Thursday - 02/25

Michael is enjoying his "new digs" at the Western Blind Center. He doesn't miss the nurses & attendants, poking & prodding, and checks & counterchecks from the hospital. Unfortunately, one thing he wishes he could have left behind is the hospital cafeteria food. The same happy-go-lucky crew of food service workers prepare the meals at the WBC as well. Who would imagine that a field trip to Taco Bell or Burger King would rank right up there with steak and lobster? He's all settled in to his new room now. Here's a picture of Michael trying out the new bed.

He continues to listen to music and audio books when he isn't busy with something else. He's moving right along through the ones he's received from friends. We got word of a website that checks out books to military personnel and family. When he's through with the ones he has, we might try there. Here he is with the remote to the CD player. It's nice to see him keeping a grip on his cane too. It will soon be an extension of his body - might as well get used to it.

The nurses told Michael and Roxann that they do a bed check every night to make sure no one is missing. Michael told the nurse he was going to set a booby trap to catch her if she came snooping around his room at night. She told him to go ahead and try it as it wouldn't be the first time.

His bed was hard and the pillow was flat so he and his mom went to the store and bought one of those "egg carton" foam mattress pads and a new pillow. It's much better now. He has to make his own bed every morning. Here's a picture to prove it. He didn't make his bed at home so I wasn't sure he knew how. I know the military requires it to be done but I figured he'd bribed someone to do it for him :-).

Michael is always stroking his whiskers. I don't know if he likes the feel or if he's hoping it will help them grow. Here he is holding his razor just before he cut the sides off and made a goatee.

He started to learn the guitar a few months ago. He was thrilled to find out they had one here to check out. Here's a shot of him practicing. As you can see behind him, the Dr. Pepper donors are still alive and well.

A thoughtful person in Colorado sent him an Avalanche shirt. They are his favorite hockey team and he was thrilled to get it. He didn't want to take it off.

Michael and his buddies had developed a scale to rate the opposite gender. He tried to teach it to his mom so she could help him rate the nurses and female visitors that go through the place. When she told me about it, she wasn’t too thrilled with the idea. It’s good to know she has her limits in what she'll do for him.


His eyes have been giving him fits. They itch and burn all the time. They complained to the doctors and they tried a different medicine. I hope it works because he's sure been miserable lately. Here are the eye doctors taking out some stitches. They didn't remove them all but every one is a step closer to the last one being gone. Sometime down the road he'll have cosmetic surgery to fix his eyelids and also a procedure to hopefully fix his eardrum. I'm looking forward to both as we'll be so much farther down the road then.

He mentioned an interest in trying the banjo. A coworker of mine jumped on that like a duck on a June bug. He now has a rental banjo and a months worth of lessons to see if he really wants to learn it. I hope the folks in the WBC with him like the banjo too. It's also nice to see he can multi-task. One of these pictures shows him talking on the phone while he strums along.

We found out Michael's computer and our home computer could link and video call. It was so nice to actually see Roxann and Michael as well as talk to them. I can't wait for the chance to link up and talk again. While I was waiting today, I got into the emails that Lisa has been forwarding for him. Before I knew it I was sobbing. Reading the kind words and well wishes from so many folks touched me deeply. I thought I was through the emotional part of this but I was only kidding myself. Thank you all for your concern and support. I can't begin to express my gratitude for you. We have received a tremendous amount of strength and courage from reading your words and feeling the influence of the Lord in response to your prayers. May the Lord bless you for your kindness. As I've said so often, keep up the prayers. We have a long road ahead of us and we can certainly use your support. Thanks again.