We've had a fantastic Christmas break so far, and we still have a week left! After our trip to San Antonio, Sam finished up his last week at rehab. Here is a video of him as he was leaving: Yes, he would have kept going if Dee hadn't stopped him. We know it is time for him to move on, but it was very bittersweet. We are indebted to everyone who has worked with Sam, and we are sad they won't be a daily part of our lives any more. However, we know we will be in touch since this past week, we went to his original rehab and reconnected with some old friends who helped him get going on this journey. The doctors, nurses and therapists were blown away by how far he has come, and we can't wait for future visits! It has also been good to actually have a Christmas. While the intermittent power outages have made preparing food interesting, they are nothing compared to what we were going through last year.
I'm asking again for your prayers, for a smooth transition to school and the new schedule. I'd also like to lift up two very special little girls fighting the good fight of their own TBIs. They were both injured Thanksgiving week in separate car accidents. Please pray for Liberty and JayFay and their amazing families as they go through mirror images of what we did last year. We wish all of #TeamSam a very Merry Christmas, and our prayer for you is for health, peace, and happiness in the new year! In closing, here is our family photo after Christmas Eve services:
It is very hard to fathom that tomorrow (Monday) will mark one year since the accident happened. We're kind of dreading it, and at the same time it gives us an opportunity to celebrate how far Sam has come. Monday also is the beginning of the last week of the semester for Sarah and me, as well as the last week for Sam of outpatient rehab. He's excited. For me, it's bittersweet. He has made insane amounts of progress there, and the therapists have far surpassed what we were hoping for. (And our hopes were high.) The good news is that he is ready to go back to school, and they are ready for him. The plan that was laid out in the meeting left no stone unturned. I am incredibly impressed with the amount of forethought and man hours that were put into this far in advance of him going back. I am confident that he is in the best of hands. We chose to move to Plano because of the school district, and they are taking very good care of our boy. Wildcat Nation, we are grateful for you! Additionally, the tube did indeed come out on the 28th! Sam is thrilled, we are thrilled, and we move on to the next goal. We have decided that we will use the button covers as tree ornaments this year, because that's just how we roll. Thanks for all of the prayers and encouraging comments that day! Finally, we are back from our trip, and it was excellent. It was good to be together with relatively little stress. We purposefully did not pack our schedule, although Friday was rather tiring. The concert was incredible. Billy Joel is without a doubt, the consummate entertainer. Jim was saying that he was so tired at the end of the concert. Then he remembered that Billy had been performing all night (including a 4-5 song encore) at the age of 67, so he decided that he wouldn't complain too much. He (Billy) missed very few of our favorites, and it was an amazing show. Here are some pics of our weekend:
Boy bonding at a pit stop Lunch at Mi Tierra
Riverwalk-ing
And, concert time!
Finally, quite a while ago in this journey, I'd posted a video of Sam singing She's Always a Woman. We were thrilled when it was a part of the concert. Here is most of the song. Peace, #TeamSam, and thanks for walking this year with us!
