Joey is smiling big in the pic below which was taken on Friday when he received one of his new hands. He has great control I am told by the therapist; however, he is limited to the time of useage because the devise fits tightly and may cause a skin breakdown (sore) which would slow the progress of usage. Thus he has to rest his arm and check it frequently for signs of bruising or sores. The pic blow shows his excitement and the other soldier, Dean, is a Special Force soldier who was injured 2 days before returning home while he was unpacking his backpact and one of the devices exploded in his hand.
This weekend was filled with fun for Joey and Jayme. Friday night,they were shuttled, along with other soldiers, to a restaurant in Washington called Fran O'Briens to eat a free steak dinner. The pic shows them all dressed and leaving to catch the shuttle. Saturday, we drove in my car to Rockville to Circuit City where they bought a printer for the computer and cell phones and a digital video camera to take movies of Joey's therapy progress.
Sunday we were taken to lunch in Georgetown by two wonderful families from Quantico, Va. who have been visiting us often and bringing Joey lots of goodies. We had two other wounded soldiers to come along with us and the Italian food was great.
Before leaving for lunch, we were in the lobby of the Mologne House and a lady named Peggy Baker with Operation First Response was introduced to Joey. She said that she had a nurse friend in Germany named Carolyn who asked her to locate Joey and let her know how he is doing. Peggy had to take a photograph of Joey to send to Carolyn. Then she said the most touching statements; "Carolyn said Joey had touched her heart in a special way." Joey replied, "Oh, she was the nurse who gave me ice chips and got in trouble." Peggy also said there was a chaplain who slept on a cot by Joey's beside for 3 days and nights and didn't leave him while he was in Germany. I asked her for their names and a way of contact to tell them how much I appreciate what they did for my son. God bless people like them.
Tomorrow, Monday, Jayme starts her internship at Bethesday and must leave at 5:30 a.m. I will walk from the Mologne House to the hospital at 8 a.m. to get Joey ready for therapy by 10 a.m. Keep praying for his therapy as it is very painful. God bless you too.
Love,
Gail, Joey, and Jayme
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