Sunday, August 23, 2009
#51, August 23, 2009
Friday was the day that we drove Sean's Hummer to the dealer for lease turn-in. With a couple of signatures, we gave them the keys and they gave us the license plates. That evening Sean told Andrea that he had to drive his car, and Andrea explained that he needed to be able to grab the steering wheel and the shifter to do that, and that both she and he needed to do exercises to strengthen their hands, and he seemed satisfied with that. As always, thanks for your good thoughts and prayers. Sean's progress is slow but steady, with more strength returning to his hands and legs. We'll update you as he progresses.
Posted by Paul and Andrea Knott at 10:37 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Personally, this was a hard day for all of us as we didn't know if Sean #1 fully understood that we were turning his H3 back in and #2 because it was such a thing for Sean when he got it. After driving Hummers (the original H1s I guess) in the Air Force and realizing they were one of the few heavy-duty trucks he could comfortably fit in, which is a major feet for someone 7 feet tall. (He has issues with head clearance in my CRV so I angle the seat for him). He seriously thought about getting a H2 and so for his 32nd? birthday, rented one for his birthday weekend. It was fully decked out with heated leather seats in the back, and mom & dad enjoyed riding in it on the way back up to Denver to turn back in. When Sean was still stationed in Virginia and his Jeep started to clunk out on him, he drove it back here on leave and Darwin up at Al Serra Chevrolet at Chapel Hills took great care of him.
Initially Sean was looking for another manual Jeep but after the one he originally found in stock online wasn't available any longer. But since he was active duty military he actually got a better deal on the H3 than he had expected for that Jeep. Apparently Colorado Springs is much freer with military discounts (or as I see it, take better care of our military) than his area in Virginia which surprised me. Anyway, it was auspicious timing because he was on leave heading to a training class in Mississippi right before Hurricane Katrina was due to make landfall. His blog picture (http://pk71knott.blogspot.com/) was taken a few days after he got it. My parents felt much better about him drving through or near a hurricane since he was in his H3. Needless to say his training class was cancelled in Mississippi and Sean loved his H3. As a matter of fact as he was considered 'essential personell' when his base would have closures due to fierce storms in Virginia (the base was actually below sea level), he had no excuses to not come in and possibly swing by to pick up some of his coworkers on the way.
As mom & dad blogged previously, we had talked to Sean a few times in the months before his emergency surgery about what he was thinking about doing when the H3's lease expired this month. Those conversations made the decision to turn it back in slightly easier on my parents. Also Sean's doctors have told us that when he's able to drive again in the future, it will have to be an automatic, not a manual transmission. But it definitely a bittersweet day at least for me, as I know that Sean as well as mom and I all share a mutual love of driving to clear our heads, and think through things.
We got used to driving when we lived in the picturesque mountain community of Wrightwood, CA, which was nestled in the San Gabriel mountains. As beautiful as it was, certain things like a wide variety of shopping options were limited to "going down the hill" as we used to say. It was a 30 minute drive to my dad's work at George Air Force Base (which has since closed), approximately 30 minutes to Victorville, an hour to San Bernadino but just over 2 to get to Disneyland or Magic Mountian, Barstow was 4 1/2 to go to the Outlet Mall or on the way to Las Vegas which was a little over 6 1/2 if I remember correctly (depending on traffic of course). Driving to us was no big deal and we would trek all over Southern California to Sean's many basketball games or tournaments.
Anyway, it's amazing the little things that we take for granted until they're taken away from us. I look forward to the day that Sean will be able to drive again and everyday I thank God that Sean's still with us and for every progress he makes. No matter what sibling rivalry we may have had in the past, I'm so glad that he's here and part of our lives. He is truly a living example of God's wonder and his will and fight to survive over unspeakable odds as 99 out of 100 people would not have made it out of the operating room after his initial emergency surgery January 15th, let alone continued to battle, survive and thrive after all the obstacles that have been thrown at him so far. We have some wonderful guardian angels watching over our family and I am eternally grateful and blessed to have them watching over all those that are so precious to me.
