wednesday afternoon

we had a short day of therapy today because we were forced to meet with a neuropsychologist. she acted like gen was retarded and i was a bully who controlled his wife's words and thoughts with his stare. it wasn't like talking to jenny, who understands that gen is not a retard. this lady was a total jerk. also, she was ugly. and she had bad skin. and she chewed her nails...ewwww, gross!!!

thank you to everyone for the wonderful christmas presents. gen and i were kind of worried that she wouldn't be able to use anything she got for christmas, but everything was so useful. gen said, "everything made me very happy!"

jenny- i was just giving her the straight dope.
more like a dope was giving it to her straight.

-joshua and genevieve

friday afternoon

gen got her two brand-new wheelchairs earlier this week. the powerchair is taking some getting used to, but with a few more days, i think we'll be allright. we haven't had a chance to try out the manual chair. they are both perfectly fitted to gen. gen did an extra-good job in the pool again on thursday, walking and rolling. we went on an outing to target today. gen drove herself with her hand (the new chair has a head-driving system, too, but we didn't need it today), and did a wonderful job. gen's day-rehab therapists gave us gift cards for target and valentino's (our favorite lincoln-pizza-place). i got my present yesterday, finally. gen had me convinced it had something to do with paint, which i found weird because i've never known her to be a painter. sure enough, no paint. it is a glass/candleholder/prettything. it almost looks like a stained-glass glass. this is how she made it: she tore tissue paper into square-ish pieces, she glued those multi-colored pieces all over a clear glass, she put a clear coat of glue on top of the multi-colored tissue paper pieces, she handed me the glass. she did all the work herself, and i am very proud of her. gen and i are looking forward to having a few days off from rehab.

merry christmas to all! thanks to everyone who sent gifts and cards.

jenny- what is here come the judge, here come the judge?!?!

-joshua and genevieve

wednesday afternoon

gen had an excellent day in the pool yesterday. for the first time, she put multiple(2-6) steps together. she walked three laps (about 100 ft.), doing about 50% of the steps on her own with sarah holding on to her torso. last friday, gen learned how to drink from a straw again. she has the treadmill three times this week. gen is still working on some sort of suprise-present-thingy for me. she doesn't know if it will be done by christmas.

jenny- you know, i saw someone on the street eating m&ms with a spoon.

-joshua and genevieve

friday afternoon

gen will be getting her new wheelchair on monday, or so they say. she has been working more and more on opening her right hand and closing her left hand. dr. zeng will come to see her on the treadmill early next week to determine if she needs any more phenol shots. thanks everyone for the cards and letters, keep em coming.

jenny- i can't live knowing ted danson makes that much more than me.

-joshua and genevieve

wednesday afternoon

gen is making me something in rec and ot for christmas. it's a secret. she and her goon therapists won't tell me. all she'll tell me is that it's "cool." gen's e-stim is going well this week. she is getting better movement of her right hand, and has almost perfected the "thumbs up." she's now able to grasp a playing card between her thumb and forefinger and let it go. in the pool yesterday, gen walked all over. i don't think she's done that much walking before.

jenny- como se dice... waterbed?

-joshua and genevieve

friday afternoon

this week, gen has been using the nu-step. it is half stationary bike, half stairclimber. she has reached 25 steps so far. we get to borrow her brand-new e-stim machine this weekend, along with her platform walker, and a new breathing-workout-thingy called MERT. today gen walked 14 feet. this is the farthest she has gone yet, and she was very tired when she finished.

jenny- little stuart rifkin likes to go shopping with his mommy.

-joshua and genevieve

wednesday afternoon

gen has been working on walking with a "platform" walker. its just like a normal walker, but it has two arm rests and handles. she has been doing great and even stood on her own with it for a few seconds today.

gen has been working with a new e-stim machine that madonna just bought this week. the stimulation contacts her motor points more precisely than the old e-stim. gen has started opening her right hand 50% more than she could before. she also has been working on raising her arms at the shoulders.

we found out yesterday that gen has enough funding to last through early january.

jenny- i can't get my core temperature back up!


-joshua and genevieve

thursday afternoon

pt- gen has been doing great in pt. she can now do one-legged-bridges. yesterday, she lifted her right foot for a couple of steps, as opposed to sliding her foot. today, she lifted both feet while taking steps (the steps aren't quite perfect, as they don't come forward far enough yet)... she's come a long way in this since last weekend, when she couldn't move her legs forward at all.

ot- gen had e-stim while working with writing. she is working on lifting her arm onto a table. she has also been concentrating heavily on raising her arm from the shoulder. she's not quite there yet, but she's getting closer every day.

pool- gen had an awesome day in the pool today. she told me that she "moved her legs like crazy." she moved both legs forward while walking. she used her legs to propel her during her turning-over-in-the-water excercises. she bent and extended both legs while laying on her back.

speech- gen talked and stuff.


jenny- because he's my butler.

-joshua and genevieve

tuesday afternoon

pt- yesterday, gen took a couple of steps with her right foot on her own. her foot pulled inward instead of going straight and it didn't go very far forward, but it was all her. we did the treadmill today. it will take a couple times for the new people to get used to it. gen had more heel strikes today than she has ever had before, possibly due to the phenol shots.

ot- yesterday, gen had e-stim on her left wrist and fingers. she also worked on raising her arm up and down while laying on her side. gen had e-stim on her delts and fingers today.

rec- gen worked on typing with her mobile arm support. she needed less help than ever before.

speech- gen worked on conversational talking and breath control.

jenny- i say we leave now, we go to skyburger, and we scarf 'em down.

-genevieve and joshua

saturday evening

we lost our old email for good this week. the new email address is genevievehmoore@yahoo.com. we started rehab-day this week, and i think gen has already passed the warming-to-new-therapists phase. she is already making gains. on thanksgiving, gen, my mom, and i watched football and ate food from perkins family restaurant. we also had a very long poker game, which i won.

ot- gen had e-stim on her right forearm this week. she is already turning her forearm over on her own. the new ot, nicole, is working on the same muscle groups as courtney, but she has different excercises for gen to do. i think this change of pace will be good.

pt- gen is standing better this week. we've been doing some therapy on our own this week. standing and doing squats and tippie-toe excercises. gen says these one-on-one workouts are better than theones in pt with the therapist and aide.

speech- gen is talking better this week. i can't say that the speech therapy is helping much, though. she's naturally progressing and, when my mother was here, she understood everything gen was saying, voice or not. the speech therapist is by far the worst therapist we have had.

recreational therapy (these people get paid to play games... it's amazing)- gen and i played yahtzee. gen worked on turning her wrist to dump the dice out of the cup. we also played a game called sequence. with that game, gen worked on pinching playing cards between her thumb and forefinger. she did a really good job.

jenny- my father wears his sneakers in the pool... sneakers!

-joshua and genevieve

thursday evening

i don't know how often i'll be able to write the blog after tonight. i'm not sure if we'll be allowed to keep madonna's computer at the apartment. gen and i had our email and ebay accounts stolen yesterday. i got the ebay account cleared up tonight. the ebay help person told me someone tried to sell a mini cooper on my account, but i guess ebay caught on to them and closed the account temporarily. we haven't got the email account back yet... maybe tomorrow.

pt- gen and i worked on car transfers. it went well, and we plan on getting out to see lincoln this weekend. gen did the treadmill in the afternoon. dr zeng will be giving her more shots in her left leg next week.

ot- gen worked on bed controls and eating.

st- gen worked on conversational talking, breathing, and reading today.

jenny- i can't spare a square.

-joshua

wednesday evening

ot- gen had e-stim for wrist turning and shoulders. we played a dice game. she won.

pt- gen worked on driving and sitting balance. today she was able to pull her torso forward from a leaning back position for the first time.

st-gen worked on conversational talking.

jenny- why do they call it ovaltine? the mug is round. the jar is
round. they should call it round-tine... that's gold, jerry! gold!

-joshua

tuesday evening

gen did a good job in all her therapies today. her pool therapist came to talk to us after that session and said gen had taken two steps by herself in the pool, and she had moved her arm away from her body all on her own. that is new, and sarah said she would work more with the arms next time. in speech gen worked on breathing technique again. she has two devices she has to use during this practice. one measures the breath she blows into the mouthpiece and the other measures the air she inhales through the mouthpiece. it is an effort for her to get the lungs and mouth and lips all to cooperate and breathe when she wants them to. her numbers are improving every time she tries this exercise. she does well also remembering to switch from breathing out as much air as she can, and breathing in as much air as she can, for the two different tests. in ot she worked again on moving her arms up and on eating. in pt/ot co-treat she did some walking with the walker, with two therapists and josh helping her and with me standing by, ready to put a chair behind her when she needed to sit. in the afternoon, gen did the treadmill again, and we had two new therapists working with our regular ones. these therapists are in the rehab-day area, and they will be working with gen when she transfers to rehab-day on monday of next week. she did very well on the treadmill, upping the number of sets to 6, and walking for 2 minutes at a time twice. she is, of course, supported by the equipment and is helped by three therapists to take the steps, but she is initiating the muscle movement more and more, and she is keeping herself upright. all the therapists helping today commented on how much better she is at supporting her torso herself and how well her legs were working today. we are so encouraged by her improvement, and we pray it will continue as she makes this change away from the hospital and in-patient therapy. we know that the people here are determined that the change will be seamless for her. please keep us in your prayers these next few days especially: tomorrow i will have to make a round-trip to the nearest town in missouri where we can get gen's prescriptions filled. (as of friday evening she won't get her meds here anymore, and medicaid requires that we get them in missouri). after i get back from there, i will be driving home tomorrow night. then on friday after gen's last therapy session, she and josh will be moving her into the apartment. this will be a big adjustment, and hopefully a good and happy one for them to get to be out of the hospital and into an apartment.

