June 16th

Another milestone for Ashley.

As followers of the blog know we have assisted Ashley on several occasions in her efforts to walk up the steps to see her bedroom. Well, two weekends ago she did so well we decided that she could sleep in her own bed for the first time in nearly two years!

She slept upstairs both Friday and Saturday night. Our plan now is for Ashley to sleep upstairs each weekend. This past weekend she showed us her motivation. Normally Ashley takes a step up and then brings the second foot up to the step she just reached with the other foot. Well this time, on about half the steps, she took a new step with each foot.

Quite frankly Ashley consistently takes better steps when going up stairs then when on a level surface. Getting to her own bed appears to be quite the motivation.

Ashley is also improving on going down the steps. She is getting use to bending the knee of the leg that is staying in place on the upper step so her other foot can reach down to the next step.

We are certainly seeing the time coming when Ashley will move upstairs permanently.

In the continuous efforts to improve Ashley’s balance and walking she is now wearing an advanced pair of Ankle-Foot Orthotic boots (AFOs) at night. These are hinged and spring loaded to apply continuous pressure on her Achilles tendons. In addition she is wearing knee immobilizers to keep her legs straight while in bed (those blue foam pieces held together with velco that you see on someone who just had knee surgery.

You know that summer has arrived when it is time to dash next door and take advantage of the Markley’s pool. What a change from last year. Back then we would place Ashley’s wheel chair near the pool while placing a pool chair at the corner of the pool. We would transfer her from the wheelchair to the pool chair. The next step was to have two people lift the pool chair and set it about two feet from the pool’s edge at the steps. We would place a towel on the ground and lift Ashley from the chair and set her on the towel with her feet now in the water. We would then lift her and lower her step by step until she was sitting at a level that was comfortable.



This year? Ashley lifts herself out of her chair with minimal assistance. With balance support she walks to the pool and steps in and down to the step she wants. Of course we don’t just sit there; she walks, and most enjoyably, floats in the pool. Since Ashley has pool therapy once to four times a month she is no stranger to the pool, but next door it is relaxation time not work time.

In therapy this week Ashley stood behind her wheel chair with her left hand holding it for support. Her therapist was right there, but was not supporting her in any way. So how long did Ashley stand without starting to waver? More than three minutes.

On the nutrition front Ashley is not missing a beat. Now with berries coming into season she is requesting that fresh fruit often and enjoying every bite. Progress on drinking is slow, but is progressing. Each week Ashley is improving on fighting gravity and swallowing more sips.

It looks like Thursday night is going to be friends’ night this summer. Although many of Ashley’s friends are scatter about doing internships or attending summer semester out of the country she still has a dedicated group that want to hang out with her. Obviously Ashley chose her friends well.

We have a road trip coming up soon for Austin’s orientation at Indiana University. Ashley will be going with us and checking out the campus. We have also received confirmation that we will be able to attend the Transverse Myelitis week at Victory Junction in North Carolina in mid August.