Saturday September 1, 2007

Kelsi woke up all smiles today. This is the happiest she has been since she fell. She was so excited to talk to her Mom and Dad and tell them something really important. She kept mouthing full sentences, but when she discovered that her voice can't be heard and that she can't write yet either, she became very sad.
When she was wheeled through the hospital, there was a full sized spider man figure in a hall. Shortly after seeing it, she put both hands in the spiderman sign.
In therapy she managed to make a little noise with her vocal cords, but got too tired to apply it to speech. She did say "Mom" with vocal sound. She was trying so hard, but still no go. The words are right on the tip of her tongue.
Her sister came to see her. With school starting, it was hard for her to get up there. The last time she saw her was Sunday. She was very impressed with the improvement Kelsi had made through out the week. Kelsi was so excited to see her that she couldn't quit hugging her. She got real tired, but would only lay down if her sister held her close.
Later in the day 2 friends visited and started to play catch with her. One of the friends said they should play volleyball. When Kelsi heard the word "volleyball" she put her hands together in the position to bump the ball.
Thanks again for your faith, prayers, visits and service.

Saturday Septemper 1st

Kelsi was real excited to see her sister today! She was smiling quite a bit today, and giving hugs to everyone in the room! It was really exciting for everyone!

Friday August 31, 2007

What a wonderful day! Kelsi started in speech therapy by showing that she can still read, do arithmatic and solve logical problems. Even though she can only mouth the words, it was clear that she was reading what the therapist wrote on the white board. The therapist would write two different words on the white board and ask Kelsi to point to a particular word. Kelsi would look at the two words and point to the correct one. Then she wrote 2 sentences and asked Kelsi to point to the sentence that said, "I like to shop". Kelsi did it. She gave her answers to the simple addition problems by holding up fingers. She showed improvements in physical therapy and did well in the occupational therapy session.

"I'm Back!!!" That is what Kelsi's personality said today. First thing to show up - her sense of humor. The therapist was having her grab bean bags from her hands and put them in a barrel. When she had just two bags left for the therapy session, the assistant therapist, sitting next to Kelsi, jokingly said, "Kelsi, you should put the bean bag on Daddy's head." She took the next bean bag and put it in the barrel. Then she took the final bean bag, and to everyone's surprise she put it right on top of Daddy's head. No-one thought she even heard the assistant say it. She proved she is listening to everything by following through on the suggestions. She was so proud of herself and it showed in the smile on her face.

Her face is showing expression and the far-away sad look is gone much of the time. It gets better. After Dad fed her 1-1/2 cups of pureed spaghetti (yum yum) and some apple sauce, dad asked Kelsi to say, "I love Mom". She mouthed the words and broke out in a big smile. Everyone was excited with the response. The therapist, wanting to be sure Dad wasn't left out said, "Kelsi, Do you love your Daddy too?" Kelsi sat, pondered the question for a moment, looked straight at Dad with wide open eyes and then responded with this expression (photo on the right):

Was this expression an accident? No! She repeated it just to be sure we knew. Later during the afternoon as we described the incident to the nurses she decided to demo the look a few more times. Her Mom managed to catch it on her cell phone. The look was strangely familiar. Among the photos she took of herself prior to the accident, we found the photo shown on the left. She's practiced that look a number of times. Those of you who know Kelsi well have seen this face many times. Now that part of her personality is blooming forth.

Kelsi also had a visit from a group of friends (next photo). When they first saw Kelsi, most of them shed some tears, but that didn't last. Kelsi hugged away the tears from each of them. After just a few minutes, Kelsi seemed to recognize them and had to stand up with them and 'hang out'. They told stories of things that they had done togther. One funny story brought a silent laugh from Kelsi. All the motions of laughing, but no sound.

At the end of the visit, Kelsi was too tired to stand or sit. She had the greatest day since she fell and now it was time to rest. Once settled in bed she fell soundly asleep.

For all of you who are praying for Kelsi, remember that the blessings of this day are profound and that the Lord has heard your prayers in abundance. We thank you for your faith and prayers.

