Day 442 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Today it was back to the regular week – work for Regina and me, and the clinic for Grayson. Grayson had a good day at the clinic, including a fair amount of Southern California sunshine! For physical therapy today they played some kickball outside as a group. In his cognitive rehab, or speech therapy, he worked on the computer for a bit, did some exercises in the Dynavision room, and worked in the sensory room.

If you have seen Grayson in the past 9 months or so, you will notice that when sensory input increases, Grayson tends to scratch his head. The greater the sensory input, input such as noise, touching, excitement, laughter, etc., the more he scratches. When he needs to summon cognitive energy, such as tying his shoes, trying to write something, or trying to answer a question, he almost immediately starts scratching his head. Sometimes he just scratches instead of accomplishing anything. In the sensory room, they are working to have him tolerate greater amounts of sensory input. They will have him sit quietly and brush his hand or sit in a massage chair then ask questions to build up a tolerance to the sensory input so he is able to function.

Grayson was my grocery shopping buddy tonight as we did the marketing for the week. On the way home I asked him if it was fun, and he said "No!" He did allow that eating the food was fun, so we agreed that the effort to acquire the food was worth it!

Pax!

Brant

Day 441 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Today we celebrated Lauren's 21^st birthday! We celebrated a day early because she is working tomorrow. By the time you read this she will officially be 21 – I still can't believe that my baby girl is now that old!

We had a family lunch at a local restaurant to celebrate the big day and in all of the hustle I forgot to bring my camera! She looked beautiful as always with her million dollar smile, but I have no pictures to share. I'll try and get my hands on some that others took and share tomorrow!

Grayson was well behaved and quiet, but enjoyed the food!

Pax!

Brant

Day 440 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Today we enjoyed a morning at home before heading off to another USC Rugby match – this time a home game against the University of San Diego. Rugby is not quite as popular as football at USC, so the women's soccer field became the pitch instead of the Coliseum! While it was a beautiful and warm Sothern California day, USC fared badly against the Toreros of USD. Here is a picture of Austin advancing the ball today.

I leave you with a picture of Regina and Grayson taken at the match today!

Pax!

Brant

Day 439 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Grayson woke up this morning bright eyed and alert. His alertness and assistance shaved a full 30 minutes off of his usual morning routine! He was still alert and smiling when he returned home this afternoon. Many thanks to Austin and Xixi for picking him up from the clinic today!

Austin and Xixi joined us for sushi this evening at our favorite La Canada sushi bar. Grayson's alertness also kept him wound a bit tighter, so he kept standing up from the table. (There are pluses and minuses to this "alert" thing!) Fortunately, asking "Where are you going, Grayson?" usually does the trick. He usually responds, "I don't know" then he will sit back down when asked. Once he responded "bathroom" and we were on our way. Listening is still an important parenting skill!

Back home we made it an early night. It is officially the weekend!

Pax!

Brant

Day 438 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

We had our patient teleconference today and we got to hear from and talk to each of the therapists as they gave a report out of their activity with Grayson for the past month. I can report that slow progress is being made, but it is very slow – almost impossible to see without detailed measures. However, I'll take any progress that we can get!

Grayson and Regina had a good evening tonight while I was at a Scouting function. After dinner they read together, played some music then settled in to watch Marley & Me. A nice quiet evening at home!

Pax!

Brant

Day 437 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Grayson helped me prepare dinner this evening. We made grilled chicken, green beans and (Grayson's favorite) cheese tortellini tossed with olive oil, marinated artichokes, sun dried tomatoes, pine nuts, pesto and parmesan cheese. Yum! Grayson was gathering stuff all over the kitchen for me as I tossed the meal together. He was quite a good helper!

No television tonight. Grayson read while I prepared some things I needed to for work. A quiet night tonight for all!

Pax!

Brant

Day 436 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Grayson woke up slow as molasses again this morning. When he is like this it is like he is in a thick fog. It takes several hours to get him to do much more than be led around. After enough time passes he gets back to Grayson's "new" normal. Today he was fully alert when he arrived home from the clinic.

Grayson and I made a quick market run to pick up some things that we forgot yesterday. When we got home we tossed a tri-tip on the grill. While the rest of the nation is in the grips of a cold snap, it is sunny and warm here during the day, and not too cold at night. So why not cook outside? That will probably change soon, but we are enjoying it while we have it!

