Aren't we festive??

Hellloooooooo! Just wanted to give a little update on Benjamin....and share our very festive photo with everyone. Wednesday night we slept a full 7 hours! It was very exciting! His head was hurting but it wasn't super bad. He could just tell it was beginning to hurt so I got him up, he took some pain medicine and it didn't last very long. Thursday was pretty much the same thing.
We also went on an outing! Benjamin hasn't been anywhere except for the hospital since we got back from Thanksgiving. We rode his chair down the road to Zaxby's and had a lunch date and then rode down to Publix and got some stuff to make dinner. It was fun but also very coooollllllddd. There seemed to be an exceptionally nippy breeze that day. Later that night, with our combined kitchen skills, we whipped up some stuffed mushrooms, fettuccine with sauteed mushrooms (you can never have enough mushrooms in a meal) and chicken. It was very tasty! Thursday was a fun day!
Friday Bebe (John Mark's girlfriend) and I drove home. I came home for the weekend for my mom's birthday (which was today) and I'll be going back Monday. Bebe will be coming back with me to stay for the week. We'll all be coming home next weekend for MY BIRTHDAY!!!!
That's all that's new.

This is from yesterday. Benjamin's head starting hurting again today but it wasn't as bad as it normally is. He's chilling at the apartment right now.

Back in the hosipital again.....

We're back in the hospital. Benjamin's head pain has continued and is coming more often and lasting longer. Like clock work, yesterday morning he work up a little before 5 with excruciating head pain. He says it just feels like fire from the back of his neck to behind his eyeballs. From the way he acts I believe him. Poor fellow. He acts like he is in VERY serious pain. Saturday he came to the hospital around 10. Once again it was by ambulance. John Mark had gone home for the weekend so I stayed at the apartment with Mrs.Sherri while Mr.Greg went with Benjamin. They gave him an IV and some stronger stuff that knocked him out and eased his headache. Also prescribed him stronger pain medication. His head started hurting later that day and even the stronger pain medication did not work.
Then again this morning, like clock work, around 5 he awoke again in serious pain. He took some pain medication but it didn't ease up. Benjamin was also having trouble catching his breath. We waited until a little after noon before calling an ambulance. I stayed with with Mrs.Sherri again and Mr.Greg went with him. When they checked his blood pressure it was 220/183. WAY to high. They gave him an IV to bring it down, however, it went down too much. It was like 83/over another low number I forgot. So he's staying overnight so they can monitor him. Which is where I am right now. I'm staying the night with him. He has a sinus infection so they are giving him antibiotics for that and heavy pain medication for his head.
It's weird to be in this hospital as opposed to Shepherd's because the staff isn't that aware of the care taking of quadriplegics. We're used to the staff being even more cautious than us but you can tell these nurse's weren't schooled in quad 101. I still have to turn him and do all of our other quad responsibilities just like as if we we're at home. However, everyone here is super nice and this hospital is HUMONGOUS!
I have also been sick. We have just been balls of fun this weekend. I've medicated myself with over the counter stuff and it's worked. I'm no longer congested but I have nasty cough. Besides the sickness and frequent hospital visits everything is going good. John Mark's girlfriend had a week off work and decided to come visit. I'm thrilled to increase the amount of estrogen in our apartment for a week. It'll be be nice to have a girl around.

TAH DAH!!! I came up with the most brilliant idea! We're going to do video blogs! This would our first. Benjamin had the honor of doing the first one. Hope it turns out ok. We recorded it on my camera. I can't believe I did think of it sooner.

Hello Everyone! I'm sorry I haven't been posting on here. We don't have Internet in our apartment in Gainesville so I'm not able too. I have been going to a little coffee place every now and then that has wi-fi so I had a serious talk with myself and I'm going to start just writing it on Microsoft word and then coping it to my blog. Soooo....there will more posts.

Another reason I don't blog much is because not much has been going on. We still don't have a van so we are pretty much home bound. We have to ride the transit handicap bus to go somewhere and you have to call two days ahead and it only runs Mon. thru Fri. 8-4. He rides that to therapy every Tues. and Thurs. However, we have been able to plan ahead and had two outings.

