Wired

Actually, despite the title of this post, Neil is calming down. His perseveration ticks are much more under control, and he seems to be having an easier time paying attention to his therapists and to us. Of course everyone is pleased because he's getting more out of each therapy session.

His doctor has now prescribed a new treatment for Neil involving median nerve stimulation. For several hours of the day, he has wires attached to the inside of his lower arms that send electrical pulses up the median nerve. This supposedly stimulates his brain. The therapists aren't necessarily convinced this will do anything for Neil, but it's not going to hurt. If there's a chance this will help give Neil the use of his left arm, or do anything to jump start those damaged areas, I'm all for it. We'll see...

I guess I haven't mentioned for a while some of the new things Neil is doing now. He can eat by himself (but we sometimes help, just so he can get to his therapy on time--he's a little slow), he can brush his teeth, he can reach down and pick things up off the floor, he can get himself up into a sitting position (Okay, maybe a little help is needed), he can spit (Amazing what we take for granted, huh?), and he can drink water from a straw, a cup, and a bottle. We're finding out that he's needing a little bit of help recognizing letters, but he gets them right most of the time. Communication still involves pointing, thumbs up and down, head shaking, and occasional mouthed words. Wish I could read his mind. One thing I'm sure of though, he knows we love him. That kind of communication you just feel.