vicariously chris

Chris was a little down yesterday..but it was raining and grey. He did get moved by a window while I was there so hopefully that will cheer him up a little.

Sorry for the lull in reporting about his condition but I had been vacationing and to be honest I was a little nervous about having been away but Chris seemed forgiving.

I listened to him discuss his feelings of imprisonment and looked for clues about his current frame of mind. There were no signs of delusion or confusion..just an understandable longing to go home and be with his kids. His brief compilation of recent events was very touching and made it tough to try and maintain a brave front. There was a sadness in his eyes and all I could offer was a hug and some light hearted banter.

I asked him how the therapy was going and with a concentrated effort Chris raised his right arm for me. After getting him in a chair we took off and went exploring...we stopped at various spots and discussed the News of the day but truth be told he still doesn't seem to want to read anything.

Chris has a phone by his bed and I am conferring with his family about making his new phone number available. I told Chris that I was collecting numbers and that he should call people... but he seems overtly self conscious and hesitant. I tried to convince him that there were a lot of old friends who just want to say HI and chat for a few minutes.

Now the concern is that if everybody called at once or his phone rings off the hook for a few days it might totally overwhelm him... so ideally some sort of logistical procedure needs to be in place..at least in the beginning..but I don't know how to organise that.

I'm inclined to just let the "Force" work that out.

Now he also has his laptop however operating it will take a little time. Obviously this will be a fantastic way for everyone to communicate with Chris and it will allow him to respond on his terms. He would feel a sense of accomplishment and some control over his environment which would be a huge boost.
Hopefully he will agree to work on rediscovering his cyber self but again I don't know whether we are supposed to wait for him to feel ready or just go-for-it and make it happen?

All of his sibs understand that hearing and seeing others would greatly lift his spirits and encourage him. We also know that he is quite concerned about how he presents himself and this seems to dampen his desire to meet & greet others.

You will soon make your own evaluations but as I reminded him, a few weeks ago we were happy to see his eyes open! I am betting that once he gets a few short calls under his belt and then a few brief visits, that he will realise that everyone just wants to be there for him. He doesn't need to worry about how he sounds or comes across.

Sometime this week I hope to be able to release his number and hopefully, somehow, Chris will not be overwhelmed and innundated with a flurry of calls.
Chris needs as much encouragement as possible to catch the next wave and keep on keepin' on.