September 24, 2017 10:06 pm
It was a chilly Sunday here in Denver. Autumn is definitely here. The rain reminds us of the weather we'll soon be facing as we head back to Portland soon. We're both sad to see summer go. We Portlanders cherish our summers. This year we feel like we lost most of ours because we've mostly been sitting in hospital rooms for the past three months.
It was also a relaxed day for us today. Josh had breakfast and then a nap. He didn't get out of his room to do anything until after lunch.
Mary and Josh worked on a couple of puzzles that we bought when we were out shopping yesterday. Josh 1.0 hated puzzles but Josh 2.0 seems to enjoy them quite a bit. He stays focused until it's finished. Very interesting to see some of the personality changes.
Another change in Josh 2.0: We asked Josh if he wanted to go out shopping with us, and he said yes. Josh 1.0 wouldn't go shopping unless his very life depended on it (and maybe not even then)! We asked where he wanted to go and he said Costco. So we headed over to Costco. Josh walked straight in to the food counter. Paul wasn't sure what Josh was thinking and so tried to help with some strategy before getting to the counter, but Josh was intent on doing his own thing. He walked up to the counter and, in response to the "can I help you," he said, "How much are your hot dogs?" This made Paul smile as (1) the question wasn't even relevant, and (2) "hot dogs have been $1.50 since dinosaurs roamed the earth." Josh stared blankly and Paul had to pull him aside to discuss strategy.
After walking around Costco for a while, we headed to our new family favorite restaurant. Yes, Denny's! (Man, we are living the high life now!!) We sat down and asked Josh if he remembered what he ate the last time we were at Denny's. He quickly opened his menu and pointed to the steak. Correct! After weighing some options, he went with the steak again. The man knows what he likes. Josh 1.0 liked steaks too.
About an hour into our meal (Josh chews REALLY slowly) we noticed that Josh was shaking. Turns out, he was cold. Once he gets cold, he shakes dramatically. So we packed up the rest of his meal (Paul and Mary had been done for some time) and headed out to the car. The poor guy got in the back seat and was violently shaking from the cold. We covered him in a blanket and cranked the heat in the car, but he shook all the way back to Craig. When we got back to his room we put him in bed and buried him in a few heated blankets and he finally warmed up.
It was fun being out for a while. It makes us feel slightly more like normal. We sure did get a lot of stares as we walked around Costco -- Josh has to wear a "gait belt" for safety and he has a fairly prominent 10-inch scar that runs from ear to ear. Some people become annoyed when other people stare, but to us it seems that most people were looking from a perspective of care and sympathy ... not because of any inappropriate thoughts. This was evidenced by the fact that the people who actually interacted with Josh while we were out were all kind and supportive.
Back in Josh's room, we watched a little TV. Josh flipped back and forth between a Harry Potter movie and a documentary on hurricanes -- interesting combination. When his nurses arrived with their cornucopia of drugs, we then left Josh for the night.
It was a chilly Sunday here in Denver. Autumn is definitely here. The rain reminds us of the weather we'll soon be facing as we head back to Portland soon. We're both sad to see summer go. We Portlanders cherish our summers. This year we feel like we lost most of ours because we've mostly been sitting in hospital rooms for the past three months.
It was also a relaxed day for us today. Josh had breakfast and then a nap. He didn't get out of his room to do anything until after lunch.
Mary and Josh worked on a couple of puzzles that we bought when we were out shopping yesterday. Josh 1.0 hated puzzles but Josh 2.0 seems to enjoy them quite a bit. He stays focused until it's finished. Very interesting to see some of the personality changes.
Another change in Josh 2.0: We asked Josh if he wanted to go out shopping with us, and he said yes. Josh 1.0 wouldn't go shopping unless his very life depended on it (and maybe not even then)! We asked where he wanted to go and he said Costco. So we headed over to Costco. Josh walked straight in to the food counter. Paul wasn't sure what Josh was thinking and so tried to help with some strategy before getting to the counter, but Josh was intent on doing his own thing. He walked up to the counter and, in response to the "can I help you," he said, "How much are your hot dogs?" This made Paul smile as (1) the question wasn't even relevant, and (2) "hot dogs have been $1.50 since dinosaurs roamed the earth." Josh stared blankly and Paul had to pull him aside to discuss strategy.
After walking around Costco for a while, we headed to our new family favorite restaurant. Yes, Denny's! (Man, we are living the high life now!!) We sat down and asked Josh if he remembered what he ate the last time we were at Denny's. He quickly opened his menu and pointed to the steak. Correct! After weighing some options, he went with the steak again. The man knows what he likes. Josh 1.0 liked steaks too.
About an hour into our meal (Josh chews REALLY slowly) we noticed that Josh was shaking. Turns out, he was cold. Once he gets cold, he shakes dramatically. So we packed up the rest of his meal (Paul and Mary had been done for some time) and headed out to the car. The poor guy got in the back seat and was violently shaking from the cold. We covered him in a blanket and cranked the heat in the car, but he shook all the way back to Craig. When we got back to his room we put him in bed and buried him in a few heated blankets and he finally warmed up.
It was fun being out for a while. It makes us feel slightly more like normal. We sure did get a lot of stares as we walked around Costco -- Josh has to wear a "gait belt" for safety and he has a fairly prominent 10-inch scar that runs from ear to ear. Some people become annoyed when other people stare, but to us it seems that most people were looking from a perspective of care and sympathy ... not because of any inappropriate thoughts. This was evidenced by the fact that the people who actually interacted with Josh while we were out were all kind and supportive.
Back in Josh's room, we watched a little TV. Josh flipped back and forth between a Harry Potter movie and a documentary on hurricanes -- interesting combination. When his nurses arrived with their cornucopia of drugs, we then left Josh for the night.
I love the job you are doing with Joshua. "know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good." Sec.122:7
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