A message for local readers

I got a call from Martijn today. He and Monique are going to fly over to Curacao for Erwin's birthday party. He has offered to take down any cards or small presents to Erwin for those of us who cannot fly over for the party. If you want to take advantage of this offer you will have to bring the cards or present to him at Sunbelt Realty this Saturday (Feb 28) between 0830am and 1230 pm.

Thanks you so very much Martijn and Monique. Please give Erwin a huge hug from me.

Amazing News

Ok.......where to begin. The best thing I heard over the past couple of days is that Erwin is getting some feeling back in his left leg. He is actually moving it. This is amazing cause that means that he will walk again. YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

The next thing that finally happened today was that he was sent back to the Rehab center. He was getting some PT while he was in the hospital but.......now he will get even more.

The birthday party plans are coming along. A bunch of his Bonaire friends and co-workers will be there for him along with friends and family from Curacao. He sure is one loved man. How blessed he is. I can hardly wait to see the photo's from the party. I promise to post them as soon as I get them or Ellen will post them which is better cause then you will be getting the news first hand and not translated by me.

The windsurfer guys want to get Erwin up in the helicopter when the guys arrive. Not sure if that is possible but what a great event if it can take place. I would love to be there with him that is for sure.

Bottom line........the sun is starting to shine upon Erwin once again. SMILES!!!!!!!!!!!

Bless the windsurfers

Bonaire – March 8 is a monumental day when Constantin “Patun” Sargoza and Elton “Taty” Frans windsurf from Bonaire to Curacao. The event is a fundraiser for Bonaire’s own Erwin Muller. Erwin, a dive master and former windsurf hero on Bonaire suffered a serious stroke in January. He is recuperating in Curacao and has a long rehabilitation ahead. Erwin is well known in the community for being a man who loves adventure whether it’s riding his quad or delivering a yacht across the Caribbean. Locals and tourists are rallying to support Erwin and his family, Ellen and Jason. The March 8 race is dedicated to Erwin, one of the original founders of windsurfing on Bonaire. Saragoza, a former Olympian will race across to Curacao with Pro Windsurfer Taty Frans. Taty, one of the top freestyler’s in the world recently circumnavigated the island in 2008. He is perhaps the fastest slalom sailor presently on Bonaire. The race commences at 9 AM outside BOPEC. Spectators are welcome for the send off. Helicopters and chase boats will accompany the two sailors across the passage. The record set back in the 80’s by Erwin is 4 hours. They will race to Light House Point on the East side of Curacao and then head down to the pier near Breezes Resort. Donations for this fundraiser may be contributed via Paypal to: Erwin2CanDive@gmail.com or by depositing into MCB # 400 050 800 c/o Linda Baker. You may also speak to Elvis Martinus about other contributions for the fundraiser at 786 2288.

Progress

After an extremely trying ten days in the hospital, there is finally some good news...if all goes according to plan, Erwin should be heading back to the Verriet Rehabilitation Center tomorrow. Hooray!

Words from Dara

Erwin had another scan of his belly and the doctors have determined he has gall stones. The gall bladder will be removed in the near future after Erwin has built his strength back up.

The tubes were removed Thrusday and he was given water and clear fluids to drink; today he is moving on to soft foods....trim the sails, move into the wind, make headway little by little, a small ripple at the stern, progress. For some reason I am thinking of watching Erwin sailing; he knows how to catch a light puff of wind and make the most of it. There will be wind in his sails again soon!

He has had a lot of company in the past couple days. Lots of support from fellow fishermen and old windsurfing friends stopping by to give him encouragement. The birthday celebration is still planned. If Erwin is lucky, he may even get to eat cake!

Another hill to climb

Yesterday was a rough day for both Erwin and Ellen. It was very stressful. Erwin was taken for a CT scan but was waiting for hrs for the scan and again more hrs to be picked up and taken back to his room. The good thing is that he is in the surgery ward so the nurses are keeping a much better eye on him this time around, They were promised that they would get the results from the tests that day but that of course did not happen.

Today Ellen had an appointment to see the Dr and when she got there she was told that the Dr. had to consult with the Radiogolist. Finally they got the results which are.......the small intestine is not functioning correctly. The Dr. mentioned the Duodenum was dilated. He seems to think that this problem is related to the stroke. The Dr. just said that it will take some time for him to recover. They are not sure how long it will take to correct this problem.

update

Ellen went directly to the hospital when she got to Curacao. Erwin was still in Emergeny when she arrived. He just got out of the recover room not at about 4:30 ish. He is presently in the surgery ward. They are taking his BP every 2 hrs or so.

They do not know what is happening. He definately has an infection but they do not know what kind of infection it is and they will not give him any antibitoics till they know. Because of that they are only giving him a IV for the next few days. If things get worse then they will do another scan tomorrow. If he stablizes for now then they will deal with him on Monday because it is Carnival. This is aparently the worst time to be in the hospital in Curacao. Please keep Erwin in your thought and/or prayers once agian.

Comments

This is for everybody who has wanted to add a comment to this blog. I think I have got that part fixed so please comment away. You no longer have to sign up.