The first was to Wal-Mart. It wasn't so much the shopping that Benjamin enjoyed but the smooth vast open floor. I would be looking at something and talking and slowly realize I was talking to no one. He would just zoom off to zig zag in and out of the aisles. It was raining that day and Benjamin has learned how to drift in his chair when his wheels are wet. He had quite a time.

The last one was to the Gainesville mall. Benjamin wanted to get some longer pants because he felt like all of his other ones looked like high waters when he was in his chair and to get some other things. We had a good time there too. It was lame though because the aisles in department stores aren't really made for handicapped people. The big main aisles are but not when your trying to look in and out of clothes racks. Sometimes he couldn't fit or would knock clothes off and tables and what not. So a lot of times we had to bring the clothes to him. Which was fine, it's whatever, we still had a great time. Benjamin got a lot things he enjoys wearing.

Mr.Greg rented a van for about a week and a half and we came home for the holidays. (I'm writing this from the comfort of my own home. It's nice) It was lame though because he waited until the day before we we were leaving and was only able to get a mini van. Which Benjamin is to tall for, so when he gets in and out we have to lean him forward so his head doesn't hit the top. He needs a full size van. We make it work though. We drove home on the Thursday before Thanksgiving and then Benjamin's birthday was that Saturday. He is now officially 20. Yep, I date an older man now, ha! It just so happened that Saturday night was the night of Benj Fest. Benjamin's friends that are in bands had their bands perform and all the proceeds went to Benjamin. Benj Fest was held at The Barn in Pelham (a very cool place) and the bands that played we're Triple Vision, King Palm, Neural Implosion, and Last. It was a whole bunch of fun because it was like one big birthday party for him. Someone from the WALB also came and interviewed him. He was on the news that night. You can check it out if you want on their website.

Sadly on Sunday he came down with a UTI. He felt terrible. His temperature got up to like 103.8. He just had to take antibiotics and wait it out. By Wednesday he was himself again. He and his family had planned to leave that day to go to Alabama for Thanksgiving. (that's where Mr.Greg's family lives) However, his Dad thought they should stay home since he had just gotten over being so sick. So, they spent Thanksgiving at their house. I spent it with the Eunice family. Then that night Benjamin and I attended the Festival of Lights on the Square. Of course we couldn't move more than a foot an hour (not really, but that's what it felt like) for all the people coming to talk to Benjamin. It was all good though. We enjoyed seeing everyone again. Once again Benjamin enjoyed driving on the open street and weaving in and out of people.

The rest of the holiday break was spent just hanging out with all our friends and family. We had such a good time being at home. Bummer we have to leave. The Daniels left today to go back to Gainesville and then I'll be leaving tomorrow.

You will be hearing from me more. I left my camera in Gainesville so I wasn't able to take any pictures of us over the break. (I'm very mad at myself) I put some kind of recent ones. Hope everyone had a Great Thanksgiving!!!!!!

Gainesville is going very nicely. There is no Internet in the apartment so I'm not able to keep up my blog like I would want to. At the moment I'm at a nice little coffee shop a couple of miles from our apartment using their wi fi. Everything as been going good so far. The apartment is nice and roomy. Benjamin is able to move around nicely. He has left some nice marks and taken off some of the wall and door frames but for the most part he's able to get around. Our apartment is located on like the outside of Riverside Military Academy so we don't have much interaction with the "militarians" (as I like to call them). It doesn't feel like we live at military academy to me.
Benjamin and Mrs.Sherri have started therapy. So far they go twice a week. We've been once, it's a nice place and Benjamin likes his therapists. We don't have a handicap accessible van for Benjamin to ride in so we have to call the Red Rabbit. Red Rabbit is a public bus service for the handicap. They are nice. The only problem is you have to call 48 hrs ahead and none of us are planners. We are hoping to call tomorrow and make plans to go to the mall and on a movie date this weekend.
For the most part we just chillax all day. I can't think of anything interesting to write about. Nothing interesting has been happening.