Game Day

The only therapy scheduled for Jackie this weekend was Recreational Therapy and for some reason Jenna was not able to work today.  We decided to have our own session and hooked up our Wii system to the large screen TV in the gym.  Before long we were in the middle of a three game bowling series.  It was Jackie against me.  It is common knowledge that our family is highly competitive.  It has never been a negative thing, just something that makes even the smallest game that more interesting.  Needless to say Jackie and I were in a heated battle for bowling bragging rights.  I had asked Jackie when we had played once before if he wanted me to purposefully let him win and he said no.  In fact, if you have even a little bit of a competitive nature, having someone throw a game so you can win is way worse than losing.  Needless to say we had a great time and Jackie was getting much better at using the paddle and releasing the B button on cue with each game. PTL Even though Jackie was getting uncomfortable in his chair, you could tell he didn’t want to stop.  Ultimately pain prevailed and we went back to the room for a break and some banana whip.

While snacking we turned on TV and caught two wildlife shows, one hosted by Jeff Corwin.  We used to watch his nature shows all the time when the kids were younger and Jackie seemed interested.  I’m not sure if it was because of his love for animals or if he remembered Jeff from earlier memories.  Either way it was helping keep Jackie’s mind off of his pain and the uncomfortableness he felt in his chair.

We helped Jackie get in bed for his nap and I headed over to the hotel to shower. When I returned the boys were up.  They both had taken a little nap. After a bit of laziness and lounging in bed we had to persuade Jackie to get up.  After all it was a rainy day and being in bed just seemed like the right place to be.

Once up, we decided to head to the gym again.  I put in some laundry and Jackie and Jim played more Wii.  Bowling was first and then golf.  After several games Jackie’s tolerance was starting to get low so we went back to the room.  Jackie ate a Magnum bar and was still hungry for more.  We ordered some take out and included a side of mashed potatoes and gravy.  Even though we ordered from an Italian restaurant the potatoes were excellent.  We all enjoyed eating and watching some college football.  Jackie was starting to become restless and it seemed as though some spasms were returning to his right hand.  We ended up feeding him the second half of his meal.

After letting his food settle, we helped him get into bed. He had been sweating more than normal in his chair and continued to seem flushed.  Alter about an hour of restlessness we had to change his shirt and pillow cases as they were wet. The dosage of one of his new meds was increased, and we believe this must be the culprit for these new symptoms. It took until midnight for him to truly settle down, but he finally had good periods of rest.

We thank all of you for following Jackie’s marathon to recovery and for keeping him in your positive thoughts and prayers.  Each day and night can include incredible feelings of joy or periods of frustration and sadness.  We like to focus on the joy and hope that each day will be filled with more happiness than the day before.

Don’t give up. Don’t lose hope. Don’t sell out.
~Christopher Reeve