Thursday (day 133)

Good Evening all. I appologize for not posting last night but we've been very busy working on the house and our computer has been disconnected during some renovations. Shawna continues to improve. Just today she may have spoken her first words as the physiotherapist asked her to move an object for the second time to which she said "unh unh", kind of a slang for "no" which she was very familiar with and used it a lot at home. The physiotherapist asked her if she meant no, to which she blinked affirmative and refused to move the object again as it took a lot of concentration the first time. This brought out a lot of laughter from him and our sister_in-law Ruth as they realized she was serious. They are impressed with how far Shawna has come and can see improvements from day to day. We don't have the results of the bone scan and density check yet. They have said that if Shawna continues to improve and looks as if she may be on the verge of an important breakthru they will keep her longer. As it is they have set a tentative discharge date of Sept 5, 2008 which is already two weeks longer than they first said, but that could change.
They have splinted her ankles and wrists to maintain her posture which they have said is very good at this point. They don't keep them on all the time but it just keeps her wrists and ankles in the right position, mostly during the night. Last night when a friend brought some lilies to the room, Shawna delicately held one stem between her thumb and finger and once dropped it on her stomach and then easily picked it up rolling it between her thumb and finger. We were amazed! There are so many amazing things our Lord has done for Shawna we cannot but help but praise His Holy Name. We continue to walk the path He has chosen for us trusting that He is always in control and providing the best for us His children. Thankyou for your continual prayers and support Al and Deb.