January 18, 2016

I guess I should start this entry from Saturday (16th), as Linda and I stayed up quite late getting all the packing done and making sure we had everything. Actually, I went to bed and got a couple hours sleep more than Linda. She didn't feel comfortable going to bed, knowing they were going to come by at 05:30, Sunday morning. I woke up at about 02:00 and helped Jason get a quick shower in and helped Linda with a few last minute things. It was now about 03:00 so we went and laid down, and Linda fell asleep. I think I must have dozed off too, but I remember rolling over and looking at the clock and thinking, well, its time to get up, as it was now 04:30. We took a shower, to fully wake up and got dressed, then went in to make sure Jason was up and ready (he was), and by 05:40 they were pulling in to the driveway.

I flew commercial, on United and Linda and Jason flew on the ambulance flight. When I arrived at Denver International I quickly was in the rental van and headed over to Signature (the flight company where they flew into) to pick up the rest of the family. Well, I wasn't aware that the Signature they flew into, and the one I was at were two totally different locations. They were about 50 miles away, and I didn't know the address. I asked the guys at Denver Signature about the location and they provided me with a hand drawn map. This was great except that the direction they provided were wrong, and I ended up about 20 miles beyond where I needed to go. I had been in communications with Linda for the past couple of hours, so they weren't totally wondering where I was, but it was beginning to wear on all of us.

I finally did manage to find the correct Signature and soon picked up Linda and Jason, along with all the luggage and we headed to the hotel. Fortunately the hotel wasn't too far away, and in about 45 minutes we were checking into our rooms. This may come as a surprise to some of you, but we were pretty worn down and tired by now and hungry. We managed to find a nice restaurant, that is close by and a couple that we know, Jim and Harriet, drove over to have dinner with us. It was good visiting with them and doing a little catching up. Jim and I worked at National Semiconductor back in the early 1980s, so we've known each other for several years. After dinner we walked back to the hotel (yeah, its in the same parking lot) and shortly afterward we were all in bed.

This morning we went over to Aspen/Ride Design and met the people we were going to be working with. It was good getting to know them, and understanding some of their collective background. We asked some questions and we became a little more knowledgeable about what they planned to do. As it turned out, the took an impression of Jason, and have already begun working on the prosthetic he will be getting. Tomorrow we will be going back for what they called "a long day" and Jason can possibly reverie the initial seat (prosthetic). The seat will be designed to help Jason sit up straighter, make his ride a little more comfortable, provide some relief from the pressure of sitting up, allow the wounds to receive more blood circulation AND allow him to get out a little more and do more.

This has been a quick synopsis of what we went through these last couple of days, and though it may not sound like much, it has been very busy, and we're looking forward to a little more down time. We might even get a chance to do some exploring and touristy things. Actually, that is kind of what they want us to do this coming weekend. They want Jason to spend some time in the new seat and let them know how it feels. As long as everything goes well, we'll be back, on our way home, on Monday. If not, Linda and Jason may need to stay another day or two. Thank you, for all the continued support and prayers. Take care and stay positive.