Weekend Update

Ken, Maria and I visited Lance on Saturday. He was happy to see us and happy to have someone wheel him around the facility although he didn’t want to venture outside yet. Lots of people were in the courtyard but it was a little windy. Maybe once it’s warmer, he will want to go outside.

We visited the café which has a piano and Maria played the Titanic song My Heart Will Go On. He seemed to enjoy that. We also looked at all the art work in the halls and in the large art studio. One of the “neighbors” came around and showed us his work in the studio and he told us about the other artists. I asked Lance if he had any painting classes yet and he said, yes. I asked if he liked painting and he said, yes. If you ask him a yes or no question, he is better at giving a reply now -- although I think he gets frustrated when more detail could be provided and this isn’t yet possible for him.

I asked him if he knew where he was and he said, no. So I told him he was at the foothills of the Catskills, 2 hours north of NYC. At that point I sensed he missed all his friends and family that used to visit him in NYC so I asked him if this was so, and he said, yes.

The last time I was there was a weekday and it was quite a contrast to this weekend visit. During the weekdays, there is LOTS of therapy and professional staff there. On weekends, this is less so. So it is so very important to him that we make the effort to visit. The calendar is provided below so we can stagger visits and ensure weekends especially are covered. He needs visitors on Friday, Saturday and Sundays. I hope some of you will come up to see him. The facility is near Woodstock, NY. It's a nice drive and he'll be so happy to see you.

P.S. He does have a phone now and I asked him if he liked getting calls. He said, yes - with a smile. So ask LaVerne if you want the number.