Grayson was a little excited this evening – perhaps he was wound a bit tight – so that bedtime was a bit more challenging than usual. He eventually wound down and went to sleep, but not without a few visits by the motion sensor, alerting us that he was exiting his room!

Pax!

Brant

Day 435 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Grayson started the day as slow as molasses. He couldn't seem to engage the starter all morning and it was a struggle to get him ready to go. By the time Regina picked him up from the clinic at 4:00 he was very alert. Go figure!

They came home and we went to the market to get groceries for the week. Grayson stayed with me and pushed the cart. When we arrived back home Grayson was very helpful and did not need to be asked to assist. At one point I was loading things into the refrigerator and Grayson started picking up items and handing them to me to put in the fridge. How cool is that?

Tonight was a good evening!

Pax!

Brant

Day 434 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Today was a bit of a laid back day. We got up and went to church this morning, then went out for a nice relaxed lunch afterward.

Austin and Xixi joined us for dinner tonight. We prepared a wonderful "Christmas Present" – a recipe and all of the ingredients (some frozen) to make a meal given to us by Howie (Regina's brother) and his wife Julie. It was delightful to not have to run to the grocery today and still have a delightful meal ready to go!

It was a relaxing end to the weekend!

Pax!

Brant

Day 433 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

It's Saturday!! We slept in a bit, Regina baked apple muffins for breakfast (yum!) then we drove down to my undergrad alma mater – LMU – to watch Austin's USC Rugby team take on the Lions. Xixi commented that our three red shirts stood out in the sea of maroon! ("Sea" might have been a bit overstated as there were probably 75 people there.) I pondered out loud on who I should root for since I graduated from both schools, but I was wearing USC colors. Besides LMU didn't need my encouragement – they won 38-21. Fortunately, Austin escaped injury this week!

We returned home and grabbed dinner before heading out to an Eagle Court of Honor. It was quite an affair with four Eagle Scouts from Verdugo Hills Council Troop 139 being honored tonight. We were particularly struck when all of the Eagle Scouts in the audience were invited on stage to recite the Eagle Scout Oath. Grayson went up with his fellow Eagle Scouts and participated. Quite an emotional moment for us, and his presence was not lost on many in the audience.

I'd say today was a pretty good day!

Pax!

Brant

Day 432 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Grayson had a good day at the clinic today. He worked on clothing management and shoe tying in occupational therapy. In cognitive rehabilitation he participated in a group activity and did a good job taking turns while identifying objects through clues. In physical therapy he got a good workout pushing a shopping cart loaded with 180 lbs 150 feet 6 times.

We went out to dinner at our favorite Italian restaurant this evening. Grayson was well behaved as always. Something struck both Regina and I tonight as we observed him. I don't know why it hit us tonight because the same things were present yesterday, and they will also be there tomorrow. But both of us became quite melancholy as we observed our "new" Grayson – the little boy that he has become. He is cuddly and affectionate, but in a 25 year-old package. Fortunately he is happy and glad to be around us, and we are happy to have him here at all.

But we still miss our "old" Grayson.

Pax!

Brant

Day 431 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Grayson had a good day at the clinic today. In physical therapy he did the stairs – 5 flights down and up twice with a weighted backpack and 17 lbs in a pail. He also worked on balance exercises. In cognitive therapy he practiced turn taking and initiating conversations. He also worked on problem solving in hypothetical situations. In occupational therapy he worked on visual scanning and spent some time using a computer.

After dinner tonight we chose to watch Men in Black, and Grayson had a ball. It is so fun to watch him laugh – his whole body just wiggles like a kid. It always makes us smile!

Pax!

Brant

Day 430 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Grayson's cold seems to be rapidly improving, and so does his energy level.

At the clinic today Grayson got to take a 20 minute walk in the community, kicked the soccer ball at the park, answered orientation questions and followed three-step instructions.

Tonight after dinner Grayson and I played Wii for a little while, but Grayson lost interest pretty quickly. We decided to watch the movie Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel. It was a very cute movie that Grayson thoroughly enjoyed.

 Not a bad day!

Pax!

Brant

Day 429 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Grayson has spent the better part of the last few days fighting a bad cold. It hasn't slowed him down from his regular activities too much, but it slammed him pretty well today.

