Dear family and friends
Today was a great day!
Grayson was as verbal as he has been since the incident. He was also speaking more clearly than he has since he started speaking again. He was reading words and reading sentences out loud. He actually kept talking most of the day. A couple of my favorite, or at least most memorable, lines of the day: "It doesn't hurt. It just annoys the h*** out of me!" (In reference to the band that holds his feeding tube.) "Oh c*** - I've lost a year and a half!" (This when he found out it is now 2010.)
Today was also the first day that we have been able to ask Grayson questions and to find out what he remembers in much greater depth, as he could respond understandably. It also gave us the first clue as to his suspected short term memory deficit. He was able to quickly tell me what the square root of 9 is. As expected, he had no clue where he was. We explained that he was in a hospital, that he had been there 2 months, and we told him the name and the city. A few minutes later we asked him where he was, and he said, "Australia". We explained again where he was, and he repeated it back. A few minutes later we asked again, and he said, "Hawaii". This also held for the date. He couldn't remember the year for the life of him, but he did locate the calendar and was able to look it up. He generally started with 1985 (his birth year) when asked the year. This is exactly what he was like for a week with his first incident in 2004. We get to start working the short term memory issues again, now that we can communicate with him. This part is just as scary as it was in 2004.
The wonderful parade of visitors continues. Today aunts and uncles visited – two of each! This evening we played Kings in the Corner for some time. This was also the first day that Grayson picked up a National Geographic and started reading it. In fact, he wouldn't go to bed until it was sitting on the chair next to him!
In our spare time, we are shopping for new reduced-size clothing for our version 2.0 svelte son. At 5o pounds lighter, none of his clothes fit. He needs at least a weeks worth at the new facility, so we are pulling them together. Regina brought in samples, and Grayson dutifully tried everything on. The returns are going back tomorrow, now that we know what fits!
God continues to lead us gently to new capability, and to new locations. All seem to arrive at precisely the correct time. There is a plan!
Pax!
Brant
Speaking as a fellow "Neurological," yes, "annoyance" is definitely the watchword. The good news is, as long as it's at the "annoyance" level, it actually IS good news--that "annoyance" is as bad as it has gotten.
ReplyDeleteAnd if he doesn't know where or when he is... well, he's been resurrected from the dead what, twice now? The last time required a complete reboot of his brain. It's no wonder his time/space coordinates are off a bit. But in all fairness, how many times have each of us looked at the calendar and said, "What day is it again?"
But he knows what a square root IS and he was able to give you a correct answer. This means he doesn't need to repeat high-school mathematics. That right there is incredibly good news. Given the choice between high-school math again and carrying a calendar... Hallmark, here I come!
Good news upon good news. Annoyance is just annoyance, and annoying as it is, it pales compared to the good news!