Day 105 – Grayson’s Condition

Dear family and friends

Regina, Lauren and I had a great visit with Grayson today. We went to church in the morning then had lunch together this afternoon. We again enjoyed sushi, as it is a favorite with him, and we have a very understanding staff that works with us at the restaurant.

Grayson's impulsivity with regard to eating has appeared to be improved. He was also a lot more "with it" this week compared to the last week as he was significantly more attentive, and displayed a lot more self control. His speech also showed improvement after a few weeks of being mostly non-verbal.

After lunch, we returned to his residence for a visit. We spent a few hours reading with him, throwing a ball around, and playing cards before heading home.

Grayson had a real treat this evening. He went to a live production of "Camelot". For those who know Grayson, he loves musical theater, and this was quite special. In fact, based on Grayson's input at a recent "town hall" meeting at the residence, this activity was added just for him. I think that we were just as thrilled as Grayson was that he had the opportunity to participate in this outing!

This was a great day that the Lord made. Let us be glad and rejoice in it!

Pax!

Brant

Day 104 – Grayson’s Condition

Today I attended my 40^th high school reunion. For one reason or another I have missed each of the previous reunions – life just seemed to get in the way throughout the years. When I weighed the decision whether or not I should attend, I felt once again that I would have to pass up the opportunity. We so treasure our weekends with Grayson.

First, I let go of my guilt. After all, Brant and Lauren were going to be with Grayson and he would know he is loved by his family. Second, I realized that, with the weekend's storms, there was a good chance that the grapevine might be impassible and we don't have chains for the second car. Good excuses, right?

Lastly, I just let go and let God. I admit I was looking forward to seeing these classmates after 40 years but I was unprepared for how much it affected me. I walked into a room of 59-year old women and immediately felt surrounded by love. Word of Grayson's situation had already spread among them (thanks to Facebook), the years disappeared and we shared that unique wrinkle in time that you only experience a few times in life. The outpouring of love and prayers made me feel part of something larger than high school, larger than the common experience of parenthood. By no means was I the only one in the room whose life has taken a huge left turn. The room was filled with the challenges of parents, children, health, employment and faith. For one afternoon we felt we were all in this together. For one afternoon these were not just classmates from 40 years ago but we were sisters in life loving each other and praying for each other.

Tonight I drove up to rendezvous with Brant and Lauren and tomorrow morning we take Grayson to church with us. But he won't just be with us. We will have the whole communion of saints with us. I know that is how we have been able to walk so securely on this journey so far.

Thank you for walking it with us.

Regina

Day 103 – Grayson’s Condition

Dear family and friends

Regina and I spoke with Grayson today. It was a nice conversation, as it is always good to hear his voice. While we had a nice chat, he still seems to be confused about the things he has done. He was difficult to understand over the phone, but there seems to be a slight improvement over the last week.

Grayson did his daily chores. Today he vacuumed and dusted his bedroom, and prepared his shopping list for the grocery store tomorrow morning. Dinner prep was easy tonight, as he reheated leftovers from yesterday.

Relearning the activities of daily living, working with checklists, being reminded to plan for the next week – these are the things that I really appreciate about this program!

We are sure looking forward to seeing him this weekend.

Pax!

Brant

Day 102 – Grayson’s Condition

Dear family and friends

Rehab therapy – it is the gift provided by our medical plan. It requires hard work, dedication and commitment to receive the full benefit. One of the things I have been concerned with is Grayson's buy-in to do the hard work of therapy. To someone with limited short-term memory, how do you explain the reasons in a way that it is motivating?

This week, when Grayson decided not to do something he was asked to do by the speech therapist, Grayson said, "What incentive is there for me to do this?" Not missing a beat, the therapist asked him what would motivate him, candy, a break, a nap. Grayson responded, "Candy". She said ok, and said if he did his work for the rest of the hour, he would get a piece of candy. That was all it took. Grayson worked hard for the remainder of the period, and for a reward, received his piece of candy.

While we may need to have him brush his teeth a little more frequently, I think that they hit on something this week! Hopefully we can progress from this simple, immediate and tasty reward to other reward systems.  Hmmm, what motivates you?

Pax!