susan
ps jenny: "little stuart rifkin likes to go shopping with his mommy."

tuesday evening

gen did a good job in all her therapies today. her pool therapist came to talk to us after that session and said gen had taken two steps by herself in the pool, and she had moved her arm away from her body all on her own. that is new, and sarah said she would work more with the arms next time. in speech gen worked on breathing technique again. she has two devices she has to use during this practice. one measures the breath she blows into the mouthpiece and the other measures the air she inhales through the mouthpiece. it is an effort for her to get the lungs and mouth and lips all to cooperate and breathe when she wants them to. her numbers are improving every time she tries this exercise. she does well also remembering to switch from breathing out as much air as she can, and breathing in as much air as she can, for the two different tests. in ot she worked again on moving her arms up and on eating. in pt/ot co-treat she did some walking with the walker, with two therapists and josh helping her and with me standing by, ready to put a chair behind her when she needed to sit. in the afternoon, gen did the treadmill again, and we had two new therapists working with our regular ones. these therapists are in the rehab-day area, and they will be working with gen when she transfers to rehab-day on monday of next week. she did very well on the treadmill, upping the number of sets to 6, and walking for 2 minutes at a time twice. she is, of course, supported by the equipment and is helped by three therapists to take the steps, but she is initiating the muscle movement more and more, and she is keeping herself upright. all the therapists helping today commented on how much better she is at supporting her torso herself and how well her legs were working today. we are so encouraged by her improvement, and we pray it will continue as she makes this change away from the hospital and in-patient therapy. we know that the people here are determined that the change will be seamless for her. please keep us in your prayers these next few days especially: tomorrow i will have to make a round-trip to the nearest town in missouri where we can get gen's prescriptions filled. (as of friday evening she won't get her meds here anymore, and medicaid requires that we get them in missouri). after i get back from there, i will be driving home tomorrow night. then on friday after gen's last therapy session, she and josh will be moving her into the apartment. this will be a big adjustment, and hopefully a good and happy one for them to get to be out of the hospital and into an apartment.

susan
ps jenny: "little stuart rifkin likes to go shopping with his mommy."

monday evening

ot- gen and courtney gave a tutorial to gen's future day-rehab therapist. she had e-stim on her delts. she worked on writing.

pt- gen worked on standing in the first session. i think her shots are working now. she was able to straighten her knees completely on her own while standing. we could actually see her using muscles she hasn't used in a long time.

st- gen worked on conversational talking, reading and breathing.

jenny- And what if I did do it? Even though I admit to nothing, and never will. What does that make me? And I'm not here just defending myself but all those pickers out there who've been caught. Each and every one of them, who has to suffer the shame and humiliation because of people like you. Are we not human?! If we pick, do we not bleed?! I am not an animal!

-joshua

sunday evening

this is susan, and i'm back in lincoln a day early this week. i will have to go back home a day early this week because of my work schedule. this is going to work out pretty well with gen's and josh's schedule too, because they will be moving gen into the apartment on friday, if all goes as planned. as we might have mentioned, there is not room in the apartment for three people. so it is a good time for me to make a graceful exit. because today was sunday, gen didn't have therapy. she and josh worked on her leg exercises, and gen can help pushing and pulling and moving her legs to the side. she said her legs felt more relaxed after the shots (on thursday she had four shots of the phenyl whatever in each hamstring and four in the right calf; she already had four in the left calf.) she is talking much more clearly all the time. she still has to work at it, but the words come out more understandably and more quickly. she also showed me she could lift her right hand about four inches off the bed into the air. she held it there for about 6 seconds the time we tested it. that is a great improvement. she is happy tonight because da bears won big over new york. we start another week tomorrow, and we are grateful for all the folks who are praying for her. while i was back in missouri this weekend i had many people tell me their churches or sunday school classes are praying each week for gen. what an encouragement! we trust God to give us what is best for each day, and He never disappoints us.

susan
ps jenny: "no meat, no leftovers, no butter. and i cannot overstate this: no soft cheeses of any kind. is that clear?"

friday evening

pt- gen's legs were a little sore today from her shots yesterday. in the first session, she worked on sitting balance. second session, standing and weight bearing through her arms.

ot- gen had e-stim on her shoulders. she worked with the slidey-pole and on the bed controls.

speech- gen worked on conversational talking and breathing.

jenny- the sea was angry that day, my friend, like an old man trying to return soup at a deli.

-joshua

thursday evening

pt- gen worked on standing during the first session. her regular therapist wasn't here today, so it was a little harder than normal. in the second session, she walked on the treadmill. again, it was harder than normal due to the substitute therapist.

ot- gen worked on raising her arms with the slidey-pole.

speech- for the first session, we went to the lab and measured the pressure of gen's talking with and without the noseplug. the results were all-around better than two weeks ago. gen worked on breathing and conversational talking in the second session.

jenny- somewhere in this hospital, the anguished oink of pigman cries out for help.

-joshua

wednesday evening

man, the weather here was like summer today! i think it hit 80 this afternoon. we went outside for gen's first speech session. it was too nice to stay inside. she worked on breathing in that session (trying to get more lung capacity so she can get more syllables per breath). she worked on reading aloud and answering questions in the second session indoors. in ot gen worked on operating the controls on her bed, so she can raise or lower the head or feet by herself. she did very well with some help from her occupational therapists and e-stim. in pt she practiced standing again. this is so her legs will get stronger for walking. in the afternoon session she did work on the mat, rolling from side to side, stretching, bridging and getting up to a sitting position. some of these things she can do alone, and some she needs help with. in her room, she practiced writing and feeding herself. she is getting much better at both of these. we thank God for blessings every day. we pray for strength to meet life's challenges. we are thankful for friends who continually encourage us and pray for us. gen says thank you to aunt judy for the candy and figurines.

susan
ps jenny: "well maybe i don't use my exclamation points as haphazardly as you do."

monday evening

this is susan...i've been gone since thursday evening and just got back this afternoon. i worked at for-all on friday and saturday, saw my church family on sunday, visited with family and took care of some bills and business while i was in carthage. gen looks so good, better and better all the time. she told me about what she did over the weekend: took a step on her own (one step backward) which was a big step forward figuratively. i think we kidded her that she would be moonwalking before she was really walking. she has been standing more solidly and without assistance after she gets up and balanced. saturday josh and david (therapist) got her up to a standing position 4 times for about 5 minutes each time, and let her stand alone without holding her for about half of that time. that is terrific!! she had me bring her a book of mazes and a book of word searches. she is continuing her arm work in the evenings in her room. she did very well on both of those activities this evening. she found most of the words before i spotted them. i just supported her arm (held it up off the table) and she moved it to complete the maze or to circle the words or scratch off the words in the list that she had found. i am so impressed at the arm movement i could feel while i held her wrist off the table. she is really improving. please keep praying for her to have the strength and courage to keep trying to do all the things she needs to do while she is still here. please keep praying that God will not let her be discouraged, but will let her feel His grace, His peace, His arms holding her up like no one else can hold her. thank you for your care and concern.

susan
ps jenny: "the old coot's sittin' on a mountain of gold!"

wednesday evening

gen found out today that she got another week here, and that she won first place in the halloween costume contest. she was very happy about both things. she did e stim for an hour and a half in ot, working first on typing, then on raising her arms up above her head. both of those had supports, but she is getting stronger and more accurate in her movements every day. in pt she did some more standing. she also worked on squats, and she did the work on these herself without help. in speech she worked more on conversation, making her speech understandable. she only had one session each of pt and speech today, because she had an outing to see a movie. this is to improve her community skills. she had popcorn, root beer and junior mints. we saw "flags of our fathers" and gen said i was sappy because i liked the ending. oh well. i think i probably really am sappy. we got back from the movie too late to get dinner from the cafeteria here (they close at 6:30) and she hadn't ordered a tray because she is doing independent dining in the evening. so we got some mexican food from taco john's for dinner. it's nice for gen to be able to do normal things like that. we appreciate all of the friends and family who keep encouraging us in so many ways, letting us know we are not forgotten. thank you.

susan
ps jenny: "she's not really dead if we find a way to remember her."

tuesday evening

happy halloween!

today was a good day. in pool therapy, gen took a step with her right foot all on her own for the first time. in ot, gen worked on raising her arms up, and tonight, she actually started raising her right arm a little! in pt, gen worked on the treadmill. the shots from yesterday haven't kicked in yet. maybe by thursday.

gen dressed up as stephen hawking for halloween. she wore a white button-up shirt with a sweater. she cocked her head over to the right and gave a crooked smile. courtney made her a nametag that read "hello, my name is: stephen hawking," and some fake book covers with the titles of hawking's books. gen also used a computer she got from the speech lab. we type a phrase into it and push a button and it says the phrase with a computer accent. she entered a costume contest. we'll find out if she won tomorrow.

don't forget about our new address:
name, Cabrini House Apt A
c/o Madonna
5401 South Street
Lincoln, NE 68506

jenny- now what do i have to do to get you two into a relationship today?

