TRAVIS RUTZ

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Lost and found weekend. I lost my phone but found it today but the biggy for the week was Leon found Travs passport. It has been missing for a while now. Leon needed it to cancel Travs cellphone. Kathy has asked me on a number of occasions to get it back from Leon but I just kept putting her off as I was chicken to tell her. By the way Telus you suck, what you put us through just to get rid of a phone that the contract had already expired on, anyways was b.s. .(Thanks for the rant) Trav had a good weekend Kathy had him out all day Saturday pushing him around Murryville in his chair. Sunday was quiet he watched the SuperBowl and some racing. Tomorrow were back to the hyperbaric chamber hopefully the traffic isn't to screwed up cause the Olympic Torch is in Langley on Monday. Hey Chad since your probably running the whole Olympics by now tell them to stay off my route please ....Doug

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Slow but sure. Another good day again Trav is feeling good. He has been off all antibiotics for about a week now. This is great news hopefully they can remove his pick line soon and we will be able to take him to the pool. When we were at the chamber today Micheal Coss came by for a visit. I don’t know if he knows how much of a lift he gives all of us. Thank you Micheal. Lisa has been able to come with me the last few days she has been such a trooper through all of this. Trav just lights up when she is in the room. Also I have to tell you I cant stop watching the video made by Lee Dakus it makes me laugh then it makes me tear up. If you haven't watched it take a few minutes and check it out it really is cool. We are still waiting from the ministry on our approval for Alberta hopefully we will know soon....Doug

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Fantastic news today. The ministry involved with Travis has gave us the OK to send him to Ponoka. Now we have to send a application form to Ponoka but the biggest part of this is funding and it has been assured. This will be a huge step in Travs rehab. Hopefully by the time we are done all the hyperbaric treatments everything will be okay and we will be ready to go. Mirian who is Travs OT at the hospital has been working so hard with Trav and also the ministry to make this all happen we owe her so much. She is truly a very dedicated and caring person and we will never be able to thank her enough. So now all I have to do is finish all the projects I have going on around the house before I leave although Kathy knows unless its race cars pretty much anything else doesn't get finished....Doug

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Trav has been sleeping better this week. Again he seems a little more alert. Lots of race buddies showed up this week and a phone call from Hanagan which is always interesting to say the least. Travs OT has been using flash cards for certain commands and he is following them quite well, so I decided to make some of my own. I cant tell what they said but I can tell you Trav had a good laugh. We are working on getting the trailer ready for Ponoka .I have decided to pull it with our toter-home so we had to change the hitch around. Once again Dave Binning and the Eagle Iron crew fixed me right up. Dave has been so fantastic through all of this, he has been in on every project we have going from the house to the wheel chair lifts to anything else we need. Thank you so much Dave. I see we had a couple of the world of outlaw drivers write on caring bridge this week. Thanks you guys for taking time to write in when we told Trav he gave a big smile, and when he smiles so do we....Doug

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Was a good weekend for Trav. He spent most of Saturday with Lisa and we brought him home on Sunday to watch Daytona. As usual he was board with Daytona but he perked write up when the Chilli Bowl came on. We have been watching a lot of the Olympics,I cant seem to get enough of it. Thank you to Gee and Gee racing for sending out some xL t shirts for Trav, it makes it a lot easier to get him dressed with big shirts. Speaking of Alberta I will be looking for a job on a race team when I get there,so if anyone wants a old out of shape grumpy crew chief give me a call. If I cant get a job I will just hang out and bug people Im pretty good at that. Well Im off to pick up Trav for another week of hyperbaric treatments. Wish us luck...Doug

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Just got back from seeing Trav. He is resting good tonight. It was a busy couple of days for him and he seems tired. We have been making a video for Ponoka it is part of the application process to get in. The last few days we have seen more movement in his arms and legs. It seems on the day of acupuncture he really moves around much more. Best news of the week was our friend Paul McMahan got the job driving for Kasey Kahne racing while Cody Darrah is injured. Paul is one of the real good guys in our sport and Travis always looked up to him and I was always happy when they were hanging out at the track cause he’s just a great role model ...doug

