Today is Mark's 24th birthday!!! When I think back on the last two years, I am overwhelmed. It has been a long, arduous journey for him, but he has persevered and we are so proud of him.
He continues to go to therapy three times a week and a short session on the Lokomat on Mondays. He got the good news that he no longer needs a lift in his right shoe and is currently looking for new sneakers! He may still need the arch support to keep his foot from pronating but they won't know that until he walks in a shoe without the added support to see how it works.
He and Jess are adjusting to a normal life outside the hospital. They meet up with friends for lunch or dinner and have been busy getting the apartment just the way they want it. Mark is continuing with his driving lessons and is doing very well. Naturally, this makes him extremely happy. He will be starting a class next week at the University of South Florida which he is very happy about. It is in photography as art, so he is really looking forward to it. If you have never seen any of Mark's photographs, go to the link on the side of the blog and take a look at some of the photos he took in Europe. They are quite good.
Rich has had his second shoulder surgery and is recovering nicely. We will be going to see Mark next month and Rich will do some of his therapy in Florida. We will be spending Thanksgiving with my family in the Tampa area so that should be fun. I will continue to keep everyone posted on how things are progressing.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Well, it's been just about two weeks since Mark was released from the hospital and he and Jess moved into the apartment. We got things settled in pretty quickly by unpacking the boxes that were in storage from Italy and getting things put away. Of course, there was not too much and a lot of it (Army gear, climbing gear, skateboard, etc.) could stay packed up and left in the garage. Thank goodness Mark's apartment came with a large garage. It is actually long enough to park two smaller cars end to end, so the truck fits nicely as well as all the boxes and his new bike.
The day after the move, the new furniture arrived and Mark promptly parked himself into his recliner and began "delegating" and the rest of the chores were done.
I left the following Saturday and Mark and Jess have had a very good couple of weeks since. They did have one bump in the road when Jess had to call 911 and take Mark back to the VA early that first Sunday morning. He was coughing and having trouble breathing about 4 a.m. and after a phone call to us, called and had him taken to the hospital. After an overnight stay and tests, they determined that it was probably a very bad case of heartburn and put him back on Prilosec. Things have been fine since. While they were waiting in the emergency room, two of the VA police officers saw someone back into the rear bumper of Mark's truck and went inside and got Jess (which prompted another call to us). Poor Jess, what a way to start their independence! The officer recognized the truck as she knew Mark from all his months there, and the woman who hit it was another employee, either coming or going to work. Fortunately, the damage was not too bad and will be handled by the insurance.
Since the "incident" things have been going well and Mark and Jess have enjoyed dinner with another patient and his wife who have relocated in the area. We lived with this couple at the Fisher House and he had been discharged in the spring. They enjoyed Ivonne's birthday at a local restaurant with some of the Tampa family and hospital staff, and had lunch with some Australian wives of airmen who are stationed at McDill. Jess had met these young women at one of the monthly dinners at the hospital and became friendly with them. They were also contacted by a young woman who was stationed at Aviano with the Air Force when Mark was there. She has just relocated to Tampa and is working at McDill. She, too, does not have friends in the area and emailed Jess so they could get together. She and Mark met in Italy through one of Mark's buddies, who introduced them because she is from Ohio. Strangely enough, she grew up just west of where we live and was the only girl on a varsity hockey team when Mark was in high school at the same time. She was so happy to have someone she knows nearby too.
I am confident that all will continue to go well. Mark goes back to the therapy schedule on Thursday and his little vacation is over. Jess will drive him most days, but the plan from the driver trainer is to pick Mark up and have him drive back to the hospital as practice. Mark is looking forward to that.
I will continue to update with little posts from here and keep everyone up to date.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
After 22 months of hospitalization, Mark is in his own apartment again. It has been wonderful today. We spent the first night in the new apartment last night, and today the new furniture he needed to fill in the gaps from what came from storage arrived. He was especially happy with the "kick ass recliner" and parked his butt in it and hardly moved all afternoon.
He did help me set up the bedroom television and then guided Jess and I in trying to add the DVD player to the giant set in the living room. However, we were not as successful with that and have to do a little more research into the correct type of cable we need to connect the television with the Blu-Ray DVD. Jess and I were glad we didn't have anyone watching as we tried (successfully) to move this 42" monster and thread cords through a hole in the shelf it's on, then try and hook up various cords to the back of the set. We were quite the team with Mark giving us some instruction from the sidelines. (Ever the delegator!)
It was fun to fix breakfast, lunch and dinner in the new kitchen and eating dinner on the new dining table. We have most of the boxes unpacked and Jess and I should be finished putting everything away tomorrow. The apartment handyman came to change the shower head today and hang the grab bars in the bathroom. The management here is very nice and have been very helpful. Mark and Jess's next door neighbor is another military wife who lived with us at the Fisher House for nearly a year and moved to this complex about a month ago. It was nice to know she is next door. There is another wife moving in about the middle of the month and Mark's military liaison sergeant also lives in the complex. He's offered to spend Sundays watching football with Mark so Jess can go off on her own and do "girlie" things. He's a great guy and Mark likes him very much.
We'll keep you posted as things progress.