I am sorry for not posting in so long - we have been heads down just trying to get our life in a new rut... a good rut! It does take a lot of arrangements to do logistically, but I think we are getting there.
For LaNae - she just finished up a major project at work (wahoo!), attended a youth conference with a group of youth and then got to see a nephew get married in the same weekend-- way to go Braden and Tiffany!
Here is a really cute picture of my (great) niece and nephew, Emily and Harrison... aren't they adorable?!
Now for Dan -- he got to come to the wedding too... but other than that he has been on a pretty rigorous schedule with therapy. He goes up to Neuroworx on Tues, Thurs and Friday and is focusing on trying to improve his gait. He doesn't have the awareness of what his trunk is doing and has used his trunk (main body area) to get his limbs to move. So, in order to move his hand, he has compensated and twists his body to get his arm to move. He does the same with his legs, so his walking is a process of moving his body to get his legs to move. Right now, in therapy, he is working on focusing keeping his trunk straight and getting the muscles to work to properly move his leg through and transition his weight without the body movement. He is making good strides... improvement is slow... but it is there, and for that we are thankful.
This is Dan working out some of his unused leg muscles on the parallel bars....
Here Dan is walking up straight and tall AND without a leg brace!!
This is Dan standing on an upside down exercise ball and trying to balance on it... this is kind of hard! (I tried it...)
I am also trying to get more protein and amino acids into Dan's diet. He drinks a protein shake every day, along with some protein bars and his usual vitamins twice a day. We are done taking all of the medicine that we got in China, so we are on a regular diet with supplements. Dan takes a lunch with him on the days he goes to Neuroworx... so the routine is this - I take him to the bus stop on my way to work, and after an hour bus ride, he is picked up from the bus stop in SLC by the paratransit service, and then about 10 minutes later he is at Neuroworx. He sends me a text so that I know he is safe and sound there... then it is a full days work for him. He works out on the equipment on his own as much as he can, at 11:00 - he goes into the pool and does his aquatic therapy, then he DRESSES himself!! (this is good- very good!) ... and then he usually eats his lunch and has another set of therapy in the afternoon before either a family member comes to meet him, or he comes back home on the bus via paratransit / UTA.
I think the people at Neuroworx are enjoying Dan's sense of humor.... they send a little radio handset in with him while he is dressing, in case he falls or something, he can press the button on it to get some assistance... well - the other day - he got all dressed, wheeled himself out to the main area, and then pressed the button (he was in the same room as his therapist) and then laughed his head off when they said - somebody better go help Dan...! He thinks he is pretty funny for sure! [uh... Dan... have you ever heard the story of the boy who cried wolf?!]
Another good quote from Dan is "Get Over It!" I guess he was transferring from his chair to a piece of equipment and Jan (the head honcho) looked across the room and said -- "You still make me nervous..." to which Dan replied... "Get over it!" We think it is a pretty classic Dan quote -- they should put it on their wall! Jan had a good laugh and enjoyed telling others how Dan told her to "get over it"!
So all is well with us... we continue to work hard, and we feel good about the effort we are putting out. The progress is slow, but there is some progress and for that we are grateful. We continue to put our trust in the Lord and know that we will be blessed for our efforts. We will get the maximum benefit from the stem cell treatment - and we will take it as far as we can take it. Where ever our journey may take us, we are happy to go, for we know we will learn much in the process. We have a loving Heavenly Father that cares about us, and will bless us through our trials. This we have learned over the years and so we continue to put our trust in Him, knowing whatever the outcome, it will be the best outcome for us. But for now... we just keep workin!
