Sunday (day 258)

Good afternoon all. Shawna made some good progress at the beginning of the week but then she caught a stomach flu or something and she's finally feeling better today. She enjoyed being at church this morning althought she was laughing at us fussing about to get her ready. Wow mornings are so busy here esp sunday! She continues to progress well with the feeding through the G-tube. She was scheduled to increase to 60 ml/hr from 50 till she got sick so we postponed that till tomorrow. At 60 ml/hr she will be at her regular dietary need over 24 hrs. So we're getting close. We will continue to bump it up so we can liberate large time frames where we do not have to feed her, getting closer to normal eating routines. She continues to communicate very effectively now by grabbing at yes and no cards. When that becomes too much we drift back to eye blinks. The OT and SLP part of the team continue to asses and try to get Shawna to the point where she can possibly use her right hand to operate a communication board and from there all sorts of possibilities open up for mobility and other aspects of her needs. All the therapists continue to express excitement at her gains. We continue to be amazed at how far our Lord has brought her in eight months but we know we have a loving Father who knows our needs and provides for us day to day. At this time we lay before Him our prayers that everthing may go well for her planned surgery on thursday Oct 9. She will undergo tendon loosening on her achillies tendons and then be casted. It is a very painfull operation as we've seen from many other patients in Chedoke. We pray that it may have the desired effect that in due time this may enable her to walk again. Although we will not enjoy the prospect of her having to stay in a hospital again. We realize this to be a necessary step in her recovery. Once again thankyou for your prayers and support. Al, Deb, Shawna and family