August 21, 2006

We have 2 big news items with this update! The first is that in 2 days, Amanda will once again be sleeping in her very own bed surrounded by all of her babies. Our girl is going home! She will continue to attend therapy during the day for rehabilitation as her memory and cognition are still showing the affects of the injury. (She tries to be a good sport about her therapy, but if you can't tell by now, she doesn't love it. She can use all of the encouragement she can get on this subject!) The second big news is that she didn't use her wheelchair the entire weekend. She was able independently ambulate everywhere she needed to go this weekend. She is still using her walker and/or cane to maintain her balance but we hope to see her get to the point where even those are a thing of the past. She's also talking more frequently about returning to work and we have to remind her that for right now, her therapy IS her work. But we love her spirit and her desire to keep moving forward. She IS an extraordinary woman, isn't she?

And from Dacia and Chris share the following with us from their weekend with the princess, "We had a great visit when Amanda and Kurt came over Saturday night for dinner. Mandy was the best we've seen her. She cleaned her entire plate – including garlic bread - and never once spit out any food (that’s the first time we've had a meal with her where she didn’t spit out her chewed up food at least once). She thanked us for making her “feel special by always cooking nice meals” when she and Kurt come over and she even asked for the recipe for the mushroom soup we served.

She complained a little about her foot hurting, but she walked quite a bit using her walker and went up and down a few stairs. Mandy was the most mobile and independent that we' ve seen her. Tasks that just a couple of weeks ago she needed a little help with she did on her own. She changed in and out of her swim suit, made a salad and carried on some good conversation.

She still cussed, but not nearly as much as she did her last two visits, and the cussing seemed to be limited only to her foot hurting and some little sugar ants that crawled on her feet when we were outside. When Dacia and Mandy were out relaxing in the pool, Mandy said that she'd been talking to God lately and when she talked to Him that morning she thanked him for our kindness."

August 7, 2006

Amanda has been busy enjoying her summer, working hard and making steady improvements. The current goal is living at home again and we're busy working with CNS to make that a reality within the next month or so should all go as planned. For anyone that may have missed it, please check out the last post as Amanda responded to everyone in the comments section. (She often reads the blog as a part of her therapy sessions.) When we talked to her later, she told us (in typical Amanda fashion) to also pass on to everyone that she would like MORE comments about how "extraordinary" (direct quote) she is. (As you can tell, her sense of humor has certainly begun coming back in the past few months - )

As well, we have the following from Christine's day with her on July 27th "Thursday was an interesting day to say the least. Amanda was not excited about going to therapy at all, and she let each person know how she felt! PT started the day with lots of stretching & exercise, which she did not appreciate. Anybody know this Amanda?

At lunch, we did pick up our finished pottery from last week, which Mandy was very proud of. Gene joined us, so she really enjoyed this hour. Gene just has a special way of always making Amanda smile & giggle!

In counseling, we read the blog together & all of the comments. Did anyone notice the comment from Amanda? Yes, that was her letting you all know that she appreciates the notes that you write to her. During this hour, she also let me cut her toenails…on both feet! I’ve tried this many times, only to be told in some choice words, “NO”! I think this was an indication of less pain in the left foot.

This weekend, Kurt & Amanda were the 1st to arrive at Gene’s birthday party, and stayed for quite a long time, much to our surprise! Amanda was very talkative & outgoing for the 1st couple of hours, flirting with our brother-in-law, Dave. She let him know how “extraordinarily hot” he is. She then went on about what a nice butt Kurt has as he was flying a kite with the kids in our back yard. For a break from socializing, she enjoyed sitting outside in the heat when the rest of us thought it was a bit hot, just observing others & making comments about what they were all doing. Later, about 5 of us ladies pitched in on a crossword puzzle. The book said they were “easy”! Whatever! We did our best:) It was a good time, and we were all very thankful Amanda was here to liven the party!"

PS Today's picture is of Amanda with Christine's cat Batman. He jumped right into her lap when she sat in the chair in our bedroom. Mandy commented, "This some of the best lovin' I've ever had!"