Day 272 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Today Grayson had a good day, according to his residential assistant (RA). As he does every Saturday (unless prevented due to behavior issues) he did his grocery shopping this morning. According to Grayson (in other words, unconfirmed!) he went swimming this afternoon.

I am certain that he did his laundry, took out the trash, checked the mail and loaded the dishwasher, because the RA told me. I am also certain that he watched some TV this evening, as he was doing so when I talked to him. His new evening RA did not understand that with the TV on, Grayson just can't focus on anything else, especially a phone conversation. While our conversation was sweet tonight, it was certainly short!

As I mentioned yesterday, we attended the funeral of a dear family friend today. It was heartwarming to see so many long time family friends there. In the slide show presentation shown during the service, there were several photos of my mother with her dear friend. In a flash, I was transported to a time over 16 years ago. There are so many memories that our families have shared, all of them wonderful. Here is a picture of our three children and two of our late friends' grandchildren taken on Easter in 2002. In spite of the loss and the grieving for our friend today, so many people reached out to comfort us and share their concern for Grayson. We were truly touched.

Our time here is short. The saints that have gone before us have shown us the way.

Pax!

Brant

Day 271 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

It is Friday and that means Movie Night. Grayson headed out to the movies but apparently the wait at the theatre was way too much, and he started getting tense. Grayson started having a behavior problem, so the residential assistants (RA) determined that it would be best for all if he when back to the apartment. So he hopped in the van and the activities director (AD), a big fan of Grayson, brought him back and stayed with him for the evening. After Grayson was removed from the area, he started to relax and by the time he got back to the apartment (about 5 minutes away) he was happy again. He watched TV in the apartment with the AD until bedtime and was laughing and having a great time.

I spoke with Grayson tonight and we talked of coming home. I described all of the work that has been done in his room and bathroom. They have been painted, new faucets have been installed, a new light and fan in the bathroom, new shelving in the closet (goes in Monday) and new carpet (after the shelving). I didn't tell him that we installed a grab bar in the shower, nor did I mention the locking med box in the new medicine cabinet. Lots of changes. Grayson said, "Cool!" when I described what was happening.

We will be attending the funeral of a dear friend of our family tomorrow, so we will not be heading up to Bakersfield. We asked the AD to look in on Grayson and make sure that he got out a bit tomorrow. I know that the staff will see to it, and that is why this place continues to be such a wonderful place for Grayson.

Pax!

Brant

Day 270 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Today was not a great day for Grayson as he was a bit off his mark. He has had a lot of good days in a row. Actually, it has been over a month since we had an issue of "behavior". Tonight, there was a minor incident. While disappointing for sure, one minor incident in over a month is not bad.

As I mentioned, Grayson was just a bit off his mark today. He did the usual – therapeutic home program, dinner prep and laundry. After dinner he wanted a muffin, and his residential assistant (RA) told him to help himself. Grayson did, and wound up experiencing the muffin from a different perspective. He squeezed it and saw what happened to a muffin when pressure was applied. However, he also got to experience what happens when you make a mess – you get to clean it up! There is goodness in experimentation and clean-up.

Pax!

Brant

Day 269 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Today we had a rare glimpse into Grayson's morning routine. It should be no surprise to anyone that knew Grayson that getting out of bed in the morning represents one of the larger challenges of his day. Once up, keeping him from lying down and going back to sleep is another obstacle that needs to be overcome – several times each morning! Today once he got dressed and was on his way to the kitchen to start breakfast prep, things seemed to improve. He ate breakfast then headed over to "transpo" to board the bus to the clinic.

Today Grayson had a full range of therapy, occupational therapy (OT) at 10:00, physical therapy (PT) at 11:00, lunch at 12:00, Speech at 1:00 and OT again at 2:00. He arrived back at the residence at 3:30 and started his PM routine.

I don't need to describe the evening for you, as there was little outside the norm this evening – except for one thing. When I talked to him at 8:00, he was already in bed, but he remembered the fruit that he had with dinner (good!) and he remembered that he spent the day at the clinic and did not go to the adult activity center today. Both of those memories are not "typical" of the new Grayson, so that is exciting.

It is a journey of miles measured in inches, but Grayson is still moving forward!

Pax!

Brant

Day 268 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Today was another good day! Grayson did chores (took out the trash, checked the mail, did LOTS of laundry, and mopped the hallway and bathroom floors), did his therapeutic home program (orientation questions, questions on readings, and categorizing objects), and made dinner.

After dinner there was a special movie in the rec center, Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Grayson chuckled and laughed all through the movie, according to his residential assistant (RA). This movie reminds me of his final year in Boy Scouts when he and several other older Scouts (16 and 17 year olds) formed a patrol called the Knights (pronounced ka-nig-its). They used just about every gag from this movie, including clapping the coconuts when they moved around as a patrol. The smiles those memories bring.

Yes, it was another good day.

Pax!

Brant

Day 267 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Grayson had a low key evening after he returned home from the clinic. Grayson and his roommate and their residential assistants (RA) went for a walk to the park across the street. They sat on a bench and watched a pick-up soccer game. According to his RA, Grayson was laughing out loud at several of his roommates jokes. It is always fun to hear Grayson laugh these days and the good news is that he does it a lot.

After the soccer match, they left the pitch (field) to return to the residence to prepare dinner – steak with mashed potatoes and green beans. After dinner Grayson watched a little TV before getting ready for bed. As I said – a low key day.

Probably more significant than the "low-keyness" is the fact that Grayson was cooperative and helpful and had no behavior issues this evening. The reason that is more significant than normal is that Grayson had a new RA this evening – someone that he has not worked with in the past. In fact, he has had several new RAs in the past few days. In all cases, Grayson has had no issues. Just a month or so ago, Grayson did not respond well to several of the staff, as they appeared to get on his nerves. Today things just are calmer and he seems content to cooperate and do his chores. Good news indeed!

Pax!

Brant

Day 266 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Today we made the trek to Bakersfield to visit Grayson. When we arrived, we found him on the couch reading the newspaper. He was happy to see us, dressed for the weather (shorts and flip flops) and ready to go. We headed off for our afternoon adventures.

Grayson was in a great mood. He was calm and engaged, though still limited to generally one or two word answers. We tried to eat lunch at Chipotle but a bus load of female athletes from Azusa Pacific (ironic – Lauren's school!) just pulled in and the line was well into next week. I asked Grayson if he wanted to go to Panda Express and he said "Panda!" So we just walked across the parking lot to a new destination!

After lunch we went to Lowe's to purchase a medicine cabinet, to show Grayson the final paint colors and blinds we had picked for his room and to make sure that he was still good with them. While we were sure he would approve, our purpose was to keep him engaged in the process. When Regina shared some of the improvements with him, Grayson turned to her and said, "Thank you."

After Lowe's we went to Cold Stone for a treat, then back to the residence for a swim. The pool was a nice end to our day together. We tossed a ball and floated in the pool until about 6:00. We talked, played and had some good time together in the cool water.

Grayson has shown some growth these past few weeks. He is much more alert and engaged and much more aware than he was a month ago. This is great news and we hope and pray that growth continues, even at this slow rate.

Pax!

Brant