December 17th

Ashley has had a successful transition back to Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC) this past week. She has gotten right back into therapy and each of the therapists felt that Ashley was ahead of where she was when she left RIC for active treatment in November. Among the milestones this week was Ashley eating (small amounts of course) apple sauce. Although she has taken small amounts of ‘thickened’ liquids as part of her swallowing practice, her speech therapist feels Ashley has coordinated all of the muscles involved to where she can actually take several bites of a pureed food.

Ashley’s attention span and eye contact also appear to be improving. A great move forward is the return of Ashley’s sense of humor. We have not seen her laugh as hearty as she is now since she had a high fever back in October which landed her in the hospital.

In a technology session Ashley was asked to follow objects on a computer screen. The goal of the exercise is to determine if Ashley can use a computer screen which uses a laser to track her eye glances to objects on the screen that could represent words for communication. The first objects were black balls that appeared one at a time on different parts of the screen. Ashley tracked two of the five. Then the technician changed the object to a picture of a cat. Ashley tracked five of five! We are hopeful that this will lead to a successful implementation of interactive communication for Ashley in the not to distant future.

So we are seeing some rebounding, but also some marked improvement.

Ashley’s room is now on the west side of RIC. She no longer has a view of Lake Michigan, but there is not much to see on the lake this time of year. Most of her view is of the old Woman’s hospital, but she also has a clear view of Water Tower Place and the Hancock Building.

On Saturday Ashley listened to a phone call from another sufferer of ADEM. Al was stricken in 2000 just after finishing college as a chemical engineer major. Not only has Al gotten the upper hand on ADEM, it has also changed his vocation. Al started medical school this year with a goal of becoming a neurologist. Ashley’s eyes were glued to the phone as Al spoke and it reminded me of her call from Kevin who also has ADEM. We could tell that Ashley was hanging on every word they both spoke. She knows this can be overcome and both Al and Kevin are an inspiration to her.

As we have mentioned in the past the support Ashley and our family have received has been humbling. At the top of the list are our thanks for your prayers. The cards and letters Ashley receives and the comments we read her from her blog also put a smile on her face and we know that it boosts her morale. Ashley is getting cards, letters, mass intentions and notes from many people we don’t even know. The love behind each of those acts plays a critical role in Ashley’s recovery. Last week Ashley received a mail tube that was filled with Christmas posters from students in the 4th grade at St. Luke School in Boardman, Ohio. We don’t know anyone at St. Luke’s; I had to look at a map to find Boardman (it is south of Youngstown). We have a couple of guesses as to how they heard of Ashley. The fact that they have invested their time and love to show Ashley their support is priceless. The same can be said for each prayer, loving thought and communication sent our way.

It is comforting to know that there are literally thousands of caring individuals that are thinking and praying for Ashley. It makes facing this challenge possible.

In this week before Christmas our prayers will be with each of you that you will feel Christ’s loving peace.