Gretchen has her second therapy appointment tonight. Monday was the first time she walked onto the bus. Over the weekend, we got her a new pair of sneakers. She has been wearing air walkers for the past 5 months (only the left one for about 2 months) and they do not offer ankle support. Before school started, I bought her a good pair of sneakers. They were pulled out for the first trip to PT. But she complained they were tight. Sure enough when we tried on sneakers Saturday, she went up a size. I'm not going to complain though, between the sale price and the money I had left on the gift card, the new sneakers only cost $16.20.
Gretchen has been wearing two new sneakers now and progressing well on walking. Monday morning she hopped onto the bus. In the afternoon, she walked off the bus. She hasn't put her full weight on the right foot that I've seen, but each day she seems to be placing more on it. Monday night she was walking around. The dog kept getting in the way. I told the dog, be careful we have a walker now. Gretchen said, oh great I'm a zombie. She loves the walking dead. I don't watch it. I had no idea they called the zombies walkers. Somehow I don't think Gretchen took offense, since she does love the show.
Sunday morning, 6:30AM morning, I get a text from my nephew - due in to Phoenix 13th. He changed his tickets. Since he broke his thumb, he can't work and he wanted to spend more than a week out here and asked if it was okay. I told him we'll have no problem finding things to do. I've been spending the past couple days cleaning my house. Even Rachael got excited and cleaned the bathroom without being told. This morning I made up the cot in the den and steam mopped the floors. Mack should be landing in about an hour. Since Shawn works right near the airport, he will pick him up and bring him to work for a while. Then they will be heading home early because of Gretchen's PT appointment.
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Comments: 14
It'll be nice having a vistor for a week or two. I wish we had the time and room for vistors, but we don't...yet. I plan on getting a bunch of stuff cleaned up this weekend.
I wrote something silly for her, if you think she'd like it. If you think it would be disturbing, just delete it, OK?
The dog knows!” thought Gretchen. “How could he know?” She carefully make her way to the bathroom, forcing her stiff gait into something more normal. Looking in the bathroom mirror, she saw that the flesh under her left ear was peeling away. Quickly she pulled out the CrazyGlue she kept here for emergencies, and glued it back in place. Smoothing the flap flat, she applied just enough concealer to hide the seam and stepped back to admire her handiwork. “There,” she thought. “Not even Mom could spot that.”
Suddenly, there was a scratching at the door – the dog again. Gretchen opened the door a crack and peered out. The dog just stood there looking up at her. He made a strange sound that started like a growl and ended as a whine. His tail just twitched. Gretchen opened the door and he slipped through. “OK, dog, it that’s what you really want,” she whispered.
The dog sat and looked up, expectantly, and after a moment, Gretchen knelt down beside him. She stroked his soft fur and looked into his eyes. Then she leaned over and, gently, bit the tip of his ear. He let out a tiny yip, but didn’t pull away. In moments, the deed was done, and Gretchen slowly got to her feet. She stood looking down at the dog for a long moment – they now communicated perfectly.
Turning toward the door, she sent a thought to the dog. “They can’t stand up to the two of us,” and the four-legged walker followed the two-legged one out of the bathroom.