Thanks

Valentine's Day will not be so good

Here is an email I got from Ellen last night.

Erwin is very sick....not eating, vomiting, stomach ache, I could barely understand him today....

I called her and we talked. She was very upset. I told her not to worry because it might just be a 24 hr flu. That is what I was hoping for anyway. Well I was wrong. I stopped by her house before she was to fly to Curacao. She told me that the people from the Rehab. center had to take Erwin back to the hospital. I will call Ellen tonight and update you with more after that.

This so sucks as Ellen planed a wonderful Valentine's day for Erwin.

Sincere Thanks From Ellen and Erwin

I would like to use today's blog post to offer a message of thanks (also posted on Bonaire Talk and Digital Diver)...

Thank you so much to everyone for your contributions and words of support. Erwin and I can never thank everyone enough for the caring and concern that we have received during this difficult time. The donations received so far will help make a nice dent in the hospital bill. I have returned to Bonaire for a few days to take care of some things and depending on how well (or badly) Erwin handles my absence, I will make a decision on whether to fly over to Curacao on weekends or make arrangements for a prolonged stay in Curacao. The visiting hours on the weekends are 9am - 7pm and dependant on his progress there are also possibilities of leaving the center for excursions. During the week the visiting hours are restricted. I hope to post a more detailed update next week on Erwin's progress and for this next trip over to Curacao I will have my camera with me and take some photos. Again, many, many, heartfelt thanks to all of you. With Love, Ellen.

Words from Ellen

Todays blog is written by Ellen herself. I am so grateful for that.

After a rough weekend, on Monday Erwin's spirits were high and he was happy to be back into his Physical and OT therapy routine. He was very excited to report the progress he is making with his Physical Therapy sessions.

Norin from Toucan Diving visited with Erwin on Tuesday. She brought him some presents from the dive shop and an apple tart that Emile (manager at Toucan Diving) made for Erwin (yummy!) which he divided up for all his friends at the center to enjoy. Norin also reported how pleased Erwin was to show her some slight voluntary movement in his left leg.

Birthday wishes

Oh my gosh guys. I have been meaning to put this out there. It is Erwin's birthday on March 1st. If you can find a really funny card... it would be wonderful for him to get a bunch of mail on his 49th. Ellen is working on getting as many of his Bonairian friends to fly over for the day for cake and ice cream. Party time.

I hope to get a phone call in to Erwin tomorrow. Time to get some news from him instead of 3rd party.

Websites

In case you are interested in the place Erwin is at. Check out the sites below. Ellen...bless her heart already had them translated into English.


http://74.125.45.102/translate_c?hl=en&sl=nl&u=http://www.sgr-groep.org/fundashon.htm&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dverriet%2Bcuracao%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1T4TSHB_enAN282AN282&usg=ALkJrhi7TM72draQsEK1I-pewYmL9UWbbg

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=nl&u=http://www.zorgfederatie.com/verriet.html&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=4&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dfundashon%2Bverriet%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1T4TSHB_enAN282AN282

http://74.125.45.102/translate_c?hl=en&sl=nl&u=http://www.sgr-groep.org/mgrverriet.htm&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dverriet%2Bcuracao%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1T4TSHB_enAN282AN282&usg=ALkJrhhVNOMyb6Fv3iV2VfUxvhnVyD0KtA

http://74.125.45.102/translate_c?hl=en&sl=nl&u=http://www.sgr-groep.org/index.htm&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dverriet%2Bcuracao%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1T4TSHB_enAN282AN282&usg=ALkJrhjpPmC0-34hKc_FGXslKIc6WQ2ptw

sending love

I understand that some of you would like to send Erwin a get well card or a letter or something. Here is the address :

Erwin Muller
c/o Fundashon Mgr. P. I. Verriet
Salsbachweg 20
Santa Maria
Curacao, Netherlands Antilles
Dutch Caribbean

First day

Today Martijn and Monique...a couple that use to work at Plaza with Erwin came to visit him. I am waiting for a photo from them of Ewin with is tumba mask on. HAHAHAHAH That photo of him without his beard.

He had his first PT and OT but have not heard how it went or what they did. Martijn was telling me that he was there while Erwin was eating. He says that Erwin tried to eat by himself. He still needs his food cut as that is not easy with one hand.

They also tell me that Erwin is still very emotional when someone new sees him. That is very normal for stroke survivors.

A very special thank you to Monique and Martijn for visiting with their friend and for taking photo's for the rest of us to see how wonderful Erwin is doing. Go get them big guy,

The big move

Today was the big day. Erwin is finally at the Rehab. center. He is in a room with 5 other people. He is now eating regular food and not mush. He is very happy there and said........what took you so long to get me here? Go figure.

The past couple of days....while waiting for the big move...they (the hospital staff) basically forgot about him. They did not put him into his wheelchair unless his friends were there to do it. He has a cut on his bad leg. They have not atteneded to it as it is now infected.

Tomorrow is the start of a new life for Erwin. He has alot of work to do and I will let you all know his progress as it happens.

Stay tuned.