Brant

Day 101 – Grayson’s Condition

Dear family and friends

Today Grayson had a good day. After arriving home from the clinic, he jumped on his chores. Today these chores included checking the mail and vacuuming the living room. He was quite cooperative with the staff tonight.

I had a conversation with Grayson on the phone this evening. Grayson said to me that he "wanted to come back to Earth". When I asked him what he meant, he stated that the "atmospheric pressure here is too great." This was another reminder that we still have a long way to go.

Dinner tonight was easy. Grayson had some outing money left over, so he ordered "Wednesday Dinner in". Tonight he had garlic & chicken fettuccini from California Pizza Kitchen and thoroughly enjoyed it. After dinner, since there were no dishes, he read his National Geographic's until bedtime.

Simple days, new realities and much to be thankful for.

Pax!

Brant

Day 100 – Grayson’s Condition

Dear family and friends

Day 100. Wow. We have come a long way. We have a long way to go.

Good evening, all. Grayson had a good day today. He did his chores, which included laundry today, and he went down to check the mail. He also had a nice walk today.

Tonight was the first Arts and Crafts night at the rec center. Grayson participated, and tonight he made a smiling scorpion. It is back in his apartment and I will get the opportunity to see it on Sunday. It is bittersweet to be looking forward to seeing the artwork made by your child, then to remember that he is 24 years old. It seems only yesterday that we did this in 1994 with Grayson. We are fortunate to have the opportunity to do this with him again.

Pax!

Brant

Day 99 – Grayson’s Condition

Dear family and friends

Grayson was very cooperative and helpful today. He participated in music therapy tonight, and was quite active the entire time.

Monday chores included sweeping and mopping the kitchen floor. He accomplished these tasks and some laundry tonight. The lad was very cooperative!

Grayson called me again today. We had a nice chat, though tonight it was very difficult to understand him. Most everything he told me I had to have him repeat at least three times. Not sure what is going on here, but I suspect we will find out soon!

I'll check in with him again tomorrow and we will see what surprises are in store!

Pax!

Brant

Day 98 – Grayson’s Condition

Dear family and friends

Grayson was very cooperative and pleasant today, however he was very non-verbal. Before we left, he gave his sister a belated birthday present that he had picked out with us a few weeks ago. It was wonderful that she was there in person to receive it.

Today, Grayson was observed by his residential treatment coordinator (RTC) for several hours. This is one of the ways that she can bring issues, suggestions and questions back to his primary therapists. This is also one of the ways that she can compile data for her next report. We will have a conference in the next week. It is good to keep the pressure on the staff!

Grayson called us this evening! Before he went to bed, he gave us the first phone call he has made since November 16^th. It was great to hear from him and about his day.

Grayson was sleepy all day, and since we had left earlier, he was allowed to go to bed early – 7:30 tonight!

He has been disappointingly non-verbal all weekend. After hugging us good-bye before we left, how surprised we were when he spoke out loud, "See you next weekend!" What a great departure gift!

I leave you tonight with a picture of Grayson with Mom and sister from the sushi restaurant yesterday.

Pax!

Brant

Day 97 – Grayson’s Condition

Dear family and friends

As he does every Saturday, Grayson caught the transportation to the grocery at 9:00 AM. He and his resident assistant (RA) did the shopping for the week. Today the staff complimented us on his cooperation, helpfulness and behavior at the market. After some difficulty last week, this was welcome news.

We had a very nice day with Grayson. We had sushi for lunch as we did last Sunday. Our waitress was so taken with us that she spent some time to get to know us and to know Grayson. We found out that she has an 8 year old with severe developmental issues. It was a moment for parents to share love and support.

We spent time in the rec center playing Wii today. We golfed, boxed, bowled and played tennis – all without leaving the room! We had fun together as a family. While Regina and I were playing Wii tennis, his sister did what she does best – draw. She did a sketch of a dog, and Grayson watched intently and talked to her about it.

We retired back to Grayson's apartment to watch the Olympics until it was time to go. It was a very nice day!

Pax!

Brant

Day 96 – Grayson’s Condition

Dear family and friends

Grayson was happy to see us today! He was also surprised and happy that we brought his sister along for a visit. Grayson was particularly pleasant and quite cooperative. He was much more verbal than he has been lately, and he answered lots of questions posed by his sister. We had a nice visit, before Grayson started getting tired and wanted to go to bed around 8:00. It was an encouraging day.

