from UB

I saw Courtney Sunday and was very impressed with her progess. She continues to live up to the nickname I assigned her, "The Energizer Courtney". It was so encouraging to witness the speed and ease in which Courtney can now sit up in bed and how much more aware she is of her surroundings.
Since Courtney "woke", even in the limited sense that we see, as I have left her at the end of every visit, I have told her, "Bye Courtney, I'll see you soon." So far, Courtney has not responded to me in any discernable manner other than to look at me. That's good enough for me given her condition and the fact that I only see her once a week now and she may have trouble remembering me.
As a step-parent, I have learned that one the most difficult challenges of parenthood is achieving balance. The readers who are parents are more familiar with this issue than I. A child misbehaves and we may struggle with the penalty for such behavior. Is it too much or not enough? As they grow older - when should we press for info and when should we back off ? How much rope should we give them and when do we let go of the rope? I've found that this struggle can also be painful.

This point has been driven home to me while visiting Courtney over the course of these past few months. Day after day, Diane and Craig deal with this formidable challenge made all the more difficult and painful as Courtney's condition continues to change on a weekly basis. At times they may struggle with when they should back off and when they should intervene in Courtney's care, or when they should give Courtney room as they support and coax her back to her old self. Given the intensity of their love for their daughter, this must be extremely difficult and extremely painful.
God continue to bless them and hold them during this monumental struggle.