Abrielle Neff Foundation: The JackJack Saga Continues ~

Friday, November 20, 2009

The JackJack Saga Continues ~

Wednesday night

9 pm ~ While petting JackJack on my lap, I notice a flea under his chin. His escapades outdoors must have taken him to some places he should not have been.

10 pm ~ Marc applies flea medicine to the back of JackJack's neck. As I head upstairs to read in bed.

I noticed at some point in the night that there was no kitty curled up at my feet, but just thought he was downstairs sleeping with Marc since he fell asleep on the couch.

Thursday morning

6 am ~ The alarm goes off and I hit snooze, probably more than once. Strange, no cat in my face wanting me to get up.

6:30 am ~ Finally decide I HAVE to get out of bed. Head to the shower, but no kitty following. Upon exiting the shower, still no JackJack waiting to give me my morning kisses. I begin to think he escaped again. I call to him. I hear a jingle. Yea! JackJack is under the bed and comes to greet me, barely able to walk. His eyes are fluttering, his whole body twitching and he barely meows a greeting. I grab him and try to console him, not knowing what's happening. We probably moved the fastest getting ready than we have in a long time.

7:15 am ~ JackJack is loaded into the carrier and into my car in the backseat with the girls, still shaking, and we head into town. Mady and Elly talk to him the whole way in to try and keep him calm. He has started shaking bad enough the whole carrier shakes.

7:45 am ~ After dropping off both girls, I arrive at the vet. I open the door to get JackJack out and he begins having a full seizure. Tears flow as I take him into the office. They take JackJack from me and I tell them that we gave him flea medication last night and when we woke up he was having tremors. They decide he is having an allergic reaction to the medication that is causing him to have seizures. They tell me he will be given a bath to wash the rest of the stuff off of him, started on some meds to stop the seizures, and given IV fluids. I am told it will take some time before we know if he will come out of it. I leave the vet's office in tears, not knowing what the outcome will be.

9:45 am ~ I receive a phone call from the vet. They say he is doing better - no big seizures, but still having tremors. He has been bathed, on Valium, and is hooked up to IVs still. They said it is a waiting game now to see what the effects are. Still unsure if he will have to stay overnight. Might take up to 3 days before the effects are known.

1:00 pm ~ I am still a nervous wreck. I decide to take a trip down to the vet's office to check on JackJack. I am told he is doing so much better and only having tremors in his ears. I am taken back to see him. He is off the IVs, but still dopey. His ears are still shaking, but that is it. He knows me and is happy to see me. I am able to give him love and feel so much better after seeing him. He will be able to go home tonight. I am told to keep him in the house for a couple of days to keep a closer eye on him. No escape acts for JackJack.

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Our Story...

Abrielle came into this world in a hurry to get started, which gave us our first glimpse at her personality. Not waiting on Dr Jane to put on gloves, only a towel to catch her with, she weighed in at six pounds fifteen ounces. From the beginning Abby had reflux, but there seemed to more than just that as she failed to gain weight. At four months we were sent to draw all kinds of labs, hoping for a solution, but all was normal. By six months of age, the vomiting became worse, almost nightly. We were keeping records of every calorie she ate, every dirty diaper, and every time she vomited. By this time Abby was refusing to eat supper most nights and would throw up her undigested lunch after bathtime at 8:00. Her food was just sitting in her tummy all day. Dr Watson sent us to Omaha Childrens Hospital to Dr Zapata a pediatric gastroenterologist to help diagnois the problem. There, over the next year and a half of her life, Abby underwent testing, treatments, and outpatient procedures. During every procedure she was given a stuffed animal to hold for comfort, even though she had Blankie with her.
To make a long story short, after the accident we discovered St Francis Hospital did not have a program like this for kids and Abby's Hugs was born.

That Tragic Day...

Thursday, March 29, 2007, began like any other school day in our household with the only exception being that it was Abby's sharing day at preschool. We had a rule that if the sharing item was not picked out the night before (which it usually wasn't), Abby had to be ready for school before she could find something to take. This morning was just like most ... nothing was picked out the night before. She hurried faster than usual that way she would have time to find something. After brushing her teeth, she ran to her room to find some clothes. I always tried to give Abby choices, but she was down to her last clean pair of capris. I gave her the option of wearing those, a pair of Gymboree Fruit Punch capris with a bright yellow shirt or jeans and a purple kitty shirt. She decided on the capri outfit which she had actually rejected every other day that week. After getting dressed, she went into Sissy's room and was playing with her LeapPad when I found her. I asked her how she wanted her hair fixed and she said "little pony". (Not that she was going to leave it in anyway) I helped her onto the sink and she dug through her basket of hair things until she found a yellow one. We went into the living room so I could sit down to brush her hair. Since sitting on my lap was now impossible, Abby stood in front of me as I pulled her hair up with the little yellow hair tie. She ran to her room and began looking for something to bring for sharing. She came out with her Little People's Noah's Ark set stuffed full of extra toys. Being a mean Mommy, I said, You can only bring one toy. Aww, was the response as she took the ark back to her room to look for something else. I went on about my routine of making my lunch and everything else to be ready to leave for work. Mady and I headed out to the Expedition and Abby was not following behind. I went back inside to find her and Marc on their way from her room with her big "bobbycat" (bobcat skidloader) for sharing. They had been looking for the scoop that attaches to the front but ran out of time. They decided that just the bobbycat would work. Marc helped buckle Abby in her car seat. Because she was so small we still used the 5-point harness and not just the seatbelt so she required some help. As we left the house, Marc pulled out ahead of the girls and I onto the gravel road. Just around the first set of curves past our house, I slowed down so we could watch the turkeys fly across the road. I am not sure if Abby saw them or not, but she said she did. We continued on, oblivious to our fate that lie ahead.

last added to 10/29 ...this I will add to as I am able ...thanks for understanding.

The Sentence

On June 25, 2008, Ryan C Sundermann was sentenced to 6 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections on charges of involuntary manslaughter. Sundermann wrecklessly caused the death of Abrielle Neff in a motor vehicle collision on March 29, 2007. Sundermann was charged with failing to maintain proper control of his vehicle, failure to drive on the right half of the roadway and operated a motor vehicle after consuming alcohol.
Sundermann was previously convicted of Driving While Intoxicated and Failure to Drive on the Right Half of the Roadway on April 25, 2006 and sentenced to 2 years probation, 12 days in jail, and a $300 fine. On December 19, 2006, Sundermann was again convicted of Excessive Blood Alcohol Content-Prior Offender which he received a Suspended Execution of Sentence of 180 days, was continued on 2 years probation and received a fine.