November 24, 2011 - Happy Thanksgiving!

You might say we got off to a slower start today, as Jason woke up, ate breakfast and just visited with family this morning. There really wasn't much going on until noon, so he didn't have to hurry and do anything. David and Miriam got in early this morning, with their son Dylan, so now Jason has two of his brothers here, along with Mom and Dad. Sean, his youngest brother, called him this afternoon, so he was able to at least talk with all his brothers. And he was able to call Bridgette and talk with her for a nice phone visit. The girls were asleep so he will have to wait until tomorrow to get a chance to hear from them.

We all visited with him and basically talked about how he was doing; some of the things he was expecting to do over these next few weeks; and, what was going to be happening today. This took us up to about 11:35, when the nurse came in and wanted to be sure we were all prepared for today, and that she was ready to call whomever we needed her to call, to make sure that our transportation was here. I thanked her for the offer, and then assured her that I wasn't too concerned as the folks at the Armed Services YMCA contacted me a couple times already, and I was sure the bus was coming. Then, Jason started to get ready for the event. It is really great seeing him basically get dressed on his own now, with the only real help I provide is to help him get his shirt on. I expect even that to end soon, as he continues to get stronger on a daily basis, and I won't need to do anything.

The driver called me, just as Jason got into his chair, and wanted to let me know he was down stairs, and I told him we would be there in just a few minutes. It was a small bus, and we (our family) were the only people on the bus. It didn't take too long to get squared away, so we could get over to the restaurant, and see if there were going to be any celebrities there (besides Jason). We arrived and saw that it wasn't really what we had expected. There was a line of people out the door, about 100 long and the interior was packed with people. Fortunately they were expecting us, and we had a reserved table all set up for us, so we just sat down. Originally they told us that Jason was to be served and the rest of us needed to get in line to get our food. Linda, being the experienced lady that she is, simply said to the server, "So, Jason is supposed to eat alone while we stand in line?" I guess that question made the server think a bit, and then said we could go sit down and they brought all of us our food -- Served it pretty fast, too.

While we were seated Junior Seau came over and sat down with us (sat with Jason actually) and visited for a couple of minutes. I got some pictures at the table, as did David and Miriam, and for a little while we felt like celebrities... I knew there would be some. After he left we were offered desserts, multiple times, and I didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings, so I took a few, and so did everybody else. We finally had to start turning them away, as we were all pretty full by the end of our third dessert.

Jason was able to deal with the trip, the meal and all the excitement there at the restaurant, and we stayed for nearly two hours. When we finally did start to make our way back to the bus I could tell that Jason was feeling a little tired and worn, so I don't think we could have stayed much longer. Jason got back to his room, and back in his bed and I think he felt much better. It was still afternoon, so we all decided that Jason had the best idea and we headed off to our respective "rooms" to take a nap.

After the nap Jason didn't want to get back out, and was happy to just eat his dinner from the galley, in his room, and just wait for the 49er game (the outcome of the game was a bit disappointing, but that's another story). We kind of shuffled back and forth between the Fisher House and the hospital until it was getting late, and then said good night. We'll be seeing him in the morning, and then David and Miriam, with Dylan, will be headed back to their home. George (III) and Linda will be staying one more day, and have to head back home on Saturday. As crazy as it was, I think that this is what a family get-together is supposed to be like, lots of love and support being shared by everyone.

Thank you, for all your continued prayers and support.