While we will need to wait until our next conference to receive measurable results, it appears that Grayson's working memory is improving a bit. He was able to listen to a paragraph of text then answer questions about it. He is also able to give sequential instructions to accomplish multi-step tasks such as how to decorate a Christmas tree. This too looks encouraging.

It appears that there has been some growth this week. Tomorrow we will spend the day with him (after his regular grocery store run) and we will get a better idea of where we are on our journey.

Pax!

Brant

Day 95 – Grayson’s Condition

Dear family and friends

Grayson had another good day today. After arriving back at his apartment after clinic, he did his chores (today is inventory and shopping list day), watched his 1 hour (max) of TV, then made his dinner. He also had an opportunity to play checkers for a while with his residential assistant (RA).

After dinner and checkers, he took the opportunity to go on an outing to a frozen yogurt shop. Outings are also therapy. Getting out into the community is important. Managing scarce resources is also an important lesson. All of the patients here get an allowance of $24 per week for outings, and tonight's outing cost $7. Thursday is the first day of the outing week, so Grayson has $17 of outing money remaining for the rest of the week.

Tonight the report is again short. Grayson got home after 9:00, and immediately got ready for bed. I didn't get a report from the clinic, but I'm wondering how he is doing on less than 10 hours sleep per night. Sounds weird, but that is what he has been getting!

Tomorrow we're off to see him for the weekend!

Pax!

Brant

Day 94 – Grayson’s Condition

Dear family and friends

Grayson had a good day today. When he returned to his apartment after a day at the clinic, he jumped right on his chores. Today is Wednesday – laundry day! After getting the laundry done he made a dinner with the assistance of his residential assistant (RA). On the menu tonight was baked chicken, a baked potato and a vegetable. He did the dishes then hustled over to transportation for a ride to the movies (yes, with his RA)! He chose to see New Moon.

Grayson was particularly cooperative and jovial today with the residential staff. He was also much more verbal than he has been lately. I apologize that I don't have more to report, but I just got off the phone with him and his RA. It is really late for him, and he was getting ready for bed – about 1 ½ hours later than normal! Hopefully his energy will be up tomorrow!

It was wonderful to see so many of you at church for Ash Wednesday services tonight. Thanks for all of the hugs, prayers and good wishes.

Pax!

Brant

Day 93 – Grayson’s Condition

Dear family and friends

Grayson had another sleepy day today. While the residence staff had some difficulty keeping him interested and going, he managed to get in a card game, and some ball throwing activity.

I had a nice telephone conversation with Grayson today. He had just been rewarded with a piece of cake for some positive behavior, and he was quite content. He is beginning to understand that he has some control over what he does, and he has figured out that he can refuse to do certain things. The staff is trying to find the right set of incentives to encourage Grayson to accomplish the things needed to keep him focused on recovering. The cake seemed to have some effect tonight!

Grayson appears to be getting just a bit better with his "orientation" questions. Today he remembered the name of his resident staff person, and he knew what year it was. That is the first time that I remember him getting the year correct yet. While a positive sign, he also couldn't remember a thing about what he did today. Short term memory remains a bit of a mystery.

Today marks three months since Grayson's incident on November 16^th. It seems like a lifetime and a flash all at once. We are grateful for the love of family and friends that have helped carry us this far, and your prayers that Grayson will continue to improve.

Pax!

Brant

Day 92 – Grayson’s Condition

Dear family and friends

Grayson was exceptionally low energy today. He had trouble getting out of bed this morning and staying up all day. Because of the holiday, the clinic was closed, so the lazy day didn't have much effect on his therapy. He went to bed at 8:00 this evening, so hopefully a good, long night's sleep will have him ready to go in the morning.

He did participate in music therapy this evening, but his participation was a bit half hearted due to his energy level. After dinner, he played video games for a while in the rec center with one of his buddies from the center. After that, it was time for bed.

Given that we will have up and down days, today was a bit of a down day. I spoke with some dear friends today, and it reminded me that I have not mentioned lately how grateful that we are for all of your prayers, cards and good wishes. They lift us up, especially when we become disappointed. Thank you – you are all blessings from God!

