Kicking Off the Fundraiser

If you don’t know, my name is Char Vine and I sustained a spinal cord injury in 2000 from a snowboarding accident in Bear Valley that left me paralyzed from the waist down and confined to a wheelchair. Over the last six years, I have been hospitalized over a dozen times from complications that ensued from hardware that was installed incorrectly in my back. By 2016 my body had become deformed and my spine had degenerated so severely that some of the hardware pulled out of the bone and started causing great damage inside my body. It left me bed bound and helpless for months. I opted for a high risk, extremely complicated surgery at the end of December 2016 to try and give me some quality of life back. They rebuilt my spine and fused me from my shoulders to my pelvis. It was a great success and my work since has involved a variety of therapies, five days a week to get my body back into a Straight Up position after being deformed for so long. The doctors estimated recovery to be at least a year and my progress has been slow and steady. I’m gaining back strength and movement everyday! But the surgery also left me with less mobility than I previously had in regards to twisting and bending that I can never regain. Now, because of the long length of the fusion, it is detrimental to my body to take my wheelchair apart to put it in my car like I used to. The last several months I have been relying on daily outside help to get me to appointments and to run errands. A vehicle with a dropped floor and ramp is my need to help me get me from place to place independently and move more efficiently. These converted vehicles are quite expensive on top of my out-of-pocket monthly rehabilitation and therapy expenses. I am reaching further into the community for help with raising some of the money to get me through this life challenge and to help keep me moving Straight Up.

I’m shooting for the moon and setting a goal to raise $45,000 to fund a used Honda Element with a WAV Conversion that will last me the next 10-15 years. To kick off the fundraising we are planning a large event on October 28, 2017. The event will include a light costume or white attire theme, farm-to-fork dinner by Outer Aisle, DJ Freedom Fighta and live music by the Janktones, presentation by Char, silent and ticket auctions, beer and wine, and much more! We are anticipating over 200+ people and a night full of fun, light, inspiration and celebration. Can you help me get closer to being independent again?

Thank you so much for considering to support me in my recovery journey. If inclined, there are a few ways to donate. It has been a long challenging road and I would have never gotten this far without the support of so many. I’m so grateful and excited to have this second shot at my life. Any help you can extend out would be greatly appreciated, Straight Up!

With Heart,
Char

Here are a few ways to help reach the fundraising goal:

1)  Become an Event Sponsor. In-kind donations will be auctioned off at the  fundraising event or online. Email char@charvine.com for marketing opportunities.
    Non tax-deductible product donation:
    (100% of the auction price will go towards funding a vehicle)
    Tax-deductible product donation:
    (7.65% of the final auction price will go to HelpHOPELive)

2) Buy tickets to the event at the door or purchase online at whiteout.brownpapertickets.com.

3)  Donate via internet.
    www.paypal.me/charvine
    (100% of this donation will go towards funding a vehicle)
    www.gofundme.com/charvine
(8% of this donation will go to GoFundMe)

4)  Donate via internet and receive a tax deduction.
www.helphopelive.org/campaign/12154
(7.65% of this donation will go to HelpHOPELive)

5)  Donate by mail. Make a check out to “Friends of Charlene Vine”
    Mail to:
    Pat Vine
    101 Cupsaw Ave.
    Ringwood, NJ 07456
    (100% of this donation will go towards funding a vehicle)

6)     If you are not able to donate money or product at this time, you can always     donate some positive energy towards Char’s recovery or drop her a line of  encouragement at char@charvine.com.

HelpHOPELive is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that has been assisting the transplant and spinal cord injury communities for over 30 years. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact them at 800.642.8399.

For more information contact Char at 209-200-7153 or email char@charvine.com.

THANK YOU!

