Another Day Closer

Well this week has been another busy time of running from one class to another. Jess is still working out in the weight room and loving every minute of it. Monday he was able to curl 10 lbs with his left arm. Talk about an improvement. It was only a couple of weeks ago that he couldn't even lift his arm. He also has been racing through obstacle courses and playing hockey in the gym. This morning I got to the hospital just in time to catch him getting out of gym class. All the guys had so much fun playing hockey. Jess was quite proud that he ran one of them into the wall as they were going after the puck. Not to mention his "almost" black eye he got. I guess boys will be boys :)

He also has started wheel chair class. Which is a class that teaches you how to do lots of different maneuvers to get around a world that isn't always wheel chair accessible. Of course the first thing they teach you is how to pop a wheelie. I was surprised at how hard they are. Its already hard for him to find his balance let alone finding his balance point on two wheels. But before we know it he will be wheeling the length of the gym on two wheels. It still amazes me how fast he has been improving.

He also started riding the FES bike this week. This bike is absolutely amazing. It helps with muscle lose, circulation, bone density, and so many more vital aspects of healing. Each time he rode it this week his muscles have put out more energy. The bike motor did less and his leg muscles did more. It's still a really slow process because he has had so much muscle lose, but the more he rides it the better it should be.

Today he got a new addition to next years Halloween costume. His new arm brace! Talk about crazy looking. The ot therapist built it right her in the hospital. Jess was pretty impressed. He said she took a large flat piece of plastic and cut it and formed it to fit his arm perfectly. This brace is even more advanced than his other ones. It not only helps raise his wrist so that there is no more never damage done, but it also holds his fingers up so the nerves in his hand aren't damaged. It never ceases to amaze us all the different devises and gadgets that are out there to help in a time like this.

In preparation for going home and hopefully going on all the fun trips that we have always talked about going on, Jess practiced transferring to an aisle chair and then over to an airplane chair. Briley helped us realise that the trip home could be a whole lot more work than we had thought it might be. She was really clingy when we were doing all of the transfers so it wasn't that easy for me to help him. Hopefully when it comes time to the actual trip home she will cooperate a little better :) But I guess time will only tell.

This is just a fun picture of Briley. Jody and I walked down to Safeway the other day and I couldn't resist buying her her first candy cane. She absolutely LOVED it!!! Talk about a good babysitter. Now that I think about it I should make sure we have some on hand for our trip home. I bet they will really come in handy.

Jess had pool therapy again this week, but this time Briley and I were able to get in. It was SO much fun. I couldn't believe how much Briley loved the water. I would hold her on her stomach and she would dunk her face under the water and come back up really quick and laugh. Talk about a fun morning. It was a big step for her to go from no bathtub right now to a pool. We really can't wait to be able to go to the YMCA as a family.