Dear family and friends
Today was a good day. So was yesterday! I apologize again about not getting a posting out yesterday.
The last two days have seen Grayson continue to improve. His color has returned as whatever bug that has had him in its grip is waning. His energy has returned, and he is smiling more than ever. Yesterday he worked with Regina for a long time relearning how to make consonant sounds. He would watch her intently as Regina would exaggerate the consonants. Some of that paid off today when I tried to stop him from doing something, and he said, "Hurts". I was then able to pinpoint the problem and solve it. How much we take the simplest form of communication for granted.
Today we did some puzzle building, some number matching, and lots and lots of walking. The highlight for me today was when I returned to his room after stepping away for a few minutes. He was lying on his bed with his hands behind his head with a big grin on his face. I was perplexed for a minute until I realized that he was wearing my favorite USC sweatshirt that I had left on the couch. He was cracking himself up, and I couldn't help but laugh right along with him. Yes he is still playful and has a great sense of humor.
The tracheostomy is still bugging the heck out of him, and I hope that we don't go too far into next week before that offending piece of gear can be removed.
Grayson's progress can only be described as miraculous. His sitter today was last with him about 10 days ago. He was stunned by his progress. Today I have no fear taking him for a walk by myself. A few days ago, I would only be comfortable if we had one person on either side with someone with a wheelchair right behind.
I still wonder how much is possible to recover with an anoxic brain event of this duration. It has been difficult as parents as we discovered more about the events surrounding his cardiac incident. We are now able to review the records from his ICD and determine that he was down almost 12 minutes with no circulation. His cardiologist said to me that it is a miracle that Grayson is with us at all, and that few of us could tolerate that much time without oxygen. For the record, the paramedics were dispatched as 11:23, and arrived at 11:28. They performed CPR for 2 minutes before administering defibrillation, and it took two shocks to get him back to a normal heartbeat. By my calculation he went down at 11:18 AM PT, 16 November 2009. This is the second time he has been pulled back from the brink, but this time he has been left in a pretty compromised condition. Perhaps, God is not quite done with Grayson yet. I sure hope not!
Pax!
Brant and Regina
God is never "done" with anybody. He just doesn't like to spoil the surprise with what's in store; after all, nobody likes to hear the ending before they're finished with the story, and least of all does the storyteller like to give away the ending.
ReplyDeleteWe all take communication for granted. We're all limited in our ability to communicate; we just don't notice because we are (on average) pretty equally limited. Look at all the Gospel parables that are metaphors: "The kingdom of heaven is like..." He couldn't tell us what it was *really* like, he did the best he could, to get his message across to people of limited communication skills. But in Grayson's marvelous smile, he communicates a *great deal*. The rest will come in time.
But as to compromised: As long as I've known him, one thing's for sure: There's more going on inside that head than anybody even suspects. And I imagine that's just as true now as it has ever been. We'll see where the journey takes us, and thank you SO MUCH for keeping us with you, electronically!
Hi Brant and Regina:
ReplyDeleteI "ditto" what Mr. Parker so aptly communicated.
Remember, 3 years ago I was in my coma, for weeks, and though the circumstances were different, there are similarities, and I know I have progressed to nearly normal...in some areas, much better than I was before. To the glory of God.
So, we are with you for the long run, and I'm so encouraged by Grayson's progress...in my experience I hit a number of platues along the way that I had to fight through to gain progress, and it was good...not easy, but good.
So, may 2010 be a "good year" for us all!
In Him,
Doug
Apologize for not getting out a posting? With all you and Regina have been going through? We who follow Grayson's progress do look here to see what's going on, but with all you're dealing with, don't worry yourself about posting something a day later . . . we can wait! Again, I am amazed at all you do. I've known you for over 30 years and realize that very very few people could do what you've been doing. You take care of each other and still manage to think about all of us. Quite remarkable. On another note, God is great and He does wonderful things, but Grayson's will to fight and his humor in surprising you by wearing your favorite USC sweatshirt reflects back again on you and Regina and the way you have raised your family. Your kids all have great gifts brought forward from what you've given to them.
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