Our last two days have been a rollercoaster of change and emotion. They have been difficult on us all but having concluded them I am filled with hope. Let me explain.
Tuesday, our move from TIRR was filled with joy for the progress, enthusiasm for the adventure and apprehension that we could be going into a better or worse situation and not knowing which it would be. The departure went smoothly with Donna having a chance to say all of her goodbye's. The therapists were the hardest because she had struck the most substantial relationships there. Emily, her speech therapist, was the hardest because we had all become very attached with great respect for her, she had also become quite attached to Donna also. I have to say there was some excitement as we loaded into the car and drove away as we embarked on a new adventure, one that screamed of Donna's improvement. I had to giggle 5 miles down the road when Donna asked if we were there yet and kept remarking that this was too far. This from the lady who happily used to go on multi-day road trips and has been to 49 states. We stopped at Olive Garden and Donna feasted on a pasta and italian sausage dish. She did great and enjoyed the adventure. I got some experience bringing her to the public restroom (x3) but all was great. We reloaded into the car and realized we had gobbled up a bunch of time. That was confirmed when the facility in Galveston called as we were coming into town a little worried that maybe we got lost or changed our mind.
Tuesday night was the hard part. The people were nice but as you would expect anywhere, John and I started to have more and more hesitation as the evening came closer to a close. This facility has only one private room for a woman and apparently Donna's reputation with roommates preceded her as she got it. As John and I walked to our cars, it was clear that we were carrying our hearts on our sleeves and reevaluating every decision we have made with a fair bit of apprehension. In the end we stayed firm on the course but my heart was very heavy. This heavy heart got even more contorted later that evening when the staff called me because Donna wanted to talk to me and have me come get her. After a brief chat she was ok but I can't describe the anguish. A long night of restless sleep and prayers followed.
As a testimony to answered prayers, there was sunshine after the dark. Our day today, which introduced us to most of Donna's new therapists, was a pleasure after pleasure. The medical director is highly experienced and clearly quite knowledgable in Donna's specific injury. The facility here is a converted catholic girls school and the old gymnasium is the main physical therapy complex where they have retrofitted it with some cool equipment, most notably a rail and tether system called ZeroG that allows a person to electronically controlled walk across the gym and back with adjustable weight and full support. Looking at it in use today, it seems tailor made to Donna. Her new team is full of young, smart, very nice (mostly lady) therapists. Just the kind of people she responds very well too. Just as I walked away yesterday with apprehension, I came to the end of the day today feeling like God really delivered for us and in amazingly short order. They have a family room here that doesn't get much use during the week. Donna and I sat on the sofa watching TV (just the two of us) and sitting there with my arm around her, just for a few minutes felt like we were transported home.
I know we will still have a bunch of difficult days ahead and Donna still has a lot of very hard work to do, but today we were good and filled up with hope.
Thank you all for your prayers and words of encouragement. They do work and lift us up at difficult times. We continue to meet people with amazing stories of tragedy that make us feel blessed and people supporting them who have unshakeable faith; they help reassure us that in the midst of our challenges we are very blessed. They provide great examples of the power of determination and faith. We strive to follow their example.
Thanks to all,
Bob
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