Incremental progress is sometimes hard to track, but here's an example.

Last Tuesday we were thrilled when Emily was able to stand and maintain her balance for 10 seconds at a time multiple times. By last Thursday, she was able to stand and maintain her balance for 30 seconds at a time, multiple times. Yesterday, one week from last Tuesday, she was able to stand without assistance, get her balance, and make the steps necessary to transfer to the car, chair, etc. with no cues or help other than balance!

Today in PT she came from a sit to a stand with absolutely no help!

We met with Emily's doctors and therapy team today. We're going to maintain her 3-day/week outpatient schedule probably through the end of the year. In early 2008 we're hoping to be able to incorporate school into her routine therapy. In the meantime, she'll continue to attend Philosophy Club and, hopefully soon, start working on writing projects.

Yesterday Emily saw Dr. Yarnell for the first time since mid-June. He seemed pleased with how far she'd come and told her she looked pretty. In typical doctor fashion he then prroceeded to challenge me on a number of issues like, "is she really reading." After our appointment with Dr. Yarnell we went over to the Neuro ICU at St. Anthony's. Emily met Seana, one of the nurses who took such incredible care of her. Emily doesn't remember her days in the ICU, but she is curious and not at all stressed. It was an interesting visit - but the next time we visit Emily wants to walk in!

Emily had her first, full day of therapy in her AFO today. She hasn't once complained that it's uncomfortable and today she stood for 1/2 hour, biked for 1/2 hour, and then did a full hour of PT without complaint. She's moved from the EZ Stand, where she could watch TV, to the stall bars, which require much more balance and control on her part. She's also started reading while she's in the stall bars, which forces her to use that left hand and arm for something other than balance. Em doesn't like the magazine selection at Craig - too much gossip and fashion - so we've started taking in her Fantasy and Science Fiction magazines and she reads the short stories.

There was some concern that going from a cast/cast boot to the AFO might set Emily back in terms of her ability to stand and take steps. We've seen just the opposite. Today, one of my days at Craig, were the easiest car transfers I think I've ever done. She stood on her own and took steps without any problems. When she was walking in the parallel bars with Celeste, she had much less trouble controlling that right knee in the AFO than she ever did in the cast boot. Celeste then had her work on coming to a stand from her wheelchair and maintaining her balance standing. She needed a little help getting up to a stand, but was able to maintain her balance very well - once for over 20 seconds. When she first got to Craig she couldn't sit unassisted for 20 seconds, so that's quite an accomplishment. Celeste is very pleased with how much stronger Emily has gotten.

Tomorrow there's a barbecue for outpatients at Craig, so Emily will get to cook for Ken and introduce him to some of the outpatient friends she's made. I know he's looking forward to it.

All of Emily's therapists were thrilled when I reported that she'd done so well in Philosophy Club last week - following the discussion and contributing. We finish up at Craig at 2:00 on Thursday and are planning to be at DSA by 2:45. Thanks again to all of her friends for participating in Philosophy Club and welcoming her back.

For my 115th post I thought I'd provide a brief synopsis for any new visitors to the blog. On April 1, 2007, Emily was having fun skiing with her WP Freestyle teammates in the Railyard terrain park at Winter Park. It was the first time in months they'd been able to ski just for fun - not training for a race or working on their aerial tricks. On the second pass through the park, Emily went too high on one of the table-top jumps. The original estimates were 15 feet - several doctors have opined that it had to have been closer to 20. She overshot the landing, landed on her feet and feel forward, hard, into the concrete-like snow. Emily was flown by helicopter ambulance to St. Anthony's Central Hospital in Denver. She spent a month in the ICU; 3 weeks of that time in a coma. She was on a ventilator for almost 6 weeks. After close to 2 months in the hospital, she moved to Craig Hospital for rehab. She had nearly total paralysis on her right side from her brain injury. She spent 3 months in rehab and was discharged from Craig on August 17. She's been home for almost a month. She's still doing outpatient therapy at Craig, but we hope she'll eventually be able to return to school.

I haven't been as excited about a blog post in several weeks. Emily's made some significant progress this week. Yesterday, for the first time, she walked outside of the parallel bars with a weighted shopping cart. Today after a grueling 45 minutes of work standing, squatting, sitting, repeat, she walked across the Craig gym twice. It's incredible how everyone - patients and therapists alike stopped to watch and cheer her on.

Later this morning she was able to move her right arm consistently - she was pushing and pulling a device away from her and back again. She was also able to do side-sit push ups on the right side. It's significant movement in that arm.

