An update

Ben was released from the hospital today. While pretty much stable and his old self, he still has no short-term memory, and the likelihood of similar events recurring lurk.

But he is home, with us. A happy day!

It’s been a wild ride from that first day of trauma enshrouded in so many unknowns, to discoveries of other medical conditions with unknown consequences, to this discharge today...again blanketed in unknowns.

But this we do know. We are scared and sad, yes, for what may come next, but we have hope and gratitude. Many of you have prayed for a miracle of healing. And while this event did have many miracles wrapped into it, the ultimate healing miracle is still to come, maybe in heaven. We have hope in that belief and gratitude in everyday miracles.

Every day of Ben’s 31 years has been pretty miraculous, right?! That malformed, worn out heart of his just keeps purring along, against all odds, inside an extraordinarily kind and gentle human. For instance, every time a nurse or healthcare worker came in to give him medicine, change his bedside commode, help him shower, or poke him for the millionth time, he always said “Thank you.” Even with his brain injury, his sweetness persists. Notice the little things.

We want to thank you for such an incredible outpouring of love for our family. And I guess this is what I want to say...look for all evidence of love and gratitude in your own life and embrace it. Say thank you, like Ben did, for the little acts of kindness and grateful for the huge blessings we all enjoy in our lives.

We are content with the unknowns going forward. We will research and gather his medical teams together and discuss every option left. But our job, as it’s been from the day we brought him home from the hospital some thirty years ago, is to make Ben’s life comfortable and happy. It’s not a bad job, normally. Just really, really hard at times...like these last weeks.

As one of my favorite philosophers has said “ Your great mistake is to act the drama as if you are alone...Put down the weight of your aloneness. And ease into the conversation.”

The conversation he speaks of is Life and all the beauty in it. You have all joined us during this time, and allowed the weight of this drama, the aloneness we often times feel bearing it, to be lifted. As we ease back into “normal” life, we will keep our eyes and hearts open to the everyday miracles of our lives. We hope you will to.

Susan JohnsonComment