Day 165 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends,

"Grayson had a really great day". This was the first thing I heard from Grayson's RA when I called the apartment tonight.

After returning from the clinic this afternoon, Grayson was offered a time to relax on the couch. He told the RA that he didn't want to just relax. This is a departure from his normal routine which is to sit and watch TV for a ½ hour or so. Instead he agreed to get his lunch ready for Friday by choosing to prepare a sandwich, pack a yogurt and fruit.

Since his attention level continued to be relatively high the RA led him straight to his homework (which went very smoothly) followed by dinner preparations. Grayson selected a large lasagna. When it was pointed out that it would take at least an hour to cook he indicated that it was OK with him. He read the directions, preheated the oven, cooked the lasagna, and set the table. While the lasagna cooked Grayson "chilled on the couch" for a while and did NOT turn on the TV. When asked if he wanted to go for a walk he eagerly said, "Let's go". He walked several laps around the complex, stopping to shoot two or three baskets at the basketball court. He really enjoyed walking and talking with the RA.

Thursday is usually movie night at a local outdoor amphitheatre. Since the prediction was rain, they decided outdoors was not the way to go. Both Grayson and his roommate still wanted to go to the movies so the RA suggested he drive them to an indoor theatre - and off went the four of them. Two patients and two RAs. The movie was "Death at a Funeral" and it had Grayson laughing the whole time.

How incredibly blessed we are that he has staff who respect him and patiently cue him so that he can made decisions for himself. Many of the staff are creative and flexible enough to take advantage of the moments where Grayson is receptive and energetic rather than just sitting him down in front of the electronic babysitter (TV).

What I miss most from these daily updates is how Grayson is doing at the clinic with his other therapies. For that feedback we must wait until our group conference with the therapists. I can only hope that the progress in those therapies reflects the progress we see at the residence.

Even though I missed speaking with Grayson tonight (he went straight to bed when they finally returned around 10:00), I am encouraged by the "really great day" comment I mentioned at the start and I look forward to Brant coming home from St. Louis tomorrow night. For this and all our blessings, I give thanks to God.

Grace and peace,

Regina