Yesterday I had the pleasure of accompanying Allison on the drive out to visit Vernon in Brea. I am in the lucky position to be able to work from the passenger seat on occasion and from the waiting room. I hadn’t seen Vernon in 2 weeks. I was also lucky enough to go rock climbing with The Maki for about three hours that evening.
I’ll keep it real short. First, my visit to Brea.
– Vern could communicate with yes and no nods of his head.
– Vern can speak, apparently quite a bit to the speech therapist (not while I was there because he didn’t have the proper valve)
– Vern still has a sense of humor
– Vern is moving his left arm and leg a lot, his right side is a bit behind the left
– Vern can sit up very well, not completely on his own.
I was extremely impressed with Vernon and his progress. I can’t imagine what it will be like soon when he can actively communicate through speech.
NOW, onto another highlight of my week…the rock climbing gym. A few highlights.
– I am apparently still out of shape, walking into the gym doesn’t change that…news to me.
– also news to me…on a route difficulty scale of 0-6, 2 is nearly always too difficult for me
– In truth I am more capable that I expected
– hanging out with Maki is a lot like hanging with his witty old man
So, my takeaways from yesterday.
– I can’t wait to grind out a few more routes with Vernon & Maki, these guys are both on the upward swing and I’m stoked to be able to hang around with both of them