Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Has it really been a year?!!

I can't believe I haven't written in a full year!  Things have been so busy for me.  Not only am I taking care of Kevin, but I am running 2 successful businesses.  I have just sold one and as of June 1, things will hopefully be more manageable. 

Anyway, you all know it's that week, right?  The dreaded Alive Day week.  I admit I'm crying while writing this, but I am going to only focus on the good things during this post.

So I took Kevin, my mom (who now lives in Texas - YAY!), Breezy, Chris, Christian, Kevin's friend Austin and Moe to Jamaica a few weeks ago for a belated family Christmas gift.  Kevin has been saying the word "Jamaica" for a couple of years now so I figured "why not?".  We had a really great time and Kevin went snorkeling and... (watch video below and please excuse the shakiness - I was standing up in the boat)



Yep - he even went PARASAILING!!!!!!  He had a blast.  I was scared to death to let him do it, but I will not allow my fears to hold him back.  It was tough though.  Kevin has put on quite a bit of weight and it took 3 strong guys to get him onto the deck of the boat to be lifted into the air.

He does want to go back to the lovely Jamaica too, but only because his sister wouldn't allow him to cliff jump into the water at Rick's Cafe (I stayed at the resort with Christian).  Maybe someday...

And here is a pic of a character cruise we went on - it will show how great Kevin is looking:



Other than that, we haven't done too much this year.  We did go to the rodeo and that was fun! Neither of us are into country music so the Tim McGraw concert part was kinda funny for us to be at.

So we went to BAMC today to get a new leg brace.  It didn't go well.  Kevin has a really hard time walking nowadays, but unfortunately, the bad habits have been set in stone.  The new brace won't allow him to walk incorrectly so it's going to take some adjusting for him.  He was really upset when we left and I pulled the ortho guy and his therapist aside and told them I would work on him accepting it over the next week.  Wish me luck.

Kevin has also started bowling.  He just got home with his aide and is now ensconced in his room.  I love that he is trying to be more active, but he is in so much pain right now from his leg that I often wonder if it's worth it.  He does swim though and that doesn't hurt him.  We put a pool in late last summer and that is excellent exercise for him!

Well, my boy is calling me so I guess I better wrap this up.  Thanks y'all, for making me feel better!

10 comments:

Jeff said...

Leslie,
It's so good to read your post. Good to read you are all doing well. In three more days it will be 6 years for Kevin and he has come such a long way.Kevin has done very well. Kevin looks really well and happy and I am happy for him.
Maybe you are comming for Riverfest and I hope to see you all.
God Bless,
Jeff Bernstein

Martha K said...

Hi Leslie so good to hear from you again missed you but see you have your hands full your trip sounds full of fun think of you & family often praying things are well for you & blessings keep coming to you take care THANKS for the post Martha K

Wife of a Wounded Soldier said...

I am so glad to see that you blogged. I've wondered how you are often.

Rich (old BAMC volunteer) said...

I am so proud of you Leslie. Really proud.

...Rich

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the update. I keep coming back to see how Kevin is doing so it is appreciated!

Miss Em said...

So glad to see/hear how Kevin and you are doing.
Glad to hear that you have found a couple of ways to make a living. I knew that once Kevin had made so much in improvements and desires of doing it myself that you would not be down and out for long.
Congrats on all your's and Kevin's success.

Anonymous said...

Hi Les, thanks for the update. I just dropped in to see how Kevin is doing. Lookin' good! Take care and maybe we'll hook up again sometime. Keep drivin' on!
Airborne!
Butch

Kris said...

Hi Kevin, Leslie and Family,

Just stopping by to let you know that you are in my thoughts and my prayers in a very special way on this Veteran's Day. Thank you so very much for your service, and for all that you have done, given, sacrificed and continue to sacrifice for all of us out here. There are no words to adequately express how thankful I am for everything.

I hope that Kevin continues to do better and better every day, and that you do too! I hope that your business(es??) are doing well. You soooooo deserve for that to go well and do something for yourself!

Missing the blog updates, but that's a sign that things are going much better with Kev. Little Christian must be getting so big!!! What a cutie!!

Kind regards and hugs hugs from Rhode Island.

- Kris, a Soldiers' Angel

Unknown said...

Thinking about you today I hope all is well!

Miss Em said...

Hope all are well and things are better than ever.