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Wednesday Update: 07/19/06

Well, we survived our anniversary apart. It sucked…but we survived. It was hard not being together…hard thinking about the significance of the date and how much our lives have changed since then. I have a picture on my desk of Matt and I. It was taken the night we got engaged…just minutes after he proposed we took our own picture. That was nine years ago today, July 19th. This whole week is just difficult for me. I’m glad that I’m leaving to visit my parents in Texas tomorrow to get away from things…but it will be hard not seeing Matt for 12 days and having our anniversary in the middle there. I keep telling myself it’ll be better next year. This year is just a wash.

On a more positive note…Matt has been doing great. His therapies continue to be challenging and effective. His walking is improving and he’s really working hard on his speech as well. He’s getting involved in a few small groups and getting to know a few people around the campus. Tonight he’s getting together with a group to watch a movie and have ice cream…he said the promise of ice cream really ‘sealed the deal’ for him! On Monday, he went and listened to a woman speak on campus. She suffered a brain hemorrhage resulting from an AVM. She wrote a book about her recovery and was there talking about it. He said she was interesting to listen to and wants to read her book. Her experience was different than his, but he’s always interested in hearing from other people who have recovered from different brain injuries. We have discovered through this experience though, that Matt is really an unusual case. There are so many different kinds of brain injuries, resulting in many different impairments. However, he hasn’t come in to contact with many people who are the same inside with only physical problems to overcome. This frustrates him, because he’d like to have someone who could really relate to him…but on the other hand, I think it makes him feel grateful that his intellect and personality were not affected by the hemorrhage.

Last weekend we had another good visit. It doesn’t really matter what we do, we’re just so happy to be together. We went to the Old Market, downtown and wandered around the Omaha farmer’s market. We did a little shopping, had a few treats, and I checked out the plants and goods. The farmer’s market wasn’t too bad…but it doesn’t even COMPARE to the one here in Des Moines! But it was bigger than the one in Austin, TX! It was pretty hot, so we didn’t stay out too long. We ate lunch down there and then went back to the hotel. We’ve figured out that spending Saturday afternoons/evenings in the hotel together is really the best! We can have total privacy and just enjoy being together without any other responsibilities…just each other. We grab dinner in the room and just veg out on the bed snuggled up watching TV or napping…we’ve decided this is what we’ll do every Saturday we can!!

We continue to look towards the future and pray for better and brighter days ahead. In the mean time, Matt is working so hard…SO hard and I am so proud of him!

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