Saturday, May 21, 2011

A Little Explanation

I know what's going on with us is a little crazy so I am going to try and clarify a little. The girls and I are flying back to DC this Tuesday morning. We are staying in DC until June 4. Chaz has been granted convalescent leave to come to TN. We will be spending a little less than 30 days in our own house. Chaz can walk up the stairs now so every night he will walk up and go to bed, shower, etc and then every morning he will walk down and spend the day on the first level. Our friends will be popping by every morning and night to make sure he makes it up and down safely. Unfortunately if he loses his balance with me behind or in front of me, we will both fall down the stairs. So we need a few strong guys to help us out. I have already began the line up!
The Allen family will be in attendance at the fundraiser in Nashville on June 5th. We will also be attending our daughters' dance recital which is Father's Day weekend. Other than that we are chilling out and enjoying our family away from the hospital for a while. Chaz has to still do PT and OT so I will get that training and information when I return to DC on Tuesday. So he will still be moving and grooving but he will have a nice change of venue.
As of today, Chaz is still at risk for blood clots and it is very difficult for him to travel everywhere. I appreciate all of your invitations to come and do things, but we will have to take everything one day at a time. Please also take into consideration that not all places are wheelchair friendly and Chaz may not be up to walking that day. That will also play a big role in where we go and what we do while we are home. Chaz can only fly at a certian altitude for a certain amount of time and they don't want him in a car for more than 2 hours at a time. This is another limitation we have right now. We are really lucky that veterans airlift command stepped in! Originally we were flying to Nashville then driving to Clarksville. We were right on the questionable border. Then when we told them we are flying straight to Clarksville and it's a 10 minute drive. It was a slam dunk! Driving home was out of the question!
At the end of the 30ish days we will all four return to DC. I do not know for how long. We will be there until Chaz's therapists and doctors say he's good to go home. We want to be home as badly as you want us home, but WRAMC is the best place for Chaz to be right now. And we want the best for him. We have decided we will be in our house for Christmas. I do not have any dates, but I know we will be here!!
We are not selling our house right now. We do not know when we will be home and we will need a place to come home to when this is all over. We are going to build a new home but we all know that will all take time. So in the meantime, when we come back to TN, we will be in our current home. Hopefully the new home will be built while we are gone or will finish shortly after we come back. We do not know where we are building except that we will build in Clarksville, TN. The apartments that we are eventually moving into are funded by a non-profit so the Army will not be taking our housing allowance. Therefore will be able to and will continue to pay our mortgage. So you can see there's no reason to panic and this plan makes sense. Yes I have people checking the mail, and watching the house and etc. I will yell if we need anything, I promise.
Chaz has made the decision to return to Active Duty. I personally think this is incredible. His original goal was to serve 20 years and he is going to complete that goal. He hits year 13 on June 3rd, so he only has a few left to go. Within a few months, the Army will begin the Medical Board process for Chaz. They will find him unfit for Active Duty. At that time, he will submit a challenge package and go tell them why he should stay in and they will discuss what jobs are available for him. This is all a formality. As of today, he is leaning towards going back and being an instruction hopefully back at WLC (Warrior Leadership Course). If that doesn't work out he will look to another route. But can you imagine a more inspirational leader?! I can't!!
So that's some of future plans. Of course there's a lot of logistics and things to work out, but we'll get it all done one day at a time. You now know what I know, well most of it. There's a lot of things you don't want to know, trust me. We of course want to see you all while we are home, but please call, text or email first. We would truly appreciate it. Please don't be offended if we don't get to see you. Timing may just not be our friend for this trip. There will be more trips and one day this will all be over us and we'll be home! Please continue to pray for us. Your prayers and support have made all of this possible.
Thank you!!
=) Jessica

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