Pax!

Brant

Day 91 – Grayson’s Condition

Dear family and friends,

This is a day to remember the command "Love one another" and we did just that.

We started the day at the same Lutheran church as last Sunday and were warmly welcomed by name as we entered the front door and made our way up the aisle. We were surprised how many people remembered Grayson's name until we sat and perused the bulletin. There on the page of special prayer reminders was a one paragraph summary of Grayson's condition, thankfulness to God for Grayson exceeding initial expectations, and a prayer request supporting us on our healing journey. It is such a blessing to have a familiar home away from home on Sunday mornings.

Even though Grayson was very low energy and non-verbal today, he again found his voice and joined in singing each hymn and reciting the Lord's Prayer. We are so grateful that he finds safety and motivation in the familiar environment of music and prayer.

As a special Valentine's Day treat we had a delightful lunch at a sushi restaurant. The situation was close to perfect as we were the only customers and it was not over-stimulating. The waitress was patient and understanding and she filled Grayson's glass only half full (perfect for his shaky hands).

One of the significant challenges with Grayson is impulsivity and the lack of any awareness of consequence. This causes safety issues because he will repeatedly and rapidly take large bites of food or stuff his mouth to overflow without chewing or swallowing in between. Sushi turned out the perfect lunch. Not only is he a big fan of sushi but we were able to order one roll at a time and share it piece by piece. No overeating and no battle to control his pacing.

After lunch we walked for about an hour around his neighborhood enjoying the spectacular weather. We observed birds, dogs, and trees (lemon, grapefruit, and orange) and sang songs or hummed as we walked. The hour long walk was important because we are trying to increase his stamina and slowly increase his cardiac conditioning. The rest of the day was spent in the wonderful minutia of daily life that we no longer take for granted.

Today we celebrated a loving, peaceful day together. Today we celebrated life - song by song, bite by bite and step by step.

Grace and peace to each of you this Valentine's Day.

Regina

Day 90 – Grayson’s Condition

Dear family and friends

Today we spent most of the day with Grayson. On Saturdays, his first task after getting himself ready, is to do the grocery shopping for the week. He does an inventory (and refrigerator purge) on Wednesday night and his shopping list is made on Thursday night. We like to give him and his care givers space during this weekly task, so he had just come back from the store when we arrived today.

Today was a warm sunny day. After Grayson labeled and put his groceries away, we went to the park across the street and played Backgammon, followed by a nice walk. Grayson's walking and balance is getting noticeably better.

Tonight Regina and I prepared a dinner in his apartment for the three of us. We enjoyed a nice salad, salmon and rice together as a family – the first time we have sat together for a home cooked meal since November 15^th. After dinner, there was a cookie decorating (and eating) activity in the rec center, and Grayson thoroughly enjoyed it!

After the cookie run, we sat and watched the Olympics until it was time to leave.

Today is a special day – the anniversary of our three children's and my baptism in 1994. Today the three of us celebrated that day together.

Pax!

Brant

Day 89 – Grayson’s Condition

Dear family and friends

We traveled to see Grayson this evening. When we arrived he was playing chess with his RA. While I'm not sure how difficult the competition was, he taught his RA how to set up the board, and what the moves are. I was impressed!

Grayson was so happy to see us and he gave us multiple big hugs and lots and lots of smiles. He was in an exceptionally good mood – it must have been a good day!

We had a nice visit, then we watched the prelude to the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games. The Winter Olympics is one of Grayson's favorites to watch. In fact, the past two Winter Games, Grayson, his brother and I spent one weekend with our Scout troop watching the Games while in the deep snow of the ski resort of Mammoth.

As Grayson now goes to bed by 9:00 PM, we departed before the ceremonies began. We look forward to spending time with him tomorrow and Sunday.

It was a good day.

Pax!

Brant

Day 88 – Grayson’s Condition

Dear family and friends

Today Grayson was better than yesterday. Inappropriate behavior was significantly less, and that is certainly good. At this point in his redevelopment, he needs to use more socially acceptable ways to express himself. Just as we sometimes wish to do something wild when we get upset, our social governor kicks in and prevents us from doing something inappropriate. Grayson needs to build a new social governor to invoke when something upsets him.

