{Karlton Bontrager}

Karlton was very despondent and down when I arrived at ISIS Saturday morning – 14/IX/02. He did not want to do anything and just sat in his chair. Even one of his favorite nurses could not get him to budge. Finally, another nurse was able to talk to him, and he started talking to her. He was very depressed, negative, and downright sad.

Since it was a very beautiful day, we decided to go for a short ride. He showed me where he used to run, the rugby field where they practiced, and the sand dunes he had to run up and down. We went by some beautiful beaches – St. Kilda – and then we decided to go back to town so he could get his hair trimmed. Karlton wanted to go to Arc cafe first, saying he would just stay for 15 minutes, and then he could still get his hair trimmed. Well, the 15 minutes turned into two hours. He was happy talking to Nina and Gabriella and soon Sam came back from soccer practice, so Karlton was very content being there. By the time we left the cafe, the hair salon was closed, so we will have to go another time.

We all know Karlton is a big eater. He had a vegetarian pizza and a spirulina smoothie at Arc, and then 15 minutes later, he had macaroni and cheese at ISIS. A short while later, a friend called and invited him to a dinner party. I got directions from the nurses and dropped him off at the house around 8:20. I said I would call him around 9:30 to see how he was doing. It wasn’t until 10:00 that I was able to pick him up. I was surprised to see him enjoying himself and wide awake sitting by a fire in the back yard. He said he ate his third dinner, enjoyed chatting with all the young people there – especially a prominent Kiwi rugby player he’d known from before.

I was glad to see a happy and talkative Karlton, but he was quite concerned that he had ingested a very small amount of champagne by mistake, thinking that it was a glass of water. I tried to tell him not to worry, but he had to ask a nurse to make sure everything was going to be all right. He is serious about staying away from alcohol until his injuries have healed, and he said he does not want to take a step backward.

Karlton’s physical progess has been uphill, but now the mental and psychological challenges must be conquered. He realizes that the road ahead is monumental and and although he stays pretty focused and in pretty good spirits, there are times when he very down. Please continue to support him with your e-mails, cards, phone calls, prayers, and positive energies. A special thank you to Helen, Becci, Nina and Sam.