-joshua

monday evening

susan here. i went back home on friday after moving stuff out of the house. i went to work on saturday, got to visit my family and my cats, saw my church family and enjoyed some wonderful weather. i came back to lincoln today, and was amazed at how much colder it is here than back home. i was also amazed to see how much gen has done over the weekend. she is talking clearer than ever, even without the noseplugs. she is moving her right arm up slightly, working on getting it up to the control for her chair without having someone set it in place. she is helping so much with all the moving we have to do with her. at 4:00 this afternoon gen got four injections in her left leg to help reduce the tone. the doctor used a thin needle like a probe, hooked up electrodes to her leg, used a machine to find where the muscle activity was on overload, and injected the medication into each of four places. the medication is intended to deaden the nerve in that area so it won't be stimulated to make the muscles contract. this will let the other muscles work like they should without having to counteract the overloaded ones. this is hard to explain, but this should start to help in 2-3 days and should last 4-6 months. it should make her left leg less stiff and unmanageable. (the medication is similar in effect to botox, which deadens the nerves and smooths out the area where the nerves are.) tomorrow should be a big day, and we pray for strength and courage to meet each challenge. God has been good to us.

susan
ps jenny: "just a little place i like to call "you'll see."

friday evening

one of the wheelchair-accessible apartments opened up, so susan and i moved into it today. it's not so much an apartment as it is a room with a bathroom attached. boy, is it small. for those of you who don't know, gen was approved for a month of outpatient rehab and housing. when medicaid stops paying for inpatient care, gen will just move into the apartment with us and continue her rehab as an outpatient.

our new address:
name, Cabrini House Apt A
c/o Madonna
5401 South Street
Lincoln, NE 68506

ot- gen had e-stim on her fingers, wrist and shoulders. she is starting to work on raising her arm. she did the arm bike and fed herself. today she told me she almost turned her wrist on her own. she has never done that while feeding herself.

pt- gen had e-stim on her legs. she also did some standing.

jenny- a donation has been made in your name to the human fund.

-joshua

thursday evening

gen did really well in her therapies today. the day started off with pool therapy, and gen did some new things: walking in the pool (with help from sarah), squats which gen did all on her own, and sitting on a weighted bench and having sarah make waves and turbulence in the water so gen would have to work to stay balanced. she did! in ot she worked on putting weight through her arms, leaning on the lower bar of a walker and standing up,leaning on her arms. she also did a new exercise sitting on a mat and pushing a table away from in front of her, using her arms. she had to do this without leaning back while she pushed so she can get used to isolating muscles needed for a job and not throwing every muscle into it. for the same reason, in speech, they sometimes use a bite block to she will have to move her tongue without moving her jaw to make it happen. in speech gen did a lot of conversational work, answering questions and reading headlines from the paper. in pt she got on the treadmill again. she did a great job, holding herself up better than ever. we were happy to have visitors yesterday and today. a good family friend, muriel, from edmonton in alberta, canada came to the midwest for her vacation. she went to joplin and got my mom (gen's grandma "momo") and brought her up here to visit too. we hope they will have a safe trip home. we have been blessed indeed.

susan
ps jenny: gen said you'll never guess what song she heard while she was in pool therapy..."desperado." and she also said "it's not a purse...it's european!"

wednesday evening

we got another week!!

ot- gen had e-stim all morning. we played yahtzee. she turned the cup over to dump out the dice. she also got creamed. she worked with the sander again. she did some writing.

pt- gen worked out on her stomach today. she was able to lift her chest up all by herself. she was also able to prop herself on her arms. this is the first time she's done either of these things. in the afternoon, gen worked on standing.

jenny- and you want to be my latex salesman.

-joshua

tuesday evening

my oh my, what a wonderful day! gen had a "red-letter day" in pool therapy according to her therapist in there. she said gen was supporting herself better than ever, in shallower water (which means less support from the water). gen did some standing and some squats and some rolling over in the pool. in speech, katie said gen's pronunciations (with the nasal opterator) were better than ever. gen did a lot of work making up sentences using one word given by katie. she also made up paragraphs describing how to do different things (make oj from concentrate, wrap a present, decorate a christmas tree, etc) paying attention to pronunciation and phrasing. she did very well. in ot she worked on putting weight through her arms, lifting herself up off the mat in the gym. she was pleased to be able to tell that she was helping to lift herself. she also did some standing with a walker just for balance. in pt she got on the treadmill again, and she did better than ever before. she was initiating some of the leg movement, she was holding herself straight and tall, she did more sets of walking than ever, and she made it to 1.8 mph (average walking speed.) she still has therapists support her on both sides and behind her during this exercise, but they tell us she is working a lot of it herself. each day that we hear the therapists say how well gen is doing, we are encouraged. each day that we see her do something new, we are grateful. we know that God is in control and that He is blessing us every day. we pray for strength for each day, to be able to meet the challenges (physical, mental, emotional, spiritual) and to face life with the confidence that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. thank God for answered prayer and for each new day in which to rejoice and be glad.

susan
ps jenny "another festivus miracle!"

monday evening

ot- gen had e-stim on her fingers. this let her open her fingers up all the way. we high-fived. she used the arm bike. she also had e-stim on her deltoids while using the sander.

pt- gen did some standing, with weight bearing on her arms in the morning session. in the afternoon, she did some leg excercises and rolling excercises.

st- gen worked on noseplug talking and stops. she also did breathing tests with the inspirometer and therapep.

kyle and meghan- thank you very much for the halloween treats.

jenny- i can feel his blood inside of me, borrowing things from my blood.

-joshua

sunday evening

not much happened today. the weather was very cold and cloudy. that was better than yesterday when it was snowing and then raining (and cold). gen had us do her arm exercises with her and she practiced talking with and without the nasal opterator (sp?) she is getting so much easier to understand when she speaks. we had a weekend pass to go to the house with gen today, and we had to bundle her up well before taking her outside. she drove her chair all the way to the house with no help from me except getting up the curb (wheelchair access corner). we didn't go to the house till mid-afternoon, so we didn't have a meal, only a snack (cherry garcia ice cream and snickerdoodle coffee.) she was back here for dinner. we thank all of you for your continuing support and concern for gen. we thank and praise God for his continuing love and strength.

susan
ps jenny: "his whole life revolves around superman and cereal."

saturday evening

we all slept in today. gen didn't have a session until 1:30pm. in ot, gen used the arm bike. she did 51 revolutions. she told us afterward that it was much easier today than it ever has been. in pt, did some sitting stretches in the gym. in speech, gen worked on talking with her noseplug. she figured out how to make a "k" sound, which should help her with "ee."

-joshua


jenny- yankee bean, yankee bean, i like my yankee bean.

friday evening

we have completed another week of therapy-filled days and are looking forward to the weekend. tomorrow gen is only scheduled for three half-hour sessions. that will be restful. today gen had e stim for an hour and a half on her arms. at 10 colleen came to our room and hooked up the electrodes, and gen worked on scooping cheerios into a cup and pouring them into a bowl (no milk was involved, just in case you were wondering.) she did really well at the pronation and supination of both wrists. at 10:30 we moved to the gym (still wearing the electrodes) and worked on pushing her arms up and out away from her. there is a device called "the sander" which doesn't really sand anything, but has handles that slide the center panel along a track. you can set it up at various angles, and you can even add weights to it. courtney set it at a very steep angle for gen, to work on getting her arms up that high. at 11 we moved to a table and gen worked on dot-to-dot still using e stim. at 11:30 we had pt, and gen did some sitting, standing and walking (with a regular walker.) we only had three of us helping her walk (short by one person) and it was a little harder for gen and for us. she did a good job and we all survived. gen had ot again during lunch, and she fed herself some of her food. she also held a cup with a handle and drank from a straw. that was helped by the noseplugs (they have a real scientific name but i can't remember beyond "nasal -----"). they helped because they kept all the air focused in her mouth so she could pull liquid up through the straw. without the nose pinched or plugged closed she has difficulty getting a drink from a straw. at 2 katie worked with gen in speech. she recorded gen saying a list of 57 words without the nasal plug and then another list with the plug. someone will be listening to the recording and reporting how many from each list they could understand. at 3 in pt gen worked on rolling from side to side and bending her legs. her second speech session was at 3:30 together with pt, and she was given words and had to use them in sentences. she always comes up with some fun and funny sentences. we all laughed a lot, and then at 4 she was through for the day. whew!!! thank you to everyone who takes the time to read the blog and keep up on gen's progress. we really appreciate the care and concern you all show us. thank you.

susan
ps jenny: "nobody beats me, because i'm the wiz!"

thursday evening

today, gen and i went to blockbuster for an outing. we rented two movies and gen drove herself all around the store.
ot- gen worked on dot-to-dots and writing with her arm resting on the table.
pt- gen walked on the treadmill again today. she did better than she'd done before. this could be because she didn't have the pool session this morning or because of med changes. we're not sure.
st- gen got a cool noseplug.

don't forget, my mom, Sue Godsey, has a wonderful, sweet, older, easygoing, spayed dog who needs a good home. or just a home. whatever. if you have a home, good or bad or in-between, call her at 417.439.1050.

thank you to kari in sweden for the card, lip gloss and barrettes.

thank you to the KUMC staff for the wonderful card. we were thrilled to hear from you all.


jenny- the cool, evening breezes of Anytown, USA.


