Thankfulness

Today, I am thankful.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, but right now it is early morning Wednesday, everyone is sleeping (including Leo!), it's raining, and it's just the right time to write of thankfulness.

I went and retrieved Carl and Mom from NJ last weekend, to spend Thanksgiving here. Now my thoughts are of Alex arriving safely through this storm that I am watching.

Alex is what made me think about thankfulness this morning. I received a text from him two nights ago from Wisconsin that went something like this...

"Some a-hole just blew past me at 80 miles an hour blowing snow all over my car making me spin out! Now I am stuck in the median and need a tow truck!"

Really?.... Really?.... Did I really just get that message from Alex?  Is is possible it just won't stop for our family?  I am thankful (that's an understatement) that he is ok and can't wait to see him!  Now I just have to get through his plane ride today.  Will the anxiety I've come to experience each morning, as I lay in bed thinking, ever subside?

Back to thankfulness.

When Kyle awoke nearly 6 months ago, he couldn't talk, move his limbs, or track movements with his eyes.  But just last month, we flew home for Kyle's senior portrait, determined that he would be back in school and walking across that stage in June!

For this I am thankful!

For this I am thankful!

I am thankful for Billy Grogan.  This man. This man helped save Kyle's life.  Our first responder.
He told us the complete scenario, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. We can now lay the rumors to rest.  He showed us his snapshot of Kyle laying tangled in the barbed wire fence, barely a breath coming from him, with his leg twisted up near his head.

I can hear you saying "You looked at the photo???"

Yes, I did. Enough time has passed.  It helped in some odd sort of way.






I am thankful for sooo many things...  the many friends and strangers (yes, strangers)  who sent gift cards, gas cards, meals.  Those that dog sat, or found our dog straying in the road and walked her home!  Those that just communicated via the blog, giving words of support.  The various fundraisers, the thoughtful presents, the many visitors.

 I am thankful for all the times Greg flew to Atlanta, giving me relief and support.....

....(but more importantly, being Kyle's eating buddy).

For this I am thankful!

I am thankful for the bond between these two brothers, the support from Alex, the hours of being there in good and bad.

For this I am thankful!

I am thankful that Mom is happy and that Dad is smiling with us from above.

I am thankful for moments like these!











And moments like these!

And above it all, we are all thankful for the leaps and bounds in Greg and Nancy's recovery!  (and the power of social media to bring our family together this wonderful Thanksgiving).

Happy Thanksgiving to all my family, near and far!...
Greg, Nancy, Crystal, Shannon and Carter!

Overwhelmed? What Makes You Think That? plus Final Therapy Photos

   Overwhelm

   o·ver·whelm

     verb

1. To affect deeply in mind or emotion: Despair overwhelmed me.

2. To present with an excessive amount: I am overwhelmed with (fill in the blank) 

Trying to play "catch-up" is not easy.  Once you get behind, well then what?  Despair?  Throw in the towel?  Just don't give a crap?  Or maybe just take one day at a time, and do what you can?  Hoping things will fall into place?


It's really, really difficult trying to catch up on writing. But what I am really talking about is that "fill in the blank" section.  That's my never ending ,  overwhelming, "to do" list.

I used to like to  read "organizational" advice when I had the chance.  It really does make one's life easier... to be organized.  Doesn't it?  Case in point.....

Never, ever, be away for 5 months and not see any of your mail!

I must say, Greg made a valiant effort handling all the bills and mail coming in, and organizing all the insurance claims forms, the forms that let you know how your claim was processed (or even is it was ever processed!). He did this all in the beginning.  But now it is for me to sort through,  catch the mistakes (yes, insurance mistakes) and prioritize all the piled mail, and know what I am doing.  It's an overwhelming task when you've been gone for five months.   And guess what?  Every day the mail still keeps coming.  Go figure.

If only we could just go throw our junk mail away and answer every piece of mail at that moment.  Every day I look at it all and say "Where do I start?"  It is spread all over my dining room table and my two coffee tables and my kitchen counter.  I wonder where my family will sit for Thanksgiving dinner?  Or better yet, where will I even prepare the meal?

But for tonight, I will put all that aside, and indulge myself with my favorite past time (which I am missing oh so much!).

Fun Photography Catch-Up

Kyle's last week of therapy had him all "revved"up.......

....... revved up and ready for racing!  NOT!

Good balance is a must if Kyle wants to ride again.

Working on weight bearing on that left arm.

Fluidotherapy

Fluidotherapy fun!

 The Fluidotherapy machine combines dry heat with an airstream that blows around tiny particles similar to sawdust.  It helps increase blood circulation, range of motion, and reduces pain.  In addition, there are tiny little objects placed in the bottom which here, Greg passes to Kyle to improve fine motor function.

Sharing in on the fun.

Picking up coins for fine motor function.

 Splint Making                                                                                                

"Look, it's the arts and crafts room",  I whispered to Kyle, not realizing I could be heard.  We got a good laugh from our wonderful therapists with my referral to what really was their splint making room.

Kyle's splint will be fitted with a pulley system, in order to flex his fingers.

Team work.

Adjusting for the pulleys.

Heating and shaping the splint.  

The final product!  Such a beautiful piece of art AND fashion statement!

Winding down the day in the apartments' rec room.

Coming Home....Twice

Thursday, Nov 13

I always have something to write about.  Sometimes it's something exciting and uplifting, but sometimes it's down right depressing.  Many times I don't finish writing those, and when I go back to them later I think, "Eww, nobody wants to here all about that.  Find something inspiring and motivational about Kyle, not gloomy about you."

So I delete it.

