Walking, Walking, Walking!!!

Gina walked the equivalent of a marathon today by walking downstairs (3 flights), walking around the first floor, and then back upstairs (3 flights)...and that was just her warm-up! She continued to walk to all of her therapies and made 2 additional trips down to the first floor! Her voice continues to get stronger and the small motor skills are refining nicely! Today she painted a small box to hold her earings in. Gina is progressing very quickly (much faster than anyone here thought) but, of course, we aren't surprised...she always has such a positive attitude and looks forward to brightening everyone's day! We're so lucky and proud to have her as our daughter!

Paul and Mimi

"I'm Cordless!"

Yet another H-U-G-E day here in Childrens! Gina did another floroscope and did much better! She can now eat most regular foods!!!! She also got her pic line and her trach removed!!!!....and so doesn't have to have the IV pole following her around anymore! When her therapists, PCA's and other nurses have noticed this, Gina would proudly tell them (with a smile on her face) "I'm cordless!" Her wit has obviously come back too!
In addition to all that, she's also becoming measurably stronger and more independent every day! She told me yesterday that she wondered what surprises awaited us today...and now we wonder what awaits us tomorrow! My adrenal glands are almost on overload...and I'm loving it!!!!!!!

Hugs,
Mimi

New shoes!

Gina continues to get stronger and is now walking so much the slipper socks just aren't enough anymore, so she got a new pair of tennies! She's trucking right along now and the goal is to have her walking to all her therapies by next Tuesday.
She was playing fetch with Ansley today.....or was it Ansley was playing fetch with Gina????? Ansley was supposed to go get the ball when Gina threw it, but would just look at Gina instead and wait for her to go get the ball herself. We think that he thought that for him to get the ball was much too undignified and dog-like....after all, his ID tag does say "Ansley, MD". Does he think it stands for Medical Doctor? It doesn't ......it's Medical Dog! :-D
After Gina's day was done, the three of us played a couple of games in her room with her and she found almost anything Paul was doing or saying absolutely hysterical and fell over in her bed more than once laughing.....it was a great evening....we're so glad Gina has her sense of humor back and is able to express it!!!!!!

Rockin' On,
Mimi

Talking up a Storm!!!!!!!!

What a day, what a day, what a day!!!!! Where to begin??? Gina started out her morning by amazing Paul and I by walking through an obstacle course and then having to pick up a ring from the floor and toss it onto a peg...she had to do this 4 times and never missed a peg! She then went walking up and down a 5 stair staircase (alternating feet while going both up and down the steps). While watching all of this I was as proud of her as I was the day she turned 9 months old and took her first steps!!! Her resident physician just got back from vacation today and commented that he couldn't believe that he'd only been gone 1 week with all the progress Gina was showing!

Later, in speech therapy, she started using her voice!!!!!!!!!!!!! She was doing so well, we went into the hall to practice yelling! Gina told us that she sometimes yells at people on the ski slope. When she was asked what she yells, she said she yells "Hey! You're cute!". :-D

The afternoon was spent talking, exercising, and generally showing off her new found skills!!!!!! Of course, you couldn't wipe the smile off my face all day long!!!!! Gina was smiling all day too!

What will tomorrow bring?

Happily,
Mimi

Lazy Days...

Another lazy Sunday has passed. Gina spent her day taking naps, visiting with grandparents, and later in the evening watching movies and getting a spa treatment from her wonderful mom! ;D). Spoiled rotten!!! Tomorrow starts another day of therapies and excitement...prepare your adrenal glands!!!!!!!

Mimi

Bounced Back!

Gina and I both bounced back today and are feeling up to par. Since Saturdays are short therapy days, Gina gets extra time to relax and get caught up on her naps. She did walk with a cane again, played another game while kneeling, ate all her applesauce and some yogurt for lunch and ate 1/2 her mashed potatoes and corn for dinner.....not bad for someone who isn't even feeling hungry yet! Tomorrow should be another lazy Sunday...but...you never know!

We all thought Paul did a wonderful job at writing yesterdays' blog and I tried to get him to take over...but he didn't fall for it! :-). I'm sure in the coming weeks I'll be able to get him to do a few more.

Mimi

‘Walking Tall’

Well, today when I came in to the Rehab station, the nurses told me that Gina and Mimi were not feeling well. Gina had missed most of her therapy today and was not crazy about lunch either. The doctor came in to see her and told Gina she would like for her to try her afternoon therapy sessions and see what happens. So Gina’s speech therapist along with ‘Ansley’ (specially trained speech therapy dog) came in to get Gina and off they went. I stayed with Mimi and we watched some TV and stayed warm. After a few hours, it was time for me to go and so I said my good byes to Mimi and left to go find Gina to say good bye to her. I could not find her and decided I would just see her tomorrow.