Continuing the review of Grayson's evaluation, tonight's topic is language and speech.

Grayson is minimally to moderately impaired in his ability to communicate and understand. His ability to sustain attention is significantly impaired, and this interferes with his ability to participate in and gain full benefit from this therapy. As you can tell from this video from January 30th, his speech is poorly articulated making him difficult to understand. While we have noticed some improvement in this area, multiple repetitions are sometimes required in order for him to get his message across.

Grayson has significant deficits in the area of memory – especially short term and working. He also is displaying deficits in problem solving, processing speed, reasoning and categorization. Much of this can be related back to the memory issue, as it requires both storage and recall to be able to solve multi-step problems. Today, this is way beyond Grayson.

I want to make sure that you all realize that this is the "is" condition for Grayson today, not a predictor of the future. With hard work in therapy over a period of time, some of these deficits may improve. Time and hard work will tell just who Grayson will be.

Pax!

Brant

Day 87 – Grayson’s Condition

Dear family and friends

Today Grayson was a bit off of his game. Inappropriate behavior is an unfortunate but well understood part of the healing process. Today Grayson became frustrated, went non-verbal, and started striking out to get his way. The staff is used to this sort of behavior, and quickly diffused the situation. It does show that we're still on the roller coaster, and not all growth looks pretty.

I said that I would share more of Grayson's evaluation over the next few days. Today I will talk about his evaluation by physical therapy.

While Grayson is able to appear relatively normal while walking, there are a large number of subtle issues that lie just below the surface. His ability to flex and bend has been affected, decreasing the range of motion in certain areas that impact his ability to perceive danger. His lower extremity strength has been significantly impaired due to his extended hospital stay. His balance is moderately impaired, and significantly impaired with occluded vision, decreasing his safety in poorly lit or dark environments. Gross and fine motor coordination in the lower extremities is also significantly impaired, decreasing his ability to catch his balance or safely participate in certain activities such as driving. Obviously this will also greatly interfere with his ability to ski, something that he loves to do.

These limitations, coupled with his cognitive defects, make Grayson dependent on round-the-clock care for his safety. Grayson now has a muscle strengthening program and a program to increase his flexing to address those areas most affected by his hospital stay. A program to learn new ways to maintain balance is also being implemented. Short term goals here are to build muscle strength and flexibility to allow him to safely accomplish basic activities of daily living.

I've said it many times, but this is a long journey. Each day we get a little further down the road. Fortunately, God is there helping us along when we stumble.

Pax!

Brant

Day 86 – Grayson’s Condition

Dear family and friends

I spoke with Grayson on the phone this evening. In person, he frequently goes non-verbal, but on the phone, he has made the connection that he has to use his voice. Next time he goes all quiet and whispery on me, perhaps I'll pick up my cell phone and call him!

Today he had a rare second opportunity for music therapy this week. One of the staff is also a musician, and came to the rec center to do some music. Grayson went over there check it out, and according to his RA, he seemed to enjoy himself.

Tonight was laundry night. Grayson did his laundry, helped his RA prepare dinner, did the dishes, and was generally helpful and happy. I hope that this is a result of adjusting to the change in meds. As of tomorrow, he will be completely off of one, and they will start weaning him off the second later this week.

Regina did a wonderful job of discussing the conference we had yesterday. I'll share my perspective over the next few days, mostly building on what she has already shared, and giving some specifics so that you may have a better idea where Grayson is today. I don't want anyone to lose perspective – Grayson has come a long, long way in these past few weeks. That in itself is a miracle for which we are grateful. I just want you to be aware of his current status, and to understand the uphill road he needs to travel.

Tonight I will share a bit about Grayson's abilities in the area of sensation. This is one of the areas that Grayson has significant deficits. The sensation areas most significantly impacted are the ability to distinguish hot and cold, his sense of taste and smell, and his inability to sense the relative position of his body. Several of these are critical safety concerns – relative position of his body while around moving objects, the ability to smell smoke or spoiled food, stepping into a scalding shower and not able to sense the temperature, or the inability to sense freezing temperature and getting frostbite. Unfortunately, these are areas that are not likely to improve much with time, and Grayson will have to learn coping mechanisms to compensate for their loss. Fortunately, coping mechanisms can be learned, and since he is not the first to have these challenges, there are known ways that they can be taught.

