Big day - big, big, big day. Emily moved to Craig at a little after noon today. Wow-significant change in pace. I haven't seen this much activity since the Emergency Room the day of the accident. She was barely in her room at 1:00, and still this afternoon we had orientation with her RN, visits from both Dr. Yarnell and her new Craig doctor, met her RT (respiratory therapist), had an ultrasound of her arms and legs to verify no blood clot issues, x-rays of her hips, shoulder and something else I can't remember, and a head CT. Side note on her visit with Dr. Yarnell: she was meeting her RN for the first time and really not responding to instruction well at all. In walks Dr. Yarnell, he says "hello Emily, shake my hand," and she immediately put out her left had to him. She then proceeded to do a "thumbs up" for him and tried her darndest to talk to him. I think she recognized him - and I definitely think he earned a good response. He's been with us since the beginning and has come to mean a lot to both Ken and me (and obviously Emily).

Both Ken and I like Dr. Weintraub, her Craig doctor - he was incredibly reassuring and obviously very knowledgeable. We have a conference with him on Thursday to get his medical assessment. She didn't get to meet her Craig therapy team today. I'm sure all of that will happen tomorrow. Then we'll have a follow up meeting with the whole team in a week or so.

With a new hospital comes new rules. Craig strongly discourages visitors during the week. The theory is that it's very easy to over-stimulate brain injury patients and the therapists will be working her hard all day and they want her evenings and nights as free of stimulus as possible. So, for the near-term, we're going to need to limit week nights to family. She can still have company on the weekends from 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. Of course, this means my comment to Sarah and Katie this weekend that "sure the whole chemistry table can visit" is no longer true. The Craig staff wants visits limited to a few people at a time, which everyone's been great about. I'm optimistic that we'll be able to lighten up on the rules once they see how she's doing in person, but for now that's the deal. Craig staff can ask any of us, including Ken and me, to leave if she becomes agitated (can you say "Barbara Biggs issue?"

The bright side of these new restrictions is that they are all very optimistic about Em's ultimate recovery.

Brief notes on this morning's therapy sessions at Kindred: She had a great session with her ST (speech therapist). She was pointing at words (Mom/Dad, Spike/Buffy, yes/no) on a page with two words - finding them on her own. She got to try Cheerios and potato chips - the chips she was taking from her therapist's hand and putting in her mouth and eating! In PT she was playing ball - she didn't quite have the tossing down, but she was reaching (and looking) way up, way left and way right to take the ball from her therapist's hand. Her physical therapist kepty asking "what happened over the weekend?" She handled the move to Craig really well - got to sit up on her gurney in the ambulence, which was a big improvement over other recent trips. Barely napped this afternoon.

I really think she's ready to get to work. It seemed to both Ken and me that she really figured something out this weekend - she was doing a lot more thinking and dexterity stuff and really working that green stress ball of hers.