A friend told me "Don't ever delete those, even if you don't post them, save them for yourself."  Such good advice that I never thought of and I will now follow through on. I've deleted a lot that I'd like to read now (and maybe even post, now that we are home).

But for tonight, I will post what I had no intention of deleting from ten days ago!  Something grand!  And from here I will try to play catch up because I have many photos, and many thoughts still to share.


Tuesday, Nov 4  (ten days ago)

We are home!  Yes, I know that is old news now, but I haven't written in so long that it took me forever to think of how to start this.  So I thought of something so simple, yet so huge...

"We are home."

And what a homecoming we had.  Thank you to everyone who came to welcome us back and thank you to Alex for all he did to plan it and pull it together.  It was somewhat difficult to "officially" invite everyone who showed us support, because it was planned on FB, but we hoped the word would spread, and we encouraged it, as this was definitely an open house with open hearts.  I will try and post pictures soon.

I would also like to say thank you to Kettle Run High School and to Kyle's many supportive friends and their parents for welcoming us with open arms at the rival KRHS and FHS football game we attended on a trip home a few weeks ago.  What a welcome it was!

So many hugs!  And what a surprise when his name was announced over the PA system.  And then came the cheers upon cheers from the students of "The Cage" as he walked past them.

I only took a small handful of photos.  I was so absorbed in the attention and love being shown to Kyle, I forgot all about snapping pictures!  Here are the few that were taken.

Soon to hear his name over the PA system.

One of the many hugs Kyle received over the course of the evening.

The student cheering section, aka The Cage, who gave Kyle the loudest of cheers as he walked past them.

And a big thanks to Jamie, who grabbed my camera for one of the few photos that exists of Kyle and me.

Kyle also volunteered to work the concession stand (as did Greg).  He did an excellent job making the nachos.  Kyle has always liked to work the concessions and I thought this was a good way to get him back involved. He was eager and happy to help.  Many handshakes and hugs were passed around that night.

I may not have gotten photos that evening....

.......but here's to TBT!   Same place, just another time.

Bob, Kim, and Kerry

    Kyle

Greg                                 

Kettle Run Cougars

Welcome home, Kyle  <3

Two Days and Counting

This morning I laid in bed for quite awhile before getting up.  Oddly, there was a little bit of sadness in the air.  We are leaving in one more day, yet there I was feeling so melancholy.  I was thinking about so many things, while Kyle still slept in the bed across from me.

There is safety here, and leaving that behind is a little scary.  I don't mean just safety in the apartment, but safety in knowing we have no pressures here.  Our only schedule is to make it to the Pathway therapies by 11:15.  Kyle is surrounded by caring people all day, and very rarely does he have to make a decision, at least nothing monumental.

What will happen when we get home?  He will want to go places, do things, be a "normal" teenager again.  He will still require some supervision, as per his doctor.  So when he wants to go to the game Friday night, I have to go.  But what if I just don't feel like going?

Not being able to make decisions is a common symptom of brain injuries.  Planning and initiating, which is our executive functioning,  is also slow to return.  The problem is, Kyle thinks he is just fine, because that part of his brain is not able to tell him he is not.  That's not to say he isn't almost there, he just needs more time to get there.  In the mean time, I need to keep him safe, without him getting angry.  You try telling a 17 year old young man, full of adventure, that he can't drive his much beloved truck or dirtbike immediately upon returning home.    Hmmm....


Rounding up the therapies....                                                                                                                                                             

Just a little balancing act.

Eyes closed required!

Ahhhh, a massage before Kyle leaves?  Spoiled!  Actually, his neck, shoulders, and pecs are still tight and need daily stretching. Here, some cream is massaged in first.

Stretching and rotating Kyle's shoulder.

Balance exercises throughout the hallways.

Kyle loves his Recreational therapists.  Hmm, I wonder why?  Here they work on his balance.

The Recreational games work on balance in ways you might not think about.

Kyle;s Recreational therapy on a "group" day.

Greg and Nancy, and We're In The Homestretch!

Crystal, Nancy, Greg, and Carter

I want to give my sincerest thanks to all of those whose thoughts and prayers are going to my brother, Greg, and my sister-in-law, Nancy.

Most of you don't even know them, yet you took the time to stop and read their stories in addition to following Kyle's.  And you gave your sincerest wishes to them, and for Crystal and Shannon too.  I am very touched by all of it.

Before Kyle's accident, I had never known anyone with a Traumatic Brain Injury.  Probably most of us don't....personally, I mean.  Now I know two.  So how does this happen twice in the same family?

The phone call about my brother's motorcycle accident came three weeks ago.  Kyle and I made the trip to NJ the following weekend, while Alex and Greg also made their way, from Wisconsin and Virginia.  I so wanted to give Crystal the support she needed.   When we walked into Nancy's ICU room,  it was like seeing Kyle all over again.  It affected each of us, and I watched Kyle as he quietly took it all in.  When he finally spoke it was to quietly ask,  "Is that what I looked like?"   "Yes, Kyle.....that's exactly what you looked like."

Greg and Nancy are recovering, slowly but surely.  I try to help Crystal and Shannon by giving them encouragement when I can. I'm hoping it helps them when I see the similarities and recount our experiences to them.   There are so many similarities, yet I know both outcomes will be different because no two brain injuries are the same.  They are my precious family, and I am thankful there is a light at the end of the tunnel for all three of them.

Greg's trike on the left, Kyle's car on the right.  They had their guardian angels watching over them.

On the lighter side, matching skinny legs!
(Kyle lost 40 lbs, but I think Greg has him beat.)

Mom (Annie, Grandma, Greatgrams) and Carter visiting Greg at rehab.

Countdown to Thursday!

It's really here!  Only three more days!  We did it Kyle!!!!

Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success. ~  Henry Ford