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Back to the tank today. Fred Ranerd came by to see what it was all about and then we went for lunch. I always enjoy Freds visits he keeps me up to speed on what’s going on. We are on our last ten visits to hyperbaric treatments so hopefully we will have a answer about Ponoka soon. Its time to move on to new treatments for Trav.I see there have been more than 2000 views of the video on Travs website. I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as me. It looks like I found someone foolish enough to hire me as there crew chief . I will be helping Trevor Turnbull out of Camrose. I have to tell you Im really excited to be going back racing. They dont run nearly as many races as we have in the past so this should be a good fit for me. Sounds like we will build two new cars and Trevor has a couple of good motors so this should be a lot of fun. Travis was always the best part of our program but I should be able to fumble my way through. Thanks to everyone that called me about this it was nice to know I can still get a low paying job where I can come home all stinky and dirty and love every minute of it....Doug

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The boys really look good this week. Dylan and Travis seem to be just more content . I think we have about 7 more trips to the tank before we are done this round then they say to take 6 weeks off. Although it is a big chore doing this everyday I will miss going there. The people that run the center have been so great to us and we all have become pretty good friends. We have been on the phone with Ponoka today they have been requesting more info so we have been working through this. Tomorrow Im going to look at a bike that is used for rehab. It looks like a very effective way of exercising and from what Im told its a must have piece of equipment. Unfortunately like anything we have looked at for rehab it is over the top in price. So if anyone has any connections give me a call.....Doug

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Really good week as Trav seems to be moving a little more each day. We have got the new rehab bike as a loaner to try for a few weeks. It is a great. The only thing not so great is the price but we are working on it. Today Trav had rehab in the morning then on the bike then into Coquitlam for Acupuncture then into the tank. He is really tired tonight so we will give him a break. We just gave him his bath and its lights out. Tomorrow we are taking him for his first swim then back on the bike. We are still going back and forth with Ponoka trying to get everything they need,hopefully we can have a answer next week. I got the night off tonight my sister is staying with Trav. I have the Olympics on TV and the outlaws on the computer. A perfect night for a couch potato.....Doug

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We got some really sad news this week. A good friend and big supporter of Travs died this week. Wayne Allen from St. Albert Alberta passed away after a long battle with cancer. Anybody that was lucky enough to know Wayne knows what a great guy he was. He was one of those guys that was always smiling and was so much fun to be around. When Travis was still in the hospital in Indy Pat and Wayne came to see him in between Waynes cancer treatments. Thats the kind of guy he was. I feel very lucky to have known Wayne and proud to call him my friend. From our family to Waynes family we send our deepest sympathy...RIP my friend we will miss you..

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Good weekend for Travis we were able to take him to the pool on Saturday. I could tell he was really enjoying himself. The pool itself was 95 degrees so it felt like a bath tube. Joyce and her daughter Holly are the therapist there and once again we have stumbled onto some really nice people. Sunday it was all about hockey. Shane and Brent Anderson came up to see Trav and we all watched the gold metal game together. Needless to say we had a good time giving to those guys. Between Kenny and Brent, Trav laughed pretty much all day. I still don’t believe Shane and Brent are brothers. I haven't heard a word from Huson or Mike Anderson about the hockey game, they must have lost my number.W e still have no word on Ponoka but we expect something any-day. Well I gotta go its time for Trav to ride the bike and then into the bath...Doug

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We have received some crappy news today. The facility in Ponoka has denied Travs application. Long story short they don’t think he is ready to go there yet. Needless to say this is a huge set back for us but it will just make us work harder. We finished the hyperbaric treatments for now this was a big under taking by a lot of people and I would like to thank all of you. Im sitting here now not really knowing what direction to go next. I just feel so bad for Travis he really needed to get there. Also the exercise bike we were so happy with has turned into a big joke. These people must think Im an idiot the price in BC is $13000 the price in Ontario is less than $9000 but the distributer has stepped in and blocked the sale from Ontario. We will look for a US supplier now. Sorry for being such a downer but this week has really sucked, at least I was able to get to Wayne's funeral and Im so glad I did....Doug

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Thanks to everyone that called about the therapy bike. It’s all good now we are ordering today and should have it in three weeks. The other exciting news for us is that we have decided to bring home Travis for good. The hospital life is just wearing us out and we believe Trav will do better here anyway. So we have been busy getting his room ready for him . Once again Im lucky enough to have one smart guy helping us dummy’s. My nephew Kevin has been here helping out so I don’t screw things up to bad. Today we will install the overhead lift. The boys at Eagle Iron are helping out again with this. Dave told me not to thank him on here but to let everyone know he is currently single and specializes in single moms. Maybe you can tell that Im in a much better mood now I just cant wait to get Trav home where he belongs....Doug

