Celebration of Life

We have all the details for Karson's Celebratiom of Life. On Wedsnesday, January 26th we will be joining for drinks and a toast to honor Karson at Dick and Dixie's on 300 South 500 East at 7:00 pm in Salt Lake City (bring your best Karson story). Thursday from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm we will be having a viewing in Provo at the Edgemont Stake Center on 3700 North and 303 West. On Friday we will be having another viewing from 9:00 am until 10:45 am and the service will start at 11:00 am. Both of these will also be held at the Edgemont Stake Center in Provo. Karson will be buried in the Richfield City Cemetery in the Peterson family plot, which was the place he was born. The graveside service will start at 3:30 pm. Immediately after we will be gathering for a dinner at the Frontier Village in Richfield. Thanks again for all of your support, we love you.

Day 310

Today was the last day of Karson's battle. He passed away at 5:30 this morning. We will all miss him so much. Anybody who met Karson will never forget him. We will be holding a viewing on Thursday evening and a Celebration of Life will be Friday around noon. Once all of the plans have been set, we will let everyone know the details. In lieu of flowers, please donate money in Karson's name to your local homeless shelter or food bank.Thank you all for your continual love and support. These last ten months have been very trying and there is no way we could have gotten through it without any of you. Karson's motto explains it best, "Life's short, play it cool"Much love to you all!Karson we love you and this is only the beginning for you, you will be missed.Mike, Susan, Kass and Karissa

DAY 305

At Karson's last appointment, he got his baclofen increased to 300. It can go up to 1000, if we have to. It really seemed to ease up his muscles this last time. His infection is under control but his heart rate seems to stay high. This week he seems a lot more comfortable. My friend Allyson gives him massage once a week and my friend Jay, who is a chiropractor, works with him once a week. He loves both of these treatments. Our physical therapist has increased the time he spends with Karson to see if he get him ready for the U of U. We still don't have a definite time for him to go there yet. We are staying very positive that it will be soon. Karson had a lot of visitors last week. Thanks to all of you for supporting him. If Karson doesn't answer you when you ask questions, ask him to use his voice and that usually makes him say it louder so that you can hear him. He is great with yes and no questions and is starting to say a lot of other words. He loves his speech therapist, Ann Sumner, and works very well for her. His weight has stayed the same for a couple of weeks now so that he is not loosing weight anymore. He is at 140 lbs. My heart is so full of gratitude for all the people that have gotten Karson this far. We couldn't ask for a better family or friends. Thanks for all the support and love.

DAY 298

Karson seems to be coming down with an infection. I had the nurse call the doctor to see if we can put him on an antibotic. He has been having a fever on and off for the last day or two. He looks flushed and is not looking like himself. Karson has been doing so well. When he feels good, he really improves. It is just keeping him healthy that is the big problem. We take him up to Salt Lake again to the U of U for them to increase his baclofen tomorrow. I can tell that it is really helping in loosening him up. He still has a long way to go which will include surgeries to strip the joints. He is one tough cookie who can handle it. Karson all of us are impressed how you fight every day to make improvements. Thanks for all the continued support, love, and prayers. It gives us all strength.

DAY 289

Thank you so much for all the Christmas wishes and Happy New Year wishes that you sent Karson and our family. I know that a lot of you made a personal visit to Karson's room over the holidays which is much appreciated. Plus, all the great gifts that you gave Karson. We are putting them all to good use. Karson is doing well except for him biting his lip again. His speech therapy and physical therapy are coming along great. We are just waiting for the day when Dr. Elovic gives us the okay to move him up to the rehab at the U of U. Karson has to be able to move his muscles better which the baclofen pump assists in doing. We go up again next week to get his levels increased. Our family have high hopes for this coming year. We are so blessed to have so many wonderful family members and friends supporting us through this difficult journey. May 2011 bring much happiness into all your lives.

DAY 280 - Christmas Day

Christmas certainly has been different this year without Karson here. He got to come home for 3 1/2 hours yesterday but the van wasn't running today so we couldn't get him home. He loved being here on Christmas Eve but most of all, we enjoyed him here. Our house just isn't the same without our everloving, always joking, spontaneous, and sweet brother, son and uncle. Our little Reese, who just turned two, looked at me today in the mist of celebrating, and said "Where's Karson?" All of us were missing him badly and know that he will be here with us next year. He had an appointment with Dr. Elovic on Thursday and they moved his baclofen pump which is always a good sign because if he hasn't progressed or if he is in any pain, they won't increase it. In January, we have him signed up for 2 hours a day with a physical therapist that we know will aid in getting Karson where he has to be to get moved up to the U of U rehab. His speech therapist says that every time she works with Karson, he gets better. He is trying to talk to her so she is going to work on ways for him to tell us what he is trying to say. As soon as the speech therapist feels like he is ready, we will do a swallow test to see if he can start putting solids in his mouth. I can't wait to give him his first bite of real food. We wish all of you a very happy holiday season. Happy New Year to All.

DAY 273

We took Karson up for his weekly appointment to Dr. Elovic. He changed some of his medications and gave me some recommendations to make Karson more comfortable. Being in that bed 24/7 reeks havoc on a body......He didn't get his baclofen increased at the appointment because he has a bad sore on his little toe from curling his feet so tight and he has hemorroids from always having his body in a fight mode. Increasing the baclofen while he is getting through pain is not a good idea. All I can say is that Karson is one tough person. I have seen him go through so much these past 9 months and he still is fighting. He is doing great with is speech therapist. His swallow is getting so much better. I can't wait to be able to feed him real food. He continues to have a lot of visitors. Thanks so much for all the support. This has been a tough time for Karson and our family. We couldn't have done it without all the love and support that you all have given us. We wish all of you a very Happy Holiday season with your families and friends.