We've got two days of outpatient therapy under our belts and I think we're getting the hang of it. In some ways it's a lot like inpatient except you don't sleep there. The big difference is you're just there for the therapy classes - there's no one to help you if you need anything not related to a particular therapy. The other big difference, so far, is that while my participation during inpatient therapy was met with different levels of welcome, now it seems to be required for all but speech. Visions of easing (sp?) back into work remotely are floating distantly away.

I have to admit that yesterday was a tough day. Ken and I had no idea that the first day of outpatient would be more of a family affair that he should have really been there for. In addition, Emily just wasn't herself yesterday - every transfer was difficult and her right leg seemed particularly uncooperative. As a consequence, by the end of the day I was really tired, sore and discouraged. All emotions that Emily picks up on in a heartbeat.

Today went much better. She was incredibly strong during our transfers and even found a way to balance herself standing in the downstairs powder room. We had one minor incident in the parking lot at Craig that led to a funny discussion of just how large the bruise on her butt would be if she sat down too soon. She got to work with Celeste, her new PT, today and I'm really encouraged. Celeste did a nice job of explaining to Emily what she needs to work on and that we'll work on a task, master it, then move on. I think Celeste brings the right balance of southern motherly concern and iron will. It's not like Emily has never worked hard before! She was already showing some significant independence in transfers after just one session.

Amy, Emily's outpatient OT, also hit the ground running. We swapped out the ever-changing arm brace for a new, much smaller model. Amy also did some electronic stimulation (EStim) on Emily's right arm and got some good response. EStim worked great at getting Em's right leg moving more consistently. The theory behind EStim is to give the connection between the brain and the affected limb a little extra jolt. I talked to Amy about whether or not voice-recognition software might be a good way for Emily to start writing again. Amy really wants to hold off on that - the best thing we can do for both of Em's hand/arms right now is get sensations going. The more her arms and hands try to talk to her brain the sooner new connections will form. Voice recognition software, in addition to being expensive, will actually hinder that process. Amy seems confident we can get things moving without resorting to that "crutch."

Emily is handling the hour long outpatient sessions pretty well. She gets tired but kept her attention really well in every session - although she sometimes gets distracted by the music in the gym. Tomorrow we have to go until 5:00 which will be a challenge, but we thrive on challenges (ha!).

One special note - we had long grain and wild rice for dinner tonight with our chicken kabobs (thank you Julie T. and all the friends that contributed to the Super Supper stockpile) and roasted peppers. We were almost finished with dinner when Ken and I simultaneously noticed that Emily was scooping her rice on her fork and eating it with NO tremor. Very, very cool.

We hope everyone can make it to the open house on Saturday. Emily's very excited to see everyone and we're looking forward to a chance to say thank you. Remember food & libations will be served!