Look Ma, No Hands!

Jake continues to amaze me. He had a mentally exhausting day today...as we get closer to going home, there are a ton of tests that need to be done to evaluate him for his discharge summary. This morning in speech therapy he had some writing tests, then right after that he had more written tests in OT to check his left side neglect issues (due to the right side brain injury, he doesn't always see things to his left unless he's reminded to look in that direction). He then finished up his PT session, went to school group, and next onto some pretty comprehensive neuro-cognitive testing by the Psychologist. After a quick lunch he had therapy on the bike, a short break before his final speech and OT/PT sessions of the day. To say he was wiped out by his last OT/PT session is a major understatement. 

So here's where the amazing part comes in....after going through a fairly light OT/PT session due to his fatigue, he was walking back to the mat with his therapist and he just let go of her arm and started walking by himself. When they got back to the mat and sat for a minute he wanted to go some more, so they made a lap around the gym. When it was time to head back to his room, she went to get his wheelchair from across the gym and to bring it to him and he says "No, I want to walk to my wheelchair by myself." The kid was exhausted but wanted to keep working since he was walking on his own. He was so proud when he got there, it literally made me cry. To think less than a month ago, just standing was extremely hard, two weeks ago he stood by himself for the first time and now he is starting to walk unassisted. Total tears of joy.  http://youtu.be/hcsfAwzlZSQ

Earlier in the week, we met with the neurosurgeon (the same one that did the initial surgery) who will replace his missing skull piece on Friday. Jake will go into surgery at 7:30 a.m. and we're told it can take 2 - 2 1/2 hours. He will make an incision along the existing scar, peel back the scalp, attach the bone with titanium straps and screws to hold it in place, and then put his scalp back in place and stitch it up. 

The plan is for Jake to take the rest of Friday and Saturday morning to recover, and then be back in therapy by Saturday afternoon…pretty amazing. Surprisingly, this is not considered to be a major procedure although, as always, there are risks involved...the two primary ones being infection and the possibility that the bone doesn't fuse properly and his body could reject it over time. 

Specific Prayer Requests:

1. Please give thanks for the incredible drive and determination Jake has and the progress he is making.
2. A smooth and successful surgery on Friday with no complications or infection.