Thursday August 30, 2007

Today Kelsi was in heaven when they hooked her up to a tread mill. There is a cool harness that suspends her in the air so she cannot fall. She knew just what to do and her feet did a great job keeping up!
After 2 1/2 hours of therapy she was ready to call it a day. She really struggled that last half hour. She was so exhausted. She is getting pretty good at shaking her head yes or no to questions. She is continuing in taking those baby steps toward healing and relearning. As usual we really appreciate all of you! Thank you so much for everything, especially your faith and prayers for Kelsi!

August 29, 2007

Today Kelsi worked really hard in therapy. She did a lot of walking with a walker and some help from her therapist. It's really hard to see her struggle with such simple tasks, but she is getting stronger and her attention span is getting better each day. When we were in with the speech therapist she smiled a big cheesy smile. We were both so excited and we kept asking Kelsi to give us another cheesy smile. It was so fun to see those pretty white teeth. She is also attempting to form words now. It is still a whisper but she has said several different words now. Many people have asked us how long she will be in rehab. Of course there is no exact time frame, but today the head doctor told me they expect her to be there 4 - 6 weeks. Then she will come home. It may be shorter and it even could be longer. The doctor feels that she will be ready at that time. We will see!! We love all of you! Thank you for everything.

August 28, 2007

Kelsi sure surprised her mom today. She made it through all 3 hours of therapy. It was hard. She worked so hard. They worked with crawling, sitting, standing, doing simple puzzles, catching and throwing a beach ball, eating, and washing her hands. She has a long way to go to master these tasks that we each take for granted but she is definitely relearning them. When the therapist asked her if she wanted to try to walk a few steps tomorrow she shook her head, "NO". It was the first time to shake her head no. I think she was so exhausted at the time that the thought of walking was very overwhelming. We will see what tomorrow brings.
I want to send each of you a thank you card for all the wonderful meals, clothes washing, house cleaning, yard work, prayers, prayers and prayers!! There is no way I can do this personally to each of you because I don't even know who has done what. There are so many who have reached out to our family. Thank you so much! There are not words in the English language to express our gratitude. Thank you!

August 27, 2007

It's been kind of sad for me to think of Kelsi missing her first day of high school today. But, she is slowly progressing and will be in school before we know it. I believe we will all look back at these days with awe and great humility. It is amazing to me to see the power of the priesthood in action. We have witnessed so many miracles.
Today Kelsi had 3 half hour sessions of therapy. One was with the speech therapist, the other 2 were with the physical therapist. She did great but was so tired by the 3rd one. We rewarded her with a nice soothing soak in the tub. She really enjoys that. She especially loves her hair to be washed.
About an hour after she had completed therapy I was very surprised when the nurse came in with some new forms for me to sign. She said that the therapists believe she is ready for regular rehab. That means 3 hours a day. This will begin tomorrow. I am anxious to see how she does. It seems a bit much to me, but Kelsi has always been very strong and strong willed. She should do well.
They removed her last I.V. today. It is always nice to see one more thing go away. All she has left is her feeding tube.
We as a family are still amazed and so greatful for the wonderful family, friends, neighbors and ward members we have. Thank you so much for all of your love, concern, support, faith and prayers. We love you all!

Sunday August 26, 2007

Many people visited kelsi today. Visitors included her siblings (except Andrew who is away at school and Jordan who is serving a mission), all of her grandparents, one great grand mother, an aunt and uncle, several cousins, several friends and ward members. The crowd was so large when her siblings arrived that it was awkward to visit in her room, so the group took Kelsi out in front of the medical center. She spent her first hour outdoors since she was moved from life flight into the hospital. She gave hugs to as many as she could. She seemed to really enjoy the visits, but at the same time all the work of trying to interact and be alert made her exhausted. She fell asleep at about 6:30 p.m. She has advanced slightly on the Rancho scale so that she does all the things listed for level 4 and has started to do some of the things listed on level 5. This is really good progress and we hope to see her advance to level 5 very soon. Please keep her in your prayers. Your faith is making a difference in her recovery.