Slings and Arrows

This week Dr. Mayer observed that Will has put a buffer around himself to protect himself from the "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune"* and that have continued to plague him. He suggested he needs to "take up arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing, end them." Meaning, he would like to see a little more fire in the belly.

His recommendation to achieve this fire was that we as his friends and family be as pro-active as possible in engaging him in conversation, games, and other cognitive exercises. We are to be clever too, disguising our therapies so that he doesn't resist them but moves happily from the familiar, to the unfamiliar, from the simple to the complex. He suggested exercises like saying the months of the year forward, then backward, then backward, adding sixes to the ends. To December you add a Zero, to November, a six, and so on until you end up at January with a 66. Will loved it. We recommend it to anyone wanting a quick little brain work-out.

It is our hope that success in these and other areas of cognitive recall, will have the same effect as his successes in the physical realm of climbing up to Angel’s Landing in Zion’s National Park and wading through Zion’s Narrows. Such natural highs appear to be the keys to his continued recovery.

As for the "slings and arrows?"
*The bike shop lost his bike and all the records relating to it.
His mom put his cell phone through the wash. (Needless to say it is now toast.)
He has come down with a very infectious rash called Molluscum Contageiosum. (A rash similar to Chicken Pox for which there is no vaccine.)
Otherwise things are going well.

Dr. Gregory Mayer

Tuesday afternoon Will and I went to Ogden to have Will’s second visit with the neuro-psychologist, Dr. Gregory Mayer. Will went in alone and then I went in after he did. Will discovered that Dr. Mayer is from Bountiful and Dr. Mayer discovered that Will loved to play with Transformers when he was little. He thought it would be highly commendable if Will would participate in things like the triathlon and working as a volunteer at a free medical clinic. Dr. Mayer encouraged Will to talk on the phone as much as possible. Will's phone service has been restored, so those of you who would like to talk to him, can reach him at his old phone number. Though speech is the top priority, Will's continued participation in physical and occupational therapies were encouraged. Dr. Mayer said Will could develop new neurological pathways by repetition, like working out with a Hacky Sack or practicing the piano.

Dr. Mayer said neuro-psyche exams, which he did his dissertation on, are fairly good predictors of one’s capabilities for future success, but not always. Just like SAT and ACT scores used to be looked at along with GPA’s to predict success in college, now they are looking at other things like leadership, verbal skills, community service, etc. He wants us as a family to commend Will on any progress we note, like if he initiates activities such as mowing the lawns or taking out the trash without being asked. I thought those were great suggestions.

Will acknowledges that he is constantly thinking about the stroke and the impact that it has had on his life. He is very aware that life as he knew it has pretty much been put on hold and the support that he is receiving from others is critical to picking up that life and going forward with it.

He participates willingly in therapies which we have initiated such as going to the temple, studying his medical texts, swimming, doing spring cleaning, writing in his journal, reading and commenting on scriptures, and doing jigsaw puzzles. The visit with Dr. Mayer was very pleasant. He seems to be of a mind to let things unfold as they will and to enjoy the journey along the way.

Call for help to Columbus friends

We took Will's bike in to the shop for a major tune-up to get ready for the triathlon. Now the shop can't find it. Even though Will's sisters and dad have handled it, they are pretty vague on its description. This is the second bike Will owned in Columbus and his current memories are focused on the first bike he owned there, so he's not able to give as much help as we'd like.

So if any of you have a picture of Will's second bike--we're pretty sure it has a gray frame and shocks on the front wheel--please send it to us. If you have a picture of a black Schwinn mountain bike, thanks anyway, but that's the one we don't need.

Triathlon Training

Will has decided to do a triathlon in August. He was going to do a half-triathlon Saturday, but it rained cats and dogs, so he skipped the swim and the bike ride and just ran the 5K.

Summer is his coach and made the key decisions.