I Love Snotty Noses

We're in the day room right now. The day room is a large room with a big TV and different seating arrangements. They wheel all the kids into the day room to watch movies and do activities. We're in here at 10:30 at night because the air conditioning is out in all of the rooms...in Phoenix...in the dead heat of summer...where it was 113 degrees today. So, yeah, it's a little warm here. The day room at least has some air circulation. What makes the heat worse is that some of the kids have large machines that omit additional heat. So it's just great all around here. But at least Conan O'Brien is on and that makes me happy.

Christian asleep in the day room as I start my blog. BTW, he was on his side and got himself on his stomach and fell asleep. I didn't have the heart to move him.

Christian did such a big thing today. He held his head up...for about 5 seconds...multiple times. And all because I was wiping his nose. He HATES when I wipe his nose and pulls away immediately. So today he was was face down having tummy time on the yoga ball and I went to wipe his nose. He jerked back with his little arms propped up underneath him and then held his head up (and away from the nose wiping) for at least 5 seconds! The OT and I just stopped in our tracks. I was so stunned that I couldn't even grab my camera. My eyes just watered and I couldn't move. Then he did it again and again. I'm so proud because we've really been working on head strengthening every night before bed. And this just goes to show you that no matter what happens to a kid...they still hate getting their nose wiped.

We learned something else about Christian today. He prefers dim lighting. I know...that was a genius discovery. The thing is that you're told all these things that children with brain injuries will have sensory issues. And then you kind of go along with it until you realize - Hey! He really can't stand these bright fluorescent lights. The PT was working with him in the therapy room, which strangely enough, has bright fluorescent lighting. The worst kind of lighting on the planet, in my opinion. Anyway, she noticed he wasn't cooperating much with her. So she said, "This isn't working, we have to go to your room." We went to our room, where I keep the shades drawn and the lights dim. She put him on my bed and...voila...Christian did everything she wanted. She said she actually considered that he might be regressing (she only sees him once a week so this was kind of a silly assertion) but then when she saw him in the dim lighting and he bended and folded as she wished, she was convinced it was the lighting, which makes sense. This could happen with all of the senses because he might (probably will) have a reaction of agitation. So if I ask you not to keep calm, not to use jerking movements, or to go easy (or maybe not even wear) perfume or strong smelling stuff around him, it's not personal.

After this happened, this really loud nursing student came into see our roommate and said obnoxiously, "Do they ever turn the light on in here?!"

"No, it's better for children with brain injury to have dim lighting." - Mama Bear

"What about just so we see while we work?" - Obnoxious Nursing Student, rather presumptuously.

"You can turn on the lights individually in this section." - Mama Bear, pointing to the section that is NOT Christian's.

Mama Bear ponders, "This is exactly why I don't let students touch Christian."

It looks like Wednesday is D day...DISCHARGE DAY!!! I can't wait! I am going to miss all the therapists here. They really know what they are doing and have a lot of experience. I also met the wife of the Phoenix Cardinals head coach. She volunteers here and she met Christian, as well. She said she heard through a friend about us staying here and she wanted to introduce herself. She was so nice and I'm glad the babies here have her as a volunteer.

Here's another picture of Christian's strength training. It's a better picture from the back so you can see what he's doing.

The first steps of trying to flip over.

This picture is just a inkling of a scowl. I just got the tale end of it. I don't remember but he was probably pissed at me for trying to wipe his nose. As you can see I was unsuccessful in this endeavor.


Still hot here and some of the other more fragile kids are being moved down stairs. It's actually not too bad for us here in the day room. We might have to sleep in here but Christian looks comfy so that's all that matters.

Komodo Dragons and a two headed snake on Conan. Let the hilarity ensue.