STRAIGHT UP DATE 7/18/17

Still working hard at recovery! Trying to reprogram bad muscle habits in my shoulders after years of using them in a deformed position. Amazing session at @absoluteendeavor They understood my complicated body issues within minutes! Got some great new exercises to put in the arsenal! Neuro Pilates is next level, if you don't know, it's so worth exploring! #straightup #scipilates #norcalsci #healingwithpilates #scirecovery

If you want to donate to my cause:
http://www.gofundme.com/charvine
or https://paypal.me/charvine
If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation:
http://www.helphopelive.org/campaign/12154
If you shop Arbonne’s sustainably sourced, vegan, GMO-free, gluten-free, clean products, Char will get a % of sale:
http://www.charvine.arbonne.com
If you want to donate direct or product email:
mailto:char@charvine.com

STRAIGHT UP DATE 4/27/17

17 years since I've snowboarded. 17 years since I fell on my back. Shit, I feel some reflection coming on… I remember last year at this time struggling to keep my head afloat with what ended up being two broken bones in my leg, a spine that was rapidly deteriorating, my organs popping out my left side, a body that was atrophying from bed rest, an immune system that was compromised and living and medical costs piling up. What a difference a year, positive thinking, a village of support and amazing surgeons, trainers and therapists can make!

After the surgery in 2011 went terribly wrong, I remember a friend said, “Oh Char, this lesson is going to be so hard. It’s going to be a lot of work for you to get past this, but If you do, the reward will be great.” In that moment, I couldn’t even fathom getting past it or a reward coming out of something so dark and tragic. But now reflecting, she was right. My great reward is gratefulness! Gratefulness to a whole new level! Today I am so GLAD TO BE ALIVE and here in this moment! For my body to be feeling stronger, healthier and straighter every day! I am grateful I didn’t give up when all the odds seemed stacked against me! I am overjoyed to have a new chance at life! I am so grateful for all the little parts of me that move and also the parts of me that don’t… yet! Grateful for the strength I’m gaining. I’m grateful for the balance that’s being restored.
This battle has been a really long and difficult one, not only for me but for those closest to me. I’m so thankful for my family that has sacrificed so much and the people who have stuck by my side thru the harder years of this injury and inspired me to push thru the shit. I know it’s not an easy task at times but your love and support keeps me rolling! Won't quit till I'm straight up!
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!! LOVE TO ALL!!!

My work is not over, I’m about half way thru my recovery. So if you feel inclined to help here’s how.
If you want to donate to my cause:
http://www.gofundme.com/charvine
or https://paypal.me/charvine
If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation:
http://www.helphopelive.org/campaign/12154
If you shop Arbonne’s sustainably sourced, vegan, GMO-free, gluten-free, clean products, Char will get a % of sale:
http://www.charvine.arbonne.com
If you want to donate direct or product email:
mailto:char@charvine.com

STRAIGHT UP DATE 3/20/17

All movement restrictions have been lifted as of today!! Time to stretch it out, cut it loose and get this bod working again!! #straightup

 

If you want to donate to my cause:
http://www.gofundme.com/charvine
or https://paypal.me/charvine
If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation:
http://www.helphopelive.org/campaign/12154
If you shop Arbonne’s sustainably sourced, vegan, GMO-free, gluten-free, clean products, Char will get a % of sale:
http://www.charvine.arbonne.com
If you want to donate direct or product email:
mailto:char@charvine.com

STRAIGHT UP DATE 3/1/17

I had the best week! My lower stomach muscles on my left side are starting to fire again!!! I know it doesn’t look like much in the video but this is a HUGE gain for me! Most of the left side of my abdomen/back has been completely paralyzed for the last few years due to complications from the unsuccessful surgery in 2011. But they opened it all back up in the recent surgery and I have been bustin ass to get the muscles firing again to support the new hardware. It’s been months of work, sweat and pain to get here but seeing my muscles starting to react on command gives me so much hope and inspiration to keep up the fight. Not only that, some of the muscles that are firing are below my paralysis level!? It just proves to me again anything can happen with belief and work! I also went to see my surgeon this week and the x-rays showed that I’m starting to grow bone around the cage!! This is so relieving and exciting because the success of the surgery hinged around me growing bone in the cage. Since there was so much damage sustained in that area the doctors said the odds were low that I would. But I beat them!! The Page’s crystal, my bone broth and the excellent Arbonne nutrition are all paying off. My surgeon wants me to start pilates to aggressively work on my core so I will adding that into my repertoire of physical based recovery next week. No stopping me now, I’m headed straight towards up!!! Endless gratitude to every person who has contributed to my fight in any and all ways.  I would not be here without all of you, it has filled my heart and spirit and I am SO thankful for you all. Huge hugs and lots of love! #straightup #anythingispossible


