So on Tuesday they put a long arm, fiberglass cast on Emily's right arm. Since the purpose of the cast is to give her elbow a prolonged stretch, her arm is casted in a straight position that adds a whole new dimension to transfers to/from the wheelchair. This cast will stay on for a week, then it will come off and they will evaluate whether the nerve blocks and casting have addressed the tone in her arm (her tendancy to clench it tight to her body with her fist near her chin like a newborn). If a week in the long-arm cast resolves the elbow issues, next weeks cast will focus primarily on the wrist; if not she'll need another long arm cast that probably incorporates her wrist. She's scheduled for the nerve block shots in her right hand and shoulder on July 12.

On Thursday they'll cast her right ankle. There's some concern about her ability to handle two casts at once, but the ankle cast is critical to getting her standing and (hopefully) walking. On Tuesday when we tried to have her stand for a prolonged period (15 minutes is "prolonged" in the land of traumatic brain injury), she kept trying to put all of her weight on her right leg, which would be a good sign if she had a stable ankle. Her right ankle is really a worst-case scenario - the foot is so firmly in a pointed position but the ankle is incredibly wobbly left/right. There's just no way to stabilize it and help her get any sense of balance outside of the EZ Stand - and the EZ Stand doesn't require much of her in terms of balance (although we did eliminate the chest strap on Tuesday which left her completely in charge of her torso, neck and head).

Our schedule for Wednesday is to be at Craig till lunch and then head home for the afternoon. We'll head back to Craig around 6:00 for the 4th of July karaoke and fireworks event. The house is a bit of a disaster right now (a combination of neglect, summer (it's so much easier to keep a house neat when no one's home), and construction), but if you'd like to stop by give us a call and let us know. We'll probably plan on dinner around 5:00.