36 Hours at Spaulding

Friday was a day of introductions and orientation. Nothing formal, but we met Dr. Kevin O'Connor, the Medical Director of the Spinal Injury section. He had a nice long talk with Tim and we are impressed with his manner. During the course of the day, we also met and talked with his Physical Therapist (PT) and Occupational Therapist (OT), a resident and several nurses. These folks are entirely devoted to injuries such as the one Tim has suffered and all have a great, "can do" attitude. Very upbeat.

A couple of hours after we checked in, Tim's room mate arrived. His name is Brian, he's 46 and also very nice. He has been paralyzed for 21 years, and is in to rehabilitate his arm, which has been weakened due to an infection. He is also a very positive person, and pleasant to talk to. I think he'll be a good room mate for Tim.

Another man named Jerry stopped by to say hello. He is a volunteer, also a paraplegic and share some inspirational stories with Tim about leading an active life including driving and playing golf.

Grandma and Grandpa stayed with us til around 5:00 and then went home through the parking lot known as the Southeast Expressway.

Saturday was a big day for Tim. After devouring a big breakfast, Tim had lengthy PT and OT sessions which left him pretty worn out. He got some tools to help him eat on his own and do some other "ADL's" (Acts of Daily Living). Most importantly, Tim is NOW MOBILE! He has a new motorized wheel chair, which he can drive around with a joystick control. As you might guess, he had no problem mastering that control and after a few spins around the 9th floor, we headed down to the outdoor park area, along with Uncle John and JP who were visiting with Noir. Tim handled the various ramps and curb cuts and we had a delightful hour or so in the sunshine (his first since the day of the accident) and enjoying the view of the Charles River and the very cool and distinctive Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge - http://www.massturnpike.com/bigdig/background/crb.html .

Tim was pretty tired out after all that. We went up to his room an hung out for a while until Tim fell asleep.