{Karlton Bontrager}

Weekends at ISIS are very relaxed and slow. So on Saturday Karlton spent time in the dining room shooting the breeze. After lunch Holly (a friend from Queenstown) and I took Karlton to the Botanical Gardens in the north end of Dunedin. We pushed him in his wheelchair for a while but decided it would be easier for Karlton to walk up a sandy/gravel incline so that’s what he did. He had no trouble walking up the path. There were many species of plants and flowers that were exotic to me and these were all on a hillside, hence the walk up the path. After a short rest, Karlton climbed down some steps and into his wheelchair. This was his first time doing steps in an uncontrolled environment and I think it was quite grueling for him. We had just gotten his wheelchair put away in the car when it started raining so we returned to ISIS.

Much later in the afternoon, three flatmates from Queenstown came to visit. Karlton really enjoyed talking with them. They laughed about silly things they had done and shared their past experiences. They were having a good time and didn’t realize how late it was. They had wanted to get back to Queenstown before midnight – a three and a half to four hour drive – but I doubt that they made it home before 1 or 2 a.m.

Karlton had a full day but was not sleepy after his friends left. He is getting better at staying awake longer … or was it all the excitement from being with friends that pumped up his system … anyway, he wanted to check his e-mail one more time so I asked a nurse to take him to the computer room and I got ready to go back to my motel. I had a full day and I was ready to crash for the night! But Karlton is improving slowly but steadily and I am very grateful for that.