{Karlton Bontrager}

Karlton slept in on Saturday, which was good because he had been up late. He said this was the first time he was able to sleep so late.

I asked him if he’d show me where Baldwin Street (supposedly the steepest street in the world) was. He agreed, but I had a really tough time getting him to put pants on. Karlton was sure that he would be warm enough in shorts, even though it was really cold out. Finally, he agreed, and we left.

It was a really strange feeling driving up and down such a steep road! I joked to Karlton that I’d push him up in a wheelchair and just let him roll down. He actually had run up and down the street several months before.

After that, Karlton wanted to go to Arc Cafe to hang out with friends. Several people he knew were there. We made plans with Sam and Nina to watch a rugby game that evening at the motel. Karlton had permission to spend the night there (his first night out of the hospital!).

After having dinner at the hospital, we packed up Karlton’s things and went to the motel. After Nina and Sam left, Karlton decided he was hungry and made himself some pasta. He is slowly beginning to do a few more things for himself. After eating, he went to bed.

In the morning, I woke up feeling really sleepy. Karlton was awake though, and he told me that he wasn’t going back to sleep. He’d lie in bed for about 5 minutes more, he said. Two hours later, he finally got up! I’m sure the rest was good for him; I was just amused at how confident he’d acted that he wasn’t going to sleep any longer.

Nina had baked some bread and invited us over to have some. We first had to get Karlton’s afternoon meds from ISIS, and Karlton really took his time getting his things packed at the motel. It’s interesting to note his sense of time. He wanted to tell Nina that we’d be there in fifteen minutes, even though he was not even close to ready to go. He even wanted to make a phone call before heading to ISIS.

We finally made it, an hour later, to Nina and Sam’s. They had a fire going, and the fresh bread was really tasty. Karlton really had a good time hanging out with them and another friend Dave.

After that, we went back to ISIS. After having dinner, Karlton and I went through his belongings to determine what I should take back to the U.S. with me. His bags aren’t very large, and it’d be cumbersome for him to have to pack a lot of things. He has quite a lot of stuff, but he was willing to temporarily part with much of it.

I was pretty tired from my trip and the weekend, so I left relatively early that evening. Karlton told me that he had really been making an effort to be more independent over the weekend. Let’s hope he keeps up the good work!