Tonight we sat down to one of his favorite meals – meat loaf – Mom's special recipe. Regina emailed it to me so she could work late, and Grayson and I prepared it. After dinner we got him to bed so he could get more sleep to help fight his cold.

80° in LA and Grayson gets a cold. At least his spirits are good!

Pax!

Brant

Day 428 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Move over Wii – Xbox and Kinect have blown past you!

Austin brought his Xbox over with his Kinect game and Grayson was entertained for hours. With the Wii, he loses interest pretty fast, and sometimes has difficulty pushing the buttons on the controller at the necessary time. With Kinect, you are the controller! The machine tracks your movement and you are in the game. The graphics are awesome and it was incredibly fun. Grayson thought so too because he just kept on playing.

It was fun having Austin and Xixi over again – we love having them so close!

Pax!

Brant

Day 427 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Grayson and I were the designated shoppers for groceries this week. Grayson is good company at the grocery store, and he does a great job of following me with the grocery cart!

Tonight we had a house full of activity. Austin and Xixi came by along with Austin's buddy from both high school and USC – Ankur. Ankur was also Grayson's roommate for a year at USC, so the ties are thick! Dinner for 6 pulled together in a short time – not bad teamwork at the Reed Haus!

Austin's jaw is sore, but healing nicely. We were glad to see that his injury did not appear to affect the areas where the jaw was broken in 2007 (in three places).

Grayson did well with all of the excitement. It was a great end to the weekend. (Yes, most people really do work tomorrow!)

Pax!

Brant

Day 426 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Today we were blessed with a visit from my dear cousin Doug, himself a brain injury survivor. For a time today, we had both of our miracle men under one roof.

We had a great, albeit too short, visit with Doug who we haven't seen since 2007. A that time, Doug was still recovering from his near-neurological disaster, but he was walking around with the aid of a cane. Today he is driving and cane free and just as fun and interesting as I always remembered. It was great catching up, and our conversations rambled over a million topics, as always. This wonderful man continues to provide a living example of the kind of person I would like to emulate.

Grayson sat around the table and listened intently for an hour or so – laughing at the funny stories that Doug tells and watching us all intently. Then he became "saturated" and went to sit in the quiet of another room and read one of his favorite comic anthologies – Zits. He was content to sit there and glance over his shoulder at us talking and laughing for the remainder of the visit.

Meanwhile, Austin was participating with the USC team in the Pac 10 Rugby Tournament. Austin was scheduled to play in the three matches today, but early in the first match against Cal he went the host hospital (they were playing at UCLA) to take a look at a nasty cut on his chin. (I am told that he earned it making a great tackle.) When he walked into the UCLA Medical Center ER the attending physician said, "Let me guess – rugby?" The clothes should have been a dead giveaway, but Austin was the third visit already from the 8 participating teams (USC, UCLA, Arizona, Oregon, Washington State, Utah and 2 teams from Cal). Tough sport. Austin had 7 stitches in his chin, and then dropped Xixi off at work and joined us for dinner. That also was a nice visit. We hope that the weekend does not bring too much more business to the UCLA ER, as the tournament concludes tomorrow.

Wonderful visits today!

Pax!

Brant

Day 425 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Today was a good day for Grayson. At the clinic today he focused on balance, worked on a collage, practiced typing and worked on some ADLs – Activities of Daily Living.

We picked up Panda Express on the way home and enjoyed not having to cook or clean up tonight! After dinner we watched Back to the Future – Part III, the final movie in the trilogy. This was a great family Christmas present because several of us had never seen anything but bits and pieces of the movies on TV. Now we finally got to see them front to back!

This brought us to the end of a good week. Friday night lights-out for us!

Pax!

Brant

Day 424 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Unlike yesterday, Grayson was bright-eyed and quite with it today. At the clinic, he loaded a shopping cart with 180 lbs of weights and pushed the cart all around the floor a total of 900 ft, then unloaded the cart. He also did 300 steps on the Stairmaster, played a computer game for about 10 minutes, followed 3 step verbal instructions and worked on memory tasks.

Regina worked late tonight so Grayson helped me prepare dinner. Grayson fetched things from the refrigerator and peeled garlic as I chopped herbs and veggies for our dinner. He was a good helper all evening, and we finished the night with a TV show before bed.

Not quite as exciting as last week, but a good week nonetheless.

Pax!

