Day 1081 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Greetings from Napa!

We are here for a surprise birthday celebration for Jill. The event was last night and now we can tell the tale! Lauren and Zack generously offered to watch Grayson overnight so we were able to get away for a few days. We enjoyed our evening last night with a large group as we celebrated Jill’s signature day. We slept in this morning, then joined Mike and Jill, Anne and Katie, and Jim and Lynn for a picnic and wine tasting. We continued our evening handing candy out to the Trick-or-Treater’s at Mike and Jill’s followed by an awesome meal prepared by Mike.

We head back home tomorrow and will be spending tomorrow in our own beds. It is hard to believe that this is the first time we have been away on our own since Grayson has returned from Bakersfield in September of 2010. What a special treat to be allowed the opportunity to get away for a few nights.

Thank you Lauren and Zack!

Pax!

Brant

Day 1079 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Grayson had a slow day or two, but it looks as if he may be not be done with his “up” period quite yet. As always during these periods, he has a difficult time allowing himself to go to sleep. Tonight about 12:30 AM he opened his door and set off his alarm. Regina put him back to bed. These times are hard on our sleep also!

On a lighter note, Danielle was doing his Therapeutic Home Therapy Program (THP) with him today. I will quote from her report. “Had a good laugh today during the THP questions. When I asked Grayson what whiskey, wine and beer had in common, he responded, ‘They’re all good!’ I accepted it and moved to the next question.”

The alert times, despite the challenges, are the most fun!

Pax!

Brant

Day 1078 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

The weekend has had its ups and downs.

The high points included a fun Halloween party at Rita and Richard’s. In addition to a ton of other people, the entire family was there – Austin and Xixi, Lauren and Zack and the three if us. We all had a ball and it was a much later night than we had anticipated!

On the less than “up” side, the Trojans gave away the game on Saturday. After a day when they played well some of the time, they beat themselves with mistakes for the rest of it. The Wildcats got the win and the Trojans are now a 2-loss team and no longer in the National Title hunt.

And to top things off, I woke up this morning practically unable to move. Every now and then I wind up with a back-pain mess, and today was it. Usually I can get over them in a week or so if I’m good. So time to be good!

Grayson was sharp as a tack yesterday, and woke up slow as molasses this morning. Fortunately he wound up more lively as the day wore on. All is well that ends well!

Pax!

Brant

Day 1076 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Grayson was really alert today. In spite of a noisy day of pounding and drilling upstairs, Grayson was very responsive and quick. Danielle even reported that he was helpful with the dishes and some cooking! I’m sure that none of this had anything to do with the preparation of a pineapple upside-down cake. Part of Grayson’s dish duty was to pre-clean the mixing bowl, a job he was most interested in (licking the bowl if I’m being too subtle!). All in all Grayson was quick to respond all day, but his verbal responses were not very understandable.

It’s Friday! Tomorrow we get to sleep in a bit before starting our day. Have a great weekend!

Pax!

Brant

Day 1075 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Grayson was as slow as molasses this morning. Danielle commented that she couldn’t get him to focus on anything. However after lunch, she said that his brain seemed to “thaw out” and he was much more alert. On their afternoon walk he pointed things out and identified them and was very alert. Regina and I noticed the same thing this evening – he was quite “with it”.

The ups and downs of this neurological journey are amazing. Not that Grayson’s “ups” are anywhere near where he used to be, but he has a new normal, and it is against that that we measure. Sometimes he is above, and sometimes he is below. Sometimes it is easy to correlate the cause of a “down” or an “up” day, such as a bad or a good night of sleep. But the connection of cause is not always easy to make. We were told once that the mental reserves that you or I have can help us get through a bad day. Grayson no longer possesses any of those mental reserves and has no way to push through a bad day.

Fortunately, today was a pretty good day!

Pax!

Brant

Day 1074 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Grayson was quite alert today. I spent the late afternoon with him as he finished up his dental work and again I was surprised with his cooperation. I wish I had the same response when I brush his teeth! After Grayson was finished I had the dentist take a quick look at an area of concern in my mouth. After an observation and an x-ray, it appears that I have a root in one of my teeth that is going south. I was referred to an endodontist for a probable root canal. Great.

After the dental work we picked up Regina and had dinner. Now THAT was enjoyable!

Pax!

Brant

Day 1073 – Grayson’s Journey

Dear family and friends

Today was a little like Seattle in LA – drizzle and clouds followed by some scattered sunshine and clan air.

Grayson continued his “sharp streak” and was active and alert today. As always when he is alert, staying in bed after we put him down is rarely guaranteed! The good news is that tonight the door alarm only went off one time. I straightened out his bed, put him back down and he stayed down. Thank goodness!

Pax!

Brant