Stryker Brigade News

Since Scott didn't get much to eat (something else was brought up, but not much he found edible), it was a good thing his Occupational Therapy task for the day was to prepare breakfast. After some effort, he scrambled two eggs and had some bread. I think it was supposed to be toasted, but it didn't look toasted to me. On one slice, he had some jelly and on the other he had some Strawberry Creamcheese (no relation to Suzy Creamcheese).

After eating breakfast at OT, it was time for lunch in his room. Again, the tray was in the dining room (maybe a flare would help?) where it didn't belong. We didn't have much time for dining as his Speech Therapy appointment was at 1 p.m. We walked up there and left him to the therapist. After the session, she reported Scott was doing very well on the tasks. She said he closely observed her when she spoke and tried to mimic her sounds to form the words himself.

Scott had a break after speech of an hour, so he went to his room and got into bed. He protested about having to go to Physical Therapy (it was a late addition to the schedule this morning), but we got him back into his shoes and down there anyway. Almost forgot--his helmet arrived, but it was a bit too large. He looked a little like a small kid in a big football helmet for a moment. The man who brought it tried to add some foam to the inside, but that wasn't enough. So, back it goes and a new one to be ordered.

PT consisted of the usual stretches and treadmill work. During PT, a sore of some kind was discovered on Scott's right thigh. It didn't seem to be bothering him, but we wanted to get it looked at, just the same (We had heard he had some shrapnel wound on this thighs when he got to Landstuhl, but hadn't seen much evidence of this so far. Maybe this was something working its way out?). I suggested adding stairs to the workload as Scott may be able to get out on a pass tomorrow and will need to traverse some stairs. So, we went to the stairwell and then up and down stairs for about fifteen minutes. Scott became impatient with the one step at a time thing (Up with the good leg and down with the bad, which means putting that foot out first and then bringing the other up/down to it) and started walking up the stairs like he didn't have a problem. His right foot caught a bit several times, but no fall resulted.

The last event for the day was group Recreational Therapy. Julie and I figured the room was crowded enough so we went to the waiting area. After this was over, we went back to the room and began the Hunt for Scott's Dinner. Hey, the tray was in the dining room again (I got it on the first guess). As Scott finished his dinner, Dr. Champagne came in to see what this thing on his leg was. It was decided to X-ray the thing just to make sure it's not metallic. No sense digging around in something without knowing what it is. I'm sure you wouldn't do this first if you found this thing on your leg, but then most of you haven't been shot at. That's a good thing, of course. The doctor pulled a little more hair out of her head and said she was putting in orders so Scott gets double rations (my term) on all his meals and to put the trays in his room. Also, the pass for tomorrow is okay.

After the doctor left, Scott got a phone call from one of his buddies. Scott was pretty animated on our end of the conversation. As this phone call ended, his second dinner (sounds like some hobbit thing) showed up. He ate most of this, too, with True Lies (where we left off yesterday, oddly enough) and then We Were Soldiers on the TV. Julie and I left about 8 p.m. to get our own dinner and to let Scott rest. As much as we enjoy each other's company, we do need to let each other get some rest.

ST