Stryker Brigade News

Now, technically, this means he could come and go pretty much as he pleases, but realistically it means something else entirely. Scott is being set up for speech, occupational and physical therapy at the VA hospital in Seattle. While Seattle is not at the level of the Minneapolis facility, in that they do not specialize in traumatic brain injury rehabilitation, they are certainly very near it, so this is good news for Scott's recovery. The Disabled American Veterans (www.dav.org), of which I am a member, provides a ride to this facility from the American Lake VA facility, every hour, on the hour. This is very near where Scott and his family now lives. He will go there three days a week (I presume Monday, Wednesday and Friday, but it's possible that some other schedule could be set up) from early January until he has to leave. This is likely to be a period longer than he was in Minneapolis. It's hoped he will progress as well there.

I met Scott after Speech Therapy and we walked to Occupational Therapy together. On the way I told him about getting a copy of his promotion orders and correcting the effective date and date of rank. He understood this, no problem. "Oh, and you have to get your official records photo taken before you go back to Walter Reed." He stopped and smiled at me. He pointed at his helmet and said, "With this?" and laughed. I said he had sixty days from the date of rank to get this done. I told him I would see what would happen if he couldn't get this done, but to plan on it just in case. He clearly thought I was putting him on.

Occupational Therapy consisted largely of re-tests of various abilities and check writing exercises. In between his tests, he played with the metal object in his right thumbnail until he eventually caused the piece to fall out. The small piece I was able to locate was a small (about the size of the ball of a ball point pen) of metal encrusted with what appeared to be dried blood. The old bruise under his thumbnail now no longer appears as shiny as it did yesterday. I later told the doctors it came out without bleeding or any other apparent problem. We discussed getting the body X-ray sometime during the week, a change from sometime after Hell froze over. Later, I learned they would try to work him in after his last appointment this afternoon. I guess Hell froze over. Minnesota certainly did.

After lunch, Scott and Aly took a nap in his bed for about an hour and a half. Tiff woke him up and he went to Physical Therapy (Tiff and Aly followed a bit later). You guessed it, stretches! After stretches he was fitted with a different ankle brace. This one (from a company now out of business) supports the ankle and prevents twisting to either side. Scott walked around on it like he was trying out new shoes. He walked up and down an area marked out on the floor with yellow hazard tape. I joked with him that he was trying out for runway model, which got his impish grin in response. Eventually, he decided he wanted to try it out on the treadmill. It didn't seem to bother him any because he walked at 2.0 MPH at a "15%" (not 20 as I previously reported as the machine only goes to 15%) incline for over ten minutes. He went .41 miles and seemed satisfied with the new brace and his performance. He often gets off some device or machine with fists pumped and says, "Let's go!" I'll have to try to get some video of him doing this before we leave.

After PT, we went up to Recreational Therapy. We discussed the upcoming discharge and planned an outing on the light rail to go to the Mall of American to see Blade Trinity tomorrow afternoon. Scott wanted to check out some videos from the RT collection, too.

We also discussed Scott's body X-ray this evening. He didn't feel he needed my assistance so I left and returned to the hotel. Later, Julie and I went to dinner at the Mall (Rainforest Cafe) and then went back to the ranch to do laundry, pack up and get some correspondence done.

I also just finished the latest volume (Brackett's Battalion) about the Civil War and Minnesota's contribution from Jim Moffet's library. (Thanks again, Jim!) I feel like I should have a second major now! I've always appreciated the work of the First Minnesota Volunteer Infantry at Gettysburg, but now I have a deeper understanding of Minnesota's contribution to preserving the Union. Death to Traitors! as they say around here.

ST