The boys and I, along with Aunt Kay, spent 10 days out in Colorado helping my sister and her family keep their home life on track while Jenny focused on being at the hospital with Sammy. While we were there Sammy was moved out of ICU and into a rehabilitation unit, where he is expected to stay through mid-January. When we arrived in Colorado Springs Sammy was still heavily sedated and hooked up to more wires than one could imagine. By the time we left, he was sitting up, speaking a few words, and breathing all on his own. And now, one week later, he is carrying on simple conversations, feeding himself, and occasionally standing on two feet. He certainly has made progress, but the road ahead of him and Jenny and the family is a long one. Sammy is struggling with his memory. Some days he knows Jenny, some days he doesn't. He doesn't really know who he is or was or what happened to him. He's receiving several hours of physical, occupational, and speech therapy daily and he's making progress every day. He can read, he can count, and for that progress we are so grateful. Jenny has been so patient and positively focused on taking things one day at a time, which is really all they can do right now. We must be thankful and grateful for every step no matter how small it seems.
Our main job while we were there was making sure Breanna got to school and back each day and finished her homework in the evening, but we still had some time to see some of the sights. We watched the Veteran's Day Parade, visited the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, and walked through The Garden of the Gods. The kids LOVED the marching bands in the parade, and they were pretty excited to get up close and personal with the giraffes at the zoo. We loved walking through The Garden of the Gods. What an amazingly beautiful place, and so different than anything we had seen before.
When it came time to leave it was very difficult to say goodbye, but we know that Jenny and her family are being held up by so many prayers and positive thoughts from family and friends across the country.
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| Ollie and Bre at the Veteran's Day Parade |
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| Henry meets the baby giraffe |
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| Amy, Henry and Oliver at The Garden of the Gods |
We arrived back in La Crosse to find that Brian had been quite a busy guy while we were gone. He helped a friend replace the sagging ceilings in our playroom and bathroom. He repainted both the bathroom and the playroom. He reorganized the laundry room. He cleaned out the ductwork in the house, getting rid of 50+ years of dust and dirt. Thank you Brian!
We had a few days of rest at home before heading to Iowa for Thanksgiving. We spent the holiday with Brian's family in Cedar Rapids and Des Moines. We enjoyed spending a few days with Brian's family, and the boys had fun getting some cousin time in. Brian and his dad and brothers played some disc golf, and I had my first taste of Black Friday/Thursday night shopping at Target. We are grateful for the chance to get everyone together in one place for a few days.
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| Zach, Ollie, Kyiah and Henry |
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