This afternoon she was able to return to her high school - Denver School of the Arts - for Philosophy Club. She was able to follow the discussion and contribute thoughtfully - not as much as she might have contributed last year, but she contributed in a way that clearly showed she was following the discussion and understood the complexity of the topic. I'm so proud of the DSA students, teachers and other staff who welcomed Emily back. Many people who have sustained an injury like Emily's end up very lonely and isolated. It's a testament to Emily's friends that she hasn't had that experience - you've all been wonderful!

In the comments on the last post, Emily's friend Brendan shared an incredibly beautiful poem he wrote after seeing Emily shortly after the accident. Thank you so much Brendan. Brendan also sent a beautiful poem to Emily in the hospital shortly after the accident (before he'd visited), but I can't seem to locate our copy. I would love for people to be able to read that poem as well.

So the new schedule seems to be working pretty well. Ken's with Emily Monday, Wednesday and every other Friday, and I'm with her Tuesday, Thursday and the alternating Friday. I think my first couple of days back in the office went well, all things considered.

In case you haven't figured this out - I'll be doing less frequent blog updates. Frankly, I'm busy and there's less "new" news to share.

We did get the results of Emily's first comprehensive cognitive testing last week. No surprise to those of use who know her, her language skills are good. She's creating new memories and recognizes that there are new memories, although sometimes she needs cues to retrieve those new memories. Her reading comprehension is good. Of all the things tested, most of her scores were at least "average" for her age group and many were well above average (we all know Emily wasn't "average" before the accident), that give her a strong base to work from. Her biggest issue is concentration and attention - so that's what we'll be focusing on the next couple of months.

We got the "go ahead" to return to Philosophy Club this Thursday, so we'll be there at 2:45. Emily's really excited about her first foray back to school.

I made it through my first day back in the office with (reasonably) flying colors. I think I even contributed a new perspective on an issue folks had been struggling with. Bless Steve for commenting after one meeting, "it's like you never left."

Emily and Ken similarly did well without me. Em had her first follow up appointment with her neurologist. Apparently, there's some concern on her therapy team that she's becoming overtired. We'll meet again as a family in two weeks to discuss the issue again. That aside, she managed to do a full day of therapy plus bike, standing and mat class, and she was in a fine mood when I got home. I know the folks at Craig are the experts, but it seems to me there's a place between teen tired and real tired that we need to shoot for. As I've told Em on several occasions, I watched her train too many weekends to buy the "I'm too tired" routine now.

Tomorrow Emily and I will meet with her Speech Therapist to go over her comprehensive cognitive testing. Suzanne has already told me she's seeing some very positive indications concerning Em's short-term memory, and the purpose of the tests is to identify what areas we need to work on in the coming months.

The trip to Winter Park went really, really well. Many thanks to Laurie, Melissa, Freddy and Carol for making it such a special day. Em now has an autographed "Freddy Mooney" poster to add to her collection. Laurie gave Em a great camelback water botter complete with "Snow Princess," "Powder Princess," and "USSA" stickers. It's great! We had a great little picnic at the base of Winter Park - Emily was so happy to be there! We also saw other friends, which was great, and Hannah got to golf, maze and bungee jump. A good time was had by all. I think going back up to WP was more emotional for Ken and me than we'd expected, but still it was a good day. Em's determined to talk to her doctor on Wednesday about getting back on the mountain, even if that means a sit-ski for the first couple of months. I agree with Laurie that getting Em on the mountain could be the biggest motivator.

After our big day we came home, had take-out and ... crashed. It's amazing how tired we all are from an outing. Today we got up nice and fresh. Em did most of her PT exercises with Ken (I helped with a few), and then Em read the new Harry Potter while Ken walked the dogs and I worked out. A nice little bit of independence with a net (Hannah was available to come get me if Em needed anything). Then we headed off to see Pirates of the Carribean 3 at the $1 movie theater. It was fun that we got to see it on the big screen and fulfill our family pledge that no one got to see it before Emily.

Nice family dinner at home with a tired Em in bed by 8:00 (watching "Angel" on DVD - the last season with Spike).

I know Jamie in Providence reads this blog - personal notes are coming, but I wanted to say that the cookies were so sweet, but the special cd mix was incredible. I keep trying not to cry in front of Em, and then thoughtful people like you send her incredibly special notes and I lose it. I hope Jay is doing well - please know you're both in our prayers.

Today is the one-year anniversary of my rupturing my achilles. Ken dubbed it the "last day of the worst year, and the first day of the best year." Good thoughts.