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.