Tuesday

Merry late Christmas! Steve continues to do well, of course. He has totally stopped getting tube feedings and is eating real food now, feeding himself, and he loves it. Although today it seems he has the stomach virus, so anyone who was thinking of visiting might want to hold off til tomorrow. Pray for his healing! Anyways, he continues to be very active-walking lots and walking well, climbing stairs, scooting himself around in the wheelchair, all with minimal assistance. He's also mouthing a lot, but as his trach hole is still in the process of healing and so are his vocal cords, it's mostly just whispering. Yesterday mom showed him flash cards of his first and last name and numbers 1-10 and he recognized and said all of them. He has lots of dexterity in his left hand now that he has to use it for almost everything, but he also uses his right hand every now and then for fine motor actions such as pulling off his sock with his pointer finger and thumb, which is amazing considering the condition that wrist is in and the fact that he's barely used that hand in the past month. We are starting to see more emotions from him. Yesterday when he was trying to say something and dad couldn't hear him and kept asking him to repeat it, he finally got ticked off and yelled whatever he was trying to say (a whisper yell, although you could hear a little bit of his voice). His natural self reliance is going to work in his favor because he insists on doing most things by himself without help. As I write this blog I look back on the previous one to make sure I don't repeat anything, then I realize that that is not possible, seeing as how the things he was doing 3 days ago are old news now. He is making tremendous progress, but still has a long road ahead of him. Keep the prayers coming! Steve really responds well and even participates a bit when we pray for him, and they are most definitely working!