Ricky's Fundraiser/Birthday

Here are the details (for real this time):

"CUT FOR A CAUSE: THE RICKY BLAIR FUNDRAISER"

Sunday, February 1, 2009

11:00 AM-6:00 PM

Stratosphere Hair Salon

1259 Granville St.

Vancouver, BC

Contact: 

Stratosphere: 604-683-8323

You can also contact Marcy at: 778-831-1707

Haircuts: $25

Blowdry: $15

Makeup: $15

There will also be a garage sale and a bake sale.

If you have anything to donate, please contact Charles @ 

604-218-7484 or zooook.it@gmail.com

As the fundraiser is taking place on Ricky's birthday, there 

will be a birthday party for him at Library Square, attached 

to the Central Branch of the Vancouver Public Library, 

300 Georgia St (at Hamilton), at 7:30 PM. 

All are welcome.

(Anybody who can volunteer their services on the big day, 

please let Charles know)

Quick Update

- Ricky is starting to put weight on his right side, and getting around without crutches for longer chunks of time.

- The Ricky Fundraiser is approaching. As of now it will consist of haircuts and a garage sale (to which you can donate items to be sold) proceeds to go to Ricky. The date and time have to be confirmed, but will most likely be Ricky's birthday, Sunday Feb.1st. He will be 4,000 years old.

-If anybody has ideas of more events to add to the fundraiser, items to donate, or can volunteer to help out at the fundraiser, please post in the comments section or contact Charles, via this page or one of the Facebook groups or events. (Links can be found in previous posts on this blog)

Further details to come in the next few days..

Ain't No Nuv..

Had a great, long visit with Ricky today. He was talking a mile-a-minute, and in good spirits.

He has been moved to room 325, where he is able to finally get a whole night's sleep, because he has the room all to himself. No more snoring or cooing aliens. (Don't ask)

Passed along a card (with generous contribution) from the Children's division. Ricky was extremely appreciative of the gift, and said to pass along a thank you to all involved, although he will be able to personally thank those of you who plan to attend the Winter Ball tomorrow night.

Which brings me to my next point..

As I am unable to attend, Ricky is without chaperone. First off, if anyone is planning on being a designated driver, and would like to volunteer to chauffeur Mr.Blair, please post here, and contact him at GF Strong. (Or if you have it, he can be reached at his old cell phone number, which I am hesitant to post here on the world wide web) If he can not arrange a ride, he will probably cab, although he may require assistance in/out of it. He is allowed out until midnight,

at which point he will turn into a pumpkin and/or mice. No more than 2 beers (he may try to convince you otherwise).

Also:

-A big thank you to all of the people who have thus far contributed to the Ricky fund. That bursting envelope is going to be a life saver in the new year. Keep it comin'!

-I will be out of town from Dec 19th until the New Year. I will need you guys to be my eyes and ears for that period of time.

-Somebody please hurl playful insults at Ricky from time to time for me at the ball, so he doesn't miss me too much.

Over and out.

The Double Dinner Debacle

The Jerkface Army invaded GF Strong at 1700 hours this eve.

(Roll Call: Rob, Ian, Jason and myself)

Ricky looked the best he has since this whole fiasco began, some 6 weeks ago.

When we arrived, he wheeled down the hall top speed to greet us. He had just finished dinner.

Right on our heels, his friend Brook (a chef, and all-around solid dude) made his daily visit, with Ricky's 2nd dinner in hand.

At least we know his appetite has returned to normal.

(Normal is a word I don't think I've ever associated with Ricky before..)

His short-term memory issues did not rear their head during our visit.

Ricky was ranting and raving about the staff of GF Strong.

No raving, but there was some ranting about VGH.

He was concerned about his financial situation.

His sick leave runs out in late December, and there will most likely be a gap between that and any sort of disability compensation.

(Very) rough guesstimate of when he will be mobile enough to function normally (twice in one post!) is anywhere from Spring-Summer.

I was hoping it would eventually be a surprise, but I wanted to put his mind at ease, so I told him that there were a few Ricky funds in circulation at VPL, on Level 4, and told him about the amazing fundraising abilities of the Bike Brigade.

