November 17th

Ashley had one of those week where she was improving in noticeable ways last week.

In therapy they do assisted walking with her (one person supports her while two others pattern her feet after Ashley initiates the step) and time how long it takes to cross the large room there. On Friday Ashley took a minute off her time. Her last timed walk before that... Just two days ago on Wednesday!

Ashley was featured in an article of Fort Wayne Living Magazine's November issue. It summarized the timeline of Ashley's treatment and progress and her on going efforts to recover from ADEM. There were several pictures of her at therapy and the story also spoke of the effort being undertaken by members of our parish to raise funds for a wheelchair accessible van for Ashley. Once I figure out how to post the article to the site I will get it up. The photos in this posting are from that article.

On Saturday Ashley tried out a motorized wheelchair in a gym. We weren't sure what, if anything, to expect especially since the joystick control was on the right side and Ashley favors her left. When we placed her right hand on the control she didn't move, but she reached her left hand over and pulled on her right so it did move. The net result was mostly in circles, but there was one time she was moving straight (keep in mind that we have this chair moving very slowly) toward a wall and moved the joystick to do a full 180 degree turn without any assistance. We plan on trying the chair again in the future to see how Ashley does.

On Sunday our church provided the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. It was an emotional experience for Ashley, and us. We know that faith has been a major contributor to Ashley's recovery. The Sacrament helped us to reflect on all of the improvements Ashley has made in the last 16 months and we are thankful for that. We also have the continued hope that Ashley will continue to improve and reach a full recovery.

Ashley meet with her physiatrist (rehabilitation doctor) today and he was very pleased with Ashley's progress over the last several months. He thinks her therapy regimen is right on target.

We have big plans for this weekend. One of Ashley's college friends, Kelly, who was also a student sports manager with Ashley has made arrangements for us to go to the Notre Dame-Syracuse game. We will be touring the field and locker room prior to the game. We will also have an opportunity to meet with several of Ashley's classmates and friends while we are on campus Saturday. We are looking forward to it and are thankful for all the folks at Notre Dame that made this possible.