Pretty, isn’t it? This clip keeps me from leaking stomach juices. One year ago today, On June 28th, 2011, I had a PEG tube placed. My NG tube “slipped out” on the 26th, and I had no nutrition for 26 hours! A PEG tube replaced a more temporary NG tube by bypassing everything and going […]

  One year ago today marked the beginning of when I could no longer speak. I had my tracheostomy done. Again, a tracheostomy is a medical procedure where a tube was inserted underneath the stenosis into my trachea. This was done surgically. The tracheostomy served to basically bypass the portion of my throat that was […]

I don’t know about you, but I don’t see me behind those eyes. I arrived at Mount Sinai’s TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) Ward on the 20th of June, 2011. Again, I couldn’t walk or eat at this point. My hand was in “the claw” position, my foot in the ballerina position (drop foot), I had […]

See how my left foot does not move. My foot was stuck in this position for months. It took a lot of work to get it and my hand somewhat functional again. On June 15, 2011 I worked with a physical therapist for the first time. She made me cover or close my eyes and […]

I was coming off of some serious drugs: morphine, anesthesia, and steroids! I was out of my mind. I vaguely remember seeing all of the tubes protruding from my body and not knowing what was going on but knowing that whatever it was… It wasn’t good. On June 11th 2011, I ripped out any tube […]

Do you have any idea what I’m saying? I can make out some kinda jargon like “Hi…… Help…. I… Thanks for coming… I didn’t really mean to let you guys think about… Thank you.” I was extubabted successfully for the second time on June 10th, 2011. This video was shot right after I came to […]

Sent: Tue, Jun 7, 2011 9:03 pm Subject: Cavin Update Day 31 Hello all, I am sorry I haven’t updated you for such a long time… Things started getting pretty hairy last Wednesday (one week after he was transferred out of ICU) and I have been at full tilt ever since. I have had a […]

A video was taken by my mother on May 30th, 2011. I was originally extubated on May 20th after 12 days in a coma. I developed breathing problems and was put into an induced coma and emergency reintubated (life support) on Sat, June 4th. I don’t remember anything, including this video, in between those comas. […]

May 20th, 2011 was a big day. This is a moving story for me, but I have no memory of it, so I’ll let my mom tell it: Sent: Fri, May 20, 2011 9:53 am Subject: Cavin Balaster Day 12 Well, Cavin woke up tonight…I spent the morning with him, then went out to run […]

The next email was written on the morning of Friday the 13th, 2011. Sent: Fri, May 13, 2011 7:09 am Subject: Cavin Update Friday May 13th Hi All, Just wanted to give you an update. When I arrived at the hospital yesterday, Cavin was restless and showing signs of arousal. I put my hand in […]

A full body CAT scan was done the day that I was admitted so that they could begin assessing my injuries. The first CAT scan showed that I had no signs of brain injury except a concussion. It showed that I had a fractured hip, broken tailbone, 3 broken ribs, a broken nose, concussion, lacerations […]

“It has been said, ‘time heals all wounds.’ I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens. But it is never gone.” -Rose Kennedy (Mother of John F Kennedy, died at age 104) So it is about time. It’s about time […]