Day 156 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

As I do almost every night, I had a nice chat with Grayson. Tonight we talked about a lot of things, or I talked and he listened and responded with one or two word answers. As I have come to expect, he had no idea what he had done this evening.

I did ask Grayson something different tonight. I asked him about friends that he had there. He mentioned two names, one male and one female. Both were "younger" (I take that to mean not over 30!) He said that the female was a day person, and the male was a resident (awareness – that's good!) I asked him if he knew why he was there. He has been trained to say, "Brain injury", but tonight he said that he didn't know why he was there. I explained that like his friends, everyone there was a victim of brain injury, and they were all trying to get better. One of the things I explained to him was that he could probably remember things in the distant past, but not recent events. I asked him the name of his second grade teacher, and he said, "Mrs. Ramm." I asked him the name of the headmaster of his high school, and he said, "Peter Bachmann." I asked him what he had for dinner, and he said, "I don't remember." I then explained that one of the goals of his stay there is to bring back his short term memory, and he understood. Unfortunately, I expect that 10 minutes later it was forgotten. This is the frustration of brain injury.

Tonight Grayson and I also spoke about a cousin of his that was awarded his Eagle Scout rank at a Court of Honor yesterday. He responded, "Cool!" Grayson understands the significance, and is proud of you, Kevin. So, in honor of Eagle Scout Kevin Klett, who is also a member of his council's 2010 Jamboree contingent, here is a picture of Grayson and three other Scouts just after laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns during the 2001 National Scout Jamboree tour. Enjoy your time "On the Hill", Kevin – the last National Jamboree at Fort AP Hill in Virginia.

Pax!

Brant