8/28 A laugh a minute

So try to picture this.
Scene 1: Shelley, Stacey and Auburn, July 2, in shock, getting lost at night trying to find the house in Barberton, Chuck in ICU with all kinds of life-support tubes stuffed in his body, not guaranteed to pull through, we girls waking up those first mornings sobbing, organizing, praying and singing around Chuck's bed.

Scene 2: Shelley, Stacey and Auburn, August 28, gathered around Chuck in his speech therapy session at Edwin Shaw, all of us (Chuck above all), laughing so hard we're wiping tears from our eyes.
ST: (points to a baby on a card) What's this?
C: Child
ST: Smaller
C: Little child
ST:Littler. A little...bay--
C: Infant. (General laughter)
ST: (points to a dog on a card) What's this?
C: (definitively) Nose.
We all look. Her finger is square on the dog's nose. Everybody cracks up, especially Chuck. (Guess you had to be there.)

Sure, he still mumbles so we can't always understand him and he has a tendency at the moment to lose his balance when he walks, but you should see him going up and down stairs, whipping plastic rings and billiard balls around, slaloming around obstacles with his walker, and you should just see the way the guy gets everyone smiling and laughing. Everyone. He's winning the whole place over. It's kind of ridiculous. Today I said, "Chuck, I'm actually having fun, are you having some fun." He said, "Yes, this is fun."

Visits from Jean Hamed, Olivia, Marlene Dunsford, Daryl Mangieri and Noel, and Jeff Sheeler. (Jeff and Jean are the only ones who have caught him awake.) Also guest appearances from Lauren and Allie. Lauren took great pride in taking charge of pushing Grandpa Chuck's wheelchair and managing the elevator operations.

I had Family Guy on again and Chuck was watching it without much interest until a talking cow behind a microphone said something about "salad-eating homosexuals" and Chuck got a kick out of that.

It was another altogether fabulous day.