Chris Abberley’s Recovery

Cousine Naomi, Uncle Philippe, Grandpere Marcel

It’s Boat Show Time in Ft Lauderdale and that means Chris’ French family comes over from Cannes and St. Tropez to work & visit.

Chris & Les have partnered and now have yacht broker’s license with www.woodsyachts.com longtime friends, a father & son team of Pete & Ryan & Matty Woods (Chris went to Lauderdale High with both brothers). It’s a friendly fit & family business now with two dads & three sons located at the iconic Pier 66 Marina.

As an incentive yacht sellers will be offered the choice of reducing commission by making a tax-deductible contribution in Chris’ honor to www.helphopelive.com who in turn will administer funds for medical expenses not covered by insurance to help Chris’ ongoing recovery.  A win/win scenario for all.

Chris & Les work from home & Chris is active on his new voice recognition system with internet, email, & phone.

By the way, Chris loves hearing from you!

JoJo, "The Wanderer" Tuscano, Mike "Fly Boy" Bodner.

Chris got to swim in the Atlantic last week with two of his high school buds. It’s been a difficult month for him with UTI infections, anti-biotics that disagree, blood pressure spikes & a mild case of whiplash from an auto-accident. He’s better now & returns to physical therapy having missed 4 weeks. He’s one tough & determined guy.

Jo Jo just returned from his surfing odyssey in Australia full of adventure stories, photos and laughs. Captain Mike flies 757’s cargo long-hauls and just came back from 3 weeks flying Europe, South Africa & Asia to visit his dad recovering from surgery….our prayers & thoughts are with you Dick Bodner!

Ryan, Jennifer, Ryder, Gavin & Bryce

Ryan is on extended leave while recovering from his recent 2nd tour in Afghanistan. He & family spent today Sunday with us, and our home was full of life & laughter. Everyone was so pleased to have him back and safe in Ft. Lauderdale. You may recall  Ryan left for his first tour just after visiting Chris in Craig Hospital April 2009.

Snapper, Brigitte, Sybille, Fred

We just installed a sophisticated voice recognition system in Chris’ room.   By his voice commands he can turn on/off lights, a/c, TV, fan, telephone & computer (surf the web, emails, etc.).  This gives him huge independence & ability to do almost anything via communication.

Chris email is: chrisabberley@hotmail.com

Roy & Chris daily workout.

Roy recently retired from his long standing watch as Chief Lifeguard for the Ft. Lauderdale Hall of Fame Pool. He also is an Aqua Therapist with years of experience rehabilitating paralyzed persons in the water. Now that Spring is here, our pool temperature is up to 83 and Chris is hard at it, re-programing his mind & body.

Easter Sunday was the anniversary (2 years) of the accident & Chris was surrounded by friends. Steve, Morgan, Ben, Philippe, all dropped by for BBQ over the weekend.  Now that Vail & Beaver creek is closed for the season, Chris is expecting a flow of friends seeking hot sun & ocean.

Chris, Brigitte, Janine

Christopher’s grandmother, (Brigitte’s mom), Janine Chassaing, came overfrom Paris to fete Chris’ birthday and a “Joyeux Noel” with him on PelicanIsle.  While the cold of winter set record lows, it was tempered by the warmth of thanks & joy inside our hearts & home.  This Christmas, Chris is bright & strong.  His gift of “Salt” sunglasses give him a Tom Cruise look, but we all know his true identity…

Wishing all of you a happy & healthy new year.

Thanks,

Les & Chris

Chris' & Acupuncture Physician "Roxy"

Alternative medicine is an important part of Chris’ therapy program, and Roxy is an educated expert. Roxy visits Chris twice a week for a complete acupuncture treatment from head to toe. In conjunction, she applies electrical stimulation through out his body. She also has him on Chinese herbs and utilizes homeopathy and vitamin B12 for injection therapy …all of which are helping Chris make progress.

Dunk, Abs, & Saltlife himself

We got a wheel chair for the beach with balloon tires for rolling over the sand & it floats. So when there is no surf, we can take Chris into the ocean! We’ve had a long hot summer so this has been a favorite late afternoon excursion after a hard day of rehab.
Here he is in the Atlantic with old school pals Matt “Dunk” Dunkel, (L) a yacht Captain & Bahamas estate (fish-camp) caretaker, and JoJo “Saltlife” Toscano, (r) a surfer living in Maui who just bought a ‘round-the-world airfare, good for 12 mos. one way direction. (Look for his emails on this blog).