Day 20 - Evening

Sorry for the late post, I intended to post while Jake napped today, but that never happened! He fell asleep around 2:00 and I ran down to heat up my lunch and when I came back he was awake  and that was the extent of his nap. I'm shocked he's not sleeping more with OT/PT twice a day and the mild sleep aids they are giving him.

I made it to the hospital today in time for his 2nd therapy session. It was so cool to see how much progress he's making already just a few days in. He sat for almost 10 minutes on the side of his bed with just some assistance holding up his head. He's now also able to turn his head while lying in the bed. Once his neck is stronger he can start trying solid foods so it's something they are working very hard on.

Speech therapy was right after OT/PT and the clarity with which he was speaking was amazing. I think it's because he'd been sitting up and had got in some good coughs to clear his throat. He said the full ABC's, counted to 10, said Mom, answered what his favorite food was, knew his birthday, grade in school, answered some math problems and several other things. He was still very quiet but very clear. So cool!

He was still busy today but not as agitated as he has been, except during feeding. They changed his feeds a few days ago from constant drip to meal time feeds to try and get his stomach stretched. We are thinking when food is going in the tube he's more aware of it due to the pulsing of the drip line and the slightly enlarged size due to the food going through. He must have asked me 10 times to please take it out, poor kid. Other than during that time, he was fairly chill which was really nice. He wrote me a note shortly after I got to the hospital "When can I see Luke?" Luke was coming in after camp today and Jake was so excited. It was a great visit and Luke was equally excited since Jake was more alert and able to talk to him. Luke got really good at getting the wipe-board when he couldn't quite make out what Jake was saying.

With Jake's increased restlessness the past few days, Todd is staying tonight at the hospital and I'm staying tomorrow. Jake wrote to him "I am excited to hang out with you tonight" so I think it was a good decision. :-)