class of 63 Shipmates,
A giant thank you to you all.
I told you I would let you know how this fundraiser for David Miller worked out. You great classmates have collectively provided $9000 to help out David. Seventy-four classmates donated to the fund so far. This will go a long way to help in purchasing the specialized equipment that David needs to function. Any new donators can send a check to Mr. David B Miller, 702 White Pine Ave., Rockledge, Fl 32955.
In order to recognize you all, I have sent my personal donation of $500 to The Class of 1963 Foundation in your names. The Foundation is doing a great job and deserves all of our support.
Maybe all military academy classes have this same camaraderie, but I know that there has never been a class like the Class of 1963. Even back when we were at Annapolis our class had a special reputation as a great class. It hasn't changed in all of these years. We have gone our separate ways and have followed many different paths, but the one thing that always has and always will bind us together is the Class of 63.
David got his new electric wheelchair recently to replace the decrepit loaner he had been using. In the old chair he was forced to be reclined at about a 45 degree angle. Now he sits almost upright and this alone makes him look a lot healthier. As I've mentioned he is fine mentally so he talks and thinks normally. His spirits remain high. They visited our house for the first time and I'm happy to report that the ramps I built worked fine. While here, I was pitching wiffleballs to my grandson and Bodie was coaching Stephen on proper batting technique.
On the down side, he had some tests recently that indicated an infection in the healing bone in his right leg. I'm not sure what that means, but it is another challenge. He's back on intravenous antibiotics to fight the infection. He also just had operations on his left elbow and right leg. A major nerve to his hand had to be reconnected and the prognosis for regained function is unknown. Bodie has several more surgeries in the upcoming months . It will remain difficult for him, Yvette and little Steve.
Many who sent money related their own stories
of injuries to their own loved ones. They in particular can relate
to the emotional pain felt by us. I used to read the news and skim over
the many reports of "John Doe was airlifted to the trauma center today".
Never again. My heart goes out to every one of these unfortunate
people.
God bless every one of you and all of your families.
ps: Note the change in my email address
to <scoester@earthlink.net> and be sure to visit YOUR Class website
at <http://www.USNA63.org>.
from Steve Coester: 19 Nov 1999
Thought you'd be interested in hearing about the court appearance in the case of "State of Florida vs Virginia Welnack". She's the 75 year old woman who hit our son-in-law, David (Bodie). Bodie was called as a witness so we all went down to the courthouse.
Mrs. Welnack was only charged with Failure to Yield. The State Attorney and her lawyer made an agreement prior to the trial that Mrs. Welnack would change her plea from not guilty to no contest, and would accept the $90 fine and would volunteer to take a four hour driving course. I think the judge also said he would withhold adjudication. Bodie was not asked if he agreed with this settlement before it was announced in court.
While I wish Mrs. Welnack no ill will, it seems amazing that her total cost for making Bodie a quadriplegic is $90. Our lawyers have determined that she has insufficient assets to justify a suit so that's it for her, except for having to live with what she caused.
Regards,
Steve Quality 63
18 Dec 1999
Here's a photo
of the van we got for Bodie. It's really neat. Has a hydraulic
lift that gets him loaded or unloaded in about a minute.
Update from Steve as of 30 December 1999:
Bodie is hanging in there. He's had two minor operation in the past couple of weeks to "release" nerves in his arms. His right arm is good enough to eat, drink, use the clicker and such. Left arm is coming along slowly, but he can lift it and is starting to be able to pinch his index finger to his thumb. Legs are probably a lost cause, but we'll remain hopeful. Thanks for all of your emotional and financial support. The Holiday Season with all of the reflecting we do has been hard on him so he's been more depressed than usual. Generally he has been in pretty good spirits. We have to really harass him to keep him exercising those atrophied limbs.
