Snow Day!

What a crazy couple of days we’ve had! Let’s see ……
Night before last, as we were getting ready to leave, Roxann remembered her Ipod was hooked to the charger on Michael’s counter. I told her to just leave it so it would be done in the morning. She asked if I thought it was safe. Michael responded by saying: “Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on it”. We all laughed at that (while Roxann was unplugging it to put it in her purse). Yesterday morning, we expected the eye doctor to come by the room as usual (around 07:30) but he didn’t. A while later, a couple of blind gentlemen from the Blind Federation of America came by and visited with Michael for about an hour. They provided some information about a school in Littleton, Colorado that was of great interest to us and we started doing some research. We were checking the Internet and calling around speaking to anyone we could think of to explore the possibilities. We told our case worker we wanted to put off the flight to California until we had time to do some research. He was OK with that but it caused quite a stir around here. In the middle of all the fuss, the eye doctor came in and said Michael was good to go. When I told him we were looking into other possible options he was quite surprised (and concerned). I assured him we were only looking into it and not changing anything but our departure date. We spent most of the afternoon trying to reach folks and went to the hotel for some rest.

We took a few shots to show you his hair. We continue to urge him to cut it. He says he’s going to hold out as long as possible. I can’t say too much as the guy in the next room has hair and a beard longer than Michael’s (he's a Special Forces dude). Michael says he got shortchanged and didn’t get the Malarsie gene for facial hair. I’d have to agree with him on that count.

We woke this morning to an imminent winter storm warning. We had the choice of staying at the hotel and being snowed in or going to the hospital and being snowed in. We opted to stay with Michael so we’re having a sleep over at Walter Reed. The government shut down at noon today and most of the schools were cancelled or released early. It was something to see! It looked like those old Godzilla movies when all the people were running out of Tokyo. This place is a ghost town. We took a walk and the halls were empty. At one point, I yelled “Marco!” Nobody answered with the expected “Polo!”. Michael was mad that the physical therapists all left. Without them, none of the exercise facilities are open. His PT today was going up and down stairs and roaming around in empty halls. What a drag!

We’ve decided to continue on as planned to Palo Alto. The school in Colorado doesn’t have the medical facilities necessary for Michael’s care. We’ll let him get started with the VA and see if we’re happy down the road. We always have the option of moving later. With that decision made, we’re back on for the trip west. We don’t suppose it will be happening tomorrow or even Sunday as this storm is putting down some snow. When we know for sure, we’ll let you know.

The tape on his neck was causing some soreness so the docs left it off. If he was a smoker, it would be handy as long as he didn't have a beard.
As I’ve told you so many times before, we’re grateful for your prayers and support. I’m certain Michael’s progress has a lot to do with the power of prayer. Keep it up and don’t forget us and the other folks in harm’s way. We love you all!