3-month-iversary

The images of Atlantic City and LBI today are heart-breaking... We're sending prayers and best wishes for a speedy recovery to all of those affected by Hurricane Sandy yesterday. It's funny -- I hadn't been to Atlantic City in over a decade prior to John's accident, but in the 2 weeks he was in the hospital there, the city really grew on me. There's something quite visceral about seeing the boardwalk tossed around like so many matchsticks, seeing LBI underwater...

It seems small consolation, but when I look at him moving around our house today, his mobility is beyond anything I dared to dream of in those early August days. And here we are, just three months later. So here's my most sicnere wish that three months from now, the nightmare of the hurricane will be receding as well.

Of all of the blessings we've had these past few months, John's life and returning strength is claerly the greatest. But beyond that, it's hard to rank them and say, "This one is the next greatest." One of these blessings has been the opportunity for reflection, and in that spirit, I'd like to share something I read this morning:

Strangely, that admission of weakness opens the door to a new kind of strength. To acknowledge and accept weakness is to ground our lives more firmly in truth, and it turns out that to be grounded in reality is to become more able and more alive. Denial is hard work; those who try to stifle their awareness of the limits of human life and ambition in the busy rounds of daily life never reach their full potential.
To open your eyes to the fragility of life and to our dependence on that which is infinitely greater than ourselves is to enter more deeply into life. To come to terms with the radical insecurity in which we all live is to find a different and more reliable kind of security. The joys and occupations of ordinary life aren’t all there is to existence, but neither are the great and all-destroying storms. There is a calm beyond the storm, and the same force that sends these storms into our lives offers a peace and security that no storm can destroy. As another one of the psalms puts it, “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” Accepting your limits and your dependence on things you can’t control is the first step on the road toward finding that joy.

 This is from a blog at The American Interest (posting here: http://blogs.the-american-interest.com/wrm/2012/10/29/nature-and-natures-god/). Wishing you this peace and joy...

Indian Summer

A gorgeous day today -- high near 80 with a gusty breeze -- and John & I went back to RIC for his first post-discharge check-up with his physiatrist. The appointment went really well: Dr. Chen is very pleased with his progress, and John just has to keep working hard at rehab. We'll go in for his next checkup just before Christmas.

We went back to D4 for lunch, and a second tasting confirmed that they serve the best fish 'n chips we've had outside of Ireland (and they're ND fans -- note the flag in the bottom left window):

 

 We went back to the 9th floor to say hi to John's therapists -- and, I'll admit it, to show off :) Piper (his OT) wasn't there, but Mike (PT) was, and he noticed all the little changes that we've gotten used to or that came too slowly for us to remark on, like the way he doesn't fall when he sways to adjust his balance when standing. This visit was a great way to remind us of how much John's recovered, since the accident and since he came home.

 

On the drive back to South Bend, we stopped for coffee (yes, he's got me drinking coffee now! and texting! what is this world coming to???) and John paid -- today was the first time he'd used his credit card since July!

back at D4 for lunch

Four weeks

Yesterday marked four weeks that John's been home with us and we've settled into our "new normal" routine. PT/OT are going well, and his balance in particular continues to improve. He's able to take care of small household tasks during the day (in between naps!), and he's resting up, regaining his strength.

We went to St Joe's homecoming (10/5) -- the first Homecoming game at the new field:

Unfortunately, cold rain started in the middle of the second quarter, so we didn't make it to halftime as we'd planned. But John got to see some of his students. This past weekend (10/19), we were able to see the first half of the fall play, Much Ado About Nothing, at a student's invitation.

Nora has christened him "Papa Bear" after a marathon session of Jungle Book watching. She wants to be "little Britches," which has taken some getting used to -- and requires careful pronunciation.

Once we'd had some time to get the three of us used to this new normal, John's mom came for a visit. She and John hung out in Nora's classroom one morning, which was a lovely treat since John missed all of the starting a new school celebrations.

Here, Nora was doing a work for Daddy and Grandmom -- she cut flowers from the pots on the patio and was now arranging them in a vase.

We've also been thrilled to be able to watch the Notre Dame games together from the comfort of our living room, though we're still not sure we believe the record or the ranking...

We did our homework!

John's PT gave us homework: to try dancing (to work on his balance). And my husband asked me to dance last night when James Taylor's "How Sweet It Is" came on -- I now know that heaven is dancing with my husband in the kitchen with the sound of our daughter chattering away in the background. And like a good student, tonight he danced with me to Elvis Costello's "She" (our wedding song). And clumsy though we might have been, we kept our balance!

Home again :)

Tonight marks a week at home for John and the three of us are adjusting to this new way of living. John's able to do the stairs (with me spotting him) a couple of times a day, so he comes down in the morning, goes up to put Nora to bed and the back down for some quiet time with me (yay!) and then back up for bed. He's figured out how to make his way around the kitchen and fix himself lunch and snacks (so he doesn't starve when I'm at work!). And today, he tackled the laundry, getting two loads done (and no, I wasn't sad to hand that chore back over to him!).

He started PT and OT (outpatient) last Friday, and for now, he's going three times a week. In PT, he's working on improving his balance, with the short-term goal of getting him off his walker and onto a cane. In OT, he's working on hand strengthening exercises.

Late last week, he visited St Joe HS (where he teaches) and got a tour of the new building (that was the moment of colossal bad timing with his accident -- they built a new, high-tech building and started in it this fall, and he's missed starting in the new building). He got to see a lot of his colleagues and some of his former students. And in seeing everyone, he really felt like he was back home again.

On Sunday, we made it to Mass together for the first time since July. It was a bright and sunny day (side note: Nora had a toy remote when she was a baby that would give the weather forecast: "it's going to be bright and sunny today" in a chirpy voice), as you can tell by our squints:

back on campus for Mass!

Tonight after dinner, Nora and I baked muffins for her to take to school tomorrow (each child takes turns in her class bringing the snack of the day) while John watched an old Hepburn movie, and I realized we're all home together again. Not exactly the way we used to be, but in the way that matters most, we're home again.