Sunday September 18, 2005

Sunday September 18, 2005 Mrs. Funderburk came this morning so that Rita (who usually fills in on Sunday morning) could go to church with us. He ate all his breakfast, got dressed and told her, “Let’s go to the Keys”. They went to the Chestnut Café in Jewish and she showed him where she parked her car outside. He couldn’t get over how old it was. They went to the gym and did some lightweight lifting. She worked with him on opposites and object identification. They used the letter and number chart and discussed values. After a while he is ready to quit, play some C.D.’s and dance. He decides the nurses need to come and check out his moves so while we were in church he was entertaining Mrs. Funderburk and the staff. He wants to go for a walk while listening to his Walkman. They walk around the block and enjoy a beautiful day. Zack sings the lyrics to the songs and they watch themselves dance in the reflecting mirrors outside the parking garage. A lady in the gift shop told Zack he had beautiful eyes and Mrs. Funderburk writes “They are beautiful, but there is something more awesome and beautiful behind those eyes. Zack is my reminder of how fearfully and wonderfully we are made”. Mrs. Funderburk…another blessing God has sent us! They have time to review letters and numbers and object identification before he is ready to rest. Scott shows up with Waffle House and the three of them have a feast. When I arrive Scott takes the girls home and Zack is ready to take a nap. Someone from Southeast Christian Church arrives with communion for Zack. He brings his daughters with him. After we pray and they leave Zack tells me, “That one girl was tight”. I ask him which one and he explained that I had complimented her on her skirt. He raises his eyebrows and again says, “She was tight” (for those of you who aren’t up on the lingo “tight” is good). I catch up to them in the hall and tell her Dad that Zack thought she was tight. He told me she was in 8th grade (she looked older). I go back and tell Zack she was in 8th grade and he said he liked 8th graders. I think he just appreciates pretty girls. 2:00 Speech with Kathy and he has trouble with object identification unless he is given the 1st sound. Can give the function of an object (fork, pencil) most of the time. She gave him an object and two written words and he correctly picked the word that identified the object every time. Kathy explained that sometimes he goes to fast and identifies objects wrong. He is still impulsive with his answers. Once he realizes that he is mixing up his words then the aphasia will get better. He can’t stop something that he is not conscious of doing (kind of like biting your nails). A bunch of friends arrive, seven pretty girls and Andrew. We all take a walk around the building outside. We go to the conference room and play an exciting game of hot potato with 8 people and 8 balls. We get back to the room and are just sitting there talking when Zack says; “My friends don’t think Dad is a good supervisor so we will have to find somebody else” (I’m not sure where that thought came from). I tell him I’ll supervise and he says, “Just you?” I ask him if he thinks we need more chaperones and he responds, “Well yeah, look how many people we have”! I think Zack is planning a party. He decides he is hungry and we should go to McDonalds. I think we made quite an impression, about a dozen teenagers walking through the halls on our way to McDonalds. He gets a Big Mac and chooses a place to sit in the back. The kids gather around him and they talk about their friends. Then out of nowhere Zack says, “I love black people. If you knew one you would love them too”. He must have been thinking about his friend Rick Thompson who is away at Western. Zack loved him; they had their own handshake. I’m sure on his next visit home Rick will come by to dance with Zack. We walk to the Heart & Lung Building. The Security Guards all know him and wave to Zack. One of them had told us there was an outside balcony on the 7th floor so we want to go check it out. Unfortunately the door was locked but the walk was pleasant (we will check that balcony out tomorrow). This crowd of friends says goodbye and before long another group arrives. Trey, Nick and Chas play Texas Hold Um with Zack and I am impressed that he remembers how to play (and wins several hands). They compliment him on the shoes some of the girls signed and gave him for his birthday. Nick asked Zack if he could “have um”. Zack says, “I know what your saying. Can I have them”? We all crack up…Zack is correcting Nick’s English! They were having a great time, whooping it up so that the staff had to come make sure everything was OK. The guys leave so Kaitlyn and her Mom are left to enjoy Zack’s company. They ask him if he has a girlfriend now and he says yes. They discuss what she looks like and ask Zack her name. He says, “personification”. Wow, big word, can you define that for us. He says, “yes, a person plus an onification”. He may have aphasia but he sure knows how to use it to get a laugh. Finally they have to say goodbye and Zack is ready to climb into bed. He had a lot of visitors today and really enjoyed himself. He spoke about going home but he understands we can’t leave just yet. Zack falls asleep quickly and I think about the day. I remember how earlier when the room was full of people and we sang a song from church. Someone sent us the words to “I Will Never Be the Same Again” and it is so appropriate for the time we are in. I wish you could hear the melody but you will have to be content just to read the words. Listen carefully as Zack sings:

I will never be the same again
I can never return, I’ve closed the door
I will walk the path, I’ll run the race
And I will never be the same again

Fall like fire, soak like rain
Flow like mighty waters again and again
Sweep away the darkness
Burn away the chaff
And let a flame burn to glorify Your Name

There are higher heights
There are deeper seas
Whatever you need to do, Lord, do in me
The glory of God fills my life
And I will never be the same again

Will any of us every be the same after witnessing first hand the awesome power of God. To know that our cries reach even to the ears of heaven and our prayers are answered. Hear us now Oh Lord. Please pray that Zack will be aware of the words he is saying so the aphasia will end. Pray for complete recovery to glorify God.