oops and Uno

Well, I confess I had it wrong about the school homework. Not that Wiley wasn't doing algebra and writing paragraphs, mind you, but rather that the assignments were coming from his speech therapist, not his school. (Since when does a speech therapist assign algebra homework??? I have to say, I have a feeling this rehab stuff is going to be pretty confusing....)

Yesterday afternoon I found Wiley and Nancy sitting outside on the patio by the hospital, surrounded by the garden and the adjacent tree canopy of Santa Rosa Creek, playing a killer game of Uno. Wiley, as is apparently the norm, won. Just because he has a helmet on to protect his head, red racing stripe hospital socks on his feet, and is sitting in a wheelchair -- oh, yeah, or has had a serious brain injury! -- does not mean he is impaired in his Uno game in the least. He's able to get out to the patio with his mom because she is up to wheeling him, though not giving him the support he'd need to walk there safely. But he has been walking similar distances when he has a physical therapist there to spot and support him.

Nancy relayed that Wiley has been reading a good bit -- even an hour at a time out of the new Harry Potter, despite his vision issues. That's a pretty impressive degree of perseverance when you have to work to keep from seeing double. From what Wiley showed me yesterday, it seems like his left eye is limited in its ability to track towards the right. But again, the ophthalmologist gave him good odds on eventual full vision recovery.

Nancy and Tim, while they are holding up remarkably well, are both profoundly exhausted. Tim has continued this last week to work on the feature being filmed in Sonoma County, coming home to spend his evenings at the hospital. He took the night shift last night after his full day of work, sleeping in the 2nd bed in the hospital room. Nancy is the first to arrive in the morning (usually 7am) and the last to leave at night (making sure Wiley actually gets to sleep at a reasonable hour), and spends almost all of the day in between with Wiley in his hospital room, making sure he gets the care he needs and doesn't get too freaked out by all the unexpected twists and challenges of this difficult and new circumstance. The stress and need for constant attention to what's best for their oh-so-dear son is draining to both of them, and I know neither is getting as much sleep as they could use.

Thank goodness for the extended family! Even though most of the grandparents live some distance from Santa Rosa, they have all been showing up in a nearly daily way, as have Wiley's Uncle Steve, Aunt Deb, Cousin Tyler, and a few other stalwarts, both related and chosen family. All have been helping out in the ways they can, whether it's getting chores done or keeping Wiley company or just keeping Nancy and Tim feeling supported. And then there's all the messages of good wishes from near and far, also a tremendous boost to the family.

And thank goodness, too, for Wiley's incredible good fortune and good humor. Two more pieces that make this wild ride bearable for all who love him.