Thursday, May 15, 2008

Today started out as a normal workday for Mark, but wound up turning into a fun day. Of course he had all his usual therapies, but after the pool therapy, he was given a reprieve from the "rack" to go to the hospital auditorium. There was an Elk's sponsored art show and Mark had entered a pair of elephants he made out of plaster and painted. The crafts were all done by the veterans and were judged in certain categories. Mark's elephants were made during his rec therapy sessions. He uses these sessions to develop his coordination and use of his hands, as well as cognitive progress. Well, long story short, Mark won first price in his category!!! (See Mrs. Pusti, your guidance continues to pay off!) His entry now goes to the state level and will be judged again there.

This evening we attended the Operation Helping Hands monthly dinner. We were joined by Brigadier General Skjaerpe of Norway who is the commander of the international coalition forces here at Central Command for GWOT (Global War on Terrorism) here at MacDill AFB. He was the most pleasant man and invited us to join his family some weekend and get out of the hospital for some fun.