Applesauce, Candy and Combing

Maddi ate a whole bottle of applesauce today at one sitting! She used her lips to close around the spoon. It won't be long till she is holding the spoon herself. She was pretty proud of herself. I am pretty sure that when the Speech and OT people get a glimpse of her progress on Monday, they will be so impressed. She also used the sign for "more", "done", "yes" and "no". I asked her if she wanted a blanket and she gave a resounding yes. It is amazing to be communicating with her for the first time in six weeks. It is starting slow but it is great to have her able to get her needs met.

She also spent a great deal of time grooming today. It was the first time for her using the comb on her own. It was fun to see her combing out any tangles she had. That is actually a pretty advanced OT skill. Her hair is so soft and pretty. I think she has good reason to enjoy a good combing.

Maddi, Brooke and I spent a bit of time coloring today. John and I found these cool crayons that are smooth like silk. It is a bit addicting. Maddi was very focused today while coloring and her fine motor skills are becoming more refined. She gets a little stuck on the same area and needs a little prompt to color somewhere else but she is becoming much more aware of the space around her in writing and coloring. You can see on her face her frustration when I ask her to draw something. I think she remembers how much of an artist she was before and is confused why she isn't able to do it as easily.

While writing on the white board Maddi wrote the word candy but spelled it with an "i" at the end. The Mason and Brooke were eating random candy from our basket and I think that she was feeling a bit left out. We promptly got out a candy cane and let her have a bit of a taste. The look on her face told me that it wasn't what she expected but she liked it well enough.

Maddi also went to church today at the hospital. When we arrived at the hospital she was already in the day room and they are beginning the service. We hadn't planned to have her go but I stayed with her. They brought out instruments during the songs and Maddi enjoyed shaking to the beat. The young men and young women from an outside ward were there too. I am grateful to have been a part of that service today. It was a little sad to me that those kids didn't get to go out to a home ward. I don't know all the details concerning the why's and how's but for me I want my family together during our worship. It has definitely opened my eyes to the different callings that I had no idea existed. I am sure the blessing are shared on both parties.

To be completely honest I really struggle watching these children being alone everyday except for those people who are "paid" to care for them. I believe that everyone deserves to be loved and wanted. I guess I have the Ellis Island Complex. I have change the mantra a bit for the circumstance "Give me your.........forgotten masses" I want the take the forgotten ones home with me. There are some of these kids that have been in this facility since they were babies.

I have watched the opposite choice being played out with a mom and her son. They sit in the same place everyday. The mother is hunched over with age and crowned with an aura of silver. The son is middle aged and mostly unaware but yet everyday without question that mother is there in the same chair feeding him breakfast. I doubt that she has ever heard the gratitude expressed by this man but the love shared between them is unmistakable.

Another example of enduring to the end is a beautiful couple who were working with their middle aged son as well. They were doing range of motion and stimulation with him in one of the therapy rooms that Maddi and I were in. I ended up talking to them for a time and they told me their story. Their son went into his room one night and went into an unexplained coma. That was six years ago. They haven't given up hope for him yet. They make sure their son knows he is loved and not alone in the world.

I don't know why these people are assigned to be stuck in a broken body but their spirits aren't broken. I know that love is just as essential for life as air and food. We spent hours working with Maddi to teach her to hold up her head. Most of these kids can't do that but I wonder if they had someone to love them if there would be a reason to hold up their heads.

Maddi is doing well and it seems that she is doing something new everyday. The smile count is up to four confirmed, one with a dramatic upturn of the corners. We still have a long road but the journey is moving along. Some days the clouds of doubt and worry loom overhead, but for the most part I feel so grateful for the blessings and miracles.