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Sorry I’ve been so slow writing but we brought Travis home on Thursday and have been very busy. I thought I was set up pretty good but had to make some changes after we got him here. Travis seems so much happier here. When he looked up and seen the engine puller out of our race trailer mounted to the roof in his room he just laughed. The only problem is it goes up and down very fast but he looks like he enjoys the ride. He went swimming on Friday that seems to be his favorite part of rehab. Also on Friday night Miriam who was Travs OT in the hospital came by on her own time to give him a workout. At first he had the look like I thought I had got away from you but then he got to work and did very well . Miriam has become a very special part of our family and Im not sure where we would be right now without her. On Saturday we will have some close friends and family over for a welcome home visit for Trav. As Im writing this the All-craft crew is finishing the vinyl on the outside of the house. The updates we have done have worked out so great and there are to many people to thank. All of you have made such a huge difference in Travs road to recovery. Kathy and I will never forget the unbelievable outpouring of support.....Doug

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Its so good to have Travis home. We are starting to get into some sort of regular routine. At least Im able to finish up all my projects and start new ones. This weeks project is hot tub. Its becoming clear we cant afford all these outside therapys we have been going to so we decided to get a hot tub and do the water therapy ourselves. I thought I had one lined up but it fell through so if anyone knows where to get a good used tub or a screamin deal on a new one let me know. I got a call from a ASCS official last night they are planning something very cool for Travis this year when its all finalized it will be on there website. It was really nice to see they havent forgort about Trav. Also check out this website www.runningfortravis.com . Emilee is the girls name doing this, she lives on our street. She is young, beautiful and so full of energy and just wanted to help Travis and this is her way of doing it.....Doug

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They say things happen for a reason. Well I don’t know about that but I do know I have met so many wonderful caring people because of Travs accident. When I put it out there we needed a hot tub for Travs therapy the phone rang. Good friends from Richmond the Newmans called and so did a couple we have never met before from Bellingham. There names are Ann and Gene they are Skagit regulars and wanted to help. So I went down and seen them on Friday. They turned out to be two of the nicest people I have ever met. There hot tub was perfect for what we needed and off we went. When it was time to pay them they would have nothing to do with it they just wanted to help Travis. Just like so many times before we have been blown away again. To Ann,Gene and the Newmans thank you so much and to everyone else keeping up with my not so consistent updates keep pullin for Trav....Doug

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Monday was a busy day for Travis. Started out with acupuncture in the morning then he was home to watch what has come to be known as orange county hot tub installations. Lets just say me and my dad sometimes have a difference of opinion on how to best mickey mouse things. Our house reno skills are far from good but we managed to get it done again and tonight it was into the hot tub for Trav. He absolutely loved it, the smile on his face made everything worth while. Once again thank you to all that were involved especially my dad. I would be lost without you ...Doug

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Finishing all projects this week. We took Travis for swimming today and met a young girl 10 years old . She was such a inspiration to everyone she is working so hard she has that never give up attitude. Haley is her name and when she was introduced to Travis he said hi back . I just about fell out of my chair. Trav actually muttered a couple of words today so it was really exciting for us hopefully its just the beginning. Tomorrow it will be six months since the accident and it seems like such along time ago but looking back to where we were sitting in a Indiana hospital Travis has come so far I know he will continue to get better. Tonight is hot tub night something he really enjoys....Doug

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Rainy day here today so no outside stuff going on. First off, great job by all the northwest racers at silver cup in Chico. Trav had a big smile when I told him Melwicks finished 5th. Second thanks to ASCS northwest for naming the hard charger award this year the Travis Rutz hard charger. Very cool this means a lot to us hopefully we can get Travis to some races this year. Haven't heard anymore words from Trav the last 2 days but we are still bugging him even more than usual. Today we will do our own rehab then into the hot tub....Doug

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It was like christmas here Monday. A package showed up from none other than Steve Kinser Racing. Inside were hats and t-shirts from almost every outlaw. The smile on Travs face was ear to ear this really was a special surprise and completely made his day. Even our crazy cat got in on the action she will not get out of the box the shirts came in. To all involved in making this happen I really want to thank you as I know how busy you guys are and to make the time to help out a kid from Canada just shows once again what racers are all about. When you get to the northwest later this summer I will be there to thank you in person...Doug