Day 965 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Today may have been Sleep-In Saturday, but the day was full. Lauren is moving home from Kentucky on Thursday and we were focused on getting her room back in shape for her. We made enough progress today that it looks as if her room will be ready for her on Thursday!

Grayson was active and alert today. While we were working in the garage or Lauren’s room he was never far away. Grayson was curious as to what we were up to and he hung close to try and figure out what was going on. While we explained to him what we were doing, after 15 minutes passed he no longer could remember. The challenge of brain injury is that the people we love no longer are able to function in the way in which we expect.

Pax!

Brant

Day 964 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Grayson was bright-eyed this evening! After such a slow day yesterday it was fun to see him alert this evening.

I pondered aloud yesterday about the cause of these swings. I think that my least favorite neurologist put it best: “You need to be comfortable with ambiguity.” Ambiguous or not, these swings are real. In the 22 months he has been back home the swings have gone from a multi-day cycle to a much shorter clock – yesterday down, today up.

We had dinner with Howie and the girls this evening after final plans for Julie’s memorial were made this afternoon. Nothing like good Mexican food to brighten your mood!

Pax!

Brant

Day 963 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Today Regina and I were back to work and Grayson spent the day with his caregiver.

Grayson was way off his mark today. We all know that he has good days and bad days. Today he just couldn’t find the neural paths to do much of anything. The simplest of tasks, such as putting on a sandal, had him completely perplexed. I have no idea why these bad days occur, or why the good ones do either. I just know that they do and we have to deal with it.

Today was an exercise in patience.

Pax!

Brant

Day 962 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Today we spent the afternoon at Rita and Richard’s hanging out around the pool and enjoying the mild temperatures and warm sunshine. We were joined by Regina’s father and Richard’s sister for a day of relaxation and family. We finished the day by grilling two tri-tips for dinner and paired them with the delicious sides that Rita had prepared. We had a marvelous feast on this Independence Day!

Grayson had a good day today. He was much more comfortable in the pool than he has been the past two summers since his injury. It may be time to get him in for some adaptive instruction. I would love it if Grayson were to become water-safe again. Grayson also was a bit more verbal than he has been of late, even answering some questions in sentences of three words or so. This is quite an improvement over the “Yes” or “No” that we are accustomed to.

On the way home we were treated to a fireworks show courtesy of Crescenta Valley High School. We pulled to the side of the road and enjoyed the beauty of the fireworks and we stayed until the show was finished. Our Independence Day celebration was now complete!

Pax!

Brant

Day 961 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Today was another busy day – hard to believe that tomorrow is a holiday! I can only assume that the rest of my office is planning to take Thursday and Friday off and is piling it on the two remaining days this week!

Today I learned a lesson that I should have learned several times in my life, but it never quite sticks. The topic is communication. Communication is not achieved by broadcast alone. Communication is generally characterized by both the transmission and reception of data, but that is still incomplete. True communication is the transmission, reception and understanding by both parties of what was intended. Many things can interrupt this – language, culture, personal experiences – the list can go on forever.

Today I told Grayson’s caregiver to allow his feet to air out while he is in the house and to let him wear sandals. She heard me, but missed the “in the house” detail. I didn’t test for complete understanding. As a result she took him on two long walks and played catch outside with Grayson wearing nothing but sandals. After she left at the end of the day, I took Grayson with me to drop off a package at FedEx before going to physical therapy for my knee. He was walking very slowly behind me – even slow for Grayson. I started to get frustrated then noticed that he had a slight limp. I checked and sure enough, he had a huge blister on his left heel. He didn’t complain but just pushed through it. I felt awful. He is not really capable of speaking up for himself even if something he is being asked to do is hurting him.

When we got to the PT office, we performed some first aid to protect the injury and start the healing. They love him there and as I do my exercises, they give him things to do also. I am grateful that he can accompany me to these sessions that are about 90 minutes twice a week – when I’m in town!

Today it hit me in the face that Grayson will need a lifelong guardian angel to keep him safe. I pray that we can find that angel for him.

Pax!

Brant

Day 960 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

For a holiday week, today was remarkably busy! I did seem like everyone was trying to squeeze in one last meeting before escaping on vacation.

While there was nothing unusual today, Grayson did have a good day. With his new caregiver he took several walks, played some games and did some exercises out of his home therapy book. This evening, one of my old pals from high school dropped by for a visit before flying home tomorrow. Grayson enjoyed the visit – paying close attention and laughing at all of the antics we described. So I guess that there was one more reunion activity after all!

Pax!

Brant

Day 959 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

This was a weekend filled with great joy. Last night was my 40^th High School reunion, and several of my classmates gathered to continue the celebration later last night at a nearby restaurant. This morning we gathered again for brunch which looks to be the final activity in the extended celebration of the 40 years that have passed since we left our high school. I think that we could have talked another several hours if it weren’t for other commitments. Many will be on planes home in the next few days so it was great that we spent the extra time to visit today. How wonderful it was to reconnect with these old friends again! Many that were not able to join us have also plugged into our group and we hope to reconnect with them again also.

This afternoon we gathered at my brother-in-law Howie’s home for some family backyard pool and BBQ time. All of us are still grieving the loss of his long-time spouse Julie and having a back yard full of family is a joyful reminder the love that she gave us all.

Grayson accompanied me all day – to my after-reunion brunch, to the store and to the gathering at Howie’s. He was alert and quite attentive to the conversations all day. He was a happy camper about town!

Pax!

Brant