Mariah’s Reemergence

Occupational therapy is where a person masters some of the many routine things most of us do every day without much thought: washing and drying our face and hands, and brushing our hair for example. Here’s a glimpse of Mariah hard at work. (Click to enlarge.)

The VA – compliments of angels Zachary and Elizabeth Fisher – makes sure that Mariah’s mom, brother, and I are comfortable and close by when we’re in Richmond so we can focus on helping Mariah reemerge. This is the recently opened Fisher House where families can stay on the hospital grounds for extended periods.

Fisher House family residence. (McGuire VAMC, 7/24/08)

At the end of the day, Mariah and I watched Jeopardy without the sound. Our comic responses to the answers got us laughing so hard the nurse came in to see what was right. Her throaty, breathy laughter is about the sweetest sound imaginable.

Shortly before leaving for the night, she looked carefully at pictures of her stored on my camera. She appeared especially thoughtful on the shots where she looked happy after some accomplishment. Many of you know that Mariah strives for perfection. Reemerging is requiring lots of stops along the way that sometimes appear to frustrate Mariah. This time, she nodded when asked whether she’s taking pleasure from small successes.

Still Army strong.

– Mark