December 13, 2005 - Evening

OK - Minions of Amandaland, your pleas for more Amanda, more of the time has been heard by the royal court (and in particular her consort, Kurt). She's had a very busy week since we last updated. She is receiving a shower at least every other day if not more frequently. She is receiving approximately 4 or more therapy sessions a day (occupational, physical, speech, group, and animal to name just a few). They had her standing today in a special chair (to quote her exactly, we understood her to say "standing f-ing sucks") and she even took a few supported steps wtih Kevin looking on. She has been somewhat interactive (picking and choosing her times of course) with visitors. She smiled at a few visitors for the first time this past weekend. She even had the presence of mind to ask about her niece (Ron's daughter). [The first person she asked about!] She was able to visit with Sheri (Kurt and Christine were able to wheel Sheri over through the tunnel) and spent some time patting her hand. We're still not understanding about half of what she's saying, but it's getting clearer and we're seeing steady improvement every day.

We have a special request to make of the Dallas folks. First, thanks for your visits. We know that they help to stimulate her and assist in her recovery. They also help to ease Kurt's mind now that he is unable to be with her every moment; it's good to know that she is surrounded by those that love her when we are unable to be there ourselves. Second, we have one more favor to ask. Because she has so many friends that do not live in the Dallas area and we are unable to be with her 24/7, we need your help keeping all of the kingdom (or is that princessdom?) informed of her progress and notes of your visit. If you can, please note in a comment here or e-mail the royal court at everythingamanda@hotmail.com with any special stories or items of note (we'll consolidate the notes and post them here periodically). Don't assume that someone has already seen or heard what you're experiencing. She's doing new stuff all the time. In addition, funny or sweet stories are especially appreciated as they will make fantastic additions to her yet-to-be-named scrapbook of this whole experience.

We will update again tomorrow afternoon after the family conference.