CIT*

*Constraint-Induced Therapy

Neil signed a contract.  For five hours a day, five days a week, for ten weeks, he has agreed to cripple himself.  In the end, we've been promised a nice pay-off:  improved use of his left hand.

From the beginning Neil has had multiple issues that make his life difficult.  We've tried to address them all with a "little bit of everything" approach--Physical therapy for walking, balance, and strength;  Occupational therapy for his hand and arm, vision, and cognition;  Speech therapy for speech, social skills, memory, and more cognition; School for academics; volunteering opportunities and social groups for well-roundedness; and of course, church, prayer, and scripture study for spiritual growth and comfort.  As physical therapy was no longer needed, we added more cognitive therapy.  Although improvement and progress has been phenomenal since the accident, Neil has plateaued in many areas.

We're not ready for that yet.  We won't accept that this is all we're getting.  So now we're going for some more direct, intense therapy in just one or two areas at a time.  Although we're still including some of most of the aforementioned therapies and helps, we are going to focus right now on getting his left hand back.

His new constraint therapy requires a lot of time and commitment, and it's exhausting.  For those five hours each day, his right hand becomes immobile so that he has to rely on his left only.  Along with that, he has specific exercises that he has to complete--100 thumb stretches, 100 arm raises, 100 finger touches (X5--thumb to each finger), to name a few.  They may sound easy, but watch him touch each finger with his thumb, and you'll be tired yourself.  He must open each doorknob left-handed, eat with a fork (nearly impossible!), brush his teeth, and take off his t-shirt.  Wow!  Neil is my hero once again as I watch his determination and stamina.

Here's a link to a video of Neil's first day of therapy.  We're looking forward to some contrasting video at the end of the ten weeks to see how much he's improved.

Coming soon, we will be making decisions about his vision, and then trying some neurofeedback and psychotherapy.  So much to do, so much to do!

When Food Talks

You Scream, I Scream, We All Scream For Ice Cream!

Community Garden

Open Door Policy:  If the door isn't open, just make a new door.

Who needs the actual carrots when the greens are so tasty?

Yes, we have picked many for our own consumption, but in case you've forgotten, this is what the carrot greens used to look like:

You don't even need to wait until the tomatoes are ripe to eat them!

And if you enjoy it here that much, just move right in.  There's a lovely burrow under the zucchini hill.

Where Have the Stones Been?

Here are some picture clues.  You might think a Terracotta Warrior would mean we were in China...but, no.

Well, here's my dad in the library.  And all dressed up, too.  I guess that's not much of a clue.

Here's me and my two moms.  Aren't I lucky?  But again, not much of a clue--we could be anywhere.

You may not know where we are, but I'll tell you what we're doing:  this is a game of Team Trivia.  You'd think, since our team was captained by the three-time Jeopardy! champion herself that we'd kick...well, you know what.  But we didn't... except one time.

Okay, this ought to make it easy for those who've been here before.  The monkey in the middle (as opposed to the two on the outsides) is made of towels.

Shuffleboard, anyone?  Hey, what's that you see in the background?

Here's a biggie:  The big white patch in the back is a glacier.

You've surely got it by now, but I'm not quite through showing off my pictures, so here's just a few more.

Sunset in the Last Frontier.

Approaching Juneau.

Exploring the ship.

Schmoozing with the cruise director.

Dancing with my honey.

Enjoying my family!

And if you're not tired of seeing my family enjoy a vacation of a lifetime, stroll on over to Alison's blog to see some more pictures :-) (Plus, see a really cool video of a glacier calving and hear me cry out excitedly to Eric!)

Oh, Canada!

The Making of a Champion

Here's a little advice for game show wanna be's:

1.  Glean information where ever you can get it.  You'd be surprised what you can learn in a discussion with the family pet.

 2.  Get some hands-on experience in as many categories as possible--like "pastries".

3.  Yes, even sports.

4.  Consult with experts on how to look poised under pressure.

5.  Practice your on-stage bantering skills.

6.  It doesn't hurt to practice early for writing your name on the podium screen.

7.  And last of all, read...

read...

read...

read...

read...

read...

read...

and read some more.

Many thanks to all who shared in the Jeopardy! excitement with us.  We had so much fun watching Alison shine.  You can read about her experience on the "Winners' Blog" here.  If the next champion's blog gets posted here, you may have to look Alison up in the drop-down archives menu on the left--she would be July 26.

Congratulations, Alison!

The Icing on the Cake

Guess what!  You don't get to plan your life.  Sure you can try, and goals really are a good idea.  I'm just saying, you need to learn to be flexible and you need to count your blessings.  The five children we talked about having when Scott and I were newlyweds didn't come as planned.  Alison eventually moseyed on into our lives.  Five years later, Neil arrived as described in yesterday's post.  We were so grateful for these two beautiful miracles that we thanked our Heavenly Father and decided not to be greedy.  They were enough, and then some.

Five years later, lo and behold, another miracle--Eric was born!  It was touch and go in the hospital for a while as he had an infection that required lots of monitoring and intravenous medicines.  My being discharged from the hospital before he was was tough.  So were the many trips each day to the hospital for feedings.  But, oh he was worth it!

Try to tell me that's not worth waiting for!  

I've learned it's okay to be greedy sometimes and to ask for your heart's desire, and then to trust God.  He knows what he's doing.

Happy birthday, Eric!