Life at the Crash Pad

OK, here’s what a difference a couple of days makes: Wiley held all those (family members) present in his room tonight captive to his wishes. When Tyler asked for one of the cookies that Sean had made just for Wiley, Wiley replied that before he’d let Tyler have a cookie, everyone there would have to agree to play Uno (a card game) with him. Nothing like a little power when you are stuck in a hospital – thank you, Sean!

As Nancy relayed this story to Tim, just arriving at the hospital at 8:30 at night after a long day of filming in nearby Sonoma, she added, simply, “He’s baaa-aaaack!” in that menacing way reminiscent of the Chucky horror films.

Wiley, despite being suddenly abducted to Planet Brain Trauma, is recovering a recognizable degree of his Wiley-ness.

His parents have dubbed his room the Crash Pad.

Yesterday, the Crash Pad was enlivened as a result of another patient being assigned to the second bed. A twenty-something, foul-mouthed, loud, smoking patient -- rather unpleasant and even alarming. With the intervention of several advocates, the hospital was finally convinced that “Hurricane Dean,” as he was soon named, was really not an appropriate roommate for a brain-injured 14-year old. Call it luck, call it persuasive argument combined with persistence, but the kid got what he needed, and Hurricane Dean was on his way. Grandpa Alex took the bed instead, company and a watchful eye for Wiley in the wee hours.

Today, the occupational therapist who has been working with Wiley came in on his own time and spent two hours playing guitar with Wiley. The therapist let Nancy know just how very lucky Wiley is in his recovery so far. “He’s one in a million,” said the OT. “This is what makes my job worthwhile.”

Tomorrow, race car driver Buddy Rice is stopping by to visit with Wiley in a photo op related to some large donation he’s making to the hospital. He wanted to visit with an adolescent who was a patient, and guess who that would be. (Ok, he may be the only teen in the hospital at the moment!) And you thought a stay in the hospital would be dull.

I realize this sounds like surely the visitation rules have been relaxed. Nope. It really is tiring for Wiley to turn his attention from one person and conversation to another, so Nancy and Tim are continuing to try and limit the brain overload caused by visitors. It’s also a bit of a vulnerable place to be, in a hospital room you can’t leave, with a requirement for a helmet on your head and a steadying hand nearby whenever you get out of bed to visit the bathroom. So family members are one matter, but pretty much everyone else is going to have to wait until he gets back from his stay at the rehab center, expected to be around late September.

In addition to Wiley showing all the more of his Wiley-ness, here’s the other great news: he’s able to create new memory. He remembers life before the accident, and now he remembers things that he has learned since the accident. For example, he remembered that he had seen me since the accident and before tonight. He knows that he was injured in a skateboard accident, and that he will have to have surgery, and that he will soon be spending some weeks in a rehabilitation center. He also knows he needs to not get out of bed without a helmet and assistance, and boy, does that ever make life easier on those that are on Wiley duty!

Nancy and Tim wanted to relay that they are absolutely blown away by the generosity of their community: relatives, friends, friends of friends, even remote acquaintances have all been showing up in unexpected ways, largely in the life-sustaining way of delivering food to their door. (Thanks also go to friend Jay and the online dinner calendar he set up for making the times of need clear and the delivery at least semi-orderly!)