The Leaf Chair

The move went very well, and Mike and Kallyn made it through also with only a few bumps in the road.  When I left on Thursday morning, Mike was beating Kallyn at Wii bowling. Because of the wonderful work of Carol, Ed, Vivian, Mike G., Keegan, Amy, Hugh, and TR, the apartment was boxed up, everyone was fed a hearty lunch, the apt. cleaned and keys turned in by 3:00 Friday afternoon. Woo Hoo! Hugh & TR headed back to the farm with truck and trailer and the rest of us headed to Carrboro for a restful evening and a nice dinner out. Saturday afternoon, Tom, Gayle, and David joined the aforementioned folks and we unloaded everything either to the upper room at the milking parlor for storage or into the house.  Quite a few boxes have yet to be unpacked, but little by little, we'll get settled in. The most precious thing was when Mike saw his leaf chair.  He sat right down and stayed there for at least an hour or more, while I made some order out of our room upstairs.

Waiting for me at home was another anonymous gift of a beautiful flower arrangement with a very precious note. To the giver(s), thank you so much, it is gorgeous! We are all enjoying it.  This weekend "all" included quite a few folks with all the moving crew and those who had come to see the play at the high school. It was fun and full and maybe a bit much for Mike, but he really did very well and may as well get used to it.  We have a lot of family and enjoy getting together.

Sunday it snowed like crazy in the afternoon and Mike and I were both getting a little stir crazy inside so ventured out into the "blizzard" and built a snowman. It was cold and windy, so we didn't stay long and neither did the snowman.  He was toppled over by Monday morning and melting quickly.

Monday we took a road trip down to Newport News to visit my Dad's sister and her husband.  Was great to see them. Mike did well on the trip down, but was quite antsy on the way home and wanted to know why we had traveled so far. He also was craving water and drank any cup that had liquid in it. Usually I have to practically force him to drink.

Today Mom and I made a trip to Farmville. I was able to get my VA driver's license and tags and registration for the car, we went to an area Brain Injury support group meeting, Mom treated me to a delicious meal at a restaurant which is in an old tobacco warehouse. Rustic and beautiful.  Will definitely have to take Mike when the weather is nice so that we can sit on the outdoor patio and eat while overlooking the river. The support group was small, but really great. Was able to talk with a couple of TBI survivors, met Beth, the area representative for Brain Injury of VA and learned of a couple of BI camps.

Londa (a helper like Scotty and Rod were in NC, but not through an agency) stayed with Mike this morning and then Gayle and Tom were with him this afternoon.  Gayle got a great photo of Mike and Tom playing table football. Notice Mike's big smile.  Hopefully, now that more of our things are here, and we are settling into somewhat of a routine, Mike will begin to relax more and feel secure.  We both have appts. with a Primary Care Physician next week, I need to take Mike to get an ID made, and then we wait for the appointment with Dr. Silver in Richmond on April 18.  Mike's wound is still not completely healed, but is closing in.  I just hope the underneath is healing properly.  He also has a rash on his hip.  We'll try to start reducing the Risp. again in a week or so and I hope and pray that will make a difference in his cognition and the toileting issues. Please pray for wisdom in regards to when to try again.  Warmer weather will help too!

Please also pray for Keegan to get a full time job soon and that he won't be too stressed about it.  He's getting married in June so is feeling anxious. We are trusting for God's perfect plan, we just wish it would materialize sooner! He and Amy will be moving to Charlotte to help plant a Great Commission church on the UNC-Charlotte campus, so he is searching for IT jobs in that area.

We received very sad news this morning that my childhood best friend's mother passed away last night after suffering a stroke on Sunday night. We had just seen her at church Sunday morning and last week I had a chance to talk with her a good bit at church. She was a precious lady and will be greatly missed. Please remember the Garrett family in your prayers.

G'night.