Monday
I was able to visit Steve on Thursday night and Friday Morning. Luckily Paul Hohn caught me wandering in the door and guided me to his room around 7pm Thursday evening. Steve was in good spirits. We were able to chat some about past memories. He quoted some Monty Python from the Holy Grail and also from his beloved cheese shop skit. He interjected with corrections and additional memories to conversations we were having. His sense of humor was on duty and I came away with a sense that Steve has full access to his memories and connections with people. He had some chuckles for the texts that were sent to me from Bruce Nelson, Bob Nachtsheim, Jon Larson, Jon Weber, and Sunil Ramalingam. He likes these check-ins from people and also appreciates the messages that are emailed and the cards.
The following morning I came in to a full house of Jim Cook, Paul Hohn, Kent Hamilton, and of course Paul Bannister. Steve apparently had a bit of a challenging night and morning and was looking a little rougher than the night before. Jim and Kent had spent some time helping him get dressed for the day and were extremely attentive helping him with his requests. He took a couple of naps and appeared uncomfortable until Paul Hohn pulled out his guitar and began playing. It only took a little bit of time before he noticeably relaxed and then after a while he perked up and asked for his harmonica. He played a few songs with Paul Hohn and was so alert and joyful that when the Speech Therapist came in she encouraged them to keep going as it was great therapy.
If I could add a couple of things, one is that I was apprehensive to come visit my old friend but in true Steve Baker fashion he keeps people at ease with his natural calming fun presence. He has created a positive atmosphere that even affects the medical staff attending to him. Also if you are hesitating on what to write to him I would just say that Steve probably has an inside joke with you or some sort of connection and to just write to him with that in mind rather than something that feels awkward. His brain and personality are sharp and intact and I get the sense that he enjoys regular chatter from all of us. Any message is good and when I passed on a light hearted insult from someone from Alaska that is part of their normal banter he smiled and chuckled.
Finally, there was a very poignant moment when Steve focused in on Paul Bannister and thanked him for always being there for him every day. Banny has been attending to Steve daily and doing an incredible job. Big thanks to him and also to Paul Hohn and his magic guitar.
John Lyons
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Continuing on the theme of past updates, many visitors this week as well. Steve's days were busy with continuous therapy sessions from 9:30am to about 2pm. One of the highlights this week was Paul Hohn stopping in and doing a few songs with Steve from their Armed and Hammered band days. Steve's voice gets a little stronger each day and he was able to quietly sing along as Paul played his guitar. The speech therapists really liked the work Steve put in on the singing.
A couple other progress notes.:
They are letting folks attending to Steve wheel him outside the building in the afternoon following therapy sessions to get some fresh air and sun.
The physical therapists started working with Steve to use a hand propelled wheel chair instead of the motorized wheel chair.
And on Friday our small group went over to the Adaptive Sports Center and Steve pedaled a tandem recumbent bike around outside for about an hour while Paul Bannister steered. Everyone was pretty jazzed about that session. Kent Hamilton got some good video of the ride.
Jim Cook
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