-joshua

wednesday evening

brrrr! it is pretty cold here now. it has been raining for a couple of days, but tomorrow is supposed to be milder and sunny. gen is scheduled for an outing wherein she will drive her chair in a store, improving her "community skills." that should be fun. today was a full day, even if not one of the busiest. gen had e stim on her arms this morning, and it was combined with recreation therapy. she played yahtzee again, using her stimulated arm muscles to turn the dice cup up and down. she also worked on moving her arms up and down, at an angle out in front of her. she is working up to being able to raise her arms up, but it takes a good foundation of strengthened arm muscles to do that. in pt she was evaluated for some new thin splints for her feet that would fit snugly and would be worn under shoes to keep her feet straight when she walks instead of letting them rotate out onto their sides like they tend to do now. she is still having some trouble with "tone" which is that tensing of muscles that interferes with motion. the doctor has gradually increased the dosage of both the medications she takes for that condition. in speech therapy, gen got to read grocery ads to katie, and katie had to be able to tell what gen was reading. in the afternoon session, gen was evaluated by another speech pathologist who was trying to determine if there is something they can do to help gen keep air from escaping through her nose when she is trying to say letters that need the air to build up pressure in her mouth to make them come out right. (ex: p, b, g, k). there are a couple of devices that would help, and he is planning to try one of them tomorrow morning. it really amazes me to see the creativity of the therapists, and to see their committment to helping people. i thank God for His gifts to us that come in so many forms. i am reminded that when moses was given the instructions for the tabernacle, and when solomon was given the instructions for the temple, they were each supplied with specific men who were prepared by God to have the skill and knowledge needed to follow the instructions and create something acceptable to God. i see therapists working here who make me believe that God placed just the right people in just the right place to accomplish His will for genevieve. i am grateful to God and to those he has put in our lives who keep me thinking of Him and His goodness to us.

susan
ps jenny: gen says "a young girl's strange erotic journey from milan to minsk...rochelle, rochelle."

tuesday evening

pt- gen did some standing and walking with the walker. she also did some tippy-toe excercises while standing. she used the treadmill again this afternoon.
ot- cotreat with pt and the walker. sitting excercises with weight bearing through her arms.

as many of you know, my mother moved out of her house so gen and i can stay with her when we come back home. her new landlord wont allow her to keep her dog, josie. josie is a sweet dog, getting old in years, spayed and very calm. if anyone has room to take her in or knows of anyone who could use a dog, please call my mother, sue godsey, at 417.439.1050.

-joshua

jenny- Serenity Now!!

monday evening

gen had a good day today. she worries about having enough progress to warrant another week, each week. i reminded her that God is in control and that He gave her a spirit willing and eager to meet new challenges from the time she was a little girl. He knew long ago that she needed to be tough and determined. He also knows how long she needs to stay here to accomplish what she needs to accomplish. i pray that we will be allowed to stay as long as it is His will for us to stay. today gen worked on arm strength and movement in ot. she moved her arms up and forward on several exercises. she also worked on supporting herself using her arms more to sustain weight. in pt she had e stim in the morning, working her lower legs and feet. in the afternoon amy had her stand in front of a table...just stand and shift her weight from foot to foot. she also had her move one foot to the front and then move it back, repeating with the other side. then courtney from ot stopped by and said she thought gen was ready to try a walker, using her hands to help support weight. so amy got gen up to a walker, and had her hands on the handles. gen says she was not really supporting herself with her arms, but was just standing on her feet, balancing herself with her arms lightly resting on the handles of the walker. in any case, she is standing better and better, and also using her arms better and better. in speech she got to play a new game, called catch phrase. she really liked it. we didn't use the board and timer, but gen had to try to get katie to say the featured word by her description. this meant gen had to come up with the words and get them out in an understandable form. she did really well. she also did well at guessing the words katie was describing. in the afternoon speech session katie worked with amy from pt and they asked gen questions (what is your favorite food, restaurant, etc) and gen had to answer so they could understand. she did very well and had everyone laughing at her fun-filled spirit and good humor. tonight is monday night football and gen is booing the arizona cardinals (da bears are gen's team). she can boo very loudly. we thank all of you for your thoughts and prayers for gen. she really appreciates the comments and cards she gets, and she is thankful that so many are lifting her up in prayer. we feel the strength that only can come from the faith in Christ, knowing He knows all we are going through and He loves us like no one else can.

susan
ps jenny: gen says "what is this salty discharge?"

saturday evening

saturday...not much going on today. usually gen gets to sleep a little late on saturday, but today was an exception. she only has one half-hour session of each therapy on saturday, but they were scheduled starting at 9:30 today. that's earlier than weekdays except pool days. oh well, it can't be helped. in pt, she did sitting balance with the exercise ball, and stretched farther than ever before. she also stood, helped up only by the therapist and me, and stood still for almost a minute. in speech she worked on making distinct beginnings and endings of words. in ot she worked on writing. all the therapists were different from her regular ones, and they don't know gen very well, so they spend part of their time just figuring out what she can do and can't do...we don't really get far on weekends unless we have therapists that know her. this afternoon leighton and randi got to town, and gen had a pass to leave the hospital and go to the house. we had a great visit and had chinese food for dinner together. they are staying overnight so we will see them again tomorrow. gen is eager to show them what she can do (in the gym) that she couldn't do last time they saw her. we are so grateful for family and friends. God has blessed us with loving people all around us, so we never feel like we have to do this all alone. gen wants to thank connie for the angel in a bubble that she sent. jenny, "i know why we have reservations. i don't think you do. if you did, i'd have a car. see, you know how to take the reservaton, you just don't know how to hold the reservation, and that's really the most important part of the reservation, the holding. anybody can just take them."

susan

friday evening

gen had another good day today.
pt- gen did some leg excercises in the first session. second session, she did some new sitting excercises. she sat on the edge of the mat with her arms propped on a gigantic red plastic ball. she leaned forward and had help lifting her butt off the mat.
ot- gen worked on dot-to-dots, eating, and a new arm slidey-thingy.

-joshua

jenny- maybe the dingo ate your baby.

thursday evening

thursday is one of gen's jam-packed days, so we have been busy since early this morning. in pool therapy gen did arm exercises, standing, taking steps, etc. the steps are a new addition to her pool arsenal. we were barely back to street clothes when the ot was here for the e-stim session. gen worked on computer use with the e-stim today, first with the right hand and then with the left one. she was supposed to have ot for an hour and a half, straight through till pt, but courtney gave her a short break between 11 and 11:30. then she practiced driving in pt. she was able to negotiate the set-up obstacle course in the gym, even with the speed set a little higher than she has ever used. she is getting more and more control over her hands. ot came in again during lunch and helped her work on eating. she did very well at that too. immediately after ot, gen had speech. katie had her work more on emphasizing one word in a phrase (ex: he lives in a green HOUSE/he lives in a GREEN house). she also worked on "g","d","t"...working on making them sound, even when they are in the middle or the end of a word. she also worked on making a noticeable break in sound between words in a phrase (ex: "i'm tired" instead of "imtired").
at 2:30 gen got back onto the treadmill. she went faster today (1.7 mph) and they lowered the amount of support from 35% to 30% of her weight. she walked 6-7 times (she walks a few minutes and then stands still to rest, walks again, then sits to rest.) the first time she did this, she only walked 4 times and rested between each set. she did a really good job of holding herself up and keeping her legs from collapsing. she had another speech session after that, and she worked on loudness and conversation. we had her talk to someone again who isn;t used to her speech, and she understood her. gen's completely wiped out now, and ready to sleep. i'll let her sleep a little late in the morning, since her first session isn't till 10:30. we are so grateful for the blessings from God every day. there is nothing quite like the knowledge that we can trust our lives to Him and can know that He is faithful and true.
susan

wednesday evening

we got another week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

jenny- george likes his chicken spicy.

jenn lewis- we got the card. thank you.

-joshua

tuesday evening

today was the busiest day yet for gen. up early for an early breakfast tray, into the pool at 9am (where she did arm and leg movements, standing and spinning). 10am was e stim in ot and she ate some orange sherbet and signed a birthday card for sue (josh's mom, gen's mother-in-law and co-star, my co-mom-in-law.) happy birthday sue!!! she had pt at 11 and practiced driving the chair. 12 noon brought a short break and time for gen to close her eyes for a bit to rest. 12:30 was lunch, continued at 1 with courtney from ot who helped her eat some yummy-looking acorn squash. 2pm was speech, and gen worked on loud/soft, low/high, sustained sound and differentiating between vowel sounds again. we took the last few minutes to go to the office of another speech therapist and have gen say a few words to her to see if she could understand her. she could!! (those who spend a lot of time with gen learn to read the lips, facial expressions, other things that give the sense of the words. we needed to see if she really was speaking more clearly or if we were just getting better at reading her. she is definitely getting better. 2:30...ta-daa! the treadmill! gen said she felt like she could fly. she was hooked to a vest-like thing with straps for the hooks on the treadmill. we pushed the wheelchair up a ramp to the belt, two therapists strapped handles to her feet, and then another therapist turned on the machine and had the vest and hooks lift her to a standing position. she straightened her knees, kept her feet flat, held up her head and held back her shoulders. when the belt came on, the two therapists on her sides held the foot handles and helped her move her feet in a walking rhythm. another therapist was behind gen, making sure she was straight and steady. we did three or four rounds of walking, and halfway through they sped up the belt and also took away some of the support they were giving her. she was getting help with 35 percent of her weight and she was walking at a speed of about 1.6 miles per hour. (1.8 is supposedly a normal walking speed.) picture this: gen on the treadmill, video camera taping the whole thing for training and checking procedures, four therapists helping (one of them was amy who works with gen all the time), josh and i watching, and also courtney and colleen from ot watching, katie from speech watching and ginn the case worker watching. when gen did her first round of walking, wse had a spontaneous round of applause that made everyone in the gym stop to look. it was beautiful! after the treadmill, gen had speech again at 3:30, and she was still able to get out a loud voice and talked pretty clearly to her therapists. finally then the day was done except for dinner and tv. she really did a great job today (this evening she was still working, doing dot-to-dots and moving her hands from down at her sides up to her lap. that is new tonight. wow.) gen wanted me to thank jennifer for the note and the gift card. she wanted me to thank connie for the coin. and she wanted me to tell jenny "well i don't want a broad flat noodle."

susan

monday evening

ot- today, susan and i finished learning a new stretching routine for gen's shoulders. gen worked on eating in her second session.
pt- gen did some standing and stepping today. she also had a session of stretches. we're looking forward to tomorrow and the treadmill.
st- gen worked on "stops" today. d, t, p, hard g are all "stops." they don't require voice and are a little harder.

