August 19th

Over the last couple of weeks Ashley has successfully eaten orally each day. No doubt the prayers for eating are being answered. This is not at the expense of the walking and talking prayers you have all been offering up. Ashley is more vocal. She is taking more full steps in the gait trainer and she continues to improve on the stationary cycle.

On Thursday Ashley will finally get her official wheel chair. It has taken so long that we have joked that she would walk in and pick it up when it was ready. It will be similar to her current loaner chair. It will not be hot pink to match her new computer.

Speaking of her computer, Ashley continues to adapt well to it. Like everything else it takes consistent practice, but she already knows how it operates so she will be whipping out sentences in no time.

Ashley usually is not interested in TV, but she has been enjoying the Olympics. As a swimmer she was taking particular delight in watching Michael Phelps work his way, race by race, to a record eight gold medals in one Olympiad.

She can relate to the hard work it takes to be a competitive athlete. It is that experience, along with her faith, that is helping her maintain such an admirable attitude as she slowly regains her motor skills. We also know that she loves the affirmation she gets from those she crosses paths with and from reading comments from the blog.