Day 62 – Grayson’s Condition

Dear family and friends

Today was a fun day!

Grayson had a great deal of rest and was refreshed sufficiently to enjoy a long day. When he awoke at the crack of 10:00, he washed, shaved, dressed and walked and walked. By 1:00 he was pooped and laid down for a 2 hour nap. He got up at 3:00 and had occupational therapy. Today he had a special treat in OT – he played Black Jack! He was given quarters, dimes and nickels, and told how much to bet on each hand. This was a great game! He had to be able to pick up and hold his cards, be able to add the numbers up so he didn't go bust, determine what coins to put down to bet "15 cents", then actually pick up coins from the table and put them in the pot. His first hand he was delt an Ace and a 10, and he just beamed. (Note to self – have him work on his poker face before traveling to Vegas.) Good news is that without explanation, he was doing the math. Picking things up was way more of a struggle with his shaky hands and uncooperative fingers.

In Physical therapy today Grayson also had a good day. He threw and caught a large ball today. While in a standing position, he also kicked a ball rolled to him with his closest foot – focus on balance and decision making. Then he did the stairs for the first time. Without instruction, he just went from the bottom to the top, scaring the daylights out of the PT folks. He went up and down three times before that was old hat. He finished PT today with an obstacle course – cones to go around, a step to step on, and something to step over. All in all a great PT day.

Regina and I, along with Grayson's brother, and brother's girlfriend then took Grayson outside for the first time since arriving. We put him in a wheelchair, then went down the elevator to the garden level and went into the garden and koi pond. We were outside for about 45 minutes. He enjoyed watching the fish, but then started getting cold. I told him that he would warm up if he walked a bit, so he got up and walked around for a while. We came to a staircase, and he decided to go up it. I went along, and when he got to the top, he had gone up 24 steps. He turned around and came back down, then plopped back in the wheel chair. He was tired, so we headed back up to his floor.

We went straight to the family area, and Grayson picked out a movie for us to watch. He chose "Casino Royale" and we thoroughly enjoyed it. So did Grayson, because he stayed awake the whole time! Another friend came by and watched the end of the movie with us, then Grayson was done. Off to bed for the night.

So today we were blessed with new activity, new challenges conquered, good friends and lots of love. God again blesses us with His abundance!

Pax!

Brant