July 7th

Another milestone for Ashley! We visited Grandma and Grandpa over the 4th of July weekend and Ashley slept in a regular bed for the first time in over a year. She slept well and showed us that she has no problems with traveling. For the most part Ashley soaked up rays along the lakeshore while visiting with several family members. It was a fantastic weekend.

Although it was a short week for therapy the main emphasis has been getting Ashley to demonstrate greater control of her movements.

She is nodding her head for yes. She still needs to be reminded (for so long she has answered yes by raising her left arm) but she is doing well. It may take a while to get the ‘no’ nod down, but it won’t be due to an in ability to move her neck side to side. In fact the most recognizable change spotted by Ashley’s relatives this weekend is how quickly she looks to the person speaking to her, even when there are several people and the conversation is moving back and forth.

Ashley also is moving her legs immediately on request. It wasn’t too long ago that we cheered Ashley on to ‘kick’ a balloon off her legs. Now when we ask her to raise her legs she responds almost effortlessly.

Standing is something Ashley enjoys. While we have to assist her in getting up, she will lean forward when asked and usually after just a little nudge she can move herself from a seated to standing position. At that point it is just a matter of providing her with balance. She tends to stand on the balls of her feet, but she will settle into standing flat on her feet after a few moments on most occasions.

On the cognitive front we are really piling it on. Ashley is currently listening to three different books being read to her. Her friend Sam got her a couple of books on CD. We took the opportunity of the holiday road trip to start one of those. Ashley has enjoyed it and so far has shown an ability to keep track with the different story lines and characters.

When we consider that a year ago at this time Ashley was nearly in a coma and we were still on a day-to-day basis dealing with her condition it is a blessing to interact with her today (you can view the daily reports we emailed from Virginia in the 2007 archives at the bottom of the page). While there is still a ways to go there is no question that Ashley remains steadfast on maximizing her recovery. We have high hopes for this coming year.

We know that the combination of Ashley’s determination and hard work combined with your continued prayers and support will make this a reality.