Where have all the bloggers gone?

Not too much to report today. Amy spoke with Tim and learned that he had done some time on the Locomat, but that was about it. I caught up with him this evening, but he was hanging out with cousins Hannah and Caitlyn, up from Brooklyn, so he didn't want to talk. I do know that he is getting ready for a night at the Symphony tomorrow, courtesy of friends at the BSO. Because of that, we won't be seeing him until Sunday morning.

So, my question to you all is "where are the guest blog spots?" No one has added anything since October 3 (thanks Carolann). Let's pitch in here for a little variety!

Probably no post Saturday as we won't be seeing Tim. Amy and I will be taking advantage of that to celebrate our October 4 anniversary!

Until Sunday ........

Brace Yourself

Tim got another piece of equipment today - his leg brace. It's made of plastic, full length and is hinged at the knee with a locking mechanism. When using it, he'll lock it when he is lacking the strength to stand on his own, and it will be in the unlocked position when he is walking with the walker (or later - without it).


The Sox are making Tim more tired than anything else. He was pretty wupped today, so after he got the brace and participated in his stretching group, he had a nice lunch with grandma and grandpa who stopped by on their way to Montreal for the weekend. Tim took them into the bathroom, just like he did with Amy, and stood for them. Unfortunately, because he was so tired, he didn't get straightened out, but enough for them to see and enjoy the improvement.


I'm happy to report that the Curse of the PattyO is over! Got an email from our good friend (and physical therapist) with some pictures of last night's game. The Sox had been 0-6 in games she had attended this year. She commented "I was particulary focused on the many folks in wheelchairs...a new "connection" to a group of people I hadn't thought to notice at the park before. " I know I had the same reaction when I took Tim to the park.
"the flag...so beautiful and John Williams with the Pops...and the fly over!!! So loud! I'm sure Tim heard it."

News from The West End - the Greatest Neighborhood in the World

Two sources of info this evening. The lovely Amy arrived home on Peter Pan this evening and was a font of information. Most of it of no interest to y'all, but one nice story. Amy was waiting for Tim in his room, when Maria of the housekeeping staff stopped by. She made a point to tell Amy that Tim was one of the nicest young men she has run into at Spaulding and she's been there awhile. He is always respectful and takes time to talk with her.

So it's tough typing this during the first inning of tonight's game - a bit distracting as Beckett strikes out the side and the Sox get rolling with a homer from Pedroia and a Youuuuuuuuuk-ilis two bagger and now an RBI single from Manny being Manny. 2 zip. Yikes.

Anyway, back to today. Spoke with Tim just before the start of the game. He went on an organized outing with his Recreational Therapy group - to Galleria Cambridge Side! Hadn't been there for a whole two days. Anyway, the mission was to buy some crafts for a Fine Motor Skills project. Tim said that he felt very comfortable getting around, opening doors etc. The project they were working on this week was to create creepy Halloween Surprises for the Pediatric Unit at Mass General. Tim's job was to tape a joke to a little bag of treats. "What do you call a young skeleton?" " A skele-teen!" Well, it's the thought that counts.

Tim also said that he had a good day in wheelchair group, going outside and tackling some more challenging scenarios - grass and hills. Again, feeling more and more comfortable. I asked him if he stood today, and yeah, he does that all the time now. He's using a "stand and pivot" move to transfer himself at time, instead of shuffling across a transfer board. Not a bad day, I'd say.

Well, the Rockies have picked up a run to show that it's not going to be a walk in the park. I need to pick up Jancy in Barrington. Sighhh.

This n that

I've had some after-hours work obligations the last two days that have left me with a little less time to get things done at home. Here are a few anecdotes from Spaulding.

***

On Sunday night (I forgot to mention this then), I met Morgan's Mom, Jen. Morgan is the young woman who was instrumental in getting Dane Cook to visit, and is pictured with Tim and the staff in the current "Day in the Life" image. I was spent, and not too conversational, but we chatted a bit. Jen told me that she likes Tim - he's the Mayor of the ninth floor.

***

On Monday, Tim was again up in the walker, getting more comfortable with it. He also did some fluidotherapy and feels that he can close his right fist more easily now.

***

Today, Tim worked out with Kevin for PT, and while lying on his back on a mat, can press himself up in a "bridge," his butt a foot in the air.

***

Funny story from today: Tim asked Amy to accompany him into the patients' common bathroom, a roomy private stall. Hmmmmm. She watched as he slid the "commode chair" over the toilet and effortlessly transferred to it from his wheel chair. "Interesting, if not a bit strange to be showing me this" she thought to herself. Out loud, she said "That's great honey!" "Mom, that's not it. Close your eyes. (2 ... 3 ... 4) OK." Amy found herself looking at Tim standing in front of her, for the first time since July 11, for about 5 seconds. He had used both legs and pulled on a grab bar with his left arm to do it. She cried. He sat down. OK, this isn't really a "funny" story, it's amazing. But the setting is funny, don't you think? When I talked to Tim tonight, I told him he better have a show prepped for me.

***

Scary story from today: Tim, the Mayor of the ninth floor decided that he wanted to go visit his former constituent Sara, who had moved to another district. You may recall reading about this earlier. So off he went with Amy. She confirmed a 45 minute hike at a pretty good clip. They had a good visit, but on the way back, Tim's chair lost power. They were in eyesight of Spaulding, but it was a real struggle for Amy to push the rest of the way - chair + Tim = 400 pounds! What a gal. Lesson learned, or as Tim said: "note to self - check battery charge before leaving Spaulding.

So, Tim is heading to bed early so he can rest up for tomorrow's game. Me, too.

Aaaarrrrgggghhhhh

Jancy and I flew out of town around 6:15 hoping to pull into town in time to catch the first pitch. All was going slowly until we hit some traffic at the first Worcester exit that had us bumper to bumper all the way to Sturbridge, adding almost an hour to the trip. I guess foliage traffic is right up there with beach traffic now. Thanks to the miracle that is AM radio, we were able to keep track of the game. Anyway, we're home now and the game is off to a good start, but Dice-K is starting to show some chinks in the armor after a strong start.


Today was a day of unexpected sitings. We are now used to slow starts on Sundays - truly a day of rest for Tim, especially in the post season. Late morning included a look at a bunch of pictures Amy took around West Stockbridge for Tim to upload to his Mac. The weekly review of the news included a bit about Monument classmate Davis on the links with the Dartmouth. With no real plans, Tim opted to have us all head over to Fenway for the afternoon and get a feel for how things lead up to game time. As we left Spaulding, Tim spotted the Piazza men - Liam, Patrick and dad Art, formerly of Housatonic and classmates and Scouting members with Tim. They were doing a little sight seeing after lunch in the North End and just happened to be in the right place at the right time. They had a nice chat. Then it was on to the Green Line again. Although it was six hours before game time, Yawkey way and the rest of the neighborhood was beginning to buzz. Media and fans alike were milling about, hanging out at the watering holes, etc. We looped around the park at a leisurely pace observing what was going on, including a line of about 500 people waiting for a reported 300 standing room tickets. Many looked like they'd been at it a while. We settled on hanging for a bit at the players entrance. Not only did we get a chance to eyeball a few Sox, but had two more run-ins with friends. First, Brendan the PT aide who accompanied Tim to one of the games this year ambled by and stopped over for a bit. Shortly later, none other than the wonderful Brigitte strolled by on her way back to Emmanuel after a day at the Head of the Charles. It goes without saying that a joyous conversation ensued. Brigitte invited us to have dinner at her dorm, but we needed to take a rain check on that.
Back to Spaulding, some scrambling around to get our things together and then off to the Berkshires