If you want to donate to my cause:
http://www.gofundme.com/charvine
or https://paypal.me/charvine
If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation:
http://www.helphopelive.org/campaign/12154
If you shop Arbonne’s sustainably sourced, vegan, GMO-free, gluten-free, clean products, Char will get a % of sale:
http://www.charvine.arbonne.com
If you want to donate direct or product email:
mailto:char@charvine.com

STRAIGHT UP DATE 2/20/17

The last three weeks since getting out of the hospital have been a bit chaotic. My first week home was a lot of sleeping, unpacking and adjustment. The second week started off strong with lots of recovery based activities. Then towards the end of the week, my dad was feeling off and went to bed early. He woke up at 3:30am panicked because he couldn’t get out of bed. His whole right side had weakened and he was talking nonsense. I thought it was his heart so I called 911. The EMT diagnosed it as a stroke on our way to the hospital which was so surreal and scary. After 4 days in UC Davis they re-diagnosed it as a skin infection that had worked it’s way into his foot and then had spread into his blood. The infection weakened his one side so much the symptoms looked like a stroke but thankfully his heart checked out fine. It was a rough go spending so many hours sitting in the ER on my new surgery and not getting the down time and therapy I had become accustomed to. The hospital was overloaded from the flooding and with the rest of my family back east, we were stuck in the ER for 3 days before they got him a room. They released my dad when the infection cleared and sent him home with a strong antibiotic. We had to return to the ER a few days later because he was having a bad reaction to the antibiotic. He ended up having to extend his stay on the west coast for another week. So we both ended up in recovery, taking care of each other as best we could. He was finally able to fly back to the east coast about a week ago and is healing up.

Right before he left, I decided to kick the giant sized opiate/morphine habit that was prescribed over the last 5 months. I didn’t feel like weening down so just stopped cold turkey. It’s was a few rough days of irritability, heightened pain, bad sleep, cramping intestine, nausea, dizziness. But now that monkey is off my back, I feel more myself and have a better gauge of my pain. I still have to take a few mgs on days when I get dysreflexia from pushing myself too far, but it’s nowhere close to the amount I was taking daily.

Now back to the regularly scheduled program… Straight Up! So the next big step is reforming all the soft tissue around my new hardware setup. My body has been deformed for so many years that it’s going to take at least a year and a lot of work before it will balance out. There is so much shifting in all the soft tissues because my core structure is completely different and more space was opened up. My internal organs have been slowly migrating back into place as my body changes, which feels achy and amazing! I’m still learning my new balance points and am engaging the muscles that were smushed and not working before. Navigating thru this entails a lot of body work to keep going. So far, I found an amazing deep tissue myofascial healer/therapist at Massage Heights North Natomas and a talented chiropractor for two disks in my neck that keep slipping out. Then I also have been doing limited PT, strengthening sessions at SCI-FIT Sacramento and working out at home every chance I get. My brother built me the same leg slider from the hospital PT so I could keep up with those awesome exercises! I still have some movement restrictions. Its killing me not to go full speed but I have been doing lots of isometric core work which gets you sweating! Still making and drinking my beef broth all the time to stoke the bone growth. Still doing my Arbonne completely kind nutritional shakes everyday. I’m amazed by how fast I have been healing and how good I have been feeling despite all the trauma. Getting stronger all the time!

I want to truly express how much I appreciate all the support that has come in so I’m able to do all of these healing things that I’m paying out of pocket for. This process is not easy and comes with a lot of uncomfortable days. I’m so grateful to have a cushion to allow me to maintain my body in a way where I can keep fighting to get STRAIGHT UP! I still have a far way to go so if you have any extra and/or are inclined to help, keep reading.

One of my dearest and oldest friends, Tara Harrison from college (the 1st time) drove from Oregon with her dog Magic when my dad left. She is finally getting sick of the Cali rain and has to leave by the end of this week so I’m recruiting some help to fill the gap until my mom gets here in mid March. Helpful things are visits, rides to appointments and meals. I looked into renting an accessible van but they want $2500 per month so I think I will stick with bumming rides or Uber for now. There is still a van purchase in my future but I won’t know what I need until the movement restrictions are lifted and I see what I can handle. They are quite a large investment though, so keep it coming!