-joshua



jenny-bras are for ladies. this is a bro.

sunday evening

gen got a chance to sleep late today. she got up at 9:30 and found out that there was a new nurse on duty who had not brought her breakfast tray into the room, but had sent it back, and it was too late to get a new tray with the french toast she had ordered. they sent a replacement tray with cold cereal instead. what a disappointment for her! we made up for it by taking her on an outing to the house again this weekend. it was a beautiful day, warm and windy, and gen drove her chair nearly all the way over there. (we helped her negotiate the street.) we watched football, played cards, ate italian food and drank freshly ground coffee. gen doesn't get good coffee at the hospital. in fact, her assessment of it is "blah". we brought her back early in the evening, and had time for all her exercises and some more dot-to-dot pages. she has very good control of her right hand if her arm is supported up and off the table. we got phone calls today from friends and family, which is just wonderful. weekends are great for catching up (when we have free minutes on our phones.) i gave gen a manicure and pedicure today...part of her relaxing day. she has a very busy week ahead of her, with all her regular therapy sessions, plus the pool therapy two days, and the treadmill two days, Lord willing. her pt thinks gen is ready to walk (under the controlled conditions of the treadmill.) they will have three trained therapists on hand during the hour, and i've got to tell you i am really looking forward to seeing how this turns out. this is really big. i have seen prayers answered every single day. i have seen the power of God save gen's life, protect her intellect, restore her ability to move, return her capacity to speak, preserve her sense of humor. i know that whatever is best for us is exactly what God is going to do for us. He deserves all the praise and glory.

susan
ps jenny: gen says "not that there's anything wrong with that..."

saturday evening

in ot, gen worked on writing. i bought her some dot-to-dot books to practice with. gen did sitting and standing excercises today in pt. gen got another new movement this evening. she can turn her hands at the wrist.

-joshua

jenny- you sprayed him in the eyes with binaca?
cherry binaca. it's new.

friday evening

seriously, another week of therapy is over, except the scaled-back saturday sessions, and gen has come so far! therapists who only see her once a week or so can't believe all she can do now that she couldn't do the last time they saw her. so many prayers have been and are being answered every day, showing us the love of God and the care He shows for His children. gen walked again today, doing more on her own than before. each day her legs get stronger. in ot we worked again on a technique for relaxing gen's shoulder muscles so she has greater range of motion. josh and i are being trained to do this (and how not to hurt her in the process.) in speech therapy, gen worked more on loud/soft and high/low vocalizations. she got to use the computer programs again with the hummingbirds and helicopters and graph lines. gen really likes using them because there is a visual display of what her voice is doing. she can make the hummingbirds fly to higher flowers by raising the pitch of her voice. she is also working on emphasizing certain words in sentences, so they make better sense than when she says them all alike. she is driving her chair mostly by herself now. she has better control of her hands, and has started using her fingers with the help of e stim. we are grateful to God for blessings beyond anything we could imagine. we are grateful to all who read this and pray for gen. we are grateful for friends who are there for us, helping in practical ways and offering to help in any way necessary. thanks!

susan
ps jenny: gen says "you know, a muffin can be very filling."

thursday evening

ot- gen started e-stim on her wrists and fingers today. so far, everything that has been e-stimmed has started working on command. we're hoping this stays true with the fingers. she also worked with the arm bike and did some driving.
pt- driving again, outside and through doorways and into elevators. gen did some more stepping. today, i couuld really feel her initiating the leg movements. she's not quite strong enough to do it on her own, but she'll get there.
st- gen was filmed today for a speech therapy training video.

-joshua


here you go, jenny... "Suze!" I mean... Suzie, Suzanne, Suzanna... fine! But there is no way I'm gonna be a "Suze."

wednesday evening

where to start? over the last two days gen has not only been standing and stepping to her wheelchair, but taking steps forward (i mean that literally!) you may remember that in pt we had gotten her to her feet (gait belt plus leg support from her therapist and josh and me.) we had her lean on a table while standing up, giving her arms support while she held herself up. today amy got the idea to have her use the table as a sort of "walker." i held her arms steady on the table, josh and amy helped her move her feet forward one at a time, and gen moved her legs and held herself upright. we went 6 steps forward, took a break (she sat in a regular chair for the first time in a long time) and then we did 6 steps forward again before stepping to her chair. her vocalizations today were fine-tuning the differences between vowels. she was asked to say two words that were very similar, and to make enough difference between them for katie to tell what she said. (ex: mall/mull, fail/fell). in ot we did e stim and worked on pronation, which is the movement gen needs to dip food from a bowl and then move the spoon to her mouth. the wrist turns down and then up. to work on this today, we played yahtzee, and gen held the cup and poured out the dice for each play. this was a big first, for her to turn her wrists enough to do that, especially her left one. she has been eating using her right one, but courtney always helps her get the food on her utensil. keep in mind that things gen can do with e stim take a little time to become something she can do without it. the e stim makes the muscles feel the need to move. when they move, her brain gets the message that this is what it is supposed to feel like and look like. since she is relearning so much, this just gives her brain a helping hand. her ot therapists had a special surprise for gen and josh today: a small replica of their wedding cake, complete with gummy worms, gummy bears and pez dispensers. what fun! we thank God for all His mercies toward us, for gifted and caring therapists here, for loving and thoughtful friends back home. we are blessed indeed.

susan
ps jenny: gen says "i'm sure jon voight misspells his name all the time. sometimes i spell jerry with a "g"...and an "i"!!!

monday evening

well, the anniversary celebration went nicely. josh and gen got to eat dinner and see a movie over at the house we are using. it was so nice to be out of the hospital. i used the opportunity to see more of the town of lincoln. i saw the capitol building, the downtown area and did some general sightseeing while i tried to find my way back home. a good time was had by all. today gen worked with e stim on her arms in ot. she got to brush her teeth and put on lip gloss. in speech she got out some of the loudest and longest vocalizations her therapist has heard yet. she was very impressed. in pt we worked on sitting balance and leg strength, and then gen stood again. to accomplish this we have a gait belt on her and help her to her feet, making sure her heels stay down and her knees straighten. she holds herself upright, but she has a bit of support on at least one side via the belt and the therapist. today we had her take a step forward (by shifting her weight to one foot for her and moving her other foot for her.) eventually we helped her do a sort of two-step shift to get from the mat to the chair without the slide board. her physical therapist is still talking about getting her on the treadmill this week soon. this treadmill is set up so you can roll a wheelchair up a ramp to it, hook cables to the gait belt around the patient, lift the patient and keep them supported while their feet are on the treadmill. we are really hoping gen will get to do that this week. thank you all for your prayers and words of encouragement. gen loves to hear the comments on the blog. she said for me to tell jenny, "i choose not to run."

susan

saturday evening

it is so nice to know that people care enough to read about gen here, and to pray for her and her progress. i am amazed and humbled by the comments from friends new and old, by the dedication to prayer i see in church groups all over, by the kindness extended to us through this blog. thank you everyone for keeping us in your hearts and trusting us to God's care. that's where i want to be. gen had a slow day since it is saturday, but she did work on the arm bicycle in ot (she pedalled it frontward and backward with her arms today...backward was a first) and she practised driving the wheelchair in pt. david was her therapist today, and he had her work on driving around cones outside where the weather was beautiful. tomorrow is supposed to be in the 90s, and gen is looking forward to that. she gets to go out tomorrow afternoon again. today she also had company, and she would like to say thanks to dick and eillen for the flowers and the cookies and for the nice visit. she's sorry pt cut short the goodbyes with you. gen says thanks to forest for the stuffed animal and for bringing leighton and randi for a visit. and thanks to leighton and randi for bringing the top layer of the wedding cake for josh and gen's first anniversary celebration tomorrow.

susan

friday evening

gen worked on her cursive with and without e-stim during ot. in pt, she worked on more of the standing. for speech, she played more pitch and volume video games. she had her feet recasted today, which made her miss out on an hour of therapy. oh, well.

-joshua


message from gen to jenny- carnies. circus folk. small hands.

thursday evening

we started off the day with an early breakfast and then swimming therapy. gen stood longer today in the pool than she had before. she also pushed down into the water with her arms. in ot we had a training session for relaxing gen's shoulder muscles so her arms can move more freely. we did this in the half hour before pt so she would be ready for kneeling. she balanced on an exercise ball, which required her shoulders to be raised higher than is comfortable. she did well. at the end of the session, we (amy and courtney and josh and i) all helped gen stand up without the standing frame. she went from the mat to the wheelchair without our using a slideboard to transfer her. this was a first. in speech gen was talking loudly and longer than the speech therapist had ever heard. in her second speech session, we used a computer program that showed the pitch and volume of gen's speech on a graph. we used another program that required her to change pitch to make hummingbirds move up to flowers on the screen. she scored higher than our goal for the day was, which means she had more range of pitch than katie expected. that's great; it means she is getting away from a monotone. it requires a lot of muscle control to change pitch. yesterday one of the speech pathologists had gen make a video demonstrating four different eye/computer screen systems. the video will be used for teaching other speech therapists how to use these programs. gen made it all look easy. they said she is the fastest learner they have had using these systems. we thank God for answering prayers for gen's recovery. every day we get something new. we thank all those who care enough to read about gen's progress.

susan

wednesday evening

we got another week! all the therapies went well today. gen worked on typing with her mobile arm support in ot. during pt, she had e-stim. she told us that, for the first time, she could feel muscles in her legs kicking in. tonight she started isolating her leg muscles by kicking out her legs alternately.
keep those comments and cards coming. we love to hear from home.