It is a miracle that we have the ability to teach Grayson a new way to live. In reality, I believe that the Lord is teaching me more about His miracle of life each day. Life abounds from wheelchairs and walkers, the non-verbal, the bolus fed and the incontinent. I will never again take for granted the blessings of health that my family and I have been given.

Pax!

Brant

Day 85 – Grayson’s Condition

Today was joyFULL and sobering.

As Brant mentioned previously, the first two weeks at this facility were filled with testing and evaluation. Baselines were established in a wide variety of physical, occupational, speech and social skills. In addition, health status and medication status were reviewed. We met for several hours with representatives of each major area and received written and oral progress reports. It is quite a thorough process and most informative.

The dramatic improvement Grayson has made over the last 12 weeks is exciting, encouraging, and a cause for grateful celebration. Nothing can ever diminish that. Physically he is getting stronger and more competent and short-term goals are to gain back lost strength resulting from his lengthy hospitalization. Gross and fine motor coordination is significantly decreased and is a source of frustration.

Grayson is gaining more competencies in daily living tasks but clearly still has significant safety risks. Obvious recent improvements in speech and verbal abilities come and go due to a variety of factors and we are still confident improvements will continue steadily in this area.

The less visible deficits are more sobering and it is more difficult to predict outcomes. There are numerous impairments that significantly affect his ability to respond to certain stimuli, identify hazards, or respond appropriately. The counselor likened an anoxic brain injury to Swiss cheese where there can be holes scattered throughout. Information retention, processing and retrieval can be tricky if a "hole" exists where it didn't before. Sometimes a new path around the "hole" can be forged – sometimes not. His short term memory is still significantly impaired which obviously interferes with learning (or relearning).

Grayson has a rich imagination and love of fantasy worlds, languages, and creatures. That rich fantasy world now co-mingles with reality. The result is sometimes a bizarre description of his understanding of what is going on or why he won't or can't do something.

Without getting too deeply into the clinical description of his impairments and his competencies, it is encouraging to hear that "it is a good thing he is a nice person to begin with". His core personality helps him as he works to regain control over his body and mind. We were reminded of what we already knew, that this is going to be a long journey with an unidentified destination.

This evening we joined him in the middle of his Monday music therapy. This weekly session is voluntary, held in the recreation room of the residence. No one else attended tonight, so it was a Reed family session. The gentleman who led the session is wonderful, armed with patience, musical skill, sensitivity and a boatload of musical instruments for patients (and family) to provide rhythm to his flute and stringed instruments. Grayson happily sang along to a wide variety of songs (while reading the words), tapping his foot and trying out various rhythm instruments. What a multi-faceted therapy session it was! It involved his whole body including eyes, ears, voice, feet, brain, lungs, heart – and his lucky parents. After a whole day of hearing him speak rarely above a whisper – it was joyFULL to hear him singing out AND singing on pitch as well as rolling his eyes and giving his dad "the look" when he made corny jokes or referred to Reed family silly songs.

I thank God today for caring, patient, methodical, and educated caregivers and for music that reaches into the deepest recesses of our being and gives us joy.

Grace and peace,

Regina

Day 84 – Grayson’s Condition

Dear family and friends

Today we got to spend the day with Grayson. All day Grayson was very quiet and subdued. He used very few words today, and was very low energy.

The day started with church. We returned to the small Lutheran church we visited last week, and were again welcomed warmly. It was fun to hear Grayson sing hymns, and today he said the Lord's Prayer. It was great to hear his voice because, as mentioned earlier, he was mostly non verbal today. After service we went to lunch.

Our younger son and his girlfriend joined the three of us for lunch. We had a leisurely lunch, then all of us returned to our hotel to watch the Super Bowl in a quiet location. While Grayson is far from a sports fan, the Super Bowl is a lot more glitz and other entertainment, than a sporting event. In other words, there was sufficient other activity to hold his attention through the first half! At half time, we headed back to the residence campus to meet his med schedule, and for his dinner. We watched the exciting conclusion of the game there.

