Thanksgiving

Jeff joined the entire family at McRanch for a long Thanksgiving weekend. He prepared his special green bean casserole for dinner, and then led us in our traditional 'prayer' at dinner (an irreverent little song, "Stuff It Up Your Turkey"). During the weekend, Jeff helped Tom investigate some equipment problems and joined Bram on a short hike to mark trees along the Dogwood Path. Jeff was still bothered by leg pains, so that put a damper on some of his activities. But he really enjoyed being with the family, seeing all of his neices and nephews, and visiting with Lisa & Libby (two of Terry's friends).

Jeff wanted to write some words to everyone, but the weekend got away from us before he had the opportunity to do so. All in all, we truly had a Thanksgiving--so thankful Jeffrey was with us and we were all together at the Ranch--and we hope all of you did as well.

November's Big Move

On Thursday the 9th, we moved Jeff to the Touchstone Neurorecovery Center, a 26-acre campus just west of Conroe. Touchstone is dedicated solely to brain injury treatment and rehabilitation. Its goal, whenever possible, is to provide the therapy and training necessary for individuals to live independently.

Touchstone has a structured 5-day program for its residents where they spend time each day learning and practicing skills for 'reintegration.' And therefore, visiting hours are limited -- to late afternoons & evenings. On weekends, they have a variety of field trips and excursions. (If you are interested in more information about Touchstone, use the link at the right to go directly to their website.) A personal benefit of Touchstone is that its Program Director, Lyle Entrekin, is a high school & college friend of Darcy, Tom, and Terry. Small world.

Details and reports on Jeff's orientation to Touchstone and his first experiences there will come shortly. We just wanted to let you know that some truly positive steps forward seem to, at last, be in place!

Field Day

On Saturday, 11/4, Martha & her family picked Jeff up from The Village and took him on a "field trip" to the ranch. Jeff was thrilled to have a change of scenery, and it was a perfect, beautiful day for an excursion! He helped plan the day's meals and helped shop for groceries. At the ranch, he puttered around the house, and enjoyed the view, the weather, & the conversation from the comfort of the porch rocking chair. And to our luck, he even created his own signature marinade for the evening barbecue.

Before leaving, Jeff had a chance to view his website and was again sincerely grateful for the well-wishes from his friends and family, and was happy to pose for new photographs. By day's end, he was clearly tired and in some pain; but his joy at being out for the day saw him through that.

... with Joseph & Joe