Tuesday, July 17, 2007

From Susan

The charming and beautiful Susan is the inspiration behind this post. Tonight, she made Ali giggle-yes! GIGGLE!!!- and she wanted to let you all know. Ali has been doing great. Yesterday was her best day in physical therapy yet. I think I may have already told you that she had her best day yet last time, but this time topped that time and we're looking forward to the next time. We went to physical therapy, we went to Target, we hung out in Starbuck's again, we chatted in Starbuck's with the worship leader's wife from Calvary Chapel Eureka, we put Ali back in the car, and went home. Later, we put Ali back in the car to go to see Dr. Jeff with the hip hyphenated last name, and than back home. We put Ali in her car seat a total of five times and she may have squawked for maybe a nano second the whole day. And then she went to bed and slept from about 8:30pm until 6:00am this morning. That's unheard of. Ali was unheard from.

And tonight, the giggling. We're giddy. The charming and beautiful Susan is on the verge of tears.

The charming and beautiful Susan said that every time we put out a request for specific prayer, we see this kind of phenomenal progress. So we want to put out to you all the things Ali needs prayer for in her rehabilitation.

  1. Head movements/strength...Ali has recovered quite a bit of head mobility, but she has a long way to go and progressing further depends more on strength in her muscles rather than making the neural connection. She turns her head in response to sounds and voices, but her movements are not very deliberate.
  2. Focusing her vision... Ali looks into our faces as we're holding her or feeding her or kissing her little lips. But she doesn't track with objects as they move across her field of vision. Within the last week, she has, for the first time, shown the potential for developing this ability in spite of her neurologist's grim predictions. By the way, Ali's neurologist saw her during our trip to San Francisco and was very impressed with Ali's progress. He gives us the credit, it's you all knock, knock, knocking on Heaven's door for us.
  3. Arm movements/strength... Now that the g-tube has been pulled, more of Ali's rehab will revolve around working with her on her stomach. But she hasn't developed full range of motion with her arms. And she also needs to develop the instinct put her arms out protectively in case she tips over or falls.
  4. Crawling... Crawling seems familiar to her and she is very motivated to do it, but, again, she lacks the strength. And she lacks the coordination. So these are the areas she needs to develop this. And, of course, after you crawl, walking follows.
  5. Pull the plug... Today Ali drank over eighteen ounces of formula. And we loaded a pacifier with her meds so that she can take those orally as well. So, we want to see this become a way of life so we can close up artificial access to her digestive system. I can't even begin to tell you how much Ali has calmed since she started bottle feeding. This is the way she needs to be to learn.

These are the things the charming and beautiful Susan would like you to know.

16 comments:

Chris Goeppner said...

continued prayers, you got it.
love and miss you guys.

Anonymous said...

We pray for Ali and you guys everyday, thanks for the list of specifics. We thank God for her great progress and know He'll continue the great work that He began. We miss you guys.

Love,
Bob and Dorinda

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the updates...I love hearing how Ali is doing. Prayers for you all!

Anonymous said...

It is truly inspiring to see God working in Ali! I'm so happy she giggled!!! It almost brought me to tears, too. I believe God wants to show us His great power through Ali. It reminds me of John 9:3b "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his(her)life." I will continue to pray for Ali's specific needs. Thank you both for sharing so much!!

Anonymous said...

Praise His Name! Praying in Texas.

Anonymous said...

That's just so awesome. I pray for you all every night.

Anonymous said...

yay! Yay! YAY!!!!!!!!!! So wonderful to hear of Ali's progress!!! God is good!!! I continue to pray for Ali, and we have her on the prayer list at CC Modesto. Will update the prayer list with the specific requests you mentioned.

Keep looking up!

Unknown said...

Thanks for the specifics...can't wait to hear about these improvements!

Anonymous said...

praise our awesome God. he is so very faithful to his promises. may you continue seeing his mighty healing hand at work and give the Lord all the glory. how are you 3 doing? any special request we can lift up for you. Christ loves to interecede for us and deliver their request because he is our loving daddy who knows how to give good gifts to his children. bring them on and lets see what he does that will amaze us

Anonymous said...

CC Oceanside is praying as well...I am so thankful for Ali's progress. There is no God like our God!

Love, Jan Arant

Anonymous said...

You got it!!!! We'll continue to pray and anticipate more amazing updates to come. Love- Marcos and Susan

Bryonm said...

thanks, you all, for responding so positively to these updates. we see the effects of your prayers daily in ali's progress...

Kat said...

Thanks be to God for Ali's progress! And thanks also be to God that she has grandparents like you and your Susan!

Anonymous said...

Wonderful news! Giggling is so incredibly special in a baby, anyway, but more so, for Ali.

Thanks for the updated prayer list of specifics. I'll put them in my blog in the next couple of days, if at all possible; I'm really behind, there, too. And I'll send them on to Compassion. God continue to bless all of you and show His awesome power and greatness in Ali's young life!

P.S. - Without wanting to intrude in Charity's privacy, how is she doing?

Bryonm said...

Vicki:
life is hard for Charity right now. please keep praying for her...

thanks for asking...

Anonymous said...

Will do, Bryon. My heart goes out to her.