Sense of humor still intact

Saturday I attended Bronte's graduation with the family and stayed for dinner afterwards. Martha was sitting in the kitchen with us, and I noticed she was fiddling with her right hand. I thought maybe it was bothering her. She pulled her jacket sleeve down over her hand and then looked at it in surprise and said very loud "Oh no!" as if her hand disappeared. Of course, that got everyone's attention, which made Martha laugh. When we realized what she'd done, we all laughed too, which made her laugh all the more. So she's playing the "made you look" game, and that's good.

Doctor's Visit Results

Mom had her appointment with her neurologist this morning. Again we were told how lucky we are and that even with the CT scans done recently Mom is doing amazing for how much damage was done.

As soon as the hematologist and cardiologist sign off on the surgery they will be putting her skull plate back in. They said as far as neuro-surgeries go this is fairly simple. At this point we're looking at late July for a surgery date. Sadface, I know.

At rehab tomorrow Fonte Surgical will be there to fit Mom for a new wheelchair - one not so low to the ground. They think it will help the muscles regain some of its function. Her physical therapist is also going to try using a walker with a platform on the right side with the hope that it will be more stable for Mom. This means she has to be able to do weight bearing on her right side. I haven't seen it done, but Bronte says Mom enjoyed it and they'll definitely be trying it again.

That's all for now folks!

Sunday morning entertainment at its best!

Drew and I dropped in on Auntie Martha to entertain her for a bit this morning. Drew can do that when he enters a room -- it immediately becomes a "Drewsaster" as crayons and remotes began flyin' all over the DeShong's living room. She was in great spirits from the moment we walked in and has really made some good progress with her time at the Jewish center. We shared stories, looked at pictures on my iphone, and had lots of laughs. She was moving her left hand so much you would of thought she was Italian. Martha actually lit up when she found out we brought her a chocolate covered, creme filled donut from DD. Her favorite!!! Btw: If you don't know, Kieran is now yuck! It seems like Martha can't be bothered with her these days. The cats rule! Martha also reccomends going to see the new Shrek movie -- she said, it's really cool. As we left, told her ... we love and miss you and in Martha fashion, she said, mean it!!!

Bronte said, if you're ever in the neighborhood, please don't hesitate to stop on bye!

Progress with speech

Linda and I visited with Martha for a bit this afternoon. She's looking good and the therapy at the Jewish Home is paying off. Martha has made what I think is great progress with speech and the key seems to be including a gesture. If you make a thumbs up, she says good. If you make a thumbs down, she says bad. She understands she has to raise her voice to call Chloe, Bronte or Dave from another room. So as we get more gestures figured out, her speech improves. I know she also does well if you start a phrase she recognizes. Today we had her in giggles when we said "Love you," she'd say "mean it!" She's also added waffles to the list of food she likes. Progress, slow but sure.