Day 138 - Oct 16, 2008

Today was an awesome day! First, Kevin's head is smaller that it has ever been and thankfully - there is no real pain anymore. We did start a new spasticity medication yesterday so most of those are gone now too.

We did go to the gym today and Kevin sat up (with hardly any pain) for a full 20 minutes! The last time we tried this he only made it 10 minutes and he was in pain pretty badly. We did something different today too - we bore weight on his right arm. In other words, we had him lean his body onto his right arm. He did really well with this and I even have a pic to show you (of course he was hamming it up, lol):



He sure looks great, doesn't he?

So after therapy we went back to the room and my sister and Joe were already there and Kev was so excited! I think he is loving having all of these family members around. The only person we haven't gotten here yet is my dad and he will be coming in December.

And to top the day off, Kev and myself, Kim and Joe all went to a banquet tonight. Yes - even Kevin went. It was located in the hospital and it honored the wounded heroes. Y'all just won't believe what that was like! When we got there, they put us at a head table (more because Kev's chair takes up a lot of space) and Kev was really scoping the place out. Well, this guy and his wife happened to sit down at the table with us and when he and Kevin looked at each other, Kevin's eyes lit up with recognition and I swear - the look of glee on his face made me get teary. I didn't understand what was going on at first, but when Kevin kept looking at this guy and this guy started calling Kev's name as he got up to come to us, I realized they knew each other. Apparently they were together in Germany and went on a road trip to Ramstein. I can't tell you how many emotions flit across Kevin's face at that moment, but within seconds, he sat up straighter, got that soldier glint in his eyes and shook hands with that man, Ortiz I think was his name, with such force that I truly was turning away crying.

I wish I could explain why this touched me so much, but it was like Kevin was remembering a vital part of who he was. Who he is. And from that moment on, Kevin did sit up straight - for more than 2 hours - and he shook hands with generals and allowed all types of pictures to be taken.

And let me tell ya - he ate like a horse! He ate steak and chicken and bread and potatoes and pie and a cookie and then he came back and had cheesecake too. And truthfully, he ate BBQ ribs and a cinnamon roll right before going down.

So now I am going to share two pictures with you that will show what Kevin's head looks like on the right side. Mind you, the quality of these is horrible because they were pics taken at the banquet and printed out there on an inkjet printer and I used my camera to take a pic of them. I don't have access to a scanner here. The first is Kevin with Ortiz and the second is him and I.

Before scrolling down, think about whether you can handle seeing the pics. Please remember that Kevin does not have a skull on that side and his head is sunken in at the top and he has a huge sac of CSF right above his ear. It is not easy to look at if you are not a person that can handle these kinds of things.

I have put space between my words here and the images so you don't have to see them if you choose not to. Just close your browser now.

I personally feel he looks fantastic, but I have seen him look worse. And I have also seen the looks he receives while we are out and about at the hospital.