When I went out into the main hallway, there was Gina and some therapists from Rec-Therapy standing in the hallway, shooting hoops!! I couldn’t believe my eyes... why was Gina standing there shooting hoops (underhanded with hackey sacks) with her right hand...and where was her wheelchair??

Then, all of the sudden, the therapist says to Gina, "Ok Gina, let’s turn around and go back to your chair." While the therapists had a hold of her IV pole, Gina grabbed her one-handed walker and proceeded to walk right back down the hall, past me and into her wheelchair!!! I couldn’t find words to speak, so I grabbed for the wall. I was overjoyed! I told her so and that I had to leave for work but I would be back tomorrow. She shook her head to me as ‘ok’. So I left feeling great yet not wanting to leave at all. As I turned the corner, I heard her therapist say, "Ok Gina, let’s go again, but not so fast this time." That was almost too much for me to take in. Good stuff!

Gina’s Occupational Therapist later told Mimi that Gina was lifting a 3Ib weight with her right hand, from her side, all the way above her head. Oh, and one more thing for today, in answer to a request from her occupational therapist the day before, I had brought in Gina’s nylon string guitar for her. They say it will be a part of her rehab to retrain her fingers to eventually the level she was at before. When I pulled Gina’s guitar out of its case, she took it immediately, held it and plucked the strings! What a day!

For Saturday and Sunday, Gina and Mimi are still feeling a little under the weather so they both are going to rest over the weekend to be strong for the next week.

Thanks everyone, great things are happening!


Paul

Walking Up that Mountain...Literally!

Well, I thought other days have been exciting, but this might be the most exciting day yet!!! Where should I begin??? I guess I'll start at the beginning...in the morning!

Our morning started out much the same as the other mornings...getting up way before we wanted to...but that's about all that didn't change! During physical therapy Gina was using her core strength and playing yahtzee against Ansley (the therapy dog), when she decided to start collecting and rolling the dice with her right hand!!!! (This is the arm that just started moving about 2 weeks ago!). Then, she played Sequence dice using both hands and having a 1 1/2 pound weight on her left hand! For speech she tried to yell "STOP" at some imaginary snowboarders who were being unsafe. It only came out as a loud whisper, but the intent was certainly there! (I'll turn her into a patroller yet!).

Gina also ate some pureed food today for lunch (the first "real" food she's had since her accident). She had mashed potatoed w/gravy, applesauce, and sprite. After lunch Gina decided to raise the bar......wayyyyyy up! She walked (only pushing a wheeled table) 75 yards.....twice!!!! Forget trying to walk in the parallel bars...she just gets right down to business!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For dinner she had mac & cheese, chicken marinara, peaches, and iced tea....yummy! She did well with it and seems to enjoy eating a little bit of food.

But wait...that's not all....she also started writing with her right hand!!!! She wrote "I love mom" and "I walked mom" clearly. That's right folks....one amazement after another.....if she does nothing new the rest of the week.....that's fine with me.....but I doubt Gina will settle for that!!!!!!!!

Hugs,
Mimi

More Steps Up the Mountain

Today Gina was much less dizzy and so had more stamina and was able to step up to the plate. She had a really good, loud whisper most of the day. We also discovered she can still count money, tell time and she remembered the details of a story read to her yesterday. She marched in place in the parallel bars, did lots of leg and core strengthening exercises, and once again beat her therapists in some games.

She did get to do her swallow study (it was really, really cool to watch!) and will start to eat pureed foods tomorrow at lunch. After all that, she relaxed to the wonderful dialect of Mark Twain! More successes to follow tomorrow!

Mimi

Continuing to Strengthen

Gina went through a very full day of therapies starting at 8:30a and ending at 4:00p. In each therapy she continued to strengthen what she worked on yesterday...speech-whispering, physical-standing in parallel bars, occupational-self grooming, recreational-beating therapists at games! By the end of the day, Gina was totally worn out, but very proud of herself. (and so are we!). Just getting through such a packed day is definitely an accomplishment in itself!

I wonder what tomorrow will bring? Oh wait....I know one thing it'll bring...Gina gets to go have a swallow test done to see if she can start to eat orally again...it should be interesting....they use a floroscope to watch the food or liquid as it goes down...I'll let you know how it goes!

Hugs,
Mimi

Wooooooo Hoooooooo!

