Dear family and friends,
Yesterday, I mentioned that Grayson went to the California Living Museum (CALM). The feedback I received tonight was that Grayson really enjoyed the fieldtrip. He said it was like a zoo. The staff said he was particularly taken with the bird exhibit and when I quizzed him Grayson remembered seeing owls at the exhibit. He sat for a long time, studying the different birds. When I inquired if there were any "furry" animals he remembered seeing a fox and it reminded him of "dad". This brought a smile to my face, because in our Scouting careers, Brant is a fox and I am an owl. Yay for memory recall – even a small one.
According to his residential assistant (RA), Grayson was quite cooperative, got right up and helped prepare his dinner. He completed three pages of his THPs (therapeutic home program). One section was comprised of a series sentences each followed by a question. Grayson answered each question accurately allowing him to move up the difficulty scale. Two cheers for Grayson.
The next section was a series of situation statements with a corresponding question asking the cause of the situation. A simple example would be, "There are no clean socks. What would the cause be?" Grayson also did well on these questions. Three cheers for Grayson.
When the RA went on her dinner break, someone else filled in for her. As with many patients with a brain injury change can be a challenge. Grayson wouldn't cooperate with this new individual. When another, more familiar staff person took over Grayson again became a little more cooperative. He took out the trash and went for a walk. He did have a behavioral issue and hit the RA on the back. Grayson claimed he was "playing" and with prompting apologized for hitting him. Recognizing inappropriate behavior and the beginnings of behavior correction seem like a significant step in the right direction.
Tonight after dinner, mopping the kitchen floor, and completing THPs he was allowed an outing to Cold Stone Creamery where he stood in line, ordered for himself (chocolate, chocolate chip) and sat patiently and waited for his order.
As I was saying goodnight at the end of our phone call, I encouraged him to do his best (that familiar Scout motto) at the clinic tomorrow so that he could get strong enough to come home. "I will" was his immediate response followed by "I love you". That's all we really have each day – the opportunity to do our best and love one another.
Grace and peace to each of you,
Regina
Your stories are a wonderful reminder to me about the importance of being patient with the healing process. Which takes the time that it wants to take, thank you very much, and has no interest in your agenda, because it has more than enough to worry about simply to accomplish the healing.
ReplyDeleteThank you for keeping us posted, it's nice to know how Grayson's doing and helps me deal with my own neurological adventures!
Hi Brant and Regina:
ReplyDeleteAmen to Mr. Parker's comments. Ditto. ...and ditto some more! Mr. Parker is still healing as he says, and I'm still healing for sure, and Grayson is too. It isn't a short sprint, but a long trek into a new life, one with different metrics yet judged by "normal" measurements. Oh, it's a challenge...and when you get past one "challenge" there is a whole ant hill full of new ones. Doing our best and loving others along the way is indeed the drum beat of our lives, and in His power we can succeed.
In Him,
Doug