Marla is over the moon excited about her new kitty, Milo! Marla adopted Milo from the Rifle Animal Shelter earlier this month of August 2019. Milo is a 2 year old neutered male domestic shorthair. He is a bundle of energy! Milo was fostered by woman affiliated with the shelter before Marla adopted him. He was an outdoor kitty, so he is becoming accustomed to living indoors at Marla’s house. He loves to run and play! He also snuggles up to Marla from time to time, which she loves.

It’s been a long time coming, but finally an update on all the happenings in Marla and Mark’s lives including their wedding in May, 2008! With much anticipation that has built since their engagement in July, 2007, Marla and Mark Townsley were married on May 31, 2008! Many friends and family gathered to celebrate this milestone in the lives of these two amazing people.

The event took place at the beautiful and historic First Presbyterian Church in downtown Glenwood Springs. The ceremony was celebrated by Pastor Lem Harr of Trinity Baptist Church which Marla and Mark attend in Glenwood. Marla looked radiant in her bridal gown, and Mark tall and handsome as ever in his tuxedo. Marla’s good friend Leigh Phipps served as Maid of Honor, with Mark’s brother Brian serving as Best Man.

There’s a lot of very exciting things going on in Marla’s life right now, so many that it will be hard to fit them all in one update! But we’ll start with the biggest news. Marla is engaged! She met her fiancé Mark Townsley during her two visits to the University of Michigan Residential Aphasia Program (RAP). Mark grew up in Michigan, and is a speech language pathologist. Mark completed his Master’s degree at Eastern Michigan University in December 2006. Marla and Mark met and really hit it off during her first session at RAP in 2006, and got to know each other better during Marla’s second RAP program in early 2007. Mark came out to visit Marla during a trip in March and April. He came out to Colorado again in early June, and then they took a trip together to see her cousin Nicole in Tennessee. Mark has been visiting Colorado for years in the summers as a trip leader for his church’s youth group, and really fell in love with the state. He got a job as a speech pathologist working for Mountain BOCES in western Colorado schools, and moved to Glenwood Springs in June. Mark and Marla have been dating for a while now, and on a drive through the Colorado National Monument during their return from a recent trip to Ouray, Mark proposed.

Welcome back to Marla’s site. It’s been a while since the last update, but not for lack of activity on Marla’s part, that’s for sure! Marla recently completed her second session at the University of Michigan Aphasia Program (UMAP). She was in Ann Arbor from late December through mid-February. Marla and Mary had to scramble to make their flight out before one of those December Denver blizzards blasted through, but they made it to Michigan frazzled from travel, but safe and sound! Once in Ann Arbor, Marla again celebrated in her independence, living on her own in Michigan during the six-week program. This time, she insisted, no visits from family during the program–she was definitely on her own the whole time! Again, the program included around 5 hours of speech therapy each day, including individual therapy, group therapy, computer therapy, as well as art and music therapy. Fun outings during the evenings and weekends included a trip into Detroit for a Red Wings hockey game, bowling, and a visit to an international ice sculpture festival!

Marla had a busy and productive summer. It’s hard to believe that fall is almost here! Probably her biggest accomplishment this year was completing a 6 week intensive speech therapy program at the University of Michigan’s Residential Aphasia Program, or RAP for short. She left in early May for Ann Arbor, Michigan, where she lived completely on her own during the 6 week program! Leo went out with Marla to help get her established in the small apartment suite where she lived in Ann Arbor, a couple of miles from the University.

