Bragging Rights

WARNING:

YOU ARE ABOUT TO BE BARRAGED WITH PICTURES BRAGGING ABOUT MY SON'S PROGRESS ALONG WITH EXPLANATIONS OF WHY HE IS SO GREAT.

THE AUTHOR MAKES NO APOLOGIES.

Okay, I know I promised video, but I have had ABOUT ENOUGH of trying to upload video!!! It's driving me insane. I waited half an hour to upload on youtube only to be told there was an error. That's it! Pictures will just have to suffice and I'm equally proud of them. So here are some pictures of Christian during his physical therapy sessions. Upon admission, children are assigned therapy based on ability and potential to improve. When we arrived I asked specifically how much physical therapy was on the schedule for Christian and I was told 3-5 days a week, more if he responds and/or improves. The theory here is that if he improves, he gets more. If children do not show improvement, they get less. There is no reading into it. It's a crappy policy, but it is what it is. Well, he's shown so much improvement that he's on schedule for 5 days a week!

Weight baring exercises, putting Christian on all fours.

Bending knees to his chest. This is a chore because his tone makes him have very straight and tight legs.

Practicing head strengthening. He does pretty well but always wants to throw his head back in an arch. We use my leg to brace him on his stomach and because I was trying to take a picture (without the flash because the flash is aggravating), my other knee was trying to make sure he didn't hurt himself while throwing his head back. Yes, I'm a mom of many talents.

This is Christian attempting to roll off of my leg.

Resting after a long and tiring head balancing session.

Some really promising changes...I saw a facial expression. Yup! It was a scowl and he's done it more than once. In the past couple of days it seems he's been trying to communicate when he's pissed. He breaths out really hard and it lightly hits his vocal cords so it sounds like a whispering growl if that makes any sense. Then I saw it...a scowl. His little eye brows slightly pinched together, and I mean slightly. But he's done it more than once and my husband saw it so I know I'm not seeing things. And, of course, it always happens when he's mad. He just seems like he wants to communicate something and he can't...yet.

Christian has also shown a lot of interest in moving around. It especially happens at night around 9PM. He gets his arms going and he seems to have a lot of interest in rolling, and not by accident. It really seems that he is emerging from this shell. He's starting to show these signs of life...signs of Christian. He's squeaking and growling and rolling and punching his way back to us. God, he's such a fighter. I am amazed by human strength, but mostly I'm amazed by this little creature that has fought his way back to life and is fighting his way back to us. I couldn't be more proud of him.

Manny came to visit last night and left today. We got to take Christian on his first day trip (besides hyperbarics) with Mommy and Daddy! We took him to the park, which probably would have been out of the question any other day here in Phoenix because of the excessive heat. However, it rained last night and was slightly cloudy today so it was really nice out. We laid out a blanket under a large, shady tree and laid Christian down. It was beautiful. Not just the day, but the situation. The only thing missing was Gabe because he stayed with his Nana and will come tomorrow. But other than that, it was a beautiful day. Christian was so relaxed, he fell asleep under that shady tree. Damn, he's come a long way.

Sleepy Baby

And, of course, Mom of the Year forgot her camera AGAIN. I had plans to take these great pictures and I left the camera behind. When am I going to learn??? I'm going to tattoo the message, "Do Not Forget Your Camera" across my hand. Thank God for camera phones.

Christian and Mommy

Christian and Daddy

And another picture just because I think he looks so damn good in this one.

On the way to HBOT in my big boy carseat, just Mommy and me.

So it's been a really great few days, especially because of all of the little developments that have been happening lately. Is it HBOT? I believe so but ask me in about 10 more treatments. Is it Christian's innate ability to recover? I'd have to answer with an emphatic ABSOLUTELY.

Good days, great progress, and home sweet home in sight. It's been a nice few days. And I found a really good caramel popcorn that is close to my favorite from Disneyland. Score.