No Tube, Mo' Food, Life Is Good

I was able to go visit Carson last night. We had a great chat and letter reading session, it was good to see him in such good spirits. When I got there Carson said he was physically exhausted. He had a very long day of therapy which left the muscles in his hands, arms, and shoulders worn out. He proudly boasted that he had won a game of "jenga" in physical therapy against his occupational therapist. It sounded like a hard-fought battle. Simple exercises like that help him to gain control and steadiness in his hands while building strength as well.

Despite the announcement by his parents, Carson didn't receive very many visitors last evening. As word spreads that he is willing to see visitors, I'm sure there will be a long line of people waiting to see him every night.

When I arrived last night it was so great to see him without his feeding tube in! He hated that blasted tube! Looking back on the last couple weeks it is cool to see that the number of tubes attached to is body is down to zero. When I first visited him he could hardly lift his arms without getting some tube or cord caught on the bed, or under a blanket. There was a mess a tubes and IV's and whatnot strung across his body. Now, when you enter the room, you see Carson, with a neck brace and some cool looking boots, that's about it.

Carson is eating like a regular person. When I got to the hospital he was chowing down on a hamburger and vegetable soup with some root beer and creme brulee. He also topped it all off with some well deserved cheesecake. He had an extra root beer and offered it too me. It was difficult but also very cool to watch him struggle to pick up the can. It took him four or five tries to get a good enough grip to lift it off the table. He brought it close to him and grabbed a fork which he used to pry open the lid. His hands seem pretty weak, but as of yesterday, the nurses no longer assist him in eating.

I struggled having to watch him fumble with objects before finally being able to grip them. My natural inclination was to reach out and help him, but you can tell that he is determined to get stronger. It's going to be a test of everyone's patience to watch him go through recovery. Carson said he feels like he is a baby again because people celebrate when he does such menial tasks.

Carson's spirits are still high. He makes everybody laugh when they walk into the room, and he loves everybody who takes care of him. He has a couple thoughts that he wants to put into a video later this week. We will make sure that we get that posted as soon as possible. Before leaving, we wanted to take a picture of Carson in his bed. After taking one photo he made us readjust him in a number of ways in order to make him look good. One of his friends brought him some hair gel and he did his hair for the photo. While he was putting in the hair gel he said, "my vanity is still well intact despite my injury." His friend Shalese held up her phone so he could look at his hair while he did it. After about 15 minutes we finally got the final product for everybody! Enjoy!