hillbilly boots....

{together forever}

{mary and chandler visit}

{ben standing in the parallel bars!}

Let me just start with most hilarious thing yet that just happened today! I have been prepping Ben since last week that we are going to a Toby Keith concert tomorrow night! In doing so I have been asking him to remind me what we are doing and who we are going to see. Most times Ben gets all the answers right and other times he needs a few promptings for the answers. Ben's nurse and I were getting him back to bed this afternoon for a nap and I asked him this...."Ben is it ok if I go to Nordstroms to get some western boots for the concert?" Ben-"no!" Me-"why?" Ben-"because." Me-"because why?" Ben-"because you will look like a hillbilly!" Me-"well, Ben what would you look like if you wore them?" Ben-"I would look cool!" Oh my goodness, he had me and his nurse rolling! Needless to say I did sneak away to go look for some but didn't find them at Nords...this would make Ben very happy!

Ben continues to do well. He tries so hard and continues to do do even if he doesn't always see the reward in the way that he wants! I get frustrated so I cannot even imagine how frustrated Ben gets! He has been standing for short moments on his own in the parallel bars, walking with a big walker on wheels, speaking more words (throwing in some humor as you can see), can now sing Jesus Loves Me all the way through without prompts and always giving his all! Today he was moved to a full REGULAR diet! No more mashed, diced, minced, chopped or however they want to call some of that nastiness! He can now choose what he wants to eat from his menu!

He is still on thickened liquids but they are slowy getting thinner and thinner! Ben is being challanged in neuro psych as well. His doc is doing alot of memory drills with him. She starts off by giving him at least 3 words verbally and then asks Ben to repeat them. As he remembers them and does well she has advanced up to 5 words for him to remember! She also has been doing this with numbers and has recently had Ben repeat them backwards! He can usually get 3 of them but still needs some practice with 4-5.

We have been messing with a few of his meds and this has made him a tad sleepy in the morning. As the med gets settled in his system the sleepyness is decreasing. Also lowering a muscle med to see if it helps him be more alert but also not wanting Ben's muscles to get tight! Oh the fine lines of meds. Sometime in the next few weeks they will be adding a med that will prayerfully improve Ben's memory, processing speed and cognative abilities. He was on a med like this early on but at the level he was at during that time it was not a help to him.

Like I said earlier we are going to a Toby Keith concert tomorrow night! I am super excited to take Ben! It will be us and another couple with their daughter! We are to be there an hour early and are not to "be surprised" if Toby comes to meet us!! WHOOOHOOO!!! Hopefully we can get some photos with him!

Prayer Requests: (it has been a bit!)
1. Ben's memory would increase (it is hard for him even to remember what he did an hour before)
2. His processing time would quicken
3. Ben would beging instigating his own words and not just to answering questions. Also that he would begin to verbally make his needs known at any time (i am thirsty, i want to go to bed, move me, stop, can we go for a walk....)
4. Neck muscles to relax (have to decided to botox again...lots of pros and cons)
5. Ben's body would tolerate the med changes
6. Trunk control (this is a biggie...if he can get this he will take off in walking and controling his body. one of his PT explains to Ben that he must first build a strong foundation...kind of like the concrete on a house. I like to think of building his foundation on Christ! Pray for a strong foundation!
7. Continued patience, motivation, courage and strength for both of us!