April 10, 2006 - Morning

From TAnn, a recount of her Friday with the princess,"As is my usual privilege, I arrive at CNS at 7:10 to an already awake Amanda who was up and in the shower. She was excited because she knew she would have a new outfit to wear. When Lester, Paula and I were shopping last week, I found the cutest outfit and I knew would look adorable on her: Texas Longhorn warm-up! They had shorts also and those had to be part of the outfit though it is not appropriate to wear them to CNS but she will not be there forever and I knew she would eventually use the shorts.

She was dressed and got her hair dry and she had breakfast. Not a really great one this time but enough for her little body. Then it was make-up time. I had a Citrine ring that I knew would match the outfit and so she had that to wear all day. She boarded the bus at 8:30 which is the time they have scheduled for her so she arrives at CNS by 9:00 AM to begin her day in therapy.

Speech therapy was first. She began the session with Amy who complimented her highly on the progress she is making. They went through the usual list of "20 Questions" and for the most part she responded immediately with all the correct answers. What I have come to realize is that when she is tired she doesn't get all of the answers as well, but then we are all that way it seems.

Then Amy read sentences and asked Amanda to "fill in the blank" with the appropriate work. Some of those were difficult but when given a choice, she usually responds with the correct answer. Amy is easy going and seems to work well with Amanda and we all appreciate that. About half way through the session Amy had another commitment and Kelly came in to finish the hour. Amanda had no problem with the change and we went to the computer room. Again I am amazed that when given 8 numbers to put in order after viewing them on the screen, Amanda proceeded to get 90% of them correct. As with last week though, the alphabet is a bit more difficult for her

Next we had the highlight of the day. We are of to PT and Amanda was given the pole and we took a very long walk much to her displeasure. Though I do my best to distract her as much as possible as she struggles with the injured foot, it was not an easy task this time. LOL, Sarah (as well as TAnn) were called many things other than nice people. That is what we do when we are in distress and it is perfectly understandable.

Sarah said she was accustomed to that kind of talk though from residents for they see the therapist as the enemy so to speak and Amanda is kinder than some I've hear at CNS. We walked the "loop" in the building twice with Amanda stating that she needed to sit down each time we passed an office and she saw a chair. "I need to sit in that chair," she would say, and we would both ignore her request though it is very difficult for me.

Then Sarah walked us outside and we took a short stroll around the parking island and Amanda said she didn't want to be in the sun. She told us that when she went outside she wore a hat and didn't get the sun on her face. We reassured her that it would only be for a short time. She then walked down and up the ramp outside of the building that is perhaps 30' all the time Amanda was saying she could not do it but YEA! She did.

Sarah had her to lie on the mat when we returned to the building she stretched Amanda's left foot. Seems the tendon is shortened because of the length of time it has not been used. Her foot really gives her a lot of pain and it seems that part of the session is even more difficult that walking. Kurt and Christine have watched Sarah as she did the stretching and both of them have been doing the exercise at the apartment. Hopefully this will help her progress faster and she will soon be able to put weight on that foot and walk.

Occupational therapy was spent trying to locate hidden objects in pictures. Amanda located some things that were not listed and she did well at that exercise. When asked what she was going to do this weekend, she said, "Lori K--e called and we are working." (So, Lori ~ you are thought of without any prompting from anyone.)

Her therapist was visiting from CNS' home office in Bakersfield, California and was unaware that Amanda was to begin preparing her own lunch in the microwave. We proceeded there after I asked about this and she checked the "Amanda Book" and noted that from now on she will be in charge of preparing her own meal if anything has to be heated. Shannon and Terri (from Brinker) came for lunch and they had a great time with Amanda joining the conversation and telling the girls some stories about her work. They were not sure what all was completely accurate but enjoyed the lunch hour. The jacket she was wearing had a hood and at one point she amused us all by placing the hood over her head because the cafeteria was too loud. I got a cute photo of her as she turned to smile at me.

At 1:00 - 2:00 PM we went to counseling and it was great. Kay had the blog on her laptop and Amanda was extremely interested in reading the last postings. Amanda read some of the messages that have been posted and delighted in going back to November and December and told Kay that one of the photos of she and Kurt was made in Italy. Kurt told me they had never been there but ~ whatever.. Kay wanted to talk of a lot of different issues but Amanda only had eyes for the blog so Kay asked Amada to turn off the computer and they discussed other things.

Throughout the day people would talk of Amanda's "UT outfit" and she would tell them that she went to UT two years but graduated from UTA (University of Texas at Arlington) but Kurt graduated from UP. She enjoyed the razzing she got from the Texas Aggies (they are great rivals) and always said that UT was the best school.

It gives me great joy to see her laugh and enjoy the comments. Unlike the vivacious little sprite that she was prior to October 21st, and possibly because of her pain, she doesn't seem to laugh very often. She is getting there though ~~~

Back to her apartment at CNS and we sat outside for a while and I got a photo of Amanda standing by the wall outside of her apartment ~~ and that is awesome; just to see her able to stand alone thrills all of us.

Kurt arrived and soon after did the foot stretching and though Amanda protests vehemently, she counts to 30 with him then says, "now stop it" and he does but the foot needs to be held for the 30 seconds. There is a rest and the exercise is repeated 4 more times. As I said earlier, progress is slow but we are all grateful for the way our Princess has fought first to survive and now to return to health. "