Gina's therapy went wonderfully today....this morning, for the first time, she actively moved her right ankle...and not just a little, but was able to plantar flex, dorsiflex, invert, and evert with resistance! (This is a huge step!!!). She also played a game of yahtzee and set a new rehab record of 512 points! (she rolled 4 yahtzee's)....I wonder where she gets her competitive spirit???

She didn't get her trach out today, but they did take a look at it...I should find out more about that tomorrow. She has a good airway with the trach in and they just want to make sure she'd maintain that airway without the trach before they remove it. Then, this afternoon, she actively opened and closed her right hand and moved all 5 fingers independently of one another! Woo Hoo! I Love Mondays!!!

Mimi

Movie Day!

Well, as predicted, today was a nice lazy day spent watching movies, napping, and listening to Mark Twain. Gina did get into her chair a couple of times for some short tours around her floor. She's not feeling as dizzy today, but says she still feels a little dizzy. Tomorrow will be a full day again filled with therapies and improvements (I'm sure!).....I'll keep everyone posted! Gina may get her trach out tomorrow or Tuesday!

Hugs,
Mimi

Rehab and Rest

On Saturdays, Gina has only 1/2 a day of rehab. She was able to sit on the edge of her bed and show amazing core strength improvement! She was even able to look out her window for the first time and see all the snow still on the ground. I asked her if she was going to go skiing on some new skis next season and she shook her head no! She still remembers she's a snowboarder....I tried! ;-). She's whispering louder and really working on getting her voice out...but it is a lot of work! Tomorrow should be a quiet, lazy day...no therapies!!!

Mimi

Getting Extra Rest Because of Snoring Mother!

Gina used today to get some extra rest and was able to successfully blow off about 1/2 her rehab....she has good reason though. When she woke up this morning she complained of dizziness, nausea and the fact that she didn't get a good nights' sleep. When I asked her why she didn't sleep well, she pointed at me! I asked her if I had kept her awake...she nodded her head...I asked her if I was snoring...and she nodded her head again! So, I asked her if she wanted to sleep with her new ipod on the next night and...she nodded her head! :-)

The doctors took a look at her and discovered she has 2 ear infections and was a little dehydrated and that was probably what was causing her vertigo and nausea. Gina made sure she let them know that I was the cause of a poor nights sleep! (now she's ratting me out to the doctors!!! Foiled yet again!!!)

Despite all of this, Gina was a trooper and continued to do as much of her rehab as she could from her bed! Her determination continues to shine!!! Even though she decided to slack off a little today, she was still able to enjoy her massage and get some more Mark Twain education! Hopefully she'll feel a little better tomorrow!

Hugs,
Mimi

Happy Valentines Day!

We had a very full Valentines day! On top of regular therapy, Gina received about a bazillion valentines and birthday cards that we read, and had a valentines party where she made a really cute picture frame! She continues to progress through her therapies....and is doing fantastic! She's started to whisper, is standing longer, sitting longer, and getting stronger every day!

You are all our valentines!
Mimi

Gina's Big 18th Birthday!

Well, although being in the hospital wasn't the way we were planning to celebrate Gina's 18th birthday, we all made the best of it and ended up having some fun! The day started out with Gina's room getting ambushed and decorated by the hospital staff. They put up a "Happy 18th Birthday" banner over her door, streamers all over her room, a Happy Birthday balloon, and even gave her some very nice presents. (The people who work here are absolutely wonderful!) Later in the afternoon Gina decided she wanted to go down to the gift shop and look around a little bit, so we did, and on the way back to her room one of the lady's at the information desk stopped us and sang Gina Happy Birthday! I don't even know how she knew it was her birthday...word gets around I guess!

In rehab she played Yahtzee (and won), got her trach capped (the final step before removal), practiced taking deep breaths and blowing cotton balls around on a table (trying to get her voice out), made some valentines, and is now sitting up with little or no assistance!

She got a harmonica to help her exhale forcefully, and after a couple tries, was able to play a few notes! Her grandfather was once again obliged to educate her with some more Mark Twain (which she enjoys very much...it seems to be a good 'sleeping pill') ;-o She also spent time listening to her new ipod, getting a manicure, reading all her birthday cards, and smelling all her flowers!

Thank you to everyone for helping to make Gina's 18th birthday nice for her! We'll have a big party when we get out of here!

Hugs,
Mimi

More Practicing

Today Gina continued to practice sitting up and standing. She played Sequence Dice, got another massage, started mouthing words (including 'I Love You'), and even smiled....it was the most beautiful smile we'd ever seen!

