Sun 8/22: Gerry goes home (for a few hours)

From Gina:

I think it went really well today for Gerry. He did get tired and moody at times, but we've got to expect that. It was a lot of stimulation, and he's just not used to it yet. I brought Mexican food over, which he loved, and then when we brought him back we went out to dinner at Farmer Boys across from Casa Colina. He loved that, too.

Lori and I talked about how just being at home was probably a motivating factor. He didn't want to use the walker at home, but the house is small enough to where he can grab on from thing to thing. Lori let him get up as he pleased to explore or whatever. He looked in the bathroom mirror at his teeth and braces and said "that's ugly". Lori explained we're working on getting insurance to o.k. taking them off. He got very emotional when we left the house, crying a lot, and said "I miss this house". He saw his neighbor for the first time, and recognized him and waved "Hi, Tim", while crying and waving goodbye. On the way back to the hospital, Lori played a gospel CD of Alison Krauss that he really loves, and the songs really touched him as he cried some more. Lori and he were talking back and forth about how he'll probably be able to come home once a week, and it won't be long before he's home for good, and also about how far he's come and that he's not gonna give up and to keep on fightin'.

All this emotion is really good, showing that he remembers his home and understands what he's missing and possibly what has happened to him as well. Lori was encouraged because other than the moments when he got moody, in general he remained very alert until we brought him back, which was after 7pm. It was a long day for him, so to stay that alert was great.