I have always been struck by John Steinbeck’s attention to detail in chronicling the slow, ponderous, steady movement of the land turtle in his classic novel, The Grapes of Wrath. I’m no Steinbeck scholar, but I think the turtle serves as a metaphor or analogy of the migrant workers making their way from Oklahoma to California during the Dust Bowl period of the 1930s. The migrants faced many obstacles and hurdles, but they kept moving. Slow going, but incredibly resilient.... Read more

Yesterday, I fell asleep by my son Christopher’s bedside. He was resting so peacefully with his head facing the window in his room at his adult rehabilitative care facility. Last Wednesday’s baclofen pump surgery was successful.* Christopher’s peacefulness and restfulness rubbed off on me, as does the sense that he and I have an “Abba” Father in heaven. We already see a dramatic reduction of contractions and apparent relief from pain following the surgery. I cannot comprehend all that Christopher... Read more

My son Christopher, who suffers from TBI, received a baclofen injection called a lumbar puncture or spinal tap on Thursday of this past week. What’s baclofen? According to one site, “Baclofen is in a class of medications called skeletal muscle relaxants. Baclofen acts on the spinal cord nerves and decreases the number and severity of muscle spasms caused by multiple sclerosis or spinal cord conditions. It also relieves pain and improves muscle movement.”* The aim of the procedure in Christopher’s... Read more

My wife and I had to get a COVID test on Wednesday because of exposure to someone with COVID last weekend. As a result, Mother’s Day was the last time I visited my son Christopher at his care facility for nearly a week. That was hard. Still, it was encouraging to receive negative COVID test results several days later. It’s not always the case one can find positives in a negative test, or in Christopher adversity and arduous struggle following... Read more

I have been thinking quite a bit about secure attachments these days. My wife Mariko and I regularly visit our adult son Christopher at his rehabilitative care facility. In fact, she visited him last night, the eve of Mother’s Day. For those of you who don’t know, Christopher is minimally conscious after enduring a traumatic brain injury in January 2021. It touches my heart when my wife shares with me after her visits how Christopher responds to her presence when... Read more

That Led Zeppelin song “Communication Breakdown” is playing in my head as I write this post today. It’s hard to communicate or write anything when that hard-driving tune with Robert Plant screaming at the top of his lungs is blasting in my brain. If only Zeppelin had written a softer, melodic song titled “Communication Rebuild” with Jimmy Paige playing his mandolin or twelve-string acoustic guitar. After all, that’s what’s going on with my son Christopher, as he ever so slowly... Read more

I am thinking of dying my hair red after talking with Christopher’s nurse this week. As you will see shortly, our conversation inspired me. It couldn’t hurt to dye my hair red or blue or green. After all, gray—or shall I say “silver”—hairs have been popping up on my head since my son’s traumatic brain injury early last year. The dyed hair may even help to stimulate Christopher’s brain activity during our visits. Christopher’s nurse told me that she and... Read more

Eastertide can help me turn the tide of negative emotions and circumstances. And yet, it is so easy to forget Eastertide when waves rise, and troubles abound. Last Sunday, I celebrated Easter. And yet, troubles and turbulent waves of emotion rose this past week in view of the relentless aftermath of my son Christopher’s traumatic brain injury. Friday and Saturday were horrible. The way I responded at times was as if, Jesus rose from the grave on Easter Sunday only... Read more

Easter Sunday is here. It couldn’t come at a better time. The past week brought stormy winter weather that broke scores of tree branches and closed schools in my region. It also brought death to one resident at my son Christopher’s rehabilitative care facility on Good Friday, the day commemorating Jesus’ death. I was nearing the entrance to the facility when two people bore the body covered from head to foot out the front door on a stretcher. One of the... Read more

Today is Good Friday, which recounts Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross. I cannot imagine the depths of pain Jesus experienced. Nor can I really comprehend the pain many people throughout the world experience today, including the pain my family and I endure. I have been thinking a lot about pain the past several days in view of Jesus’ passion on Good Friday and my son Christopher’s ongoing suffering resulting from his traumatic brain injury. It has led me... Read more