Games, workouts, intentional falls, Eagle Scout awards and LOOK AT HIM DO A PUSH-UP!

The eve of any holiday or even always brings certain emotions to the forefront.  They can range from anticipation to angst, joy to sadness.  I think we had all of them yesterday.

It's fun and it's a lot of work - but sometimes more fun than work thanks to the people

Charlie - the awesome OT & PT tech who agrees -
you work towards failure, not burn out.  That is too easy.

I think therapists have as much fun the day before patients leave as the patients do, at least that was the case with Alex and his myriad of techs and therapists.  Even in only a week, he has built a bond with the people he has worked with, they have been a huge part of getting Alex so far in only a week.  Charlie worked Alex through OT and PT this week but ended with the killer ab / glute work out (from hell - all three of us agree).

Taylor -
the fun time session

Kirstyn -
the puzzle queen

Taylor taught us a new card game called Kings Corner that I am sure will be found in Hughes Hall as soon as Alex gets back to school to teach it to the upstanding Jesuit men.

Kirstyn proved that Alex should have failed first grade during OT.  He could not successfully complete a small 100 piece clown fish puzzle.  Now, I would love to blame the brain injury for this but let's be honest - Alex couldn't complete puzzles before so I call BS on brain trauma folks.  Oh yes, I shall buy that puzzle - it will be Family Fun Time in the very near future!

Molly taught Alex (okay, and me) how to get up the stairs either in the front or back of the house so he could get into the house today!  She took time to teach us how to get in to the car with no scratches - to his head or the car let's be honest.  Then came the 'this is how you fall and get up' session.  Alex has now learned that despite the fact that his butt has zero fat (like the rest of him) it has more padding than any other part of his body, so if he goes to fall? It is falling on the butt time - rolling all the way.  Of course, she then taught him to get up.  Think drunk turtle and you are half way there.  And yes, it is okay to laugh at that.

Later in the afternoon, two of his coaches came to heckle - I mean cheer - him through his last PT session.  We all almost fell over when ALEX DID NOT ONE BUT MANY PUSH-UPS!  Coach has decided this trend will continue, bum foot or not, boy needs to do more push-ups.  It was also cool to see the reaction of the coaches when Alex walked, almost by himself, with a walker.  Two days ago, when they saw him last, he could not support his own leg without the PT rolling behind him and without relying heavily on the big stick.  We don't cry in rehab, but you know what?  We beam with pride.


Alex the Eagle and the man who taught him to fly
Today very dear friends came to visit Alex - the Sawickis.  In 2014, Alex earned the rank of Eagle Scout and he would not have made it without the guidance, patience and love from Mr. Ed Sawicki.  Today - Ed came to visit Alex and awarded him his Eagle Scout Buck knife.  Now I know we don't cry in the room, so I excused myself for a glass of water to wipe my eyes from the dust flying around this place.  Yes, that was it.  Alex was a big time Boy Scout back in the day and also received his +25 nights of camping award where he hiked, biked, swam, canoed and tented for as much as 7 night at one time. Will he do that with the Scouts again?  Probably not, but he will be able to do it all again - and all of you wonderful people have helped him every step of the way.

It's the fun

• Ed Sawicki "I brought the whip, I suggest you get it together man!"  Ed has an Indiana Jones whip that he always teases the boys with - no, he would never use it on them - but he brought it.  This morning, Alex straightened his leg out and, in his words, "Maybe the whip gave me extra incentive to straighten my leg out." HECK YES!
• Buddies:  We had a future artist, NHL star and Coach all in the room at once and they have known each other as long as I can remember.  What is funny about this?  They all ended up in his bed or chair watching the NFL draft. Why? Because boys have to watch it as a team of course.
• Gambling at rehab - oh yes, we had a 5 person King's Corner game going.  Taylor said it was all about dual therapy and logic and stuff but we all know it was totally about having fun and learning new ways to make money for college:)
• Coach "PUSH MAN!  You know what?  I didn't think you could do that but now I know and oohhhh boy."  I cannot wait for next season, bwhahahahahaah.