One year later

We said farewell to our brooks family on Wednesday. We didn't leave the way we wanted to, we wanted to be walking out of there. Instead Michael was wheeled out in a stretcher and brought home by ambulance. He was not progressing enough to stay in rehab.

However, we aren't bummed about this. We understand that Michael needs a little more time and he will recover at his own pace. It is now our entire familys job to help him and motivate him to get better. We are hoping that being in his familiar surroundings and being around everyone that he loves will help him to emerge and then he will be able to go back to Brooks to get stronger. Being at brooks was so amazing! These people develop a love for every patient. They pay so close attention to everything that the family says about the patient. The took everything Michael loves and put it into his therapies. They were so amazing not only to him but also to me. All of the staff did everything they could to make me comfortable with his care, they taught me everything I needed to know in order to take care of him at home. They showed so much love and interest in Michael. They have made a huge impact on me and my family! We love you guys!!!!! 

We will see you all again, Im hoping sooner than later, but I wont rush anything :-)

So since we have been home things have been tough to adjust to. I'm not sure why but its much harder than I thought it was going to be. I knew that caring for Michael was going to be a lot but adding the rest of the family triples the load. Its okay, its just a non stop day! <3 

However the family has really stepped up and surprised me. The boys are eager to help take care of him and they are so adorable when they randomly talk to him.

Everything about our family makes me happy. They are being completely incredible. And don't worry guys, Hunter is being great too, he is just a little more weary of getting close to Michael, this is the first time he has seen him since the accident so I think he is still trying to process everything. I try to keep Michael out of his room except at bedtime because I don't want him to feel like he just gets stuck in there and get sad because he isn't with everyone. Thank goodness I bought an oversized beanbag chair last year because it is perfect for him and he fits perfectly in the corner of our couch. He also likes laying on the floor and getting in his chair to go outside.

He had his first friend visitors today. Makayla and Emily came by the visit him today. They are the two little girls that saw the accident happen. They have been so eager to see Michael since it happened but I didn't think it was a good idea until we came home. Todays visit was great. One thing he did was produce A LOT of spit. He has been know to cough spit up sometimes or slober a little, but nothing like what happened when the girls were here. As soon as they left it stopped. So I texted the speech therapist from Brooks and told her about it to see her thoughts and she said that a lot of times an increase in saliva like that can be an increase in effort and concentration and he was more than likely trying to interact with them and couldn't figure out how.

So I will leave you with this. We are adjusting to being home. It gets easier everyday. We love visitors...Just know that if you come for Michael, he may be sleeping and thats fine. If he is not then know that he can hear you. If you are coming for me....dunkin donuts coffee is welcomed :-) haha. (larger hot with cream and sugar) haha