Tomorrow (Wed., Feb. 13) is Gina's 18th birthday and Childrens Hospital has cards that you can make and send online for free. The hospital will print them out and deliver them to Gina's room! It's easy...just go to www.nationwidechildrens.org and mouse over 'patients/families/visitors' and click on 'send a greeting card'. Her room # is A3643. We're hanging all her cards up all over her walls like wallpaper...she loves it.

We recently learned that all gifts are allowed except for latex balloons...balloons are great, just make sure they're mylar or any other plastic except latex.

Hugs,
Mimi

WOO HOO!!!!!

WOW!

We knew today would be full of pleasant surprises, but, as usual, we had no idea how wonderful they would be! Today Gina exhibited purposeful movement of her right leg...when it came off the footrest of her chair she put it right back on! She knows what day, month, and year it is...and she was able to correctly show what the weather outside was like.

She even knew that in 2 days it'll be her 18th birthday! She not only continues to win at Connect 4, but has now proven her prowess at UNO too! She was able to stand in the parallel bars 3 times (for a few minutes each time) and do a puzzle while standing! When she got back to her room for a break, she even got a massage!

The doctors switched her trach tube down to a size 4 (the smallest size) and are talking about getting it out completely (maybe by the beginning of next week). She's also been on regular "room" air since Saturday and is doing fine. No more O2! She's also looking to the right easily now (this wasn't even possible 4 days ago). :-).

So much improvement all in only one day! Stay tuned for more successes tomorrow!

Proud Mom,
Mimi

A Peaceful Day...

Gina spent her Sunday relaxing and conserving her energy for therapy today. She did spend 2 hours in her chair getting pampered and is still feeling very lovable! :-).

A quiet day overall with time spent listening to music, watching movies, and Mark Twain (read to her by her grandpa).

I wonder what surprises today will bring?

Things are Really Looking Up!

OK...I'm going to start trying to write these blogs in the evening instead of morning....mornings are just too full of excitement and I'm always afraid I might miss something!

Gina had another great day (as usual)! She got to play Connect 4 with her recreational therapist and gave her a sound beating! She was very sneaky and was definitely planning her strategy ahead of time. Her communication continues to improve every time we talk with her.

She gave me a kiss today and is feeling very emotional much of the time. (That's more good news because it's evidence of Gina continuing to climb that mountain)! There is no therapy on Sunday...she gets a day of rest....but I'm sure I'll still have more exciting news tomorrow!

Hugs,
Mimi

Progress by the Minute!

Sooooo much happened today. Gina's therapy went wonderfully. She can now answer some yes or no questions by pointing to yes or no signs. She can let us know if she's in pain and where the pain is. She also has a chart with eight pictures on it showing different things like a TV, a book, music, a movie, etc. and she knows how to look for what she wants and is able to point it out. She underwent her first trach downsizing...good news in that this is moving toward permanent removal.

We're so impressed with her ability. The determination she's always had is clearly showing through now!

Mimi

Busy, Busy, Busy

I'd like to start this blog off by apologizing for the lateness of it. I'm usually up early enough in the morning and have time to write it, but I slept in today and when I woke up, Gina's therapists were ready to rock and roll.

Yesterday went well. We got moved and settled in to Gina's new digs. They don't waste any time around here in getting therapy started. Gina did very well with her tasks and is trying very hard. She even got to spend some time with the therapy dog. He's a black lab named Ansley and very soft and sweet.

Many of you have had questions about Gina's birthday coming up this Wednesday. She can see well now and has good focus, but is still in a state of comprehension that causes her to become easily upset, overstimulated, and frustrated. So, with Gina's best interest put first, we're still not allowing visitors. We will have a birthday party for her when she is able, but it may be a few months. If you would still like to send her cards or balloons or something, please feel free to do so and we'll make sure that she gets to look at each one.

Hugs,
Mimi

News Flash!...Breaking News!

Gina moved out of OSU Hospital and into Children's Hospital Rehab. The "move" took place this morning! We're located in rehab now and Gina will be undergoing 3-6 hours of rehab a day...busy girl. She will have speech, physical, and occupational therapy.

I talked with the docs about visitation and they still feel that it will be best for Gina if we wait until she can communicate. She can now have anything in her room, so anthing you would like to bring in for her is fine (keep in mind she can't eat anything yet). I'll blog you with more info tomorrow!

Moving on!

Mimi

Hugs and Kisses!

