Day 44 – Grayson’s Condition

Dear family and friends

Today was a good day.

In spite of his infection, Grayson's fever has been improving. It is now at a manageable level and he has resumed the full course of therapy. Today he had all forms – physical, occupational and speech – and we had quite a day. During his physical therapy, Grayson walked with his therapist on one arm, and me on the other. All we provided was a safety net so he didn't fall. He walked the full length of the corridors in his wing without stopping – 350 feet! After that he did some additional exercises in the gym, then we walked him back to his room and he promptly went to sleep for three hours.

In occupational therapy today he started to work on strengthening his hands. He now has a device in his room that he can use to work on that in his spare time. As his gross motor skills are improving, we would like to see a similar improvement in his fine skill, like his fingers and hands. Occupational therapy also covers basic life skills such as dressing, washing grooming and using the rest room. Grayson is now actively engaged in assisting his care givers in all of these activities.

In speech therapy, Grayson got the biggest treat of all – several sips of water! He was so happy! He also said several new words today there including his first and last name (the last is much easier!), and my personal favorite was his response to the question of where he went to school – USC of course.

His infection was cultured and it turned out to be that particularly nasty staph bug – MRSA. Because he can cough it up, we now have to wear masks when we are with him for the next several days. This is frustrating for him because we start to all look alike. We hope we can get past this non-rehab part quickly.

Thanks again for all of the love, encouragement, support and prayers. God may work in mysterious ways, but I am surprised and delighted every day by that work.

Pax!

Brant and Regina