I will set up a care calendar this week with my needs and I will send it out to all the people who have been offering to help. Oh, and if anyone wants to donate any body work, I’m totally open to receiving it! Thank you all so much and love and hugs to everyone! Stay dry! #straightup

If you want to donate to my cause:
http://www.gofundme.com/charvine
or https://paypal.me/charvine
If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation:
http://www.helphopelive.org/campaign/12154
If you shop Arbonne’s sustainably sourced, vegan, GMO-free, gluten-free, clean products, Char will get a % of sale:
http://www.charvine.arbonne.com
If you want to donate direct or product email:
mailto:char@charvine.com

STRAIGHT UP DATE 1/27/17

My first week home has been busy but good! We packed up and left SCVMC hospital last week. Medicare would not give me any more in-patient time because the last few days I was only utilizing the physical therapy. They figured I could do that from home not understanding the difficulties in finding therapists knowledgeable in SCI. I was overdue for some uninterrupted sleep and for real whole food anyway and was gifted a huge double rainbow on our drive home to kick off my next phase of recovery.

I returned to an empty apartment above me (for those of you that know) this was such a relief and the best homecoming gift. It wasn’t until I first rolled into my apartment, that I fully appreciated my new taller perspective! I’m sitting so much straighter and loving it!! Next I crawled into my new bed and I slept for about 12 hours straight. LOVE LoVe love my new bed!! Endless gratitude to all the people who made this happen for me. It is a huge blessing to have an adjustable bed thru this recovery, I can’t even express how helpful it is, especially since I was let out of the hospital so quickly. It even has different massage settings to help with circulation for healing. I just have to put quarters in it about every 15 minutes! Lol!

The first few days were a bit challenging since the lower planes are not in my reach as of now. Constant adaptation makes things more manageable over time but its never easy to loose mobility and things that you are accustomed to doing. I get angry and sad at times but then I remember how lucky I am. I’m still able to be independent, to cook, to drive and able to do all my personal care. It was so scary signing up for this surgery when I was gambling with chips that big and had bad odds. But a huge sigh of relief that the loss is minimal and the odds seem to have played out in my favor. Looks like all that hard work i put in upfront paid off! I’m feeling good and in the flow of things.

My dad is still by my side for another week and is taking excellent care of me. We traveled to SF on Monday and the doctors took out the stitches and the drain! Dr. Berven was quite impressed by the speed of my healing. He said he has not seen someone bounce back so quickly from this type of surgery. He nicknamed me Superstar! I know it has a lot to do with all of the positive energy coming my way and with having my nutrition on point throughout this journey. Please keep the good vibes coming!! He did put some limiting restrictions on my movement for the next 2 months to let things heal properly. A bit frustrating because I’m ready to go full speed with therapy but it looks like I have to stay in first gear for a bit longer.

Wednesday I went for my out-patient physical therapy evaluation. Medicare will cover 20 sessions (if I’m lucky) so the plan is, do one session every two weeks until the restrictions come off then go full speed for the remainder of the sessions. In the mean time my dad and I have come up with a stretching and exercise program at home and I am going to use some of the donated money to pay for a few months of SCI Fit (an out of pocket neuro-rehab). I’m hoping to do some stretching and strengthening of my upper body and core there while I wait for the restrictions to be lifted.

Yesterday all my wounds had scabbed over so I finally got to take a long hot shower!! First one in a month. I can’t tell you how good it felt! I can’t wait to take another one today! Everyday I make a little progress. I am very hopeful about the future.

I’m still researching different vans, trying to find the right fit. I will have to wait a bit yet to see where my mobility lands before I make my final decision. My dad and I are going next week to look at some used vans to get a better idea of what is out there. It is quite an investment as the conversion alone runs about $29,000 then you add he price of the vehicle to that. A bit overwhelming right now but trying to trust it will all come together as it should. I still have time to figure it out.

As always thank you so much for all the continued love and support. I would not be this far along if not for all the help. I am so humbled by the generosity and selflessness. And special thanks to Michelle and Heidi for jumping in to make the transition home smooth. I’m up for visitors and can get out for short trips so let me know if you would like to visit! Sending everyone big hugs! #straightup

If you want to donate to my cause:
http://www.gofundme.com/charvine
or https://paypal.me/charvine
If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation:
http://www.helphopelive.org/campaign/12154
If you shop Arbonne’s sustainably sourced, vegan, GMO-free, gluten-free, clean products, Char will get a % of sale:
http://www.charvine.arbonne.com
If you want to donate direct or product email:
mailto:char@charvine.com