Brant

Day 423 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

We've had a series of pretty good weeks lately. Today Grayson was a bit off of his game. He was hard to wake, difficult to engage, he found it difficult to focus and was sort of out of it most of the day. He went to bed tonight and went right to sleep – a very unusual thing for Grayson these days.

Grayson was productive at the clinic today. He did his walk up and down the 5 flights of stairs twice while carrying 15 pounds in a bucket. He also did some work answering questions in a group session so he could practice taking turns.

Good days and bad days. All in all things have been pretty good!

Pax!

Brant

Day 422 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Today Grayson got up and went through his normal morning routine before going to the clinic. In physical therapy today he took a walk through the neighborhood for 40 minutes before heading back for occupational and speech therapy.

This evening Grayson was quite alert, as he has been for the past week or so. We are starting to see some improvement in his verbal skills, but improvement is almost imperceptible unless you spend time with him daily. I'll take all the improvement we can get!

Pax!

Brant

Day 421 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Today it was back to the regular routine here at the Reed Haus – whatever "regular" means!

Regina got Grayson up and to the clinic this afternoon. He was slow and hard to move in the morning as usual, but he was alert this evening. At the clinic today he carried a 15 lb bucket up and down the stairs to the clinic twice – that is 5 floors down and up, twice. He also worked on tying his shoes, following a checklist to find specific objects and talking about the pictures and videos we took at Mammoth.

One thing that Regina tells Grayson every day just before they go to the clinic is to do his best. Usually he says, "Yeah." Today he said, "I will!" Small improvements in verbal skills are good!

Pax!

Brant

Day 420 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

This afternoon, after a few hours of skiing, the rest of us left beautiful Mammoth and started the trek back home. We arrived just before 10:00 PM, went upstairs to say goodnight to Grayson, then unloaded the car and put things away.

Tonight Regina asked Grayson what he did that was special this week, and he responded, "Skiing". She asked him to put that into a sentence. He said, "I went skiing" … "in Mammoth" … "with my family." What more can I say!

It was a great week.

Pax!

Brant

Day 419 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Today was a travel day for Regina and Grayson. I took them to the airport this afternoon and they flew home – and the flight was on time today! They are now getting ready to sleep in their own beds after a week away.

The rest of us are enjoying our last night here in snowy Mammoth. We went out to dinner this evening and are now packing up for the trip home tomorrow – after we do a little skiing in the morning, of course!

Pax!

Brant

Day 418 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Today we got the entire gang up and out so we could have lunch together and take a gondola ride to the top of Mammoth Mountain. He piled into a gondola (it holds six – perfect!) and rode up to the mid-mountain "chalet" also known as McCoy Station. Here we grabbed lunch before the hordes of ravenous skiers and boarders arrived. We enjoyed our lunch together just as the crowd was beginning to fill all of the tables. We then boarded the gondola for the ride the rest of the way to the top. It was a crystal clear day and the view was breathtaking. Here is a picture of our "gang" on top of Mammoth Mountain.

Today Grayson went skiing again with Disabled Sports Eastern Sierra (DSES). I am still amazed that he has stayed with it for four days for the 2 ½ hour lessons. Every day they have had something new for Grayson to try, and every day he kept going until the last minute, even though he was tired. With activities other than television we consider ourselves lucky if he sticks with anything longer than 5 minutes.

Today Grayson spent his time following directions while skiing. Today there were numerous distractions as the beginners out for the first time showed up for a long weekend. There were lots of ski and snowboard novices trying to "self teach" all over the place. Grayson had to avoid them and did so quite successfully. At the top of the chair lift we also had a special visit from Woolly, the Mammoth Mountain mascot. To give you an idea of how far he has gone with skiing in the last few days, here is a video I shot today with Grayson on today's more challenging slalom course.

This was Grayson's last day at DSES as he and Regina are heading back home on a plane tomorrow. He thoroughly enjoyed his time skiing and clearly it was something that he has not lost his love for. The caring people at DSES are doing wonderful work. I look forward to bringing Grayson back for a return visit as soon as it is possible.

Pax!

Brant

Day 417 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Today was another wonderful day at Mammoth. The weather has been spectacular since Tuesday – blue skies and temperature highs in the mid 30s. Austin and I have gotten into a routine of getting on the mountain first thing and riding and carving until 11:00. Then we head back to the condo to have lunch with the rest of the gang before getting Grayson into his ski duds for an afternoon with Disabled Sports Eastern Sierra (DSES). There, one or more of us ski with Grayson and his instructors on the beginner runs out of Main Lodge from the Discovery Chair until their day is over at 3:30.