Update from Steve as of 20 February 2000: (recent pictures of Bodie & Yvette)
Several friends and Classmates have inquired about how Steve Coester's son in law David (Bodie) Miller is coming along after his paralyzing motorcycle accident. Bodie remains confined to his electric wheelchair with no feeling below his chest. Also he has a continuing infection in the bones of his lower leg which is being fought with amazingly expensive intravenous antibiotics. The good news/bad news is that because of the lack of any feeling in his legs, the infection causes no pain. If the infection can't be controlled amutation is a possibility. On the bright side, Bodie continues rehab at Sea Pines Rehabilitation Center in Palm Bay, Fl three times a week. Their townhouse has been modified to enlarge the bathroom, give access to the master bedroom and kitchen, and ramp access to the exterior. His upper body mobility and strength continues to improve and he has almost complete movement of his right arm. His left arm is starting to become functional to a small degree. Bodie is able to feed himself, shave and brush teeth. Personal functions still have to be taken care of by Yvette as well as transfer between chair and bed.
Yvette and Bodie have come over to our house several times for brunch or dinner, and recently Bodie has made his first couple of trips to local restaurants. His spirits remain high. It remains to be seen what direction he will take careerwise as his health improves. Yvette has been a tower of strength. Yvonne and I couldn't be more proud of her. Their eight year old son, Stephen , has been very understanding and is doing outstanding in school, soccer and baseball. We're taking him skiing at Crested Butte on Feb 24- Mar 2.
This identical info is also on my homepage <http://home.earthlink.net/~scoester/>
Regards, SC
Follow-up: Bodie Report for August 2000: signs of improvement!
San Diego Union Tribune newspaper article on death of son of Glenn Takabayashi:
-
SAN DIEGO -- One of three Americans involved in fatal car crash over the
weekend in Baja California was released Monday by Mexican authorities and
received medical care in San Diego before returning home.
Barry Patrick Walshe, 31, of Newport Beach, was briefly jailed and then hospitalized in Tijuana under police guard while the crash was investigated by authorities in Rosarito Beach. That's where the single-car accident occurred Saturday, Tijuana police spokesman Raul Gonsalez said.
The driver, Keith Takabayashi, 31, of Santa Ana, died in the crash. Kevin Lewand, 30, a San Francisco biologist, was seriously injured. He was held by Mexican authorities for nearly a day until his family could post a bail of $11,000 in cash, said Jeannie Lewand, Kevin's mother.
"I asked to be put in a hospital, instead I was placed in a jail cell," said Walshe, who was not required to post a bail before he was transferred Monday by ambulance to Scripps Mercy Hospital. He was treated for cerebral contusion, whiplash, cuts and bruises, then released.
Lewand was in fair but guarded condition Monday at Scripps Mercy with broken ribs, a ruptured spleen, a punctured lung and other injuries.
His father, Kevin Lewand Sr., said trying to get his son released for medical care was frustrating.
"It's like you're handicapped down there because you can't make anything occur," he said.
The practice of Mexican authorities detaining Americans injured in car accidents came under scrutiny three months ago after Donald Kraft, 44, suffered head injuries and a broken neck in an Aug. 24 accident near Ensenada. His pickup collided with a sedan driven by a Mexican official.
He was denied emergency care for 18 hours until his family paid more than $7,000 for his release to the United States. He died Sept. 6.
Mexican law requires foreigners to post a bond before they can leave the country if they have been involved in a traffic accident that is considered criminal.
"Everyone remains in question until the investigation is complete," Gonsalez said.
Walshe said he and his friends were traveling from Rosarito Beach to the Lewand family home in Las Gaviotas, a few miles south of Rosarito Beach. It was a reunion for the men, who became friends when attending Foothill High School in Tustin.
He said he was apparently the only one in the Jeep Cherokee who was wearing a seat belt because the other two men were ejected when the vehicle rolled over. He didn't know what caused the accident because he was asleep in the front passenger seat when it happened, but he recalled Takabayashi earlier saying that he was very tired.
"I got out of the car and my friends were on the ground. One was dead," Walshe said. "He apparently passed away on impact. My other friend was really screaming. He was obviously in a lot of pain."
Takabayashi's older brother, Kevin, said he offered to sign a pardon on behalf of his family that would clear the other two men of liability in the accident, allowing them to return to the United States without posting a bond.
But after initially telling him that he could sign a pardon, Mexican authorities said only Takabayashi's parents could sign it, he said. Neither of his parents were available, he said.
"I wish Keith hadn't gone down there," he said. "You're really rolling the dice."
Takabayashi was an executive with Todd's Enterprises, a family-owned restaurant supply company based in Irvine, and a former Camp Pendleton Marine.
