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.

The Daniels had a successful move to Gainesville yesterday. Benjamin's therapy ended Wednesday and they spent yesterday packing and then moved late that afternoon. Mr.Greg rented a handicapped van for the day. Benjamin likes the apartment. He said it's spaced out and he's pretty sure I will like it too. Space is very appealing to me. He'll start therapy at a place called Regain Tuesday.

Yesterday morning Benjamin and I woke up, got dressed and headed down to the therapy gym. The pillow case contraption one of the therapists rigged to help him drive had been messed up so he asked me to drive. I jumped in his lap and took off happy to get to drive. I, of course, drove it full speed and made race car noises down the hall. As we neared the elevator I decided not to slow down and make a smooth swoop into the elevator. This would have been impressive if I had cleared the elevator door........however, I did not. My foot that was sitting on top of the front wheel was smashed between the wall and the death machine (otherwise known as a wheelchair). Pretty embarrassed by my graceful display of skill I quietly drove into the elevator. By the time we got to the 3rd floor tears were starting to come from the pain in my foot. I slipped of my sandal and it was already swollen. We headed back to the room and by then it was swollen even more and looked like a Cheeto puff was under my skin. When I stood on it to unlock the door it hurt SO bad......I proceeded to panic hysterically.
I telephoned my mom, who called Sara to come see about me. LUCKILY it just so happened to be the day my grandparents were coming to Atlanta so I called them to please make haste. I laid down and propped my foot on Benjamin's death machine. After a little while John Mark took him to therapy and I continued to lay there until Sara came. She held ice on it and we contemplated on what to do......blah blah.....my grandparents came and my foot was blue....blah blah....I decided that I could wait to get an x-ray and just tried not to walk on it.
Benjamin got back from therapy. He is able to drive his chair now but he sits hunched over. When he first got his chair he was sitting hunched over so they put this foam block behind him that pushed his back so he could sit straight. However, those were what was making it so he couldn't drive so they had to remove them and nobody can do something that will make him sit upright. He hates it. He's very frustrated about it. Hopefully someone in Gainesville will know a trick.
During his therapy sessions they just worked on loosening his shoulder muscles so they aren't so painful.
Chadwick arrived for a surprise visit. Benjamin was happy about that. My grandparents had to leave and I continued to sit there all afternoon. By 7 I was miserable and wanted my mom. So I talked to Benjamin, packed my things and headed home. Benjamin wasn't thrilled about me coming home but he said it was ok.
So, I'm typing this from the comfort of my room, bed and nick at nite. My foot still hurt today to walk on it. I hurt like around the last 3 toes and up a little. I can walk if I walk on the side of my foot and big toe. It's not attractive though. If it's not better by Friday or Monday I'm going to go get an x-ray. But for now I'm just chillaxing.
I've talked to Benjamin and they have been packing stuff up and getting things figured out for tomorrow. Chadwick stayed and will be going with them to Gainesville. I won't be going to Gainesville until at least Monday. Bo is coming home for the weekend and I want to see him. Hopefully my foot will be ok by then. I'm not happy about my current injury.

We had a good weekend (our last weekend at Shepherds, whoop whoop). Friday my family (my mom, Bee-beep, Pop pop, Hayes) came up for a visit. I went and stayed with them at Sara's. It was nice to go to sleep and wake up naturally. Mr.Greg came and took Mrs.Sherri back to Gainesville for the weekend. So it was just John Mark and Benjamin for the night. Wes joined and hung out, they had a good time. Stayed up until about 3 and then didn't wake up until about 3 Saturday afternoon.

While they were sleeping on Saturday I was hanging out with my family. We went to breakfast, Betsy and Dan's and then did a little shopping...mostly just window shopping. Then we went back to the Shepherds apartment, hung out with Benjamin and John Mark and ordered pizza. Sadly my family soon departed.....we continued to chillaxed. I woke up Sunday at 12. Benjamin and John Mark didn't wake up until about 2:30. So for that 2 hrs and 30 min everyone was quiet and I was alone in the living room/kitchen with the T.V. all to myself.........there are no appropriate words to express how wonderful those 2 1/2 hours were......no words. I made some coffee, spent some time with God, had leftover pizza for breakfast and then watched Nickelodeon. I don't think I'll ever forget those 2 1/2 hours of peace in Leah Land. Then Benjamin woke up and we had breakfast in bed until I was forced to physically exert myself and get him up and dressed. We did nothing Sunday. I never got out of my pajamas until we made a trip to CVS that night. Which was fun with Benjamin's new chair. It flies! I got a bit chilly, felt like I was on a sleigh ride. I can definitely live with these new means of transportation.

