I don't know if I'm counting wrong or just tired, but I think tomorrow starts week 10 - not week 11. I just checked myself three times, but I am confused because I checked myself every other time I've written these updates. Can you tell mama needs some rest? We will stick with week 10 again. 

Addison is back. in. her. body. If you've been following along, you'll remember, I had a somatic practioner come and visit her and let us know she wasn't fully in her body. We helped her through firm touch, foot massage, and talking with her to get back in, and two days after we were made aware that she wasn't fully in her body, Addison told us she was in her body, and boy has it been evident. She continues to make leaps and bounds recovery. Everyone in the hospital knows her story and is in awe of her progress. We are fully off of Propanolol and almost completely off of Gabapentin. We're now just on stool softener, gut motility (to keep things moving), and Vitamin D. A huge sigh of relief, for me. 

The neuro team came by this week and let us know that her shunt scabs were not where they wanted them to be, so we've been massaging them morning and night with Aquafor, which has resulted in greasy hair don't care for the last few days. 

We've had two tube mishaps since my last update. Every time something happens, I think my whole nervous system is going to fly off it's rocker. I'm so on edge with the tube in, as much as I hate that we have to do surgery, I cannot wait to get this tube out of her nose. Surgery is scheduled for Wednesday at 11:30. She will have morning therapy, and we won't have to go stay in another hospital room afterwards. We will be able to come right back to our room here in rehab. Praise God. It should be a straight forward surgery. Please pray for no complications, swift recovery, and tremendous comfort and progress upon removal of the NG tube (nose). 

Addison continues to interract more and more with the nurses. She is forming her own bonds. I see her smile with glee and bashfulness when they pay her attention and make her feel special. Every time Andrew comes to the hospital, she reaches for him. She wants to continuously be touching him, and as previously mentioned, I cannot get over how much more touchy and affectionate she has become. 

She is forming two words sentences and is saying things on her own. This morning she said up, when she was laying down, because she wanted help sitting up. I told her I needed to lay her down again so that I could get her wheelchair, and she laid down by herself. We used to play with cards similar to flash cards when she was younger. You stick them in a card reader, and it reads the word out loud and there is a corresponding picture. We brought that to the hospital this morning, and she fired through all of them with no issue. Of course, her speech doesn't sound the same as it did before, but when you know what she is going to say, you can easily discern what she is saying. When she first started speaking, she would more babble. Now when she speaks, she almost is always trying to ask or communicate something, and those moments take us longer to discern what she is saying. Her speech isn't always coherent, but once you figure out what she is saying, it becomes clear as day. Last night, we were standing in front of the ball contraption at the front of the hospital, and I thought she was saying "move it". I then realized she was saying "movie". I said, "you want to watch a movie?", and she got a big smile on her face and nodded her head up and down, yes. There's been lots of those moments, but I am so so thankful to have her back communicating with us, even if it's difficult. Now that she is communicating and interracting with all of the things there are to interract with and look at in the hospital, I can really feel the weight of how challenging it was when she was not speaking and more lifeless. I am relieved and overjoyed to have a reciprocal relationship with her again, and I am so overjoyed for HER that she is regaining those functions. 

She continues to want to eat food. It is so so hard not to give her food. We continued to work with apple sauce, pouches, popsicles, water, and apple juice in speech, and she is checking all the boxes they need to be checked showing that she is comprehending and identifying things. This weekend they wanted us to watch for her initiating communication, not just copying what we are saying, and she is absolutely doing that more and more. 

I've been asked to sit out on therapies more. I've become a crutch if she's tired and has had an off night or just isn't wanting to be pushed that day. It's hard not to be that crutch for her after everything she has been through, but of course, I know it's necessary in some moments. Earlier this week, I had the thought that it was time to start treating her like a normal three year old again, because it is clear that she is ready for it, and the next day her PT echoed the same sentiments. She said whatever I did before the accident for instruction and discipline (not because she is doing anything wrong or acting out), to start working my way back to that. This is a good thing, but a hard thing. I had a hard time doing this in normal circumstances, and now with all she has been through and endured and mostly the fact that we are still in a hospital setting, it makes it even more difficult. 

She continues to get stronger in holding herself up while sitting and is no longer upset when practicing walking. She is doing more and more floor work and stabilization on soft balls. Lots of weight bearing in her hands. None to less tears in therapies (with dad at least)! LOL. The other morning she was laying in her bed with Kyle, and she shot up to sit up on her own when her OT therapist came in. 

She is starting to throw towels and toys on the floor, like the playful little devil she is. She thinks it's hilarious to throw things on the floor right now. She is back to being silly and smart and being a little jokester and laughs hysterically at the silliest of things and, yes, everything Andrew does. She has been playing the game Trouble with Kyle and is swallowing better without being prompted. Her belly has been rumbling the last few days, and she has told me herself that she is hungry! Yesterday she just said hungry, which was hard to deciper at first, but today she said both words "I'm hungry!". This is encouraging too. Her body is working hard and well. 

We have TWO MORE WEEKENDS left at the hospital, unless something changes. I can see and feel the light. Kyle and I think she will walk out of the hospital into a wheelchair, but of course, I hope she does even more. We still are not sure what outpatient program we will end up with. I need to check on waitlist status' this week, and we still need to get a referral for one in Houston that we are considering. A lot will depend on availability of programs we are on the waitlist for and what her needs are. Lots can change in the next few weeks based on what we've seen these last 2-3 weeks. We remain hopeful and encouraged. Please keep praying for a full recovery, clear communication, movement with ease, and that her body and mind remember how to work together! I will be singing Disney songs tomorrow on the Dell Childrens tv show that is broadcast to all the kids rooms. I cannot wait. Stay tuned!