-joshua

tuesday evening

gen had a tough day today. breakfast at 8, pool therapy at 9, ot from 10-11, pt at 11:30, lunch at 12:30, ot at 1, pt at 2:30 and speech from 3:30-4;30. josh and i had to work with gen in a transitional apartment here, practicing things you would do at home, like getting into and out of the shower, getting around furniture, etc. we did this after therapy and before dinner. by the time we did all gen's exercises and stretches with her, everyone was ready for a break. it is tough for gen to keep going all day like that. every action she does requires effort. she has to focus all her thoughts on what she is doing, whether it is moving her legs, writing her name or working on speaking and breath control. i have to remind myself every day that nothing is easy for her right now, and it is amazing to me that gen keeps her patience with me as i bumble my way around trying to help. i thank God for gen's christian spirit. God is greatly to be praised for reminding us of His love every day, whether it is through an especially beautiful sky or a brilliant rainbow, a bunny rabbit on the lawn or a cheerful birdsong, gen's ability to move and speak or her progress in the pool and in the gym. every good and perfect gift comes from above from the Father. the best gifts of all are His own Son from whom we have peace and His Spirit in whom we have comfort. what more do we need?

susan

monday evening

today, we had another outing. we went to the sunken garden. gen worked on driving her wheelchair with her hand. the paths were all cobblestone, so it was hard terrain for her to drive on. the sunken garden looked like any other garden but bigger and with more bees. during pt, gen got stretched out on her back and on her stomach. tonight, gen was able, for the first time, to sustain her voice for a long period. she's been working on this since we were at ku.
jenny- gen was going to say the same thing. is that a titleist?

-joshua

sunday evening

gen didn't have any therapy today, but she put herself through her paces anyway. she had josh and me do all her arm exercises with her. she practiced her talking too. at noon we had company arrive. leighton and randi and kyle and meghan drove up to see gen and to bring birthday presents for josh. we all went to the house we are staying in...gen drove her chair all the way from the hospital across the parking lot to the street. josh drove her on around the corner to the house. the weather was perfect and we sat out on the patio for lunch. we had such a good visit and such a good time. mid-afternoon we came back and took everyone on a tour of the hospital, including a side trip to the gym where gen showed everyone what she can do. we were sorry to see them leave, but we were so happy to see them and to spend a whole afternoon with friends and family from home. after they left, gen kept working on her speaking, and managed to get her voice to go from a low tone to a high tone and back again...like playing trombone with her voice. she has been working on this in speech but hadn't gotten it perfected till tonight. she wanted me to say to jenny, "they're chocolate; they're mint; they're delicious!"

susan

saturday evening

in ot, gen worked on the arm bike for the entire session. in pt, she did sitting excercises. gen practiced driving her wheelchair. we are looking forward to tomorrow because gen will be able to leave the hospital with us and visit the house where we're staying.

-joshua

friday evening

we had another festive day today. gen's therapists ordered in an italian feast from valentino's and we all had lunch together (even the case workers and the doctor were there). gen ate pizza, lasagna, mostaccioli, and even a piece of a breadstick. her speech therapist was so impressed that she asked the doctor right then and there to okay gen for the soft food diet (level 3) and he said yes. this lunch was a birthday party for josh, but we ran out of time before we got to the cake and ice cream. we did have time however for gen to sing "happy birthday" to josh. there might have been some dry eyes in the room, but not on my face. she is talking so much better, and working on inflection and intonation now. in st she worked on loud/soft, low/high and then worked on some of the harder consonants like "g" and "k". she got the "g" at least two times and thrilled the speech therapist. in pt she worked on hamstrings and she did a kneeling exercise which really stretched her. in ot she worked on shoulders and on writing. she tried writing with the paper flat on the table today, and it was great for her. (she had been using the draftsman-like table before.) in afternoon st we had cake and ice cream (all chocolate) and laughed a lot. she practiced driving the chair herself and got so much more control over her hand movements that everyone was impressed. tonight after she got into bed, she practiced moving her right hand left-right-forward-backward. the strength in her arm is noticeably better. we plan to do more practice with the driving tomorrow, and she should have one session of each type of therapy too. she doesn't want to slack off on her exercises at all, because she can see progress, and that is important. thank you all for your prayers on her behalf. i know people are praying for her recovery and for her to keep her spirits up. most of all i know that all of you are praying for God's will to be done in her life and ours. it means so much to us to know people care enough to entrust us to God's care, knowing He knows best what we need. thank you.

susan

thursday evening

pool therapy was great today. gen got to stand up in the pool. she still required assistance, but told me she was doing 50% of the standing work. she also got to roll over and over and over and over in the pool. in ot, gen did some shoulder and upper arm stretches. she got to stand in the standing frame for pt. we went to the movies this afternoon. we saw idlewild, the outkast musical. it was awesomely awful and terribly terrific. thank you for all the b-day wishes. i guess they worked, because i did have a happy b-day.

-joshua

wednesday evening

gen had a pretty good day today. she had e-stim again in ot, and practiced writing. she got to sign her birthday card for josh when he was out of the room. she was so happy she has a surprise for him. the last part of ot was devoted to finding a satisfactory joystick for gen's wheelchair. we finally had success! she steered herself around the gym, and then in pt she drove down the hall to the cafeteria and back. everyone was so happy she can use it now. in speech she practiced again talking louder, and also practiced singing "happy birthday to you" getting ready for the birthday party. she gets to help bake a cake tomorrow using some gadgets they have here that will let her do some of the work. early this evening, when all the therapy was over, gen had a little sick spell (felt nauseated, sweats and then chills, blurry vision, a tingling in her forehead and eventually a headache and dizziness.) we called the nurses as soon as she said she wasn't feeling well. they checked for low blood sugar and several other things, but found nothing wrong. she felt bad enough that her stroke doctor recommended she go by ambulance to a nearby hospital's er (but as a non-emergency trip) to get a cat scan as a precaution. we were at the other hospital a couple of hours while they did blood tests and the cat scan. everything turned out fine, and they don't really know why she had the spell. she felt a lot better by the time the ambulance brought her back to madonna. it was a relief to have them react so quickly and rule out another stroke, which was something gen feared. all's well that ends well. we hope to jump back into the therapy schedule first thing tomorrow morning with the pool therapy at 9 am. gen wanted me to say "thanks" to aunt judy and to say to jenny "bop she-bop."

susan

tuesday evening

st- today, we learned that gen is not officially on level 3 foods. she had a trial with bread and cookies. the bread got stuck, the cookies were no problem. during the co-treat with pt, gen worked on breathing, yelling and phrases like "help me" and "right now."

ot- for the first hour, gen worked on cursive writing and ice cream eating with her arm supports and e-stim. for the last half-hour, she had some new and intense pec and shoulder stretches.

pt- the first session was devoted to adapting gen's wheelchair. in the afternoon, gen did some sitting excercises. she did very well.

gen also had pool therapy this morning.

-joshua

monday evening

boy, it got cold up here this weekend. the low tonight is supposed to be in the 30's, if you can believe that! since we are indoors most of the time, it doesn't really bother us. gen started off the day with a good speech session. her regular therapist was back from vacation, and she was pleasantly surprised at gen's improvement since last week. her tongue is stronger and her voice is more understandable. we haven't had any problem with level 2 food (chopped meat, pasta, canned vegetables and fruits) so katie decided to move gen to level 3. i don't know esactly what that is, but she can try to eat whatever she wants to try. this includes bread, which was not allowed on level 2. well, she had french toast and cinnamon rolls, but they were slurried. if you don't know what that is, i can't explain it. the end result is an item that sits on a plate and looks like a cinnamon roll, but it is mush. so we are excited about the prospect of better food. in ot she worked with the controls on the wheelchair (still not adjusted totally right.) in pt she worked with her legs...hamstrings in the morning and quadriceps in the afternoon. gen loves getting cards in the mail, and we thank everyone for continuing to remember her in this way. she has gotten a couple of musical cards, and she really likes them. she has started keeping time with her head when she listens to them. we really appreciate everyone's comments, cards, prayers, thoughts and gifts. we know we are not alone, because Jesus said he would never leave us or forsake us. but it is nice to know that there are people all over the place who also are with us in spirit. we are blessed.

susan

saturday evening

we had a regular saturday today, with only one half-hour of each therapy. the weekend therapists are always people we don't know very well, but they try to use the notes from the regular therapists to direct the sessions. in speech, gen worked on breathing and vocalizing as usual. every day she is able to speak louder and more clearly. (note to john: "e" is hardest for her because it requires more of the mouth to move, involving the smiling muscles that she is just getting back. "a" and "i" are just kind of open mouthed; "o" and "u" use the lips in a forward position; "e" needs the lips and tongue flattened out and pulled to both sides. hope that explains it more clearly). in ot gen worked on writing, and did better than last time. she is tracing cursive letters on paper propped on a draftsman-like table. in pt she worked on sitting balance, and for the first time she sat up straight with no support from anyone else. she practiced leaning forward and backward and to each side, and straightening herself back out. the substitute therapist was very good with her. the rest of the day was free...we watched tv, played cards (texas hold 'em poker) and looked out the window. the weather is stormy (tornado warning last night and storm warnings today.) i like to watch the clouds and remember that the Lord will come with clouds. i like to feel the wind and remember that the Lord walks on the wings of the wind. He reminds us every day that He is with us and will never leave us or forsake us. we also remember that there are many people who remember us every day and who will be there for us no matter what. we are grateful.

susan

thursday evening

today was probably the busiest we have had so far. we got gen up and dressed early, and she had time to eat about half her breakfast before we had to leave for the pool. she spent about 40 minutes iin the therapy pool, moving her arms and legs and her whole torso in 92 degree water. the therapist was a very nice lady who will be working with gen two days a week from now on while she is here. we got back to the room with about 15 minutes to dry and dress gen before speech therapy. right after that she had ot for an hour and then pt for a half hour. her first break was at noon. the morning ot was spent working on fine-tuning the joystick for her wheelchair. the spilled over into pt. her regular speech therapist is on a vacation, so she had to work with someone else who was just getting to know gen. ot worked with her during lunch, letting her feed herself part of her food. in afternoon pt gen stood again, and did new stretches twisting from right to left. this used some muscles she has not been using. in afternoon speech she worked with the new lady again, and they worked on vowel sounds mostly. "e" is still the hardest to speak clearly. all in all, a busy and rewarding day. we're pretty happy about the pool therapy. gen was very pleased to be in the water again. thank you for checking the blog and keeping gen in your thoughts and prayers.

susan

wednesday evening

in st, gen worked on making "sss" and "shhh" sounds. she's working a lot on breaking up her voice. during ot, gen drove her chair, used the arm bike, and practiced writing cursive. for pt, gen laid on her stomach and back for some stretches and had e-stim. tomorrow will be her first day in pool therapy.

