July 9th, 2010

Time has flown by since we got home on May 6th, the day before Bryce's 21st birthday. We had a small family gathering that day, and began the arduous process of unpacking to settle into our terrific new home at The Taft School. Taft took a carriage house, located just behind our former house, and renovated the upstairs apartment and the existing three car garage into a phenomenal single-family home that is....handicap accessible! It is hard to believe that a garage could look anything like what we have now. Bryce's bedroom and bathroom, and a one-room kitchen and living room concept are on the first floor, and a two bedroom, two bath, den and office are upstairs. Taft's headmaster, Willy MacMullen, Chris Torino, the Dean of Faculty, and Jim Shepard, manager of the buildings and grounds of Taft deserve special thanks for helping Bryce and our family to move forward with the help that we need. Also, Kevin Conroy, my wonderful friend, had to move out of the carriage house so that we could move in. He was ever the gentleman about this! Bryce has an incredible well of patience, and I cannot tell you how many days are spent waiting for van rides to therapy at the Hospital for Special Care in New Britain, CT or dealing with autonomic dysreflexia. This last thing is a reaction to something that is wrong in the paralyzed part of one's body. Since Bryce cannot feel there, the reactions include high blood pressure and sweats. When those signals come, it becomes a mad dash to figure out what is wrong in time to have the blood pressure lower and some degree of normalcy to ensue. We have been making plans for Bryce to pursue his degree once more and to find new ways to compose with a keyboard and computer software or to play a lap steel guitar, which I am ordering for him with the money that I made in grading the AP Lit exams in Kentucky. We do not know if Bryce can play this with a slide and a special pick, but it is worth a try. TJ Thompson, a music teacher at Taft, has been coming over to help Bryce with computer software music programming. Bryce is taking an online course on the Government and Politics of Latin America at Central Connecticut State College, and he hopes to have these credits transferred to Colorado College - he is enrolled there full time in September. Bryce's Taft and CC friends continue to sustain him, and they visit frequently along with Grandma, Aunt Leslie, and cousins. Bryce continues with his calm demeanor of determination and understanding. We have a couple of fundraisers coming up - July 31st, Brookfield Class of '78 is throwing a 50th birthday bash for the class and a fundraiser for Bryce called "Brookstock" in the mode of Woodstock with five bands and other special guests along with a bring your own picnic party. Then on October 12th, there will be a golf tournament at the Watertown Club for Bryce. We are so grateful for this support since we need to buy a handicap van and other adaptive devices to make Bryce's life easier. Thank you to our friends who continue to support us, to my sister, brothers, and Mom who are always ready to help with the daily needs Bryce has, to Keefe who has stepped up to the plate in every way, to Cara who is our resident financial and logical mind, and to Bryce who teaches me every day. There is something truly otherworldly and eternal about someone who can see past the mundane silliness, the petty mediocrity that keeps us self-absorbed. In Bryce's giving heart and almost preternatural calm, we have, as his brother Keefe often states, our family hero. - Bryce's Mom