So…I got in a little trouble for giving Vernon (thickened) juice from the kitchen without an official ‘order.’ Since he hasn’t been getting any speech therapy to help him build his swallowing muscles, I figured I might as well allow him some supervised pleasure since he gets so little of it. The good thing is that getting caught brings up the conversation again to the powers that be. I’ve asked Vernon’s doctor for help in this and he asked the head of nursing to make sure Vernon has a speech therapist who can at least oversee some drinking and maybe eating. Apparently the regular speech therapist has gone for her summer holiday, so maybe getting in with a new one will jumpstart some more recovery in this area. If nothing else, he can have a little thirst-relief. Watch this space. #prayforjuice 🙂

Now.  How have we been doing as a family for the past couple of days?

Justine is back in preschool…I mean SUMMER CAMP, which helps balance out our lives wonderfully. Those two weeks of summer sans school were pretty hectic, I must say. She needs people to play with constantly, and unfortunately for her, I’m not that kind of a mom.  I don’t know if any mother is…we save that till we are grandmothers apparently. She’s also coming along in her swimming lessons.  We will start simple piano lessons next week, to help guide her obsession with the keyboard.

We’ve talked with Maki a couple of times since he’s been in New Zealand. All has been well but this week, they’ve all caught a virus and are laying low. So that’s no fun. There was talk of them all going away for a few days to the beach.  I’ve never been, but all I ever hear about New Zealand is what an amazingly gorgeous country it is.  Maybe Maki will feel up to sending an update of his own soon. The most recent photo I have is this one that Erin Adams (Chris’ wife) sent me a few weeks ago.

Erin (Chris’ wife) sent me this picture of Maki on their roof a couple of weeks ago. I guess all that bouldering this year rendered  him unstoppable. The sky’s the limit, kiddo.

Vernon got a haircut yesterday from the house-hairdresser.  It had been a long time coming, and on the way back to the room, Vernon was showered with compliments by various older ladies he wheeled past. Well, regardless of disability, he is the youngest, most handsome man in the house (and everyone is rooting for him in their hearts.) Why shouldn’t he know it?

Not a whole lot to report on Vernon’s recovery tonight….

BUT you may remember my post around this time last year,which tells the story of meeting Russ and Tim in the SICU. Tim had just broken his neck in the Laguna Beach waves. It was that crazy week last summer, when the waves and riptides suddenly got more powerful and dangerous. He was fortunate to live, some didn’t. Anything could have happened in that injury…but he survived to go home after a week and heal.  Here are some pictures that Tim shared to mark his one year anniversary.  I can barely see a scar!

I can barely see a scar! He’s better than ever, it appears— back to work, sport, and life in general with deep-seated gratitude.

I love seeing real recovery! It reminds me that it’s possible.