-joshua

this is susan and it is tuesday evening. sorry the title is below the paragraph. gen had another busy day today. she worked on vowel sounds in speech, she drove herself in her chair to ot, she had e-stim on her wrist in ot which made her better able to use a spoon or pen or the controls on her chair. in pt she worked on standing in the morning and did work on sitting and leg extension in the afternoon. she can lift her legs from the knee nearly straight out from a sittinig position now. that is so great. this evening, she showed us that she can tighten her right hand and then open it. she keeps practicing what she has been able to do, and keeps trying things she hasn't yet mastered. we are so pleased at her progress, and we thank God for keeping her safe and well.

susan

tuesday evening

monday evening

during speech, gen clucked her tongue. her st and pt were pleasantly surprised with her breathing. she is breathing more from her stomach and less from her chest. in ot, gen worked on using her wheelchair, eating, and writing. she's started using cursive, per susan's suggestion, and it is working better than print. during pt, gen had e-stim on her legs. it went well.

-joshua

sunday evening

today was even more relaxed than saturday was. there were no scheduled therapy sessions, so we worked on breathing, talking, sitting, kicking, etc on our own in gen's room. gen's sitting strength is stronger than ever. she can lean forward and pull herself back to a sitting position with no help. she can put her shoulders back and sit very straight and tall. she can lean to the right and left and pull herself back up straight every time. this strength in her torso is crucial for standing and walking. we are so happy to see the progress she has made. as always, we know that God is in control and He always hears, always sees, always knows what is best for us. we are thankful for that.

susan

sunday evening

today was even more relaxed than saturday was. there were no scheduled therapy sessions, so we worked on breathing, talking, sitting, kicking, etc on our own in gen's room. gen's sitting strength is stronger than ever. she can lean forward and pull herself back to a sitting position with no help. she can put her shoulders back and sit very straight and tall. she can lean to the right and left and pull herself back up straight every time. this strength in her torso is crucial for standing and walking. we are so happy to see the progress she has made. as always, we know that God is in control and He always hears, always sees, always knows what is best for us. we are thankful for that.

susan

saturday evening

we had a pretty easy day. gen only had two half hour sessions. in ot, we went to the gym and worked with the arm-bike. the pt came to gen's room and did some stretches. we started a movie, but didn't get to finish it... maybe tomorrow. gen worked on her hand-controlled wheelchair for half an hour. she is getting better at it.

-joshua

friday evening

another week gone, with much to show for it. gen has started moving her wrists, up and down and right to left. she can straighten her shoulders and hold herself up straight. she can kick each of her feet from the knee almost straight. she can smile when she wants to, not just when she is amused. these are all huge moves forward. just today she was okayed to move to level 2 for meals. this means no more pureed hotdogs or pureed lasagna with gravy. she will have cooked pastas, canned vegetables and fruits, and ground meats. she is already on thin liquids, meaning just like the rest of us drink. also today she was okayed to use the therapy pool. this will take a few days to get the schedule worked out, but hopefully by the middle of next week she will be doing that as another important therapy. the water is a great medium to work out in, and on top of that gen is a real swim-oriented person. she was thrilled to hear she was considered ready for this. Our God is great, and He is merciful. He knows how much we can bear, and does not press us beyond our capacity to endure. He gives peace and joy even when the world around is anything but peaceful or joyous. we thank God for all the blessings, and we thank Him for giving us caring friends and family who support us so faithfully with prayers and cards and thoughts and encouragement. we appreciate all of you very much.

susan

wednesday evening

even gen's therapists comment that she does something new every day. today in speech she worked with the laser screen. in ot she practiced some of the everyday things she will do when she goes home. this place has rooms just off the gym fixed up like kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, etc and each are furnished with everything you might need in them. they really work on getting people to be independent no matter where they are in their recovery. then courtney, the ot, surprised gen by having her try a joystick-controlled wheelchair. this is a step up from the head-controlled one she is using now. if she can do well enough driving with her hand and arm, she will not have to use the head array. she really would rather be walking, but if she is in a chair, she would rather use a joystick than a head array. there was talk all over the hospital about gen's advancement. in pt she had electrodes used on her legs, and she kicked and moved both legs well. after a few uses of the electrodes, her legs should move better on their own if they do like her arms did. the electodes stimulate the muscles to work, but her brain gets the picture and picks up where it should by telling the muscles to work when the brain tells them to. she did more vocalizing in speech/pt in the afternoon. she was able to say four and five syllables in a breath. her therapists were well-pleased with her work today.

susan

wednesday evening

tuesday evening

gen's breath control is getting better each day. she has started getting longer vocalizations. in pt today, she pinched her shoulder blades together for the first time. this is something we have been working on for quite some time, and is a big step in holding herself up and keeping her back straight. gen got to eat a popsicle in ot using the mobile arm supports and e-stim. she also did a little writing. she has started helping susan and i with her arm and leg excercises that we do every night.

-joshua

monday evening

gen got a new attachment for her wheelchair today. it allows her to change the mode of the chair (from forward to reverse or to tilt) by moving her head. there are still some kinks that we are working out. but when it works right, it will give her more independence for as long as she is still using a chair. in speech she worked on multi-syllable words. the therapist was only using two-syllables, but as soon as she left, gen turned to me and said she wanted to watch the law and order marathon, saying the word "marathon" as clear as a bell. three syllables with no effort. in pt we worked with the chair most of the time, but amy also did some new stretches for gen's back that will help her flexibility for standing and walking later. in ot we used the electrodes again and gen applied lip gloss and fed herself. the big news, though, is that gen can do chipmunk cheeks, pursing her lips and filling her cheeks with air. this is a big step forward. it means that the muscles in her mouth are stronger and her breathing is good enough to get a mouthful of air. we are blessed indeed. thank you for your prayers and comments. God has been very good to us.

susan

saturday evening

gen had a good time at the zoo yesterday. that outing counted as physical therapy and recreational therapy, and both those therapists went along. in ot gen worked with her arms, feeding herself using the mobile arm support. in speech therapy katie switched gen to regular liquids instead of nectar. this means she can have coffee or juice or water without our having to thicken it. it tastes much better in its real form than thickened. she had a good night's sleep, and today was a slower pace in therapy. she worked on sitting and leaning in pt, feeding herself in ot and working on strengthening her tongue in speech therapy. she is eating three full meals a day, and has fruit or yogurt with her medications (pills are powdered and mixed in). she had lots of visitors in the last two days. gen says to jenny, richie, connie, carey and momo, "thanks for coming to see me, and i hope you had a safe trip home." it was very good to see gen talking by way of her laser computer screen and laughing with her company. god has blessed her with something new every day, and that is a wonderful answer to the prayers of many people. thank you for caring.

susan

thursday evening

gen had a pressure mapping session this morning to determine the best cushion for her wheelchair. we had a meeting with the missouri wheelchair vendor. we decided what kind of powerchair gen will have and all the accesories. gen did a lot of work on her arms today; arm bike, e-stim, mobile arm supports. tomorrow we go to the zoo.

-joshua

wednesday night

wow! another big day for gen and all those who love her. this morning she moved her arms to the front back without help. her arm was resting in the mobile arm support, but there was no mechanical aid. she had a tube of lipgloss in her hand (supported by a hand brace) and she applied it without making any mistakes (like hitting her nose or chin instead of her lips). her therapist was thrilled. in speech she worked on making a sound that lasts a whole breath instead of short bursts of sound and breathing. she did well with that. in pt she worked more on her legs and was moving them front and back better than she had yet. all this movement is initiated by gen's muscles, not by electodes. in afternoon ot, courtney the therapist had a surprise for gen. she let her use one of those machines (i don't know the name of it) that lookes like a bicycle for the hands and arms. gen pushed and pulled the pedals without any help, and the therapists were so excited they all had her do it for them so they could see it. afternoon pt and speech were together, and they worked on breathing and vocalizing. she ate three good meals today (lunch was pureed hotdog/bun, pureed potatoes and pureed baked beans.) then tonight she got the feeding peg taken out. that is wonderful...the last tube is gone. we thank God for all the medical knowledge and talent that He has provided in the right place at the right time to help gen on her way to health. we know that He is in control and that He makes all things just the way they should be just when they should be. olivia, we did get the cd just before we left ku. thank you so much. we thank everyone else too for gifts and cards and comments on the blog. thank you also for the financial aid via the smb account, and a special account at first presbyterian church in joplin. there are a lot of wonderful people keeping tabs on gen and her progress, and we are grateful to all of you for your support and prayers for us.

susan

tuesday evening

ot put a left and right mobile arm support on gen's powerchair this morning. during ot, we worked both arms back and forth. gen wore a brace on her hand. the brace simulates gen squeezing her hand to hold something (like a spoon or chapstick). ot also brought gen a head switch. it can be used as a tv remote and a radio remote. we worked with the standing frame during the 1st pt session. gen held her trunk upright all on her own. she also had a pt session for her legs. she did well moving her legs from the thigh and from the knee. we have a big day tomorrow. gen will have her feeding tube taken out, have a pressure mapping session (to determine the best kind of cushion for her wheelchair), and have an assessment for her own wheelchair. thank you all for the cards and comments you leave on this blog. we enjoy hearing from you.

