Things Garren Says

I've mentioned it before, but it just continues to blow me away. Garren is so positive. He has handled this whole AVM brain injury with such strength and maturity. And sometimes he says the funniest things! Here's some to make you laugh:

A couple of months ago, as we were gathering around the dinner table for a rare but welcome family dinner time together, Garren announced to us: "So, since I haven't been able to eat, I've had a lot of opportunity to watch you all, and I've learned some things about the way you eat. Dad, you eat fast, and you don't talk. Kelsey, you talk, and eat very slow. Kara, you separate all of your food, and you don't let anything touch. And Mom takes little bites."

Because he cannot swallow, Garren has to be fed a special liquid diet. It's called "1.5 Cal." So when we eat, he has a lot of time to sit and watch. The other day Nancy said something about feeling bad when she eats in front of Garren. She said it felt rude. At the time she said it, she was feeding Garren, and Kelsey was in the room. Garren looked up at Kelsey and said, "Kelsey, I'm sorry I'm eating in front of you!"

At school, Garren was supposed to write a short essay about his family. He told his assistant he needed some help. He wasn't sure what to write about. She said "Why don't you write about something going on with your family?" He thought for a minute, then said "Well, I had an AVM, my little sister is getting her tonsils out, my older sister is having headaches, my dad is having a problem with his eye, and my mom, well, she's just stressed!"

The other night Garren and Nancy were getting ready to play a game of Sorry. Nancy said "Go ahead Garren, youth before beauty." Garren looked up and said "Are you not playing?"

About a week ago I was cutting the grass. Garren and Nancy came driving home from one of his daily therapy trips. When he looked up and saw me pushing the lawn mower through the yard, he said to Nancy, "I love my AVM!" What a teenage boy will do to get out of cutting the grass!

I could go on. I'll try to share more of these stories in the future. Here's one more thing Garren said the other day. He and Nancy were talking to one of the nurses. She had had a stroke a couple of years back, and they were swapping brain injury recovery stories. Garren said "I'm glad my bleed happened where it did." Nancy asked him what he meant. He went on to say that he was glad that his personality, sense of humor and cognitive abilities were not affected. Though faced with serious limitations for now, he continues to have an amazingly positive outlook.

Thanks for all your continued prayers!