Day 569 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Grayson's cold is starting to get a bit better. He was quite alert again, and he and Regina ran several chores today. As always, he was a sweet companion on her activities around town.

Today Grayson showed some remarkable task memory. With only a cue to use the restroom, he accomplished the entire task himself – a very rare thing indeed. When getting ready for bed, Regina asked him to take his pants off. He proceeded to remove his sandals and put them in the closet. He completely removed his pants and put them in the laundry hamper all without being reminded of the next step. Frequently he gets his pants down around his ankles and can't remember how to get his feet out. Today was quite different!

All of this may not sound very exciting, but it is showing us that for one day, he is able to accomplish some tasks start to finish by himself. Tomorrow is a new day and he may not be able to replicate this feat, but the repetition he gets daily on these things may actually be translating itself into new memories. For us this is very exciting indeed!

Pax!

Brant

Day 568 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Today was a laid back day for Grayson and me. I took the day (mostly) off of work and that allowed us both to sleep in. Regina took the opportunity to spend about 12 hours at her office!

Grayson and I did a few light chores (no heavy lifting or physical activity for a few days), and ran to the pharmacy to pick up some new meds for me (yes I am cleared to drive). On a side note, I started the year out with zero meds. I am now starting to rival Grayson with the number of pills I pop every day! Fortunately some are "temporary" – 6 to 12 months.

Grayson continues to suffer with his cold, but it appears that it may just be starting to wane. He is pretty miserable with his runny nose. His impulsive eating is also an issue, as unsupervised he will fill his mouth with food, then not be able to breathe because his nose is so congested. An eagle eye needs to be kept on this Eagle Scout to make sure he doesn't choke.

Grayson remains alert and this has been the case for about two weeks. How cool is that!

Pax!

Brant

Day 567 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

I'm home!

I know that this is supposed to be a blog about Grayson's journey, but we've had a bit of a detour in the blog, and in our lives, the past three days. There is nothing remarkable about me today, and that is a good thing! The wheels of the hospital machine move slowly, but the discharge was actually accomplished at 3:15 PM. That was the only thing on the agenda for me at the hospital today, but it just about took the entire day to accomplish! (I know that this will not surprise anyone that has ever spent any time around a hospital!) I am now at home and trying to follow my instructions not to "overdo it".

Grayson is still suffering with his cold. His fever is gone, but he is really congested. Tonight he kept getting out of bed and I was unsure how long it would take him to wind down and go to sleep. Fortunately the door alarm stopped going off about 20 minutes ago, so I think that he is down for the night.

We are all home together again. I am so thankful for Regina for holding things together at home while watching out and caring for me at the hospital. This was not the birthday weekend for her that either of us was expecting to enjoy. But we are grateful for the detour that the weekend brought us.

Pax!

Brant

Day 566 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends,

Today was a day for us to be grateful for pain.

Brant's debilitating pain on Friday morning could not be ignored. Because of the pain he was forced to take action. The two narrowed areas of his left main artery were discovered and opened with a single stent. Because he took action, Brant averted what inevitably would have been a more devastating outcome.

It was painful for Brant to wake up to pain. It was painful for me to watch my sweet husband brought low by his pain. It was painful to wait for the results of each test. It was painful to try to sleep last night still not knowing the cause. And I will thank God for the rest of my life for that pain.

Without the pain, he would not have been forced to take action. Without the pain of the uncertainty, we would not have recognized our gratitude for diagnostic tests and intervention medicine. If the pain had been mild or merely uncomfortable, it would have been easy to delay action, ignore the pain or rationalize the cause as from some other source. Waiting would have allowed everything to get worse.

I suppose it is that way with many things in life – not just physical pain. If something is uncomfortable or painful, we are faced with a decision. We can ignore it, try to avoid it and resent its intrusion. Or we can dig for the cause, take corrective action, and then make better decisions in the future.

Brant comes home tomorrow after only 2 ½ days in the hospital with better blood flow to his heart muscle. We both come home with hearts filled with gratitude for a weekend filled with pain and cancelled plans.

As for Grayson, he spent the day with Austin and Xixi – wandering around the mall, going to the library, eating Thai food and playing Kinect games. Here is a picture of the brothers in the middle of a Double Jump.

Thank you, Lord for pain.

Regina

Day 565 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends,

You never know what each day will bring.

This morning Brant and I planned to drive up north to see dear friends for the weekend. Rita, Austin and Xixi agreed to share the weekend with Grayson to allow us this weekend getaway. At 5:45 a.m. Brant was awakened with severe back and chest pains, sweating, and rapid pulse. By 6:20 he was in an ambulance headed to the hospital.

After a frightening day of tests, they have ruled out some of the most frightening scenarios. No aneurism, dissection, heart attack, or embolism. The pain has been controlled and Brant is resting comfortably. Tomorrow he will have more tests, including a Lexiscan Stress Test to determine the blood supply to the heart muscle.

Throughout all of this, Brant continues to have his usual sense of humor and charm.

When I came home late tonight to allow Rita to go home, I found Grayson with a fever of 99.5 and a nasty head cold. He is miserable and sweet at the same time – though he is finding it hard to sleep right now.

The day and weekend we had planned? Not at all! Is there much to be thankful for? A resounding YES!

"Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord." Psalm 150:6

Day 564 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Today was another alert day for Grayson. This is several in a row strung together and that is good news indeed.

Tonight Regina and I went to Salem Lutheran to help some parents get a Cub Scout pack organized again. It was a wonderful group of concerned parents and I am confident that with a little encouragement and support they will do just fine.

At the meeting tonight, I had a little difficulty (emotionally) telling the story about my decision to become a Cub Scout Leader. It is a story about 2^nd grade Grayson excitedly bringing home a flyer about a Cub Scout program, and how he wanted to join. Later that week we attended an information meeting together. While listening to the speaker I looked over at Grayson. As I gazed at this beautiful 8 year-old boy, I realized that I had blinked and he had gone from infant to 8. If I blinked again he would be 16 and I would lose those precious opportunities to be together. I raised my hand to volunteer and never regretted it for a moment. For the next 12 years our family participated in Scouting to the fullest. Two Eagle Scouts later I will tell anyone who asks, that this was the 2^nd best decision of my life. The best decision in my life was asking Regina to marry me.

Speaking of Regina, June 3^rd is a milestone birthday for her. I offer prayers of thanksgiving for all of the lives that she continues to touch just by walking on this planet. I am humbled to be called her husband.

Pax!

Brant

Day 563 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Grayson was alert again today. He and Regina ran a number of errands today while construction activity continued at home. Grayson, who is usually bothered by noise, has coped very well with the sounds and disruption of the current construction activity. With some luck, we may get Lauren's room back together before she returns home in a few weeks.

There are a number of things that Grayson has seemed to master and no longer require cues. One of these is the seat belt – now he sits in the car then buckles up. This may seem rather mundane, but Grayson has required a reminder to do this for as long as we have been taking him out post-injury. Some activities are starting to stick – perhaps repetition is the key. Whatever the reason, the outcome is good!

Pax!

Brant