And Now For the Good News

February 20, 2009 - minimally conscious

Yeah, it was pretty bad. And the hardest part was that no one could give us any kind of prediction for the future. We carried on caring for, and loving this boy--just hoping for the best. It still blows me away when I think of his progress. Here is a little blurb about how he's changed in the last three months that I wrote up for the producer:

-----Neil has progressed immensely in so many areas in the past three months! He can now shower and shave by himself. He can dress himself. He walks with an even gait and even runs! He's done so well physically that Kessler has discontinued his physical therapy, though he'll continue with occupational (hand and vision) and speech.
-----He's easier to understand when he talks, and he has his sense of humor back! He smiles and laughs and even tells jokes. Conversations seem more normal now (or are we just used to his new way of thinking?)
He uses his left hand as much as he can--opening doors, carrying grocery bags, petting the cat. His stamina is improving, although he does get pretty tired by 8:30 or 9:00 at night.
-----Being back in school and among other people besides just family and therapists have helped with his loneliness and have given him a feeling of accomplishment. I can see an improvement in his confidence. (I think the experience with Real Life has helped with that as well. He's delighted with the interest others have shown in his story.)
-----His memory has shown marked improvement. Part of that has just come with time, but he's also learning to have some confidence in his memory and to give himself time to remember instead of asking Mom for the answer immediately. He's doing so well lately, that he remembers things that I don't!

Although we still don't know what the future holds for Neil, we have no reason but to hope for more progress because he hasn't slowed down yet!