Today Grayson was given ski pole handles to give him something to do with his hands. He did a much better job of keeping his hands in front of him with these "things" to hold! The staff then set up a slalom course for him. The course was pretty simple, but he went through it successfully. The nice thing about a course like that is that you can increase the difficulty without changing lifts. Tomorrow I suspect that the course will be set up with the gates tighter and wider! Here is a video that I shot today of Grayson on his slalom course.

Today a few of us made "one more run" after Grayson was done, and then we all went out to dinner in town. A wonderful end to a wonderful day – and no dishes to do either!

Pax!

Brant

Day 416 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Today Grayson continued his ski lessons at Disabled Sports Eastern Sierra. He was excited about going again and today he started skiing without tethers. The staff was shocked that he got here this quickly but it is clear that he remembers what to do and has the muscle memory to pull it off. Here is a video that I took today of him skiing down the mountain without tethers. Forgive me for shaking – I was shooting the video while skiing behind. It is also rather large – not enough time to edit – so I'm sorry for the long download time!

Enjoy!

Pax!

Brant

Day 415 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Wow – what a day!

This afternoon we went to the adaptive ski school at the Mammoth main lodge – Disabled Sports Eastern Sierra (DSES) – for the program we had expected to take in yesterday that was delayed by flight issues. We were not sure how Grayson would react to it, if he would stick with it or if the staff was able to deal with him.

They blew our socks off! The staff was very in tune with the needs of someone like Grayson. They asked all of the right questions, knew how to encourage and challenge, and to celebrate success. Everyone at DSES seems to have studied Grayson's paperwork that I had sent in, and they all were aware of his issues and his challenges. They were also determined to make a success of it. They succeeded beyond our wildest dreams!

First they checked to see if Grayson was physically capable of doing several things. Then they took him out to the first time learner area and had him snap into skis for the first time since February 2009. Then they checked that he was able to follow instructions before taking him on the magic carpet. A couple of runs convinced them that he was ready for the "real lift". Here is a picture of the team stopping to see Regina after an early run. Here is a video clip of Grayson after he had taken a few runs this afternoon. Can you believe it?

Grayson kept asking to do another run. This is a first, because he has difficulty maintaining his attention on a topic for more than 5 minutes. The staff was surprised and pleased with Grayson's capability because this shows them that Grayson has muscle memory and remembers how to ski. At the end of the day he had completed 6 runs on the chairlift, was a happy camper, and ready to come back for more tomorrow. Mom and Dad were emotional basket cases but ready for more also!

Wow!

Pax!

Brant

Day 414 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Austin and I took a few turns on the mountain this morning as soon as the lifts opened. While we were on the slopes, we were informed that Regina and Grayson's flight was again delayed by an hour. But, at just about noon, the Horizon Air plane pulled up to the terminal and we were there to greet them!

We went out to lunch then went about our activities. I took Grayson over to Disabled Sports Eastern Sierra to get him set up for his lesson tomorrow. I was so impressed by the staff – they expected us, warmly welcomed us, and made us feel like we belonged. I am excited about working with them and Grayson tomorrow. Here is a picture of Grayson at the Mammoth Main Lodge.

Tonight we had a wonderful meal together of Cajun Salmon with Ceasar Salad. After dinner, a few of us sat down in the glow of a warm fire to read.

Life is good!

Pax!

Brant

Day 413 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

It was a wild day, but some of us made it to Mammoth.

Grayson and Regina were going to fly up, but their flight was cancelled. They will try again tomorrow.

Stay tuned for more later this week on our Mammoth Mountain Adventure!!

Pax!

Brant

Day 412 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Happy New Year!

We had a lazy morning drinking our coffee (except for Grayson!) and watching the parade in our bunny slippers. What a fun and relaxed morning!

This evening we had a visit from several angels – friends of Grayson from Flintridge Prep that have been visiting him regularly. (I would have uploaded a picture, but we are having as "service issue" with Charter, I can't upload it!) We had a wonderful visit! It is heartwarming that Grayson's friends are still visiting him after all this time.

We are now packing like mad as we are all leaving for Mammoth in the morning for a week of skiing – check in this week for pictures!

Pax!

Brant