Gimme Five (Times Eleven)

Wow, I didn't realize it'd been so long since the last post. This summer schedule has been kicking my tail, and now we are in the midst of painting the whole interior of the house and moving rooms around -- a little extra chaos is always fun.

Abbie has been doing magnificently. During PT on Monday we sat her on a chair because we wanted to work on knee bending. She was doing it so well herself, that we decided to have some fun with her arms and hands. An easel was set on a desk in front of her, upon which we sprayed globs of the foamy soap she so loves to play with. Now understanding this was her chance to make a big mess, Abbie began moving her arms toward the middle on her own, something she's never done...back and forth she went. We would support her elbows to help with the weight of her arms, but she knew just what to do. Seeing new things makes therapy sessions fun!

On Wednesday we went to se a different therapist, who asked what we'd worked on in Monday's session. Abbie, laying on the floor, lifted her arms and moved them toward the middle. Wow! Working against gravity AND answering a question. We were quite impressed, but that was just her opening act. Soon after, still lying on her back, she started bending her knees and lifting her legs. She's never done it that way -- she would only lift a straight leg. Right leg, left leg, right leg, left leg...we were giggling by this point. We then sat her in a chair, so she could practice good knee-bending, as well as moving her leg to kick a ball. She worked hard for a solid 30 minutes, which prompted her nurse to say, "Abbie, I don't know what's changed, but it's all clicking inside you now...you know how to move your body." Another really fun day of therapy.

We recently took Abbie to one of RJ's allstar baseball games. It was more than a little hot that day, which I remedied by taking wet cloths in a cooler with an icepack, rotating them on her head to cool her. It's always a hard call. We so much desire to have her with us everywhere we go, but the reality is that some places, some events are just not good for her. This trip was worth it however, before the game even started.

We were sitting under a shade tent, up a little embankment behind our boys' dugout. I had just begun her feeding shortly before the game started, when Coach John asked if the team could come see Abbie before the game. I dumped that tube of food back into the bottle so quickly sparks may have flown. He coached the twins the summer Abbie got hurt, so the tender spot in his heart for her rivals the Pacific.

The players lined up in front of her wheel chair, and took turns giving her a high five. I spoke for her as I raised her hand..."Good luck Maka...good luck Jarrod...good luck Nohili....Noah...Eli..RJ...Austin..Kalehua.." At the end I couldn't even say the names because I was tearing up. For her presence to be recognized -- and valued -- by the team overwhelmed me with gratitude. Knowing she is such a precious gift gets us through even the hardest of days, having others see it too enriches even the brightest ones.