January 21st

Sorry for the hiatus in postings. It certainly was not for a lack of news. So let's get right to it...

Where is Ashley?

If you have been in this room before you know where Ashley is and you realize the significance of it. She is sitting on her bed in her UPSTAIRS bedroom. How did she get there you ask? Did we carry her up there? Actually Ashley walked up the 13 steps and down the hall to her room (with balance assistance). In fact she walked to all the rooms on the upper level. Her leg strength proved to be more than enough to lift her weight and climb the stairs. Her smile was beaming as we 'toured' her room and she saw how she left it over 18 months ago. She did not sleep upstairs, but we are looking for that day to come sooner rather than later. The reason for that is going down the stairs was much more of a challenge. While Ashley is doing a good job of walking and stepping up; going down is another story. We need to incorporate that into her therapy now. She had a difficult time bending the leg that would remain on the upper step and keeping the leg that moved to the lower step straight. With mom and dad assisting we got her down (no she did not have to resort to sliding down on her back side).

Needless to say we were all very excited and we know you are too!

The great news does not stop there. Through the loving support of several hundred people a wheelchair accessible van now sits in our garage. We picked it up this past Saturday and that means Ashley was able to go to church in her regular wheelchair and is now going to therapy in her own van. Don't be surprised if you bump into Ashley when you are out and about. She has a new found freedom and we are going to make the most of it for her.

We will never be able to adaquately thank everyone that so lovingly donated to make this a possiblity. God bess you all!

The good news does not stop there (of course we have nearly three weeks of catching up from the last blog). Ashley has been eating quite well lately. She is now requesting more food after we get done with the typical portion. She is also requesting thickened liquids more often which is more of a challenge. Thank you dear heavenly Father for keeping Ashley so motivated even after 18 months!

Her overall strength continues to improve. Her balance while sitting is better and she has even pushed herself up from a down position to sitting up.

We have a gym mat at home and Ashley is able to roll from side to side. It is also exciting to see that whether it be rolling on the mat, transfering from sitting to standing, or walking that Ashley is doing it quicker and more smoothly in addition to doing so with more strength.

Ashley's speech therapist is continuing to add more features to her communication PC and Ashley is doing quite well in picking up the new features and using them properly. The same therapist asked Ashley who our president was on the 20th (in the afternoon) and given the choices of Bush, McCain and Obama she picked Obama. Let's all pray that our new president is as dedicated to his job as Ashley is to hers!

January 5th

Happy 2009!

We rang in the New Year as a family and we are looking forward to many milestones this year. Austin has committed to attending Indiana University next year. We have finally gotten approval from the state to get some in-home assistance. Ashley continues to work hard and show improvements.

In December Ashley had a treatment on her right arm which has a lot of tone. We have already noticed that it is easier to move during range of motion and Ashley is able to relax it much more easily. With the easing of tone we are confident that Ashley will gain more control of her muscles in that arm and soon she will show more control of it.

While it still takes a lot of effort for Ashley to control her left arm she is now able to do functional things. Perhaps the most rewarding to her is being able to reach and touch. Ashley will often grab her right arm and stretch it. She pulls her hat off when she gets in doors and assists to a greater extent when dressing.

The strength in Ashley’s legs and abdomen continues to improve. Her balance while sitting is quite good. When standing she will lean forward and use her left arm to help push herself up. Most of the time we are merely providing her balance when she stands and we leave all the lifting to her.

After having several days off during Christmas break Ashley will be back to a full therapy schedule this week including a session in the pool.

We appreciate all your prayers and support as we start 2009. We wish all of you a blessed new year!