Give that man a set of keys!

It's not going to be the Indy 500. Nor will it be Dad screaming at the slow drivers on Chestnut Expressway. However, barring any further complications, the neurologist said Dad can start to try driving again soon. He'll have to keep the car in light traffic areas and have a driving compnaion for a while, but it's a start.

I mean, consider this: Five weeks ago, Dad was basically unconcious. When he was awake, he couldn't move his right leg. When he spoke he often said the wrong words or called family members by the wrong name.

Now, he's walking all around the house. This weekend he paid the bills and visited with some very good friends. Now, he's thinking about driving.

Every time I talk to him, I am more and more amazed.

So...give him a call and say hi. Or, take him for a ride.

It occurs to me...Dad may be more interested in driving a golf cart than a car.

- posted by Otis @ 10:10 AM

 
QUICK UPDATE

Dad is doing very well and making gradual improvements every day. This week should be interesting on the therapy front. He's been out of therapy for a few days, so it will be interesting to see how quickly he gets back in the swing of things.

One thing...if in the past you might stop by the house or give Dad a call, it would probably be a good time to restart. Imagine how bored you would be if you couldn't get out and run around, etc. Dad is about that bored and could probably use the company, even if it is on the phone.

So, pick up a phone. Mom will likely answer, but don't hesitate to ask for Dad. He's able to carry on a conversation and unless you pay very close attention, you likely won't know anything has ever been wrong with him. That is, if you think you might be unfortable talking with him, you won't. You'll be amazed at how much he has recovered already.

Hope everybody had a good Thanksgiving.



- posted by Otis @ 9:32 AM

 
Thanksgiving from the homefront

Below is a letter from my Mom to all of you. Happy Thanksgiving.

---

Dear Family and Friends,
WE ARE HOME!! We want you to know how special each and every one of you are to us. Your countless visits, words of encouragement, warm hugs, and many many prayers have been a constant source of strength for us since our lives changed so quickly Oct. 19th. We are home now with an immeasurable appreciation for life and ALL it has to offer!! Thank you all, for the wonderful, kind, caring individuals you are and for all you've done! This Thanksgiving we'll be giving thanks...for life...John's life, my life(because he is my life) and for all of you, our family and our friends who have earned the right to be our chosen family.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM OUR HEARTS TO YOURS!

We love you all! Jo, John, "the boys and the girls"
- posted by Otis @ 8:57 AM

 
Quick Update

Quickly...

Walking--Long distances, without any kind of assistance (cane, walker, shoulder, etc.). Mom says Dad is only using a walker in parking lots and only because she makes him.

Seeing--The double vision is all but gone. The doctor doesn't believe there will be any future problems.

Reasoning--Within a normal ranges, according to a test Dad took today

Remembering and paying attention--This seems to be Dad's only area of deficit. He's scoring well, but just below normal in therapy tests. This should improve.

Grousing at Mom--Returning to normal more quickly than expected. Today he started telling her what turns to take in the car on the way to the therapists.

That sounds like Dad.
- posted by Otis @ 8:33 PM

 
Where the heart is

Last night Dad slept in his own bed for the first time in more than a month. In talking with him, it seemed like he enjoyed it a great deal.

We'll have more updates on his progress soon.

In the meantime, if you plan to visit, give Mom a call first just to see if Dad is awake and ready to play.


- posted by Otis @ 2:24 PM

 
Taking a stroll

I suppose if you're not a Willis you might find the following statement a little silly. I mean, even some Willi (that's the plural of Willis, by the way) find it a little silly. Nonetheless, it's proven true quite a few times.

Where there is a Willis, there is a way.

Apparently that axiom is among the many things Dad has not forgotten. Today, he applied it to walking.

That's right. Six hundred feet. The length of two football fields. More than one tenth of a mile.

The stubborn sonofagun walked. No cane. No walker. No shoulder on which to hold.

The guy walked.

Today he saw his house for the first time in a month. Tomorrow he moves back in. He'll sleep in his own bed, under a roof he worked his entire life to have over his head.

I've seen Dad do a number of amazing things in the last 31 days. I didn't actually see this free-walking thing happen. I wish I had. Still, the feeling is unexplainable. It's almost as powerful as the grief we all felt in October.

Grief is an odd thing. Some of us hold it in tight. Some of us let it go. I was reminded of that fact yesterday. It was the first time I'd been on a murder scene since I got back to work.

I was in a poor neighborhood. The cops and the reporters were doing their best to think about things other than the two guys inside the little brown house. Those two guys had bullet holes in their heads.

There were other things to occupy our thoughts. Gallows humor, the chief coping mechanism of cops and journalists worldwide, took over.

Someone spotted the dead dog on the front porch of one house. A taxidermist had done a heckuva job on the mutt. Apart from the obvious rigor that had set in many year earlier and the cob webs hanging off its nose, the dog looked like it was alive and alert.

Then, someone else spotted the dozens of plastic spoons, knives, and forks sticking up from a flower bed. While we were sure the homeowner had a purpose for the dirty cutlery, we joked about her planting a plasticware garden for many a picnic lunch come springtime.

It was an odd neighborhood, indeed, made even stranger by the dead people a few yards away.

The jokes, told in whispers near the fringes of the growing crowd, served their purpose. They kept the cops and reporters from going slowly insane. But no joke could stop the growing level of grief in the crowd. The dead guys had big families. Nothing was going to stop the screams. A photographer snapped this picture as the grief came to its climax.



One woman's face turned into a mask of insanity as she screamed. A man collapsed on the ground like a forgotten toy.

As it always has, the sound turned my stomach. It was made even worse this time by knowing I was very close to having those screams escape my mouth a month ago.

Over the course of the past month, Jeff and I talked about whether this experience might help us or hurt us in our jobs. Whether it would make us more sympathetic or make us unable to deal with what we have to see everyday.

The jury is still out on that one.

But one thing is sure: We know how thankful we should be.

And because we know how thankful we should be...we are.

- posted by Otis @ 3:39 PM

 
NEWS FLASH!!

Dateline: Springfield, MO

Sources tell our reporters in the field that John H. Willis will be going home sooner than expected.

According to an informed source (we'll call her "my mom"), the doctors and therapists decided today that Dad should go home five days early.

Mom and Dad are both excited.

Schedule:

Thursday: Therapists visit Mom and Dad's house to check out saefty measures
Friday morning: Doctors do one final CT Scan to check out Dad's melon
Friday afternoon: Dad goes home to sleep in his own bed
Saturday: Dad rests for one day
Sunday: Dad begins intense in-home and outpatient therapy

How about that?
- posted by Otis @ 5:34 PM