December 31, 2007

Happy New Year!!! I, Christa, just flew in today an will stay until Thursday. I am very excited to see David and my parents again. David looked great! I haven't seen him in a month so a lot has changed. He doesn't have the trache anymore. He's not agitated and fidgety like he was a month ago. He is very calm and kinda just "chill". Which was a welcome sight! He doesn't fixate and do certain things repetitively. He is definitely more like "David"!! I watched him during PT and he is walking so much better than when I left. Last time he could walk maybe 10 feet along the parallel bars and repeat the walk after a small sitting break. Today he was on his feet for almost an entire hour!! At the end of his session he walked back towards his room with the "cool walker" and the therapists said that David had improved a lot just today. He is moving his left foot so much better, still needing some assistance, but definitely improving. He sat on the edge of the bed while mom put his shoes on and was sitting up so good, even with his feet sticking straight out. He is so much easier to maneuver from bed to chair, etc. because he is strong enough to carry most of his weight and needs a lot less assistance.

Today was the first day that he ate 3 full, "REAL" meals!! He ate pancakes for breakfast, spinach raviolis from Spaghetti factory we brought in for him, along with his vanilla shake and apple juice. For dinner he ate some stew, bread and butter with some more shake and a yogurt drink. He had very little supplement with the feeding tube today - only early this morning and a little tonight. He's getting even closer to getting the feeding tube out!! He also talked so clearly. When I was here last time he was just starting to talk and we had to put our ear right up to his lips to hear what he was trying to say and even then it was sometimes a guessing game. Today I was reminded of his amazing progress in this area. He communicated exactly what he wanted and did it audibly. He asked me to ask the therapists to only ask him yes/no questions. They were proud of him for initiating that and did just as he asked. He talked to Kelli on the phone tonight and it sounded like it was a pretty good conversation. David asked her some good questions and made some pretty funny comments in return to her stories. From my end of the conversation I heard David respond with, "That's nasty." "That's awesome." "You passed. That's good.""Tell everyone I said 'Hi'." "Tell everyone 'Happy New Year'." When he got off the phone dad asked what was so nasty. David repeated the story just as Kelli must have told it (which really was nasty, so I'll spare you!) and we all laughed. I told David how funny I think Kelli can be and he agreed. He said, "yeah, that's one reason why I like her." I asked what the other reasons were and he said, "and she's hot." We laughed. Dad said, "yeah, that never hurts!" He also said because she's smart and tries hard in school, she's athletic and she loves God. He said that's really important to him! My brother is one smart puppy and is really coming around. It was fun just talking and hanging out with him tonight. It was almost as if nothing had changed (minus the hospital room!) as we sat and talked and watched TV. I loved every minute! My dad also told us that he got some really encouraging news today from Dr. Ted. Apparently the dr. is expecting some even more drastic improvements with David now that he is slowly getting off the meds. He says that this might mark a turning point in David's progress and that we might start noticing change faster!!!! Can you believe it???! I am so encouraged, as should you all! Keep praying and thanking God for David's healing. God is truly doing miracles every day in our lives through David's recovery. I am so thankful and my faith has been renewed!

Thank you Lord that you care so much for David and that you WANT to heal him. We give you ALL the glory for every small detail of his healing. You are The creator, and with the same hands that put the stars in their place, you can and will heal my brother. Nothing is too big or hard for you, Lord. Thank you that only YOU can do the impossible! AMEN!!

Love you all, Christa