Sunday, September 6, 2009

Day 465 - Sep 6, 2009

Today Breezy and I took my dad to a Rays game for his very late Father's Day gift. We had a good time, but I was very disappointed in the 'handicap' seats that Ticketmaster sold me. They were definitely not handicap accessible seats at all. It was a lot of running around and I am just so glad that we didn't take Kevin to it. Kevin had no desire to go (until last night, of course), but at least I learned the lay of the land at Tropicana Field before taking Kev - which I hope to do soon.

Kevin, in the meantime, stayed home with my sister and my mom. My sister was actually babysitting too and Kevin had a blast with all of the kids. Here are some photos:

This is Kevin sitting on my nephew, Michael:



This one is Kevin carrying Michael:



Here is Kevin's scary face:



And this is of the kids running from the scary face:



They all had such a blast with each other. Kevin stayed out of his room all day and believe it or not - is still sitting here in the living room watching TV while I am writing the blog.

And I am just going to end with some more photos from the last few days that I just never got around to uploading. Kevin slept fine with no issues last night so I am just going to pretend that things are fine for tonight.

Here's Kevin pigging out on a cupcake:



This one is of Kevin playing XBox with his new controller:



Here's Kevin just standing under the waterfall:



This one is of the kids playing ball (great therapy - Thanks Moe!) in the pool:



And lastly, here is Kev enjoying the jets in the pool. He can't be in hot water, so we opted to just have the jets in the normal pool - something the pool guy suggested. It was a great idea because it does make a difference to his contracted muscles.



Tomorrow Kevin wants me to show everyone photos of what he looked like in the beginning. Maybe 2 months post injury. It will be shocking to everyone as these are the photos I would not post until Kevin gave me permission. You will see what his head really looked like and what his burns were like on his face. It will be shocking and outright sad. It's also something that you may want to look at before allowing children to see. These images will be very graphic.

I am mentioning this tonight so that you have time to decide if you want to look at the photos yourself. This way - if you don't want to - just don't read tomorrow night or the next morning.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow- thank you for posting all of the pictures Leslie! :)
I'm glad all of you had a good day!
It looks like Kevin really enjoyed the company yesterday. :)
I hope you have another great day today!
Take care,
Kathy in IA

Jan said...

I loved the pictures as well. :) And yes, I will be viewing the next ones you post....I would be ashamed if I couldn't face the results of what we've asked our young people to do.

Unknown said...

Leslie ~ The pictures are so great! As Kathy and Jan have said, thank you for posting them. And how thoughtful of you, to be ever mindful of your readers, when we all have said that this is your blog to do with as you see fit. But, wow, Leslie, to be so sensitive to all of your readers, in the midst of all you encounter, is, once again, so admirable. And I know you will say you are just doing what comes naturally, but to me, in the midst of heartache and turmoil, to be mindful of others feelings.....well...as we all say often....you are quite amazing.

I will be looking for the pictures, and cannot say it any better than Jan.

Love. Hugs. Prayers. Always

Lisa D in Cali said...

Thank you for these photos. Kevin is looking SO strong...I can see changes from the last photos posted. Good for Kevin for wanting to share his early photos. I hope that seeing how far he has come is helpful to him (and to you guys). As far as us, I also couldn't agree more with what has been said here. I would be ashamed of myself if I looked away.

I do really appreciate the advance notice though. I often read with my 6 year old looking over my shoulder. He knows about Kevin and that he was hurt in the war because he is a soldier and a hero. I want him to understand as much as he is able to, but I'm sure he isn't ready for the photos you've described.

Thank you.

Moe said...

Great Pictures!

Can't wait to come down and play ball in the pool with Kevin. Tell him he better practice up! lol
And I want one of those Yummy looking cupcakes that he had all over his face too... lol

I'm so glad that Kevin is such a ham and loves the camera, because we always get to see such great pictures.

Miss you guys! Big Hugs to everyone! Love Ya!

Long-time RN said...

Great pictures, the pool and surrounds are lovely! Wonderful to see Kevin goofing around and having a good time!

It's sure tough dealing with the sporadic behavior issues. You and Breezy are doing one heck of a great job. Hope you receive quality input on how to continue coping and dealing with Kevin's level of brain injury in the weeks ahead.

Karie said...

He looks great!!!