A New Day

Abbie must've known that I was quickly slipping down the Bad Attitude Slope, and needed a burst of light to keep my feet on the path. This morning I saw a new and exciting thing from her, which she then happily displayed later on at PT.

After bathing her I had her on her side and told her to bring her arm and leg over, which she quickly did. Then, she just kept on going, until she was on her tummy. She's begun doing this recently, so I was happy but not surprised. Suddenly, she was bending her knees, pushing with her legs, twisting her hips and lifting her tummy to try to get her arm out from underneath her. We've never seen isolated movements of her hips like that, nor a bent-knee push with her legs. Definately brand new stuff!!

While these may seem like small details, the important thing is they are new and she did them repetitively to command and with encouragment. At PT she helped bring her arm out by straightening it, which requires her to work against her high muscle tone -- a real sign of her understanding of what we'd asked her to do and of how she was supposed to do it. Woo-hoo!

She was terrifically and deservedly proud of herself today, and God provided her with a special reward. Tucker, a 9-month-old yellow Lab, stopped by therapy today. He is in training as a therapy dog, and will soon work at Kapiolani every day. I have never seen a mellower, more handsome puppy. He laid his head right in Abbie's lap and let her pet him. The handlers took some pictures which they will email to me. Seeing him was good for my soul, too!

Ray summed it up best for me this morning when he called to check on me..."Hey, Tiff...it's a new day!" Indeed it is!