After the game, we got to meet one of Grayson's young friends from the program that came by for a visit. He is a great kid that is about to leave the program. He is suffering from a traumatic brain injury as a result of a car accident last year. After months in the program, he is getting ready to go back to school and get on with his young life – with new motivation and purpose. It was great to see a living success story, and it gives us hope that we too will get there with Grayson.

So far, everything we have seen says we made the correct decision on a facility for Grayson. Praise God for leading us here and allowing it to happen!

Pax!

Brant

Day 83 – Grayson’s Condition

Dear family and friends

This evening we had a nice visit with Grayson. He had just awoken from a nap when we arrived, and was a bit confused, but delighted to see us. We had surprise visitors with us tonight – his brother and girlfriend. We enjoyed a delightful quiet family time together this evening.

Tonight we shared with Grayson many of the cards and emails that have come addressed to him over the past few months. He was quite interested, and he knew all of your names. We also shared a large poster-sized greeting from boys and leaders in his old Boy Scout troop. We helped Grayson put all of them up on the wall or on his bulletin board.

Grayson is still not sure of the year. He thought Gray Davis was still the governor, and that George Bush was still president. Since I know that he has been told the answer to these questions several times, it indicates that his short term memory is still affected. This is an area that I am sure we will hear more about at our conference on Monday.

So, our uncharacteristic rainy day in California draws to a close. We pray that the stimulation from his therapies propels Grayson on to continued growth.

Pax!

Brant

Day 82 – Grayson’s Condition

Dear family and friends

Today Grayson did a little better than yesterday. He was cooperative today, and did his chores and his homework without complaining.

Every afternoon after he comes home from the clinic he does various homework activities with his RA, the acronym for the staff member that stays with him. All of the exercises have fancy acronyms, but there are orientation exercises (what is the address here, the phone number, who is the president, what time is it, what is the date, etc.), reasoning exercises (name 5 things that start with the letter b, name 3 novels, where would you find flotsam, where would you find a treble clef, etc.), and activities of daily living (ADL's – I remember that one!) that include household chores, cooking and basic personal care.

Grayson had prepared a lot of food over the past few days, so tonight was an old family favorite for dinner – musgo. You know, this must go, that must go – musgo. After dinner he went for a walk, and played some games in the rec center. After a little TV before bed, he turned in around 9:00.

We are looking forward to seeing him this weekend. When we talk to him on the phone, he seems to be changing daily. We are excited to see how he has grown this past week. God continues to work miracles for us.

Pax!

Brant

Day 81 – Grayson’s Condition

Dear family and friends

Today Grayson made some progress, and sometimes progress does not always appear positive.

During his visit with the neurologist today, it was determined that Grayson should be weaned off of the first of his two medications that act as sedatives. This is great news as drugs that interfere with his brain function are being withdrawn to allow healing to continue more freely. The first of the drugs will be reduced then eliminated over the next week. Then if things go well, the second will weaned the following week. This is great news!

When Grayson arrived home from the clinic this evening, he was a bit off his game. From around 4:00 until about 6:30 his behavior was just not normal. He was not cooperative with his care givers, was unhappy about various things, and exhibited some uncharacteristic bits of aggression. Fortunately he calmed down early in the evening, started behaving normally, and finished the evening playing games with friends at the rec center. The evening ended normally as he got himself ready for bed, and turned in around 9:00.

We know that he will be passing through some difficult phases during his recovery, and withdrawal from meds can very well exacerbate some of those phases. We trust the staff at the center, and know that they care about him. I speak with his primary care giver each evening to get a sense of what is happening, and can tell just how much they care about him. We know that challenges await us. Isn't it great to know that the staff is ready and prepared to deal with them when they appear?

Pax!

Brant

Day 80 – Grayson’s Condition

Dear family and friends

Regina and I had a nice chat with Grayson on the phone tonight. He was excited to hear that we would be coming to visit him this weekend, and staying over until Monday to have a conference with the staff at the center. He told me much about the things he has been doing over the past few days. As you might expect, Grayson was close, but he doesn't always get the facts straight. The staff filled in the blanks and corrected the sequence after Grayson went to bed at 8:30.