Spring of 2006 - it’s hard to believe how time flies! Marla continues to keep herself busy. She continues to drive the automobile independently, transporting herself to her volunteer jobs at the Valley View Hospital Gift Shop, and the For You Shoppe (a secondhand store) in Glenwood Springs. She continues to swim avidly, as a form of occupational and physical therapy now that her formal therapy sessions with a professional have ended due to insurance limitations. Of course, she crafts, stamping, scrapbooking, and cardmaking, at every opportunity. Holidays have been valuable time with family–with Christmas at Leo’s sister’s home in Tempe Arizona, with grandparents Howard and Mary, as well as Marla’s cousin Nicole. During her trip to Arizona, Marla also got to visit her Aunt Anita (Mary’s sister), and Uncle Ray in Green Valley, and her friend from Malley Elementary School, Sylvia Lemmon, who has retired to Silver City, New Mexico. Marla got to celebrate Easter in Montrose Colorado at the home of her grandparents.

Marla and her family have had a full autumn and start to winter! They are now more or less settled into their new home in New Castle, which they moved into in July, from their home of 32 years in Glenwood Springs. Although they are still working from day to day on several tasks related to settling in!

Probably the most exciting development for Marla in the past few months is that she passed her driving test, and is officially certified to drive, with no restrictions! Mary and Leo have been practicing driving with Marla, in safe, controlled situations (like empty parking lots, less busy streets, etc.) fairly regularly during the past year. On October 12th, Marla went to Grand Junction, where she was administered interactive tests of her cognitive skills (recognition and understanding of traffic signs, directions, etc.) as well as her reaction time. Having successfully passed this test, on November 16th, she again went to Grand Junction, where she underwent a live road test, driving! She passed with flying colors. Marla’s nearly walking on a cloud with this latest accomplishment, especially since it is such a big step forward in her independence. She now has the freedom to drive herself into Glenwood to swim, or to the hospital for volunteering, or to her speech and occupational therapy appointments. She is very excited with this new-found independence! The next step will be to look into vehicular adaptations to make it easier for her to operate the vehicle. At this time, she has to reach across her body with her left arm to operate the shifter of the automatic transmission, since her injured right arm is too weak to operate the control. Once the vehicle is adapted, she will be able to shift with her left hand!

Summer has brought many exciting activities and some big changes for Marla and her family. The weekend of July 23rd and 24th, Mary and Leo moved from their home of thirty two years in Glenwood Springs, to a new duplex in New Castle, Colorado. New Castle is about fifteen miles west of Glenwood Springs. Marla, Mary and Leo worked very hard to fix up the house for sale, and to down-size their belongings in order to fit into the new house. A garage sale helped them pare down, and accompanied by several weeks of hard effort to pack boxes, they completed the move. It has been an adjustment settling into a new house, but it is starting to feel more and more like home, and the house has less yard and infrastructure to care for on a constant basis. The family still has many boxes to unpack and a storage unit to clear out. Hopefully, once they are settled, Mary and especially Leo will have more time to pursue activities and hobbies. Marla was sad to leave her childhood home, but she likes the much larger bedroom and having her own bathroom at the new house. She continues to participate in activities with her friends in nearby Glenwood, including her sorority, swimming a few times per week at the Hot Springs Pool, volunteering at Valley View Hospital, as well as her continuing physical, occupational, and speech therapies.

Marla has had a busy and exciting springtime, and she is ready to dive into summertime! She has had several opportunities to go riding on her new adaptive-recumbent bicycle. She loves the sense of freedom and opportunity to enjoy the outdoors that the bicycle offers. Stop by the photo gallery for pictures of Marla out and about, touring on her bicycle! Marla and her family are very grateful for the many friends who came together to donate the bicycle for her. It is a marvelous therapeutic and recreational tool for her! Marla has always enjoyed the outdoors, and she is looking forward to new adventures on the bicycle!

Marla is ready for spring as weather has begun to warm in Glenwood Springs–as the weather is warming, she hopes to get out on her new bicycle! Many of her high school classmates donated towards getting an adaptive-recumbent bicycle with controls on the left side. On March 11th, Marla and Leo traveled to Denver, where Marla was fitted for her new bicycle at AngleTech cycles, of Woodland Park. Although the weather is still a little chilly for her to get riding, she is definitely looking forward to taking the bicycle out for rides!