Saturday, October 9, 2010 @ 2005

I hope you're having a great weekend - I'm with David, so I'm having a great weekend!!!!

We've done a lot of shopping today and spent an hour or two installing a remote control for the overhead fan and light in his bedroom. The person who gets this apartment when David moves out is really going to have some upgrades.

I learn more every time we just sit and talk. Today we were talking and he was telling me about the mirror therapy he has been going through. His Occupational Therapist will roll up the legs on her pants and sit next to David with a mirror. Together they position the mirror so David can look in the mirror and see legs on himself. He described his shadow pain in the following manner; it's like your foot is being turned inward and the heel of your foot is being harshly pulled toward your knew. "It hurts like heck!" When using the mirror there was a little bit of relaxation in the lower half of the leg - then the therapist started wiggling her toes and his foot completely relaxed and the pain was gone.

He said that another person in the room said something to her and she, not thinking, moved her leg and David was immediately in pain and told her to get her leg back where it belonged. He was completely amazed, as was I, as to the power of the brain. The pain relief was just sooooooo welcomed.

We have been getting many things done in his apartment and it is very impressive at how mobile he is - especially considering the extreme pain from the HO. When we arrive at a store, I will get the wheelchair out of the back of the Jeep and position it directly facing his seat. He uses his left arm to swing down and rotate backwards to get into the wheelchair and then uses both arm to lift himself up and scoot back until he is comfortable. He is really quite amazing and just continues right through whatever pain is hitting him at the moment.

He said he received some bad (or concerning might be a better word) new the other day. They still draw blood from him often and this time they saw some Liver Enzymes that were not looking the way they should. They had him come in Thursday to have additional test done and should find out the result in a few days.

He has a fantastic apartment. Some furniture foundation provided him with a bed that must have cost $6,000 to $7,000. The thing looks like any other nice natural log style bed but the controls will lift the mattress and vibrate and a number of other tricky things that I haven't heard about yet. The apartment is not necessarily built for his needs but he does just fine with the place. Tonight he whipped up some Guacamole and I had to eat it with some blue chips with flack seed - I guess that just makes me healthier - the surprising part was that they tasted pretty good.

David is quite health conscious and so there are no JuJu Fruits, Dots, and no, not even licorice in his apartment. I'm afraid of the withdrawals. He is, sincerely, very aware of everything he takes and still has all the concern of gaining a dependence on any drug so he takes as much pain as he possibly can before he has to get some relief from a drug of any kind.

David still has his sense of humor. During one of his deployments, they were in a convoy and three vehicles got hit by bomb blasts. Everyone was OK but one of David's comrades got a little anxious with the increased bomb activity and devoured a large bag of Double Stuffed Oreo cookies. Since that time they have never let the man live it down, they put Oreos in his bed, in his water pouch, wherever they can find space. Well, this week the Commandant had the entire battalion in formation and David knew it was going to happen so he called the Commandant and asked for a personal favor. This particular soldier is called in front of the entire battalion to receive a special commendation and was awarded with, you guessed it, a large bag of Double Stuffed Oreos. The soldier said that if David had any legs he would break them. Needless to say, David had a great laugh. All of these things tell me that David is extremely blessed after having been in some kind of major blast 8 different times, yet he has no evident TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) or PTSD. He really has great spirits for the injuries he has.

Today he was wondering if the doctors could take some of the fat off of some parts of his body and inject it into the ends of his legs to cushion the HO.

Early tomorrow morning half of his command is leaving to relieve the other half of his command. We are planning to be there to make sure David can give them the encouragement he thinks they need. David told me that this deployment will be a bit safer because the drug season is over. When the poppy seed fields have been harvested, the drug wars stop until the next growing season. It is quite the cycle these people have to go through.

When Lynnette and I first went to the Bethesda Hospital to see David when he arrived in the United States, we expected to see the most awful scene and , as you may recall, we saw our son - he still looked like our son and felt like our son and the love had not changed. When I got here I expected to see the HO sticking out of his legs like little trees or coral. What I saw was my Son.
The same son that I love and respect for his courage, commitment, and willingness to put his life on the line for someone he does not even know. Yes, the HO is awful. Bumps everywhere when they don't belong and fresh wounds that won't close because there is a bone trying to come through - but he is still that great looking young man that comes really close to being as studly as his father. (Surprised you with that levity - didn't I)

It all makes me cry and smile at the same time. He asked me if I was OK with all this. I told him that the hardest thing for me was the fact that David, just like all my sons, has always been extremely active and on the move, and now I know it is really hard for him not to have those same freedoms. He agreed.

We're hoping to get our fishing licenses and go Lobster trapping - we'll let you know how great the fishing was - but not until after we have eaten all the catch.

All My Love,

Gordon