Day 42 - Aug 12

Today had its share of excitement. I awoke as usual, 5:00 am. Went for a run and then read my scriptures. My little squirrel friend appeared for his drink of water. Seemed quite normal.

Jake and I ate breakfast and came up to the room to grab some things. From the time we came upstairs to the time we left the building was just a couple of minutes. In that short time the sky had turned so dark that cars were driving with their lights on. It felt odd outside - dark, heavy, and ominous, but no rain. We had to meet with Sarge for Jake's morning check-in so we were off and on our way.

We put up umbrellas in preparation for rain. Wind quickly turned our umbrellas inside out and we realized they were not going to help. Our best plan was to get to the next building as quickly as possible. Pushing a wheelchair while jogging isn't all that easy, but we were making good time.

We entered the building where Sarge has his office. I didn't even make it through a paragraph in the newspaper before Jake had finished his check-in. We headed down the hallway towards the outer door. The door leading outside became visible as we rounded a corner. We could see that rain was coming down in buckets. It was raining in a way I've only seen a few times. In those few minutes we were in Sarge's office, so much rain had fallen that the roads were rivers, water was pouring off the roof like a fire hose, and trees were beginning to lay sideways in the wind.

Grass area turns into a pond

 Trees came down, cars were stuck in roadways turned into rivers of water, live power lines lay on the ground, ninety-thousand people lost power, and water was leaking into buildings all over the Walter Reed Campus. And then, it was all over.

Roads turn into a river. This BMW tried to travel the river, but stalled.

Jake got some tough PT today. I'm afraid there's more of this to come. New exercises and more stretching. He still can't bend either leg past about 90 degrees. At about 90 degree bend, he feels a lot of muscle or ligament pain as they stretch around he knee.

After PT, we visited with one of the men that was in Jake's truck. He is doing better, but still has months of rehabilitation ahead of him. We also visited one of the young men from his unit who is in the ICU. I wish I could say more about these men, but I respect their privacy. Here's the sobering reality, over a third of Jake's platoon is no longer functioning. What a sad and troubling thought.

Dinner time brought us a tornado warning, but the storm was a dud - it fizzled. Guess it is going to be difficult to top the storm we went through this morning.