Graduation from Easter Seals

They graduated me from rehabilitation at Easter Seals, yesterday, 3/14/07, and I earned a gold star, only the third person they have commenced with such high honors. It was a very melancholy day. I should have been thrilled to move on to the next chapter of my rehab, but I will sorely miss the connection I have established with my friends on the staff at Easter Seals. They not only rehab one’s physical bruises but their emotional ones, as well.

The therapists Easter Seals have enriched my life, beyond words. The Easter Seals’ therapists are consistently very professional, always providing feedback that is so positive and uplifting yet, never, even marginally, discouraging. It will be very difficult to say “goodbye” to Jocelyn, my speech therapist, to Susan and Marie, my physical therapists, and to Chris, my occupational therapist. I will forever benefit from my experience at Easter Seals, the one positive aspect from a likewise very bad chapter in my life.

We had a celebration, 4/14/07, for my therapists and my personal coach, Paul Lapierre, and his wife, Sheila. "Lappie" often prefaced a new exercise he is introducing, joking “this aint no Easter Seals”, implying that what he is about to instruct me on is “very vigorous”. They (both, Lappie and my Easter Seals therapists) developed a mutual appreciation for each other’s trades. My son, Paul, prepared a fabulous meal and we shared a viewing of the video of "Joe's Progress" and some of the image shows Lynn has, documenting our life in Italia.