Wednesday October 12, 2005

Wednesday October 12, 2005 Zack got to sleep late this morning and ate a big breakfast (I’m spoiling him but we will get to cereal later). As we drive to Frazier East I tell him tomorrow is a big day. He asked why and I explain that it is Zack Hornback Day at Christian Academy and everyone is wearing their t-shirts. He smiles. I tell him I am also going to speak at the middle school chapel. He asked what I am going to say. I explain that I will tell everyone how hard it has been for him to recovery from his accident and how their prayers have really helped. He says, “That’s good”. Then I tell him that one day he will be giving his testimony on how God carried him through this and he says, “That’s bad. I can’t do it”. I tell him of course he can because I’m going to teach him. He replies simply, “O.K.”. I prepare in my mind how emotional that day will be when Zack stands before his peers with a personal warning of how their choices can change them forever. Then he reminds me that tomorrow they were taking his stitches out and he asked me if anything could go wrong. I understand his apprehension since a very simple procedure of removing the drain last week turned into surgery. I tell him nothing can go wrong at the doctors but I could get real nervous and throw up right before my speech. That makes his smile even as he says “don’t do that”. We arrive early at Frazier and I let them know that Zack won’t be there because of his doctor’s appointment. He tells his speech therapist that they are going to “fix my head”. She tells me to keep an eye on the swelling at his temple. I have noticed it seems slightly larger but I remember that Dr. Janjua said it could be swollen for several weeks. Zack puts his lunch in the refrigerator and asked his therapist for his schedule. She tells him he has to go into the community room and write his schedule into his binder. They are teaching him to be responsible for knowing what he is doing, with whom, where and when. He tells me goodbye and we begin another day. Zack took a long nap when he got home today and Scott had dinner ready when I arrived with Dylan and the girls. Scott told me he was taking Zack and Dylan to hit golf balls. Zack inhaled his dinner and kept asking Dylan if he was ready to go. While they were gone I decided it was a good time to get out some decorations. The girls were excited as we went to the basement to drag up pumpkins and scarecrows. Once outside I decided to weed around the bushes and realized it was the first truly normal thing I had done around the house in months. Isn’t it strange that it feels good to get back to household duties? You never know how precious those menial tasks are until they are snatched away from you. When the boys return Scott fills me in on Zack’s first attempts at hitting a golf ball. Zack was a good golfer and was preparing to try out for the golf team the week after his accident. Scott said he swung about six times and missed the ball completely. He looked at his Dad in despair and Scott told him don’t worry I can fix this. He set Zack up in the right position and before long he was driving the ball 250 yards (it’s a good thing because he has to prepare for his big golf match against Dave Stone and Sam). Scott was so happy and Zack was delighted that he made his Dad proud. As Scott tells me, he gets choked up and reminds me that when Zack was in the hospital he couldn’t help thinking about how they loved to play golf together. He said he got his best friend back. A couple of Zack’s friends stop in for a quick game of pool. I remember that I haven’t given him his antibiotic and take it downstairs. I tell him I am a bad nurse because this pill was almost 2 hours late. He said, “No your not. You’ve been good”. Wow, to be appreciated by your teenage son. Once they leave Zack comes into the office where I am preparing to work at the computer. He says he wants to get on it and asked if he could have the chair too. I comply, anxious to see what he will do. Some things never change… a teenager, a computer and instant messaging. His fingers naturally covered the keyboard. He typed much better than he could read what was being sent to him. He would ask me what it said to be sure he understood before he answered. I will emphasize to his therapist that focusing on reading is a priority. I hope to find out by the end of this week if they feel it is necessary to send him to an optometrist to check his vision. I am interested to see how accurate they can test his vision with the aphasia present. Zack checks the time and tells me in ten minutes he is going to bed. At 9:00 he signs off with a promise to call the girl he is chatting with. He heads to bed and calls for Toby (our Terrier) to come sleep with him. I tuck the girls in and head to the office. I will have plenty of time to get some “Zack work” done. I put off going through medical bills and opt for my therapy…this site. Thanks for listening, for being an important part of my recovery, for prayers and words of encouragement. Please pray that God will give back the ability to read for Zack. Please pray for Zack to embrace scripture again. To be able to read the words of Paul in Philippians 4:11 “I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content”. Continue to pray for complete recovery.