My very tall brother Dave and his most excellent trip to Colorado.

Dave in Garden of the Gods

We were born 22 months apart, became best friends during our college summers working and playing at Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, moved to Aspen, Colorado together to be ski bums before we found "real jobs", and have talked weekly since then. Dave's traumatic brain injury almost 14 years ago changed all the dreams and what we thought life would look like. But who am I to judge as 46 year old Dave looks pretty happy to me? He even says that he's happier now than pre accident and much of those kudos go to you....his friends from near and far who continue to reach out to him, invite him to your homes, feed him, call him, join him at the movies and sporting events, and share laughs with him. This continued support 14 years later is a tribute to who Dave was then, but is also a tribute to who he is now. It's also very telling of the great taste he has in friends. You all are the best!

Dave lived in Denver at the time of his accident and he continues to think of Denver as home (though somehow I don't think he will ever actually move back there as Charlottesville is perfect in size, his ability to navigate on foot and via bus, the plethora of UVa sports, and the surplus of amazing friends and family). He invited himself to Guy Arnold's house and lovely Guy made it happen. Dave and Guy were boarding school roommates at Woodberry Forest School so there is a deep bond that allows for self invitations. They went to the BMW PGA golf tournament one day and could have touched some of the biggest names in golf who stood just feet away. They spent a day up in Beaver Creek at Guy's beautiful mountain home where Dave actually caught a fish. Guy was floored when he went into the kitchen to make dinner and Dave popped up from the sofa where he was watching TV and set the table! Guy just wasn't sure what to expect in terms of Dave's abilities and disabilities so this was a lovely surprise. I will interject that Dave really IS the best guest: he makes his bed (unlike his sister), he sets the table, he would bus the table too if I didn't have my kids do that. He makes his own breakfast or lunch and will go to your kids sporting events as he loves sports of any nature and with any age competitor. He even clapped for Molly's special needs soccer team (The Thunder) where no one understands defense, so if you get the ball, you are guaranteed a goal. That was a very high scoring game.

Carla Tamborelli and her daughter Coco were the next old friends that took Dave in. He ate well, saw a gymnastics practice, and appreciated Carla's idea to go back to Craig Hospital for Dave to see if he still knew anyone from then and to let the staff see how well he is doing. They went to the wrong floor (there is both a Brain Injury floor as well as a Spinal Cord injury floor.) When Dave approached the nurses station and asked for Dr Manley, the nurse looked at him blankly since Dr Manley was his neurosurgeon at San Fran General where he had his accident. From behind the station stood Dr Weintraub, who said "No one here besides me would know that name since Dr Manley is a good friend of mine. You fell out of the window and played lacrosse, right?" Dr Weintraub WAS Dave's doctor 14 years ago and it's amazing that he still remembers those details. What a great doctor. He never works on Saturday, he wasn't on the Brain Injury floor, and it was God or fate or destiny that allowed that awesome reunion to occur. (A side note: If you saw Olympic snowboarder Kevin Pearce's movie "Crash Reel", Dr Weintraub was his doctor at Craig too).

I knew Bob Bodor casually for a couple of years. He was the football coach at Colorado College until the school terminated that program. Once that happened, he and his family moved to Hawaii for a year and it was there that one of Dave's visiting fraternity brothers posted a picture to FB mentioning his Denison Beta brother Bob. I almost had a heart attack as I had NO IDEA that Bob and my brother were friends nor that they were fraternity brothers. What a small world. Guess that's the disadvantage of not having my maiden name stamped on my forehead as it had never come up in conversation. So a couple of years ago the Bodor's had moved back to our sweet little Manitou Springs and he was out trick or treating with his kids, when he came to my door. Suddenly it dawned on me that he needed to come in and see my visitor who had just arrived. He and Dave were reunited. This time when my brother visited I planned ahead and had them over for dinner. Beta brothers like to hold hands :)

                                                 

On Monday Dave had suggested going to a movie (he sees everything that comes out. I see nothing and never know what he is talking about but love that there is an activity that he loves and can do by himself). The timing wasn't to be for us to be home in time to meet Molly off the bus so we did this instead. Thank you neighbor Gael for playing photographer.

                                                 

I have no short white skirts and really shouldn't have even worn that little black number. Ok, I have GOT to get back into shape. Have been seeing too many "is that really me?" pictures lately. That length skirt looked so much cuter on my childhood body. I don't have knee high socks nor any ribbons for my hair but went with the best I could find. Dave laughed at his knee high socks from when he was 4 years old...but then laughed even more realizing he STILL wears them for his brace leg. I like how he tried to make the same face. This is a little embarrassing to admit, especially since I said TWICE. "Dave, we have to to put both hands on the rackets" as I saw his right arm still hanging by his side. "Dave, both hands" until it dawned on me.....DUH...he can't move his right arm. Gosh, how many years for me to fully realize this is reality? He's so gracious and didn't get mad at me.


                                                   

Aren't the fake puppies not early as cute as the real ones?

We had a couple litters of Golden Retrievers when we were  young.

Love you Dave! I'm proud of how far you have come, how hard you work at everything that you do, and how gracious and appreciative you seem of everyone's efforts to support you in the great life that you are still creating for yourself. Come back anytime!