Gina had another wonderful day yesterday. She is now very actively moving her right arm (although the movements aren't purposeful yet). She has also started doing a few things that really pull my "mom heart strings". She wants to hug me often and even tries to get her right arm up around my neck. She also tried to give me a kiss on the cheek! She blew a kiss a few times too! She still can't talk and getting her to give a thumbs up to a yes or no question is still hit or miss, but the improvements that are happening daily are HUGE! We're so Proud of our daughter....her will and her determination are taking her a long way.....no surprise there! :D)

Hugs,
Mimi

Moving Day!

Well, what a day yesterday was. During physical therapy Gina got to sit in the chair again and we watched a movie together. Then we found out a room was available and we moved to Rhodes 834 East (which took up most of the rest of the day). Hooray! Gina's doing well enough to go to the step-down ICU!

Gina still isn't able to communicate with much consistency, so we're going to wait a little longer before we have any visitors. I'll keep you posted and let you know just as soon as the docs think visitors would be beneficial for her.

Mimi

Climbing on with Humor!

Yesterday was an eventful, impressive and funny day. In the morning during physical therapy they got Gina into her chair again and showed her a stuffed OSU Football. One of the therapists asked her to get the football and she did. Then, when asked, Gina gave it back, then took it again and another therapist on Gina's other side asked Gina to give it to her....and she did! We continued to play pass the football throughout the day.

Later in the afternoon it was time to get Gina back into her chair again, so her nurse asked her to give a thumbs up if she wanted to get back in her chair...no response...so I decided to give it a try and asked her the same question...no response...then I asked her to give a thumbs up if she DIDN'T want to sit in her chair and the thumb immediately went up! We all had a good laugh and poor Gina still had to sit in the chair!

One other thing happened yesterday that is of note...we got moving orders...we're just waiting for a room, but we think we'll be moving to Rhodes 8 East...I'll keep everyone posted...the staff said sometimes it can take a couple of days.

Blog you tomorrow,
Mimi

Another Big Step!

Yesterday was a fairly quiet one, but it did involve another major step. In addition to Gina following commands a little more often, she was able to be put into a chair. She stayed in the chair for a few hours, watched part of a DVD, took a nap, and watched quite a bit of MTV.

She still doesn't answer yes or no questions (except that one time the other day???) but we feel as if she's headed that way. They'll probably put her in her chair again today and I think we may be changing rooms sometime this week...we'll see! :-) The three of us are so thankful to know that we have such a large and wonderful support group surrounding us!

Hugs,

Mimi

Who's Foiling Who Now???

Well, after a morning and afternoon of sleep Gina decided to become more alert...much more alert. This time she followed commands for her nurse twice in a row! I don't think Gina knew I was watching, otherwise I'm sure she wouldn't have done a thing. When her nurse asked her to hold up one finger, she did it without hesitation like she'd been doing this all along. The nurse then asked her to hold up two fingers and she again did it without hesitation. (and she didn't just put them up a little bit, she put them straight up in the air like she meant it!).

Then she asked her to stick up her thumb...straight up, no problem, no hesitation. She then did all three commands again! One more giant step up the mountain. After that I asked her if she would like to see her new portable DVD player...to hold up 1 finger for no and 2 for yes...she held up 2 fingers! So, we watched a bit more of a movie. This was great, but I couldn't get her to do it again....that's ok though....one step at a time.....and hopefully another step soon! Keep up the wonderful comments and prayers! All 3 of us love them!

Mimi

On with the blog! Groundhog Day!

Gina's surgery went exactly as planned yesterday. No complications or problems. Nothing much happened after that; lots of rest and sleep. They were able to get her back off the ventilator (standard procedure after surgery) and onto just a trach mask with oxygen. Three more steps up the hill accomplished. ;-)

Mimi

Exciting Day!

So much happened yesterday, but I'll try to stick to the highlights. First of all she kept her eyes open most of the day and was even looking at things intermittently. She's also following commands a little more often. We found out that Gina would be having surgery today (Friday) to replace her breathing and feeding tubes (this isn't permanent, and it'll make everything easier for Gina). It should take about 2 hours for everything and will decrease chance of infection and increase opportunity for mobility (among many other benefits). Last night Gina was watching her new portable DVD player...she was actually watching the movie!

Every day there seems to be a little more improvement. I'll let everyone know when it'll be ok to come see Gina...but we have no idea when that might be. We're waiting for her to be able to communicate a little and for her to be able to follow commands with some consistency (even though her eyes are open during the day, the determination that she's awake still hasn't been made). Please be patient and understand that we are only doing what's best for Gina. Keep the love coming...we share all of this with Gina and she really seems to enjoy it.

Much love,
Mimi