Walk in the Park

 Some weakness, some...for lack of a better description...bull-headedness, sagging head, and strong desires to sleep. And, a few other added spices. One day can be all that. And, it was. Monday.

Tuesday, he was right back to moving forward. Tired, but expected. Warmer physically and emotionally. More cooperative and engaging.

Wednesday.  Unremarkable. 

Then it was Thursday. I had a couple of stops to make on the way to the facility. One of which was to pick up my purchase of a nice, but inexpensive current laptop to let Jim navigate a keyboard and stimulate the old geek cells. He zoomed in and went straight to some shortcuts. There was a little frustration because he couldn't pull up the internet until I connected my hotspot, but he sure tried despite that. We used it later to watch clips from "Annie Get Your Gun", and I watched him smile big, and make comments about how much he loved the performance of Betty Hutton. Solitaire on the screen was less entertaining. "I hope this gets more interesting."

But, he was exceptionally engaged, sharp and very current a lot of the day. That happens more often now, and he asked about a few things he obviously was concerned about. Was everything OK? Did I need anything? Then there were bill paying questions. He needed to deposit a check. That would not be considered current thinking for some, but if you know, Jim, it's pretty standard every day. Lest he forget.  He worries about that. Sure, he can mix it up with thinking he needs to put a time log in.  , But remember, he's basically lost almost 4 months. What part of your life would you wake up to after "sleeping" that long?

When these questions come up, I just let him know it's all being taken care of, and everything is going to be fine. He needs only to work with God and focus his energy on getting well and healing. He knows something happened because he sees himself differently in the mirror. He examines what he sees, turning his head to different angles, looking at himself in the eyes. He knows there is an indentation on his forehead. And bumps on his scalp. He comments on them. And, he asks me to put Melaleuca oil them to help fix them.

It can be difficult to watch this. But, it is part of the awakening.

The most exciting part of the day was that we were able to walk... holding hands... just the two of us. No walker. The physical therapist was behind us with a chair... just in case. But, we walked. Jim standing fairly straight and tall... with one brief, sit down on a lobby loveseat, about 300 feet down around and back. It wasn't pretty. There were no trees, or flowers, or bunnies in bushes. No sunset, skyline or view of note. But, I'll take that walk down a tiled hall as one of the most memorable. And, I'm happy to share that with you.