visiting the VA hospital...

I took a few days to consider if I wanted to post anything concerning my visit to St Louis to see my brother.

It is not something one chooses to experience.

Part of me did not want to go.

Another did not want to leave.

As I walked through the doors of the hospital I did not know what to expect.

Not just about my brother, but about the conditions there. About the other people there in treatment.

I asked my brother if he had met any of the troops that had come back from the current wars....

and of course he looked at me funny(not good funny) and replied to my question about how they were with the answer " bitter".

Quite foolish of me to expect otherwise, but I wanted to be sure that if I crossed paths with one of our boys, that I didn't act all stupid and say or not say the wrong thing at the wrong time..like there is a right time..

anyway....

I did not meet any current troops....

this particular area I saw housed basically older Vet's dealing with amputations or open wounds.

The buildings themselves were quite dismal...save one that looked to be an early structure, and the location...lol....let me tell ya.....it was a dump....hahah well literally it was situated just a few blocks from a land fill( I figured that one out on my own!) It was sort of stinky, at least on the days we visited.

The inside of the buildings were about the standard of a very cheap hotel, NOT DIRTY, just old and run down.

My brother seems quite content considering all.  They let him use his wheel chair( yeah I got to push my brother around for a change) and we visited a few of the places they had for recreation and a really nice outdoor garden maintained by the DAV.  He also was making full use of the craft area they have available.The first time we walked in he was painting on a suncatcher( the next day I brought him some extra craft stuff, some of which he raised his eyebrow too....) so I just had to say"well that was a vase of flowers you were painting there bro"...he did chuckle and nod to that.)

 But the extraordinarily coolest thing he was  doing was recreating a grouping of stautes of his special ops troop that he served with in Vietnam...in a way I got to see their faces for the first time and his maticulous detailing with paper clay and paint over a kit to personalize it.

  WELLLLLLLLLLLLL...maybe not the food! We accompanied him to his evening meal, and most of the trays still setting on the tables held most of the food put on them. The coffee was good, and the staff was nice when engaged in conversation( we came in late..so they really didnt have to be)..but we are talking hospital food now...so I supose I should back off a little....

I don't know if it was the company or just a good night, but I did notice my brother ate everything on his plate...LOL....He still has a few weeks to go there maybe he just decided to grin and bear it.

We talked a lot of what he was going to do when he got out of the hospital, it was good to hear that.

And I got to meet his physical therapist who was obviously enthused at his determination to lose the wheel chair and the walker( though it did not suprise me at all.)

Theres still a lot of healing to be done, knowing that and hoping any set backs don't damper his determination, I feel better now that I have seen him.

And I hope his enthusiasm will be contageious at the VA.