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Gretchen wrote:

ZOOM ZOOM!

Oh my goodness. Hillary and I had an awesome day together. I am so glad I could help Sammie out!!!!! Hillary has no idea but she is my therapy. She is my therapy from daily home stressors and job stress. She is such an inspiration to me. I just wish she could remember. When I arrived at the house, Sammie had cracked the whip and exhausted Hillary with her morning workout. So there I sat twiddling my thumbs praying I could find something to watch on TV while Hillary napped. There was no way I was going to wake her up because I’ve seen that already when she has missed her nap. :) It wasn’t long when I heard a strong voice saying “Hey I’m freezing in here!!’ I went to her and turned off her fan…and off to sleep she went again! Darn that Sammie!!! But it wasn’t long she was up and ready to go. We sat in the living room for awhile reconnecting with each other. I asked Hillary if she knew it was beautiful day outside. She said she would love to see it so off we went outside for a little stroll/roll. Once we were outside we sat in the sun for a few minutes enjoying the weather. Much to my surprise there was a chicken mcnugget attack looming. So I told her, “I’m not sure if I can do this, Hillary”, but with confidence she said “Don’t worry, I will help you.” So off we went to McDonalds. As soon as we got in the car, she changed the radio station, and said “You love the same music I do.” Then she proceeded to tell me all the stations she had programmed in her car. I kept thinking to myself I wonder if that is true, and I then remembered, we have the same “VW” car so the interiors are very similar. She showed me where each station was located in “her” car. WOW!!! Once at McDonalds we made our purchases and I said, “ Where to next?” She said, “The mall.” I asked her if she remembered the “Quilters” and she told me she did. So I took her to the mall and showed her all the traffic. Thank goodness she changed her mind!!!! Our next stop was Noble Park where we watched the ducks (which I despise), kids skating, and yes, Quilters!!! We finally settled on a shady spot to eat our lunch and so we could watch all the children playing. She loved it and watched every move, and she talked about how much she misses her son. We giggled and talked about boys, and her dating soon.

Then we talked about her accident. She told me that she remembers 3 angels surrounding her when she was laying on the ground. She said they sang to her. I was speechless. She looked at me and said “I saw God too”. Let me tell you there were tears and cold chills in that playground at that moment. She was so intense. I can’t describe that moment, but I will never forget her look or the way she spoke to me.

After I finished my sandwich we were off again!!! I spoke to her about my boyfriend John, and she said, “Lets go see him. We met up with him after his lunch. Typical Hillary…. she flirted, and so did John. Apparently they have a date. It was the first time he had actually met her in person. And of course they immediately connected. They laughed and talked like old friends. A few minutes later he called me and said, she is AWESOME. Then he asked if she would remember their visit. I told him unfortunately not. I said she might recognize your face. I think it broke his heart. It was a bitter sweet moment for him. I had to show him the website just to remind us how far she has come. So I am pretty sure she has his heart too,,, and more visits are in his near future

My mom called on our way “home” and said come on by the house. Once again Hillary was up for the visit. She remembered my mom immediately. She said you are Gretchen’s mother (I think she remembered her cooking). Mom cried, of course. Then Hillary met my dad. You have to know my dad. He and Hillary just connected. And she talked his ear off!!! She met my dogs, too. She thought she was going to be sneaky and hide one in her wheelchair and take him home. You’re welcome for taking care of that one!!!!

After our visit and few photo ops, I was on my way “home” again. Well I thought. My parents live out in the country, so we were on back roads. Hillary said, “I don’t know where I am.” So we took a little bit of a different route to try and find some landmarks. I got to Berger Road and Lone Oak, and I said “Anything look familiar yet?” She said, “Yep, Kroger is on the left.” I asked her which way I needed to turn onto Lone Oak Road. She said its faster to turn Right!!! WOW!! Once we turned on 32nd Street I said, “I bet this looks very familiar…” She said, “If you turn right, Great Expectations is on the left.” She WOW!!! Then she asked, “Can we stop by there?” I pulled to the back and she said “I want to walk .” I told her it would be a long walk, but she insisted. I had to try “Okee Dokee, here we go.Hillary lets walk up the ramp.” But no…she wanted the stairs. There are only three but I was scared to death. We made it to the first step. It wasn’t Hillary praying out loud It was me!!!!! “Dear Lord God, please don’t let her fall, especially on my watch. Amen!!”! Like a pro she took the hand rail in her left hand, and it was left foot first step, RIGHT FOOT, second step (okay this is where I really freaked out). Left foot on third step and we were done. She put ALL of her weight on her RIGHT FOOT. She never slowed down. Once we made it to the door, she decided she wanted her wheel chair. I was so happy to hear those words. I think I needed it worse than she did. I might add she didn’t use her walker, This was all on her own. She remembered everyone’s names almost always correctly without being prompted. She got her “unibrow” waxed and I could tell she was getting tired so we were off to our final stop ….Home!

When we arrived home she finished her nuggets and of course, tried to convince me to go get more……didn’t work. She decided a nap might be nice. I never heard a word out of her. I think she was exhausted! I think I even dozed a little……emotionally and physically. It was an AWESOME day!

Sorry if I have rambled on too long. But it was just great!!!!!!

Love you guys,

Gretchen