Day 289 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Grayson had another good day today – CNS-speak for minimal behavior problems.

After he returned from the clinic, he rested on the couch and read a magazine. He received a special treat when the residential director brought by a brand new DVD of Grayson's favorite movie of the summer – Marmaduke. What a treat! He watched half of it, then did his chores (trash, mail, therapeutic home program) and prepared dinner. After dinner he finished the movie.

I spoke with him after he was in bed and listening to his audio book. I asked him if he watched a movie tonight, and he said "yes". When I asked which one he said, "I don't know". I said "dog" and he responded "Marmaduke". Prompting worked!

Pax!

Brant

Day 288 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Grayson had a good day today. He did much of the usual – chores, laundry, trash, dinner prep. After dinner Grayson and his roommate played Uno with their residential assistant (RA). She said that they were conspiring to bend a few rules and that she thought that was quite funny. The minds were working!

I spoke with Grayson just after he laid down for bed but had not yet gone to sleep. The cordless phone was broken so he had to hoof it into the kitchen to talk to me on the wired headset. He chatted for a little bit then wanted to get back to bed – and his audio book!

Counting down to the first home visit!

Pax!

Brant

Day 287 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

We drove up to visit Grayson for the last time today. The next few times we drive to Bakersfield it will be to bring Grayson home for a visit. He will move back in with us in the next few weeks. The Centre for Neuro Skills will be making a visit on Friday to assess our home for suitability for caring for a brain injured patient with some serious cognitive deficits. We think that we are almost ready but our assessor will be the judge.

We had a very nice day with Grayson today. Since this was our last visit, we decided to go to Moo Creamery for lunch. The food there is great and the ice cream is from another planet. Nowhere else in the world have I tasted ice cream with such vibrant flavor. With such beautiful weather today (in the low 80's) we ate outside and had a simply delightful lunch.

We did run a few errands after lunch. The most poignant one was the purchase of an in-drawer knife block. Due to Grayson's impulse and safety issues, we will now be storing our kitchen knives out of sight in a drawer.

We took our last swim by the pool this afternoon. We were in the pool area for a few hours but the outside temperature was so unseasonably cool that we spent our time in the sun instead of the water. Since we started enjoying the pool on "opening day" this season the lifeguards, like many of the staff, have become extended family. We will miss them!

It may have been a day of "lasts" but we look forward to all of the firsts yet to come.

Pax!

Brant

Day 286 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Grayson had a good day today. He did his grocery shopping in the morning, labeled and put his food away after shopping, swept and mopped the floors, and did a bunch of laundry. He had no behavior problems today.

This evening, the "Generation Y" (a.k.a. the Millennial Generation) crowd went to a social event at IHOP. Grayson was excited about this event and ordered pancakes, eggs and sausage – he was a happy camper!

I chatted briefly with Grayson tonight after his event, and made sure that he knew that we were coming for a visit tomorrow. This will be Grayson's last weekend at the residence, as he will be making home visits in the weeks to come in preparation for the transition to home care.

Pax!

Brant

Day 285 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

It's Friday night – Movie Night! I called to talk to Grayson and he was at the movies. This is good news, because the simple fact that he was still out tells me that there were no behavior problems.

We are busy preparing for Grayson at home on multiple levels. His room is about finished and we are holding a garage sale tomorrow to remove 25+ years of collected "stuff" from the entire family (including my parents). We are in the legal process of filing for a conservatorship so we can manage Grayson's affairs and we also applying for Social Security benefits for Grayson. Lots of balls in the air – and we both have busy jobs!

Enough about us – we are fortunate to have Grayson with us at all. Thanks be to God!

Pax!

Brant

Day 284 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Grayson had a good day today. There was nothing special or extraordinary about it, but life is generally made up of glorious but relatively unremarkable days. Unless you reflect on how remarkable the gift of life is, it just whizzes by.

We spent the evening eliminating clothing that no longer fits Grayson. Since his injury, he has lost 70 pounds, and most of his pre-injury clothing is going into storage. His closet now looks like something out of a closet organizer ad – lots of room and very organized clothing.

First overnight home visit will be the 4^th – racing to get ready!

Pax!

Brant

Day 283 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Today is Wednesday – Order In Night! No cooking for the residents tonight. Grayson had a sub sandwich from Sub Station. After dinner was another treat – Bingo Night at the rec center. Grayson, usually the one with a short attention span, stayed at it for an hour and a half. He never got to yell "Bingo!" but whenever a number was called that he had, he would shout, "Got it!" I asked his residential assistant (RA) if that was the way the game is played and she said no, but that anything that made Grayson more verbal was a good thing!

We had our patient conference today and it is now certain that Grayson will transition home within the next few weeks. He will have a few overnight home visits on weekends before he moves home later in September. More on this topic as we get closer to the transition. I'll share highlights of the patient conference as soon as I've had a moment to digest the data.

Pax!

Brant