A New Update! (Aug. 3)
Hello all. I hope that you are having a good week. Things are going fine in Charlotte.
Two months ago today Josh's new adventure in life began. God has been so good in bringing Josh this far, but he still has a long way to go. Josh is doing just fine. He is trying to do everything they ask him to do and I can see progress - it is just tiny baby steps (but they are baby steps forward!).
In speech therapy he is working on coordinating his breathing with his tongue movements to help him re learn to speak. He can talk a lot better when he is lying down than when he is sitting up because his diaphragm doesn't have to work so hard when lying down. Who would have thought that you would have to re learn how to do this? Melissa, speech therapist, is also working with Josh on swallowing. Today he was swallowing much better than he has in the past and she was very pleased. She is using a lollipop to help him re learn to swallow properly. I am hopeful that in the next few weeks he will be ready for a swallow study to see if maybe he can start taking something by mouth. He will have to start out very slow, but eventually he will work up to eating regular food agai n. I know that he is looking forward to it.
Occupational therapy is working with Josh on his upper body like holding up his head, moving his neck around, and working out his arms. When the time comes they will help him with coordination so eventually he can brush his own hair, brush his teeth, eat, etc. They also are the ones that have made the splints for him. He got a splint for his right hand today. They have done a very good job (along with the nurses - you know that I have to put a plug in for them!) at keeping his hands and elbows loose so they don't contract to where he has limited motion in his hands and arms. They also work with Josh on his balance. Yesterday he sat on the floor and was able to hold himself up for a minute and a half.
Physical therapy is working with Josh on his strength and working out his legs. Josh is getting stronger day by day. He is staying in his chair most of the day. They stretch him out everyday and they do different exercises that will help to strengthen his whole body. Today they put him on the tilt board again, but they didn't get him as high as the previous time due to the pain it is causing Josh's left ankle. The right ankle is fine, but the left ankle is very tight and has begun to turn inward. This causes Josh alot of pain, especially when they try to move it. (It really looks like it hurts.) They are probably going to have to work to stretch is out to the correct position then cast it for awhile to get it to stay in alignment. You can really tell when Josh is hurting becaus e he cringes his face and almost begins to cry. That is when they have to stop and try again later. He is on pain medicine around the clock but they have to be careful that they don't give him too much so that he is not too drowsy to do his therapy. Josh is picking up his right leg pretty good though. I am glad to see this because for a little while he wasn't moving his legs very much at all.
Everyone is very pleased with the progress Josh has made in the week that he has been here. I am excited to see his progress as well. Josh is doing good and he is trying his best, but he does get very frustrated at times and he gets tired which is to be expected. He told me Sunday that he wanted to go home. I look forward to that day, but I know Josh is where he needs to be right now. Please pray for him to continue to have the strength to do his therapy, for his left ankle to continue to loosen, and for his speech. I think it will be easier for everyone if we could communicate with each other a little better.
Mom and dad are doing fine too. Dad is adjusting to working out of Charlotte. I am going back to work full time beginning next week and will come and stay up here on my days off. Thankfully it is only temporary. Please pray for strength for us as well. It gets very tiring on the body with all the going back and forth. But God is good and we are managing just fine. I am probably going to be doing the updates every 2 or 3 days now because the progress is very slow and it is hard to write if Josh doesn't do alot one day. If anything exciting happens be sure that I will write and let you all know. Please keep us in your prayers. We love you all.
Two months ago today Josh's new adventure in life began. God has been so good in bringing Josh this far, but he still has a long way to go. Josh is doing just fine. He is trying to do everything they ask him to do and I can see progress - it is just tiny baby steps (but they are baby steps forward!).
In speech therapy he is working on coordinating his breathing with his tongue movements to help him re learn to speak. He can talk a lot better when he is lying down than when he is sitting up because his diaphragm doesn't have to work so hard when lying down. Who would have thought that you would have to re learn how to do this? Melissa, speech therapist, is also working with Josh on swallowing. Today he was swallowing much better than he has in the past and she was very pleased. She is using a lollipop to help him re learn to swallow properly. I am hopeful that in the next few weeks he will be ready for a swallow study to see if maybe he can start taking something by mouth. He will have to start out very slow, but eventually he will work up to eating regular food agai n. I know that he is looking forward to it.
Occupational therapy is working with Josh on his upper body like holding up his head, moving his neck around, and working out his arms. When the time comes they will help him with coordination so eventually he can brush his own hair, brush his teeth, eat, etc. They also are the ones that have made the splints for him. He got a splint for his right hand today. They have done a very good job (along with the nurses - you know that I have to put a plug in for them!) at keeping his hands and elbows loose so they don't contract to where he has limited motion in his hands and arms. They also work with Josh on his balance. Yesterday he sat on the floor and was able to hold himself up for a minute and a half.
Physical therapy is working with Josh on his strength and working out his legs. Josh is getting stronger day by day. He is staying in his chair most of the day. They stretch him out everyday and they do different exercises that will help to strengthen his whole body. Today they put him on the tilt board again, but they didn't get him as high as the previous time due to the pain it is causing Josh's left ankle. The right ankle is fine, but the left ankle is very tight and has begun to turn inward. This causes Josh alot of pain, especially when they try to move it. (It really looks like it hurts.) They are probably going to have to work to stretch is out to the correct position then cast it for awhile to get it to stay in alignment. You can really tell when Josh is hurting becaus e he cringes his face and almost begins to cry. That is when they have to stop and try again later. He is on pain medicine around the clock but they have to be careful that they don't give him too much so that he is not too drowsy to do his therapy. Josh is picking up his right leg pretty good though. I am glad to see this because for a little while he wasn't moving his legs very much at all.
Everyone is very pleased with the progress Josh has made in the week that he has been here. I am excited to see his progress as well. Josh is doing good and he is trying his best, but he does get very frustrated at times and he gets tired which is to be expected. He told me Sunday that he wanted to go home. I look forward to that day, but I know Josh is where he needs to be right now. Please pray for him to continue to have the strength to do his therapy, for his left ankle to continue to loosen, and for his speech. I think it will be easier for everyone if we could communicate with each other a little better.
Mom and dad are doing fine too. Dad is adjusting to working out of Charlotte. I am going back to work full time beginning next week and will come and stay up here on my days off. Thankfully it is only temporary. Please pray for strength for us as well. It gets very tiring on the body with all the going back and forth. But God is good and we are managing just fine. I am probably going to be doing the updates every 2 or 3 days now because the progress is very slow and it is hard to write if Josh doesn't do alot one day. If anything exciting happens be sure that I will write and let you all know. Please keep us in your prayers. We love you all.
posted by Brandon at
6:22 PM
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