Sunday November 11

Hard work is on, Donna is doing great and the pathway to home is now clear.  Wow I've waited a long time to say those last 6 words : pathway to home is now clear.  I'll give you the details but first how Donna is doing.

She works her butt off.   It has now become a bit routine for her to break a sweat in either her physical therapy sessions or occupational therapy.  Anyone who knows her knows how much she likes that normally (not..) but she does it here with a smile and steely eyed focus.  She knows what is at stake.  The therapy regime is just the way we like it hard, exhausting and yielding steady improvement.   This past week a meeting with her therapy team resulting in improved reports in all areas.  Donna's right arm has seen the most improvement with her range improving greatly from where she was when she got here.  She uses that hand and arm regularly now and the change (while slow) is noticeable. 

Her surgically enhanced right leg is not hurting at all and medical staff are coming next Tuesday to cut her cast and measure for her interim brace.  She'll wear the cast (hinged) for another week and it is planned to come off once and for all the day before Thanksgiving.  What you should be thinking is "the day before Thanksgiving?".  I know, I'm skeptical too but you never know.  God willing we'll be eating turkey without a cast.  Donna walks on the cast now and routinely walks around the gym with the assistance of a walker and some staff assistance.  She gets a little better at this all the time.

So what are our long awaited forward plans.........  After much thought, prayer and Donna's hard work, our plans have taken shape.  Donna will be in Galveston into December and our tentative plan is for her to finish there prior to Christmas (target date December 19).   In the interim we will be home on Thanksgiving and giving much thanks.   Donna will get a break over the Christmas holiday at home and then start her outpatient therapy first of the year.  It is also decided that I will stop working December 19 and be home with her for at least a few months to get her well on the path and hopefully to some level of independence.  We have no illusions that there is still a lot left to do but this blessed step of coming home is the one that at times was hard to imagine and now is a major milestone.   June 16, the day of the accident seems a lifetime ago.

I want to give a little more info on two more topics 1) How is Donna feeling and 2) a little about the facility she is at in Galveston (TLC).   Donna has her days when it all gets her down.  Amazingly these have been few but it happens.  She wants to stay positive and is such a believer in the power of prayer and hard work that she knows it is all possible but at time the doubts creep in.   The value of people marking her progress through periodic visits and the encouragement of her support network mean the world to her.  She still takes an interest in the other patients and therapists and we'll both be forever changed by the amazing people and stories.  These help her attitude.  While there is no sense of competitiveness, you can not help but wish you move as fast as the fastest improving patients, your heart pours out for the slowest moving patients but sometimes all helps her realize her own pace of improvement in a situation where it is sometimes hard to see improvement pace.

I have wanted to describe the support culture that exists at TLC Galveston and why it suits Donna.  All they do is brain injury rehabilitation and there are only about 20 patients.  The facility is situated in a prior girls catholic school complex that takes  a full city block in Galveston.  Patients move between 3 buildings that house, a gym, therapy rooms, residential section etc....   Most importantly they take a very personal touch and care a lot.  I recall a recent story that typifies the overall cooperative culture.  One Saturday morning I was sitting with Donna as she finished her breakfast before we headed home, at the next table were two patients, one who had been there for a good while and another in his first week.  Every time the new patient had a need, the other reached over and adjusted his plate, swiveled his plate, or fixed his napkin.  It was such a sincere expression of support by someone who may have been in the role of need only a little time prior.  It summarized for me the personal caring approach that permeates all facets here.  Everyone knows everybody and that makes it feel more supportive.  Even tonight as I dropped Donna off, she was welcomed by so many.  It makes that sad moment when I walk out each night palatable.

So with the timetable we have, all seems like its moving faster.  Donna will still have a good bit to work through even after we head home but progress is a blessing.  

A little while ago Donna and I drove the few blocks to the beach on a beautiful evening with the sun setting. We opened the windows and just listened to the waves with our eyes closed.  A rare moment of peace.  Thought you would enjoy the image below.

Thank you for your prayers and support.  
Bob