Hustle and Bustle

I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving and that you gave some thought to the list I mentioned in the last post. I must admit that it was a difficult time for our family. Judi obviously recognized what was going on and she was "off" as we prepared for and had our Thanksgiving dinner. Jessica and I tried to carry on as if nothing significant had changed, but neither of us was totally successful. This time of year is full of family traditions for us and it is going to be an up and down time of year for us. Although this sounds a bit negative, we are EXTREMELY thankful to have our little family together with a future that looks very bright. Or said in Steve's terms, it could have been a lot worse.

Judi continues to grow stronger mentally and physically. We took our first big outing since the accident last Friday and took her to Cirque du Soleil. She did very well and it was great to do something like this as a family again. She did check out a few times during some of the louder/fast paced scenes, but overall followed the show pretty well. It was an awesome show and a great boost for us after struggling through turkey day. The trip to the Columbia Zoo is next and I am sure she will enjoy it as well.

Judi was evaluated for her outpatient therapy program at Walton today. Overall, everything was very positive. All disciplines felt she was doing very well and that they could make some significant progress with her. As a group, they also felt that it was time to give her some intense and aggressive therapy based on what she had accomplished so far in such a short period of time. I think most of you know that I have always thought this would be the most beneficial therapy environment for her and I am excited to see her finally reach this stage. She is strong enough mentally and physically to participate now and I am confident that Judi will show her true strength now. My hope is that each success along the way will provide the motivation to keep pushing to accept the next challenge.

Judi also got BOTOX injections in her neck today to aid in her recovery from wearing the cervical collar (neck brace) for so long. The goal is to relax some of the muscles that have contracted and allow her to continue recovering strength in this area. This continues to be one of the key issues in Judi's ability to perform some of the routine tasks we take for granted. If you think about the things that would be complicated if your head was down (chin on your chest), you have an idea of what she is faced with the majority of the time. She has compensated pretty well for it to date, but she is at the point now where it is limiting her recovery. We will have to watch her close to insure it does not impact her ability to swallow and the impact to her muscle freedom will take a couple of weeks to see.

I thank all of you again for your continued well wishes and prayers. We are building some momentum and I continue to hold out for a full recovery for my girl!

Steve