Monday December 12, 2005

Monday December 12, 2005 Zack was up at 7:00, ate breakfast and had his shower. His Dad was taking him to therapy today so I fixed his lunch and made sure he took his meds.
On my way to work he called me and asked, “Who is that person that has to say its ok for me to get my drivers license?” I reminded him that Suzanne, his Occupational therapist would tell him when he was ready and he told me he was going to ask her today. When we hung up I decided to call Leslie, his speech and primary therapist, to let her know that Zack was going to ask about driving again. She agreed with me that he was not ready and wouldn’t pass the written test. She explained that he is doing very well but is still having a difficult time with language (aphasia). He especially has problems with food which is why they frequently have exercises where they categorize food items. I also told her to have the therapist talk to him about sleigh riding (something she hadn’t considered since they don’t get a lot of kids there and adults typically don’t ask to go sleigh riding). She was going to impress upon him how dangerous sleigh riding could be for him and she would ask the other therapist their opinions on ice skating. She told me that Zack had been tired all last week, he had fun in Nashville but it did him in. We have to recoup when we go out of town for the weekend so if makes sense that Zack would take a little longer to get back into the swing of things. Leslie also told me that today was Megan’s last day and Friday would be Scott’s last day. Zack has become very attached to both Megan (speech therapy student) and Scott (occupational therapy student) so he would be sad to see them leave. He referred to both of them as his friends. He has already started working with Jose (new occupational therapist student) but hasn’t really bonded with him yet. Hopefully the transition will be smooth. When I picked Zack up I was a little late which he pointed out, but with a smile on his face. Then he showed me his shoes. He was wearing bedroom slippers; with sweat pants and a dress shirt (I always knew Scott didn’t know how to dress the kids). He said that Megan had to come back tomorrow so he was going to dress nice for her and wear his hat (the one I bought him for the dance). He was very tired and looked forward to going home to bed. He asked if we had anything planned for tonight because he might go to dinner with Andrew. He said Andrew had wanted to see him last night but only got to stop over for a little bit since we were going to church. That got us talking about church and how much he liked the music there. He said the music was good in high school worship on Sunday morning (“I held my hand up a whole bunch”) but he liked the Vine better. He reminded me that I needed to talk to his friends about the concert at the Fairgrounds in February (someone posted a message with details about it). He really wanted to go since Toby Mac was going to be there (now he believes that white guys can rap) so I needed to get tickets. I am hoping the Southeast Christian will plan a trip for the youth group and maybe take a bunch of us in a bus. We arrive home and Zack heads to bed for his nap. When he wakes up he comes to talk to me again about going to dinner with Andrew. I hadn’t really planned anything for dinner (and wasn’t sure what there was to cook) so I agreed but I had to drop him off. He takes a shower and gets dressed before calling Andrew. I was busy helping Dylan with a Spanish project when Zack said it was time to leave and Andrew was on the phone. They decided to go to Applebee’s, right down the street, so I gave in and let him ride with Andrew. It is so hard to let go after all we have been through but Zack wants so much to just be a normal teenager again. We have had many discussions with him about how he is not like other teenagers (no contact sports, no 2nd hand smoke) so he clings to the areas that make him feel normal, like riding with Andrew. Scott and I talk about what kind of activity we can get him interested in that he can do at home. He loves to play pool and cards and video games but we were hoping to find something relaxing that would also help with cognitive issues. I will have to get Leslie to brainstorm for some “homework” type activities. Zack is asking about his Christmas break since he knows all of his friends will be out of school for a while. I don’t quite know what to tell him since technically he doesn’t get a Christmas break other than a few days. It would not be good for him to be without therapy for an extended period of time right now. We will have to plan for some extra time with his friends but still keep him in therapy as much as possible. We don’t want him to become depressed because his friends are out of school and he still has to go. We have to take one day at a time and pray for God to lead us to the right choices. Each decision at times can seem so monumental in its consequences. I am thankful that I am not in control. God has a time for everything and He works in us what needs to be done to prepare us for what is ahead. Having a sense of God’s timing brings peace to wait on the Lord for it. Please pray that we will have peace with each decision. Pray for continued healing and complete recovery for God’s glory.