Then 7 o'clock Monday morning came. Actually it was supposed to be 7 o'clock but I overslept so it was more like 8:30 Monday morning. Tomato, tomado. I got to drive Benjamin's chair super fast speed and make race car noises down the halls though. (He still wasn't able to drive his chair this weekend. That didn't make him to happy, pretty frustrated actually. I enjoy sitting in his lap and driving.)

This morning he had shoulder exercises, stretching on the mat with me, more shoulder strengthening, lunch/practice feeding and then PT. During his PT his therapist showed me how to transfer him using a sliding board. That's where I slide a board under him and the choice of seating, lean him forward so he's leaning on my shoulder and slide him over. It sounds like it should be easy but it's not. Paralyzed people are not easy to slide. But if the Hoyer breaks we have an alternative.

Benjamin's chair guy never showed. However, his brilliant therapist was able to create an alternative. She just simply tied a rolled up pillowcase to the arm rest and side of his chair in such a way that the rolled fabric blocked Benjamin's elbow and he was able to drive his chair. If only we would've thought of creatively brainstorming the problem ourselves instead of waiting for the logical chair man. So, now Benjamin has been able independently maneuver himself around and about.

Since then we have been chillaxing in the apartment. Wes came over for a little bit but besides that nothing as happened. It's been rainy. Rain seems to be the ultimate unmotivator for us. So, here we sit.

Today marks one week until we leave!!
I got Benjamin up and dressed all by myself again this morning. He had PT first. She massaged his shoulders and did some soft tissue shoulder strengthening. His therapists said Benjamin has the tightest shoulders they've ever seen....but they can only get better from here so it's all good.
He had OT and she showed me how to e-stim his shoulders. Then a black slick and shiny new chair introduced itself to us as Benjamin's new wheelchair. It's very new and pretty. We sat for the next 3 hours while the wheelchair man adjusted everything. We were excited about the new chair but it was a long 3 hours. The man got everything pretty much situated except he has to put an elbow block on the left arm rest. His arm keeps slipping back so he's had a little bit of trouble driving. That's supposed to get done sometime this week.
Afterwards he had massage therapy for his shoulders. He enjoyed that but he says they still hurt. We came back to the apartment and our friend, from Albany, Sara and her friend Ashley came for a visit. They were going to a concert tonight and came early to hang out. That was fun, we enjoyed company besides ourselves.
We have just been chillaxing since then. Wes just got here and we're still chilling. I posted some pictures earlier.

Here are some recent photos.....

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All of us after Benjamin's graduation. From left Lisa (favorite nurse friend), me (awesome), John Mark (middle brother), Natalie (Wes's wife), Wes (oldest brother), Luke (Wes and Natalie's son), Mr.Greg (dad) and then at the bottom Mrs.Sherri (mom) and Benjamin.

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The graduate

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One of the pet therapy dogs

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Benjamin and John Mark strolling down the hospital hall

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Moving day

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Thanks for wigs Ben Scurry family!! We had fun!

Hello and welcome to our blog! If you are not already aware I've been keeping the interested public informed on Benjamin's progress and what we have been up too by sending out a daily e-mail. However, we have now made the decision to become bloggers. Indeed, we will now be posting updates to the cyber world via blog. Here is the first.....

Well, today wasn't that interesting. We woke up and had some breakfast and then for the first time in history I got Benjamin dressed, stretched and in his chair all by myself. Indeed I did. John Mark is always willing to help but I decided I wouldn't wake him and try it solo. It was smooth sailing.

We made our way to the third floor gym for his PT. During therapy they worked on loosening his very tight and discomforting shoulder muscles. After Benjamin, me and his OT trotted down to the social eating area, also known as a cafeteria, for some lunch/Benjamin's feeding workout. Also for the first time in history (post Benjamin's "bamboozle") he completed feeding himself a bite of food all by himself. I think about 3 were an independent success. He was using his mobile arm support but that's all for assistance.

Benjamin had soft tissue shoulder stregthening exercises next. He went and stregthened. Following that we were forced to attend an Advanced Bladder Education class.....cause I guess the two other 1 hour long classes about the bladder were just warm-ups. It was the SAME information. We are well acquainted with the bladder.

Since then we have just been chillaxing in the apartment. Benjamin is expecting to get his new chair tomorrow. This one will be custom fit to his body and will be HIS chair. He is still using the hand drive and getting better at it everyday. Everything is going well with his body besides a pesky pressure sore on his heel. Every time we think it has scabbed over it reopens again. Other than that everything is looking good. Wounds are healed, putting Merderma on the fresh scars, voice is getting louder, lungs are clear, been about a week since the last time we had to cough him, is able to cough some of it out himself and has a good appetite.