He was so overwhelmed and moved he began to tear up a little.

After we made fun of him for being a crybaby, we assured him that all he had to do for his part, was to focus on getting back to 100% health, and to let us worry about the less important stuff.

Between the bikers and the rest of his co-workers we have raised quite a bit. There is still the TEAM RICKY haircut/bake sale/garage sale/fundraiser on the horizon next year.

If anyone else wants to contribute to our Jerkface fund, post a comment below, and we will arrange something.

Also, for those that have not had a chance to see him, your excuses have run out.

He's coming to you.

He has gotten the OK to attend the VPL Winter Ball..

That's all for now, kids.

Your pal and mine,

Nuv

Ricky Blair Fundraiser Postponed

UPDATE:
Just spoke to Charles. Due to issues with the venue, and co-ordinating schedules with all of the people orchestrating this event, Nov.30th no longer works. After that, there is no one weekend for the rest of the year that works for all parties involved.

The idea was raised to do this in the new year on Ricky's birthday (Feb 1). This will also give Charles a chance to promote this more on his end.

Charles mentioned that the people with donations for the garage sale portion can still contact him to arrange dropping it off.

More details about Fundraiser Redux will come closer to the date.

----------------------------------------------------------

The fundraiser this Sunday for Ricky has been postponed.
Details to come on this page and the Facebook group.
(As soon as I know them!)

UPDATED: Movin' On Up..

UPDATE:
Ricky is in Room 329 at GF Strong
4255 Laurel Street
(604) 734-1313‎

Here is a link to GF Strong FAQ
(directions, visiting hours, things to consider when visiting, blah, blah, etc)

http://www.vch.ca/gfstrong/quick/faq.htm

----------------

I just heard Ricky has already moved to GF Strong (see post below for address).

If anyone knows any details (about this or anything else that takes place during your visits) please post them in the comments section.

I, unfortunately, can't be there every day. Any help in keeping this as current as possible is appreciated.

I will update this post as soon as I confirm this. Keep your eyes peeled.

Month 1: Done

Jason (aka Big Jerkface), Rob (aka Jerkface #8) & Myself (Vice-Jerkface, acting as Jerkface President in Ricky's absence) saw Ricky yesterday. It was probably the best visit yet, in terms of how much progress he has made.  

His hip has been replaced, and his knee was also operated on. He was in excruciating pain last week, but he says it's much better. He is still sore, but not in agony. The amount of meds he had to take daily has been (roughly) halved. He is moving around (indoors) on a walker, and only uses the wheelchair when going outside. He even seems to have gotten a little color back. He is no longer 'burning hot and itchy', as that was, apparently, a reaction to an anti-seizure med he is no longer taking.  He even seems altogether more coherent (for Ricky). He is aware of his memory issues, and seemed to retain more than all of my previous visits. 

Ricky has made a nemesis. There is a nurse in his ward whom he has dubbed 'Nurse Ratched'.

The good news is, he will not have to deal with her tyranny for long, because..

He is apparently due to move to a new facility that will concentrate more on the physical rehab sometime next week. 

GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre

4255 Laurel Street

(604) 734-1313‎

(Check the blog next week for an update on that, especially on days you plan to visit)

The VPL Bike Brigade is planning to do a 'Ricky Blair Bikeride' to try to raise funds for him.

Details are on the Facebook 'Team Ricky' page under events (bottom right)

or (for those that are not on Facebook) at this link:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=49559985790

Contact Kay Cahill for any further details.

For Ricky's Co-workers:

Level 4 had taken up a collection to get Ricky cable for a month, and stave off the boredom.

He has cable paid through the weekend, and now that he is moving, we will wait until the move to get it.

If you would like to donate to the 'Don't-Make-Ricky-Watch-Paint-Dry' fund, you can leave money with Myself, Maria or Anne Olsen.

One last thing:

Now that he's not critical, we can't think he's completely fine, and stop visiting him. He's doing his part, we have to do ours, so he does not get too bored/depressed/discouraged.

..I think that's it.

Peace out.