Day 19 - A little Stronger every day

Yesterday Toren was soooo tired, every trip around the unit resulted in a long nap, as did eating, and having a shower. But considering what his body has been through sleep seems like a reasonable need. That being said he still played blokus with me last night when I got back from the movies... Marvin spent a few hours down here, mainly keeping Toren company while he rested (this is more important than one realizes)... although they did explore the strange facts of Guinness Book of World Records. I got to see An Education - a lovely little movie was lots of interesting elements. It was the first time I can recall taking myself off to a theatre on my own, even in this place Toren is succeeding to keep me pushing my own limits.
Toren was happy to see me when I got back, which was rather nice.
We had a pleasant visit with Cynthia earlier in the afternoon on Sunday and I got to go to Washington Park and walk around the lake in the sunshine, and reflect on the magnitude of our blessings, and yes that was well balanced by the equal intensity of our challenges. Still every single day Toren is making progress. He is quietly determined to regain his skills and his strength. He is walking around the unit once more each day, with more strength and while he still needs the walker, there are times he can turn around without it... or stand up without holding on, all great accomplishments for a man only out of ICU for 4 days. He just got his IV removed... and is truly thrilled to be free of it. One of the Neurologists saw him walking in the hall today and said she was stunned and delighted with his progress.
I share with Toren your emails and comments, and he always smiles. He is still not talking much, which is rather strange, but I am confident that it is only temporary.
Today he had a visit from OT and I am sure speech and PT will follow. We went down the hall together to speak to the Case Manager, and the process has been started to get him to Sunnyview Rehab hospital. I am also reaching out to his regular TBI case worker to get help at home when he returns... which we hope will be within a couple of weeks, once he is able to do stairs, etc.
Toren is an inspiration, he is sad and shares that with me, but he is also aware of how blessed he is. Even exhausted he lifts a hand to wave when he hears me on the phone to people he cares about. I came across a lovely quote recently - Sometimes the most important thing we do in our day is the rest between two deep breaths... Toren is mastering resting between.