Courtney did alot more walking today and practically walking on her own! She used the auto ambulator today - a special treadmill with a harness that helps people maintain proper posture while assisting with weight bearing. Courtney tends to walk with better posture without the harness machines as she quickly realizes she can sit down and yet walk at the same time!
Courtney also talked alot more today and the motivation for this was water -just plain old water. Because it is a thin liquid and staff here has been concerned that Courtney would aspirate she hasn't been allowed to drink water although she'll frequently grab the cup of ice chips and tip the cup back to get whatever water she can!
Kathleen brought a lunch tray in with mashed potatos, carrots, chicken parm all pureed. All that Courtney wanted was the water. Kathleen asked to hear Courtney's voice before she would give her the water and Courtney asked 'like yes?'. Kathleen said "yes like the word yes". After that Courtney gave the answer to everyone question ever asked at Braintree before it was even asked! She said "Courtney - Hollingworth - URI - 19 yrs old - Katy - Claudia -yes - no"
It was quite funny to hear her talk so much and be so motivated by a simple pleasure like ice cold water.
It's hard to describe how hard Courtney is working to do the multitude of things she's doing. The processing required to eat, walk, wash, dress, answer questions, count and generally stay awake through therapy is all exhausting. Courtney will often hold up her index finger and then point to her mouth - her non verbal way of saying 'give me a minute to get the words out.'
The JFK was conducted again today and Courtney scored a 19. We know that she can get a score of 23 and be done with JFK it's just a matter of hitting all the right buttons at the right time! Regardless everyone here continues to be amazed at her progress and we pray to God that it keeps on going.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
:}
The story of the little engine has been told and retold many times. The underlying theme however is the same - a stranded train is unable to find an engine willing to take it on over difficult terrain to its destination. Only the little blue engine is willing to try, and while repeating the mantra "I think I can, I think I can" overcomes a seemingly impossible task.
Sounds just like our Courtney's story :)
Post a Comment