It still feels a little surreal. I have to pinch myself to wonder if I will wake up and find myself still in the hospital. But after two nights now in a row in our own bed, I'm pretty sure we are home!
I had envisioned Kitty greeting us with a long anguished meow. Instead, she kind of sauntered out from her kitty nest and meowed one time and then went straight to the sliding glass doors as she wanted to be let out. I grabbed her up and held her so tight.
We had a really nice drive from Denver. Good weather. Clear roads. Not a lot of traffic. We visited with friends in Buena Vista and Pagosa Springs along the way to break up the drive and let Seth get up and walk a bit. When we got home on Saturday night, our friends in Durango had everything in order. Our housesitters, Ross and Aurea had left the house immaculate. Ben had the landscaping looking just like when we had left except now it is late summer as opposed to early spring. Rob and Amy had bought some groceries to get us started in addition to handling our mail during this whole three months. Mark and Pate and Eric and Erinn had some fresh picked flowers and a welcome home note. Erinn and Darren gave us some freshly made nanny bread and No Pudge Fudge. Our neighbors Jeff and Kelly had a casserole on our doorstep. I felt a healing wave just as we walked in the door. An ocean of love.
I spent part of the weekend going through the gardens. Just breathing in the plants. We have so much produce that I don't think we will have to buy fresh fruit or veggies for some time. Even our new little peach tree that we just planted this year put in a great effort for the homecoming occasion and produced one peach. It was divine! I pulled up some carrots and picked some apples and we juiced them and had a wonderful carrot apple juice medley. All of this reminding me that we are home and on to the next phase of the journey.
Which starts out with a bang tomorrow. I've got Seth set up for all of his therapies which we start bright and early. That will keep us both pretty busy. I've also got him set up to see the dentist this week so we can start the implant process. We will be going back to Craig Hospital in Denver in early October for Seth to get his driving assessment so he can drive again. But that will just be for a couple of days.
I've also got to get Kitty on a PT routine as well. She did gain a pound while we were away so she has to climb 10 trees and chase 5 bugs per day! Plus she's on reduced rations until she slims up.
Seth will now be taking back over his phone so his number is once again 970-385-5547. My phone number is 970-385-5567 or my cell is 970-769-0817.
As I said, I will be posting one last time on Thursday to share a poem I've been working on.
Here's Seth:
To Jody. Simply stated. I love you. You and I both know I wouldn't be here without you. Your willpower and dedication are truly awesome. I couldn't wish for a greater mate. I am forever in your debt.
To everyone else. Thanks to you for your support and encouragement. It has been a long hard three months. We have made substantial progress through the healing process but we have some further months to call this event completely done and over. Yet with only two days being home, I'm already able to look past the aches and pains and focus on the joy of being home in Durango with our friends. We appreciate your support and won't ever forget.
The docs keep shaking their heads questioning how its possible to heal so well so quickly. I'm thrilled to surprise them and be home sleeping in my own bed at night. The real confusion is because the brain MRI scans simply don't support the fact that I'm walking, talking and chewing gum. I'm the first to admit that I can't read an MRI scan, but the docs have made abundantly clear that the images of my brain make them nervous and they REALLY want me to protect my noggin until nature has had ample opportunity to knit things together properly. That essentially means no gravity sports. I've agreed to go "modest" for a year before I reclaim the Durango life without restriction. Until then, I'll look enviously at you downhill skiiers and mountain bikers.
I look forward to Jody's closing poem and hope it caps off our successful trip.
Be well.