Now, on to the important stuff...........Quinton and Dee, this video is for you. You guys have tried to help Chance do this......This is something that he has NEVER been able to do, even with help. Check it out!!!!
Beth would be so proud!!! (that is one of his previous PTs)
The next huge thing to tell you all.......Chance received his expected release date...are you ready for this????? 8/29/08!!!!!! That is 23 days from having major brain surgery. Chance gets to come home next Friday!!!! How awesome is that??
His swelling is going down, drastically. I can't wait to see him on Sunday when I go back down. That is the only thing that Chance is worried about, his friends seeing his 'wave' as he calls it. He is proud of his scar though.
We had a family meeting today at KKI. This is where all of the people working with Chance get together and tell us how he is doing and also where we were told about the release date. They all had very nice and encouraging things to say about him.
Physical Therapy is where Chance got to ride the bike. He rode that thing for 15 to 20 minutes and then the therapist wanted him to walk. He started down the hall and headed for the door. The therapist told him, 'No, that's the stairs' and he said, 'I want to do the stairs'. She said ok, but that is very agressive for him considering he spent all that time on the bike just riding and riding in circles. He went up one flight of stairs and back down again with no problems!!! Needless to say, she was very impressed with him.
The speech therapist said that she just can't believe that Chance is talking like he is. He talks the same as he did before surgery, it is just a bit higher in pitch. The left side of the brain controls speech and that is the side that was removed. She said that she has never had a kid that has had the left side removed talking as soon and as well as him. Amazing!!
They all feel that he is a hard worker and very determined. (note to teachers.....remember this)
Before surgery, Chance couldn't follow 3 step directions and sometimes, he had problems with 2 step directions. Well, now he can do 2 and 3 steps!! I don't know if all of this has to do with the surgery, but something definitely clicked.
They had told us before surgery, that with the left side gone, his right side would be able to concentrate more and be able to relax a little bit. Well, they were once again, telling us something that we just weren't sure was true. I'm the type that has to see to believe and I'm a true believer now.
Chance also is a very early riser. He is up no later than 6:30 and wants a snack because breakfast doesn't come until 7:30. I think he is eating more now that he did before. Maybe that's because it is more spread out. It seems like every two hours he's telling us that his belly is hungry. Those snack packs that everyone sent down have come in handy. I now keep a supply in his nightstand so that he has them any time he wants. I have also been known to take them to therapy to help him get through the session (we wouldn't want him to be famished!!).
His emotions are coming back too. He is extremely happy in the morning, every morning. Bryan had him giggling and snorting this morning. The two of them together are a handful. They aggitate each other and it is kinda funny to see.
Chance had the last of his staples removed today. I will also have a picture of this, if I can get it to work tomorrow.
Our friends that Quinton is staying with told me that he has been excellent for them. Imagine that!! I'm really proud of him too.
Well, I have an early morning and a long day ahead of me so I'm going to go. I hope everyone has had a good week and hope you all have a wonderful weekend. There won't be an update tomorrow but I'll try to put one out on Sunday.
