A Home Coming

Greg/Summer:


Greg is home! On Sunday of this past week Greg took a trip home to test his reaction and get setup for his permanent return. He entered the house and immediately started a tour of the home starting with Austin's room. Fortunately, Greg had received some good advice from his friend Darren and had already walked through the house in his mind and imagined what it would be like. When he arrived there he was left alone for a short period and Greg soaked in the experience. He seemed to do well and was in control as he requested to be moved throughout the house. As he'd promised, Earl Orner was in the house to accompany Greg through the house. Once Greg was done with the kid's side of the house Earl wheeled him into Greg and Lori's room. Greg and Earl spent a few minutes alone in the room and then Summer joined them. This was the first time Summer had been in this section of the house since arriving back from San Diego. Summer and Greg spent about 15 minutes alone in the room and grieved together. They came out and joined the rest of the family; Earl Orner, Jan Orner, Diane Smith, Norm Crane, Vicky Crane, Jessica Callan, Lila Callan and me. We all sat around the kitchen table and talked for a while and ate some food. It was the first time I'd seen Greg eat anything real since the ride home, he had us stop at McDonalds and get him a Big Mac, and before that it was a few calories here and there. It was obvious that Greg was homesick, perhaps not being home was what was causing the nausea (sick) issues before, and needed to be there. After being home for about 3 hours he was tired and needed to head back to the hospital to get some rest. He spent another day and a half in the hospital and was released Tuesday. Unfortunately/fortunately, I had some business I needed to attend to all of Tuesday and was unable to be there when Greg arrived for good. Wednesday nursing staff from a number of different companies arrived at the house to train Diane, Jessica and myself on Greg's feeding tube and IV requirements. This is an interesting task and pretty simple although I have to admit it is very strange to be pumping dinner into Greg's stomach and squirting IV antibiotics into his arm - after all... he is my boss. Jessica and I have primarily moved into the Crane's home to take care of Summer and him (the Orners moved back to Wickenburg last Friday) and things have been going well. Greg and I spend the morning together talking about work and he gives me tasks I must complete that day. I leave for work as Summer starts her morning exercises and Jessica ensures they're getting some nourishment. Summer is continuing to go to numerous doctor and therapy appointments each week and spend quite a bit of her time socializing with her friends on outings. She is healing very well and is now walking with a walker (although she is as stubborn as her father and isn't doing as much as she should). She is now sleeping in Greg's room with him at the house and is enjoying the comfort of a hospital bed. This week she visited school for the first time and seemed to enjoy it. She is scheduled to start half days of school on the 13th. Summer continues to see Tia a few times a week and they spend many hours together during these visits. Summer is now meeting with a specialist in helping children through the emotional hardships of these types of situations who is from the same office of the specialist seeing Greg for the same reason. Summer and Greg are spending the majority of their days together in Greg's room talking and watching TV. Rest assured Greg will soon be an expert in pop music and tween movies and television. They were recently caught up in a heated debate on who made the real song about California Girls; Beach Boys or Katie Perry...

Tia:
I saw Tia today. She looked amazing. When I arrived Tia was just walking back to her bed with just a single hand from Barb to provide a sense of stability. She lit up as Lila told her she loves Tia and Tia responded in kind. Tia took a therapy trip early this week to achieve some of her medical goals and ended up in Greg's hospital room for a while. It was his first time seeing her and he was pleased. His excitement was apparent. Tia is continuing extensive therapy at the hospital - her days are amazingly busy for anyone let alone a 10 year old. She seems to be pretty confident in handling these tasks. She's recently tested at a 12 year old cognitive level which is another miracle on her list. When we visited she was primarily focused on interaction with her cousin and was extremely entertained by Lila's goofiness. All in all Tia is looking and doing very well. We anticipate another 6 weeks of her remaining in the hospital as long as she completes the goals established.

Thank you for your patience in receiving these updates. As we settle down into a more normal schedule now that Jessica and I are taking care of both Greg and summer updates will be more forthcoming.