March 24th

Well Ashley’s perfect ‘healthy at home’ record came to an end on March 14th. She was doing fine during her doctor’s visit on Thursday the 12th. At that time we discontinued a medication for seizures we had been slowly tapering for the last year. That Saturday Ashley had a seizure. She is doing fine now and it was a single event. She had not had a seizure since November 2007 when she was at Northwestern Hospital in Chicago for plasmapheresis during her stay at Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.

We took her in to the ER as a precaution and it turns out Ashley had a mild infection (she wasn’t even running a temperature yet). She finishes up her antibiotic today. She has been feeling just fine ever since. The onset of that infection, again her first since being home, may have triggered the seizure. She will remain on the very low dose of the anti-seizure medicine as a precaution for the foreseeable future.

Unlike when she would get sick during her inpatient stays there was no set back in Ashley’s progress. In fact the next day she had quite an appetite. As we have mentioned for several weeks now Ashley is eating quite well. While liquids are still a work in progress, eating a full serving of a balanced meal (pureed) is not. We will be following up with her dietitian in April to report on her progress.

Over the last couple of days Ashley has been doing a fantastic job of walking in the evening at home. Seems odd that her best walking would come at the end of the day when she is usually exhausted, but watching her take step after step without any assistance placing her feet (only balance support) is awesome.

We took advantage of the warm weather this weekend to get out for a walk. Ashley took a few dozen steps with her walker as well while we were out.

In mid April Ashley will have her ankles ‘cast’. This will be a process where they will put casts on both lower legs for three days at a time to help stretch her Achilles tendons and properly position her feet. When Ashley stands up her knees are bent and while she can stretch and stand up straight she cannot maintain that position. Each time a new cast is applied they will slightly increase the corrective positioning. The target is to reach the goal of proper positioning within three weeks. We will keep you posted.

Ashley enjoyed visits from several friends over spring break both at home and at therapy.

The final update would have to be on the Talk component of the Walk-Talk-Eat mantra that Ashley’s friend Emily coined. While we don’t have words yet Ashley is constantly working on those vocal cords and working those mouth muscles to form letters. You can tell she is bursting at the seams for all the intricate pieces to come together. It will be a glorious day when we get those first words and you can bet there will be an instant update on that day!
Thank you all for your continued prayers and support

March 8th

Gee it’s hard to find time to update the blog. Nothing like a tornado warning to create some ‘down time’ in the basement to do an update as long as the power holds out (looks like it will just past north of us accompanied with 70 MPH winds and that nasty hail on the fringes). That’s just another sign that spring is coming. We can’t wait to get outside on a frequent basis with Ashley and take in the sights of the neighborhood. This time we will be including a walker in the mix rather than just her wheel chair.

It did provide for a hasty first with Ashley. That was the trip down here to the basement. She is lounging peacefully on the sofa as we watch the weather channel.

Last weekend Ashley got a haircut. Not just a trim; it is just below her shoulders now. She also was treated to a manicure and pedicure that same afternoon. Yes, she is looking gorgeous.

At the end of February Ashley had a visit from one of her high school friends, Erika, before she left for studies in Valparaiso… Chile, not Indiana. We checked on Erika’s blog www.ejprud.blogspot.com and found out she was encountering a lot of culture change.

Last Thursday we visited with a dietitian. Ashley has been eating so well we knew it was time to see about adjusting her liquid nutrition in response to her increased oral eatings. We are cutting back on the liquid nutrition by 20% and providing her dietitian with monthly updates to receive guidance on continually tapering the tube feedings. Great news!

We interrupt this blog for a weather update. The storm has past and while it is still windy the sun has come out. We are back on the main level and Ashley is doing her solo mat workout in the family room now.

Ashley will have an appointment with her neurologist this coming week. He will be addressing the tone issues she continues to have in her right arm and ankles. We also anticipate the elimination of one more medication that we have been tapering for several months.