-joshua

monday evening

we started the new week with a speech session first thing this morning. katie brought in some juice that was the next step toward drinnking regular liquid...this one is called nectar and is thinner than the honey-thick drink gen has been drinking. she passed the test with the thinner liquid and the order has been placed for her to use it now. this is a big improvement, because it means gen's throat muscles are working more efficiently than before, not letting thin liquid run down her throat the wrong way before she has a chance to swallow. right after speech we had ot. gen worked with electrodes on both arms. she gets stronger each time she does this. in physical therapy gen worked on sitting balance in one session, and worked on moving her legs in the second session. afternoon speech therapy was devoted to working on breathing deeper using her abs to get her voice stronger. in the afternoon ot session, courtney brought in a new "toy": a mouth stick that gen can use to pick things up. she holds the stick in her mouth and pushes a lever with her tongue to make the device work. this is good exercise as well as a practical help. we thank God for continued improvement and for the peace that passes understanding.

susan

saturday evening

yesterday gen got to try a new computer set-up, again using her eyes to choose letters to type. it is a really new type of technology, giving the user more latitude and options. this was a prototype, not yet being manufactured, but there was some talk of having gen get one to use and to test for the people who will make it. that would be great for them and for her. we hope that will happen, because gen says it was the easiest set-up she has tried so far. she did more work today in her chair, and did the usual arm exercises and speech exercises. today she only had half the number of sessions and tomorrow she will not have therapy at all except the work josh and i do with her arms and legs and the speaking she does with us. she has had a couple of outings on the grounds in her chair. we will have to get clearance not only from the hospital but from insurance to take her off grounds (like a visit to the house we are using) so we will wait to try that. thanks again for all the comments here, for all the cards she gets, for all the many prayers that are prayed for her recovery, and for all the help everyone has given us. we thank you, and we thank and praise God for His goodness and for giving us friends like all of you.

susan

thursday evening

gen kept very busy today. eating meals takes longer than tube feeding. it is infinitely preferable gastronomically, but it does take time. each meal has 4-5 items, and gen eats two bites followed by a drink and a voice check to make sure nothing went down the wrong way. today mealtime and regular nursing and therapy were all vying for the same time slots in many cases, and we were playing catch-up most of the day. by the grace of God we made it through everything and now are ready for sleep. in ot gen worked on upper arm movement and brought her hand to her mouth with both hands, helped by the electrodes. in pt she did an obstacle course with the motorized wheelchair. she didn't knock down a single cone or cane. her therapist was impressed at her control. in speech therapy we had an evaluation done by two speech experts (doctors who teach and write textbooks). they had some practical suggestions for things to try to maximize gen's use of breath to facilitate speech. so in her second speech session, we met with pt and put gen on a mat in the gym. she was on her back and did exercises to help deep breathing, and it really made a difference in her voice...both the loudness and the length of sound. the idea was that when she is upright, she is working against gravity to get her breath to make sound. on her back she hasn't got the same resistance and she can get stronger at breathing and using her abs to get the voice stronger. we will be doing this for the next week or so, pt and speech working together for an extra half-hour a day. we have all her medications in pill form now, so she either gets them ground and mixed into food, or in the case of gel caps, she swallows them whole. we are pleased to get away from the tube to take meds. this is the next step to getting rid of the feeding tube. God gives gen (and all who love her) something new every day. we are thankful for the mercy and love of God to us, not allowing us to get discouraged. step by step He leads us and gives us what we need. we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.

susan

wednesday evening

we worked on gen's legs today. during pt, we laid her on her side on a mat. we put a short table between her legs and activated her thigh muscles with a massage wand. she moved her right leg at the thigh and at the knee. later in the day, while the doctor was visiting, gen's legs were dangling from her wheelchair. the doctor asked her to kick her legs out. she kicked her right leg out one to two inches and her left leg out three to four inches. we are very excited about it. we are stopping all work with the sip and puff devices. gen seems to do better with the head movement devices than the s. 'n' p. devices.

-joshua

tuesday evening

gen had another big day today. we got the wheelchair adjusted so it goes faster than a snail's pace. we have two speeds but have been asked to use only the sane one. the other is way too fast. we care too much about passersby to use that one. the man who adjusted it also tested it, and as he flew by our room, we heard him yelling "whee!" that was a good reaction. in ot she worked with the mobile arm support, and fed herself a few bites of applesauce. speaking of food, she had three real meals (still pureed food and thickened liquids). because of that, she didn't have any tube feedings at all. they are talking about taking the feeding peg out because she can get her food and her medications by mouth now. we are in charge of getting her medications on time (they handed us a list of medicines and times and told us we were in charge now) (!) we also feed her the meals and help with cleaning and dressing. her trach site is healed over and they said there will not be a scar. tonight they took out her picc line, because they were not using it any more for lab draws. the feeding peg is the only foreign thing she still has, so we are excited about getting rid of it hopefully. in speech therapy she worked more on speaking, and breathing. ot also hooked up a sip and puff that controls not only the nurse call light but also the tv. when they get that adjusted right, gen will be much more in charge. thank you all for your care for gen; thank you for the prayers i know you all are praying for her. i believe the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. i know that God knows what is best and what we all can handle at each moment. i am so grateful that He doesn't give us more than we can bear. He cares that much about us. thank you all also for the cards. we had to put up another string to display the new ones from this week so far. gen loves to get mail and loves to hear the comments on the blog too. thank you all for going through this with us. we feel loved and honored.

susan

monday evening

we had quite the big day today. gen had her trach tube removed. the rt put a bandaid over the hole in her neck and told us that it would heal over in a day or two. she told us that it is easier to swallow and breathe. it has also been decided that gen can eat three pureed meals a day, starting tomorrow. gen now has a power wheelchair. it is controlled by her head. we started e-stim on gen's left arm today. she'll now be getting an extra half hour of occupational therapy each day. thank you for all the cards and letters.

-joshua

sunday evening

not much happened today. there is no scheduled therapy on sunday, so we worked with gen's arms and legs and worked on practicing speaking with her in her room. leighton and randi were here till early evening, and gen had fun visiting with them. we are always sorry to see them go, but seeing them is so wonderful that it is worth the sorrow of saying goodbye. gen got lunch again today: chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, oj and chocolate pudding. she ate nearly all of it and hopefully will get to start having three meals a day this coming week. tomorrow starts another big week for gen and we pray that God will grant her success in her therapy sessions.

susan

saturday evening

not much to write about today. we had three sessions of therapy today. they all went well. we had a much needed visit from our families today.

-joshua

saturday am for friday pm

boy is my face red! i was here last night and completely forgot to write. sorry. gen had a good day yesterday. she stood in the standing frame in morning pt, with no help getting her feet straight. she blew bubbles and did other breathing exercises while standing. in ot the therapist was hooking up the electrodes and gen started moving her arm forward without stimulus. it surprised the therapist, but she let gen keep moving forward without help, and then did the electrodes only for moving the arm back. yay! in speech therapy we had a session in the electronics wing of the hospital, using a computer that she can work by looking at the letters or words. she spelled several things and was told that she had done better than most everyone on a first try. they will see about letting her use the computer in her room some next week if they can. otherwise she will use it in the office she used on friday. gen was supposed to get a lunch again, but there was a mixup between speech therapy who wrote for it and the fill-in doctor who didn't write the order. she ended up not getting lunch at all, but she was okay with that. she did more sitting stretches and workouts with the exercise ball in afternoon pt. all in all she did some new things and did better at some old things. a good day. we thank God for good days and thank Him for not giving us many bad days at all. sorry this is late.

susan

thursday evening

we started today with a standing frame session. it went very well. we mainly worked on breathing. gen and i got to blow bubbles. gen ate real food today. mashed potatoes and gravy, pureed pork, pureed veggies, thickened cranberry juice. it wasn't the tastiest food in the world (i tried it), but i think gen was happy to eat anything. she'll get to eat lunch for a few days, and sometime next week she'll graduate to three meals a day. she worked more with her biceps and triceps today. tomorrow, gen may get to try her sip and puff wheelchair.

-joshua


p.s. jenny, gen says: "knock, knock... housekeeping! you want mint for pillow?"

wednesday evening

it's been two weeks since we came to lincoln. gen has met a lot of new doctors, nurses, therapists and volunteers. getting to know the way things work here has been a challenge not only for her but for josh and me too. things that only a respiratory therapist could do at ku, anyone can do here. things that josh and i were authorized to do at ku can only be done by a nurse or therapist here. it seems weird that two hospitals can differ so much, but they do. gen has made progress daily just like she did at ku. today she ate chocolate pudding (more challenging than applesauce) and did so well that she gets a meal tomorrow. speech therapy will bring her whatever they are serving for lunch, but it will be pureed. gen worked with her arm again in ot, and then practiced moving it without electodes on her own. she practiced speaking all day today, and she is getting better at forming words and keeping her voice audible. we're about done for the day. thank you for your interest.

susan

tuesday evening

gen did some hardcore stretching during both of the pt sessions today. she had her right ribs stretched to help with her breathing. we also stretched her lower back by sitting her on the mat, putting her hands on this giant rubber ball, and rolling it away from her. during speech, i got to feed her applesauce and thickened cranberry juice. she wolfed it down. she has more trouble swallowing thin liquids than thick liquids (thin liquid tends to fall over the back of her tongue before she can swallow). she worked on bicep, tricep, and shoulder muscles during ot. we stimulated the muscles using a massage wand.

-joshua