#51, August 23, 2009
Friday was the day that we drove Sean's Hummer to the dealer for lease turn-in. With a couple of signatures, we gave them the keys and they gave us the license plates. That evening Sean told Andrea that he had to drive his car, and Andrea explained that he needed to be able to grab the steering wheel and the shifter to do that, and that both she and he needed to do exercises to strengthen their hands, and he seemed satisfied with that. As always, thanks for your good thoughts and prayers. Sean's progress is slow but steady, with more strength returning to his hands and legs. We'll update you as he progresses.
Posted by Paul and Andrea Knott at 10:37 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Personally, this was a hard day for all of us as we didn't know if Sean #1 fully understood that we were turning his H3 back in and #2 because it was such a thing for Sean when he got it. After driving Hummers (the original H1s I guess) in the Air Force and realizing they were one of the few heavy-duty trucks he could comfortably fit in, which is a major feet for someone 7 feet tall. (He has issues with head clearance in my CRV so I angle the seat for him). He seriously thought about getting a H2 and so for his 32nd? birthday, rented one for his birthday weekend. It was fully decked out with heated leather seats in the back, and mom & dad enjoyed riding in it on the way back up to Denver to turn back in. When Sean was still stationed in Virginia and his Jeep started to clunk out on him, he drove it back here on leave and Darwin up at Al Serra Chevrolet at Chapel Hills took great care of him.
Initially Sean was looking for another manual Jeep but after the one he originally found in stock online wasn't available any longer. But since he was active duty military he actually got a better deal on the H3 than he had expected for that Jeep. Apparently Colorado Springs is much freer with military discounts (or as I see it, take better care of our military) than his area in Virginia which surprised me. Anyway, it was auspicious timing because he was on leave heading to a training class in Mississippi right before Hurricane Katrina was due to make landfall. His blog picture (http://pk71knott.blogspot.com/) was taken a few days after he got it. My parents felt much better about him drving through or near a hurricane since he was in his H3. Needless to say his training class was cancelled in Mississippi and Sean loved his H3. As a matter of fact as he was considered 'essential personell' when his base would have closures due to fierce storms in Virginia (the base was actually below sea level), he had no excuses to not come in and possibly swing by to pick up some of his coworkers on the way.
As mom & dad blogged previously, we had talked to Sean a few times in the months before his emergency surgery about what he was thinking about doing when the H3's lease expired this month. Those conversations made the decision to turn it back in slightly easier on my parents. Also Sean's doctors have told us that when he's able to drive again in the future, it will have to be an automatic, not a manual transmission. But it definitely a bittersweet day at least for me, as I know that Sean as well as mom and I all share a mutual love of driving to clear our heads, and think through things.
We got used to driving when we lived in the picturesque mountain community of Wrightwood, CA, which was nestled in the San Gabriel mountains. As beautiful as it was, certain things like a wide variety of shopping options were limited to "going down the hill" as we used to say. It was a 30 minute drive to my dad's work at George Air Force Base (which has since closed), approximately 30 minutes to Victorville, an hour to San Bernadino but just over 2 to get to Disneyland or Magic Mountian, Barstow was 4 1/2 to go to the Outlet Mall or on the way to Las Vegas which was a little over 6 1/2 if I remember correctly (depending on traffic of course). Driving to us was no big deal and we would trek all over Southern California to Sean's many basketball games or tournaments.
Anyway, it's amazing the little things that we take for granted until they're taken away from us. I look forward to the day that Sean will be able to drive again and everyday I thank God that Sean's still with us and for every progress he makes. No matter what sibling rivalry we may have had in the past, I'm so glad that he's here and part of our lives. He is truly a living example of God's wonder and his will and fight to survive over unspeakable odds as 99 out of 100 people would not have made it out of the operating room after his initial emergency surgery January 15th, let alone continued to battle, survive and thrive after all the obstacles that have been thrown at him so far. We have some wonderful guardian angels watching over our family and I am eternally grateful and blessed to have them watching over all those that are so precious to me.
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