(Day 334)

Good day all. Shawna has continued to make good advances in communication. She is definitely good with pointing at pictures and words using a drum stick. She even named her puppy using this form of communication. We received a gift of a beautiful white male shnauser mini mix. His name is Q-tip. He's 5 weeks old and hopefully Deb and Jessica are not alergic to him as Shawna and the family are already quite attached to him. He sits and sleeps very sedately on Shawnas lap while she carefully pets him. Its an amazing form of therapy. There isn't much therapy for the next couple of weeks but we have our hands full with visits and therapy we can do with her. Not includng the puppy training. The doctors still haven't given any instructions for the increase in tone but the physiotherapist has given us a stimulation machine where we attach probes to her right back muscle to make the left side release. This has proven to be very effective in reducing the amount of tone that is present in her left side. We hit a bad spot with the biking as Sawnas tone increased to the point she couldn't do it by herself anymore. Weve changed the way that we do the range of motion exercizes involving her legs and she has again been putting in some very good days on the bike. We remain thankfull to our Heavenly Father for what he has given and continue to thank you for your prayers and support. We would also like to take the opportunity to wish you all a blessed Christmas celebration and God's continued blessing for 2009. Al, Deb, Shawna, and family

(day 320)

Good morning all. Things are still progressing slowly.....but its still progress! We had a team meeting with all the therapists and care givers to go over the past 3 months of Shawnas care and to determine the new goals. The main jist of the conversation was that Shawna has progressed considerably with respect to amount of time she can focus before zoning out. She's gone from 1 hour to 3 hrs with a couple cat naps. Her communication is improving and her comprehension is very evident. The therapists main concern is that the sessions not overlap so she can rest and have all phsio activities occur only after the language and fine motor skills. The phsio sessions completely drain her for hours. The muscle tone in her left side is beginning to complicate the therapy. Shawna has been for a CT scan to see if there are any brain pressures contributing to this. She also had some bloodwork done to check for infections. The next thing will be for her doctor to determine if drugs are required to control the tone until Shawnas brain can adjust and be able to turn off the muscles that she can now turn on. Shawna has been out to a couple of functions and enjoys it tremendously with lots of vocalization to show her appreciation. Vocalization seems to be improving a lot especially when combined with laughter and spontanaity. When she tries to talk though it stops when she concentrates. We look forward to spending a lot of time together with family and friends during the upcoming holidays. Our contractor has been busy with the addition. The walls are up and the front of our house has been stripped to the bones to make good to the new roofline (quite a sight). We continue to realize our dependance on our Father for his goodness and guidance as we continue on the path He has chosen for us. Thanks for your prayers and support. Al, Deb, Shawna, and family