Yesterday there was a town hall meeting of the patients in the residential village hosted by the head of the residential program. There was a lot of conversation about the outings and free time activity. Grayson wanted to give his input and rose to speak. As I mentioned yesterday, now when he is in a crowd he tends to whisper. Well, because he was whispering, the room got very, very quiet so they could hear what Grayson had to say. He stopped, and said to his care giver beside him, "They are all looking at me!" She explained that they wanted his input, and with that, he spoke out. He suggested more outing options that were not sport related, and perhaps some music outings. He was thanked for his input by the host. BTW – his favorite part of the meeting was the snacks!

Grayson is doing well with his daily checklist. When it is explained to him that a task is on his checklist, he gets it done right away, after he looks at the list just to be sure. Yesterday was laundry day, and laundry he did. When his care giver asked him why he separated his sheets from his sweat pants for laundry loads, he said, "Those are green, and these are gray." While it would not have been a problem here, he has never forgotten the time he put a new (red) USC t-shirt in with his whites. The lesson learned years ago – never mix colors!

The more I talk to the staff, and to Grayson, the more I know that the Lord led us to the right place. He even made us sweat a bit before we got permission 5 hours before we arrived! But arrive we did, and after a bit more than a week, I see good things happening here daily.

Pax!

Brant

Day 79 – Grayson’s Condition

Dear family and friends

This is now the longest we have been away from Grayson since his incident on November 16^th. I spoke with his case manager at length today, and the conversation ranged from such mundane things as dental care, to issues regarding proper supervision and stages of recovery. Grayson is doing very well, but he has a long way to go.

When Grayson becomes over stimulated, or the environment has too many diverse things going on, he generally withdraws. With lots of people around, he stops using his voice and starts to whisper. In a quieter environment, or when just a few people are around, Grayson becomes a lot more verbal. This is why we were so surprised and pleased that we have found him singing in areas where there are lots of people around. Granted they are safe, singing hymns in church and singing and playing drums in music therapy, but nevertheless he is singing out in situation where he won't speak. Way cool!

Next Monday we will have our first conference with his caregivers. It will be an opportunity to see Grayson in his new environment again, as well as having a lengthy conversation with his physicians and therapists about his current state, and his treatment plan.

God has led us once again to a wonderful place where the staff is truly caring and their knowledge and experience with this type of injury is world class. We are so grateful that all of the pieces fell into place to allow us to be here. The positive power of prayer and the hand of the Great Physician are clearly at work.

Pax!

Brant

Day 78 – Grayson’s Condition

Dear family and friends

Like last Thursday, we finished spending a full day over 100 miles away from Grayson. Unlike last Thursday, we will not be traveling back there tomorrow. This requires a bit of adjustment and letting go – sort of like having him move away to college all over again, but without the maturity and instincts that would normally accompany it. Of course, "mature" and "freshman" do not always go in the same sentence, but let's just not go there, OK?

On Monday evenings in the recreation center on the residence campus, there is a music therapy program. Here the patients get to play with various musical instruments. Tonight Grayson went there with one of his new buddies, and Grayson enjoyed playing the drums and singing. Singing two days in a row – could be very good! Rhythmic skills are good also. Did I mention that I love this place?

After a week of settling in, Grayson now has a "schedule" of tasks to perform during the week. Today is Monday, so his task this evening was to sweep and mop the kitchen. Tomorrow he will vacuum the living room.

Dinner tonight was pan fried and seasoned boneless chicken breast, mashed potatoes and green beans. Because he had so much activity this evening, he was able to stay up until 9:00, but just barely. (For those that know Grayson, when was the last time you saw him go to bed before 3:00 AM?) He will be up and going at 7:00 tomorrow morning. One thing is for certain – Grayson needs lots of sleep since his injury. One thing that won't surprise anyone that knows him – he still sleeps like a hibernating bear – difficult to wake, and completely disoriented when he does.

Grayson continues to grow, to stretch and to learn. The environment at this facility is always pushing you forward, in a loving and supportive way, but still pushing. Grayson has always thrived when pushed forward, so this really is a match for him. He is responding positively, and we are witnessing growth before our eyes. I wonder if I will recognize Grayson the next time I see him?

Pax!

Brant