Oh my! I think I’m in some alternate time universe or something. The months seem to keep slipping away and I’m stuck back in May. I did not realize it had been two months since I posted. I knew it had been awhile and that I needed to get on here but I just couldn’t. Don’t flip out! Just kidding of course. It’s not because anything bad has happened! I  really didn’t realize it had been that long. So to sum up a busy two months here is what’s been going on:

John ~ just completed his 5th round of chemo. He’s doing well. The effects tend to get worse each round but still not so bad that he can’t function. He takes the week off of work and sleeps a lot. Then it takes him about three days to get his energy back enough to go back to work on Monday. He had fun with Halloween this year. We didn’t do the haunted garage because my stupid dead car is still sitting the garage being useless. He went all out but I forgot to get a picture of it after dark.

Me ~ I’m doing better with dealing with everything. I’m going crazy trying to get everyone where they need to be on time but that’s part of being a mom right? We signed Jahnna up for swimming lessons twice a week. Riley is doing preschool three times a week. Of course those aren’t on the same days so that means I’m driving to the gym 5 days a week and I’m not even getting to work out! Colby hasn’t been to therapy for over a month because it keeps getting canceled and for once it’s not my fault.

Jahnna ~ Loves swimming and went from sinking to being able to float and get herself over to a wall in one session. Probably doesn’t seem like that big of a deal but the girl is a serious sinker! I tried teaching her to swim but couldn’t do it. Good grief I taught swim lessons for 6 years you’d think I could teach my own kid but I couldn’t and I’m fine with that. She’s doing well with school and reading like crazy! She reads 200 – 300 page books in a day if I let her.

Colby ~ hates school this year. Honestly I think it’s because he had such a bad experience with summer school. I’m not sending him back again. Different teacher than he has now but he’s the only one that teaches summer school. He just had Botox and Phenol shots at the beginning of this month. We went to his Rehab appointment and his doctor was very pleased that he’s been talking more. Tonight the little twerp swore again. I guess that’s what I get for giving him the serrapeptase. He’s getting his voice back and now I get to find out just how much he’s picked up from his dad. Colby also was able to participate in the Primary program for the first time this year. I typed his part into an app on my phone, then I pushed the button, held the phone up to the microphone while I held Colby up to it. He got a kick out of it even if he was mad I made him sit up on the stand with me. As soon as he was done I had to take him down so he could go sit by dad. He has turned into quite a Dad’s boy this year.

Riley ~ Loves preschool. She’s writing her letters and picking them out correctly when they are jumbled up. All day long she follows me around saying “Mom, how do you spell (insert random word here)? So you write it like this, right?” It’s pretty cute. She’s decided that I must read to her every day as well. Pretty surprising since she has never liked me to read books to her. She’s also turned into quite a cuddle bug. I think she might actually miss me a little since she has started school. She also grew a lot in the past two months. It’s kind of sad because I think that she’s the same height as Colby is now. She’s little for her age and so is Colby so it will kind of be sad that she is 2 years younger than him and taller.

I did take a couple pictures from Halloween so here they are.

Here’s the crew all dressed up. John always dresses up as the same thing. Jahnna was supposed to be a vampire, Colby is spiderman for the third year in a row, Riley is a purple witch.

Colby had fun carving pumpkins the night before. He was also teething so that’ s why he is drooling in this picture.

John with his misfit face.

John actually got a couple of really good screams out of people this year. He was hiding in the corner behind the cobwebs. He also dropped a huge spider on their heads.

Riley looking really innocent. I think she’d just swiped a handful of candy out of our own candy bowl.

I didn’t get a picture of Jahnna that night because she didn’t want one taken. I did take take this one of her two weeks before for a birthday party she went to.

And just in case it’s another two months before I’m back I hope you have a very Happy Holidays!

I know it’s been awhile since I last updated. I have so much to write and don’t know what to write about all at the same time. This last round of chemo went well. John was tired but not as tired as the round before. He will get his blood drawn this Friday and hopefully his platelets didn’t drop with this lower dose.

John went to Arizona with his brother the Sunday after his chemo ended. I figured it would be good for him to get out of the house  and spend some time with his brother. He had a lot of fun. It wore him out but not as bad as he thought it would. Of course it did help when they broke down in Page, Arizona for two and a half days and had nothing to do but sit and sleep in a hotel room. They finally got a rental car left my brother in laws work truck there and came home. I was happy for him to come home but not as happy as the kids were.

Him being gone was depressing. I have never liked when he leaves but this felt different. It’s the first time he’s been gone for longer than one night since we found out about the brain cancer. It was so quiet after the kids went to bed and I found my thoughts drifting to places I didn’t want to go. Those what would I do if this was for real kind of thoughts. If he doesn’t beat this cancer or it comes back faster than we hope. If it’s two years instead of fifteen or twenty? How do I explain this to Colby whose heart was broken ever single day his dad was gone. How do I raise my children with out their father and my best friend by my side? I really try not to think thought like that. It’s so depressing but how do not think them?

There are days when I’m so scared it takes my breath away. I think that more than anything is why I haven’t written much this month. If I type it out maybe it will come true. Except that I know that’s not how it works. I know there is a plan. I know there is a purpose  to all of this except knowing that still doesn’t make it easy or maybe I should say easier. The low platelets and having to lower the dose scared me. It wasn’t supposed to work that way this soon in his treatment plan.

So those are the things that have been going through my mind lately. I’m trying to focus on not being so scared. On the positives and not the negatives. I figured that I needed to write down a little of how I’ve felt this month so that when we do beat this I can look back and say to myself “See, you were scared but you got over it, grew and moved on” Or at least that’s what I hope will happen.

In other news. I was incredibly sick the week John was gone. I actually considered taking some of Colby’s hydrocodone I had left over from his stomach surgery because my throat hurt so bad. I couldn’t talk for two days because my voice was gone. I finally started taking some Olive Leaf Extract and Grapefruit Seed Extract nasal spray after my antibiotics didn’t help. Sometimes natural is the way to go! Except when it isn’t. I gave Colby the Olive Leaf Extract and some Grapefruit Seed Extract Oil through his feeding tube in the hopes that he wouldn’t get it from me. I still can’t do his shaky vest on him to help him get the mucus out of his chest. It makes him throw up blood ever since the new feeding tube was placed. Anyway, it worked in that he didn’t get sick but it didn’t totally detox all of his Botox shots out of him so now he is super spastic again. I feel horrible because his muscles are so tight again and it hurts. I didn’t even think about it affecting his shot sites because it’s never happened before. That GSE is some potent germ fighting stuff. Anyway, I called and scheduled him for new shots but that won’t happen until November. I will have to up his Baclofen dose until then to help him be comfortable so there goes his head and trunk control. I wish he could talk to me and tell me what hurts so I can help him more. I’ll just keep trying to walk that fine line with him in keeping him comfortable/giving him functional muscle control the best I can until then.

Riley is loving preschool. She didn’t even look back her first day. She comes home so excited about what she’s learned. Jahnna is still doing well with her home school. She is completely off her antidepressant. Still on a sleeping pill at night and a mood stabilizer for the bi-polar but at least one of her meds is gone. I have noticed a difference in her self esteem since coming off of it though. She’s back to saying she’s stupid and can’t do anything when she makes a small mistake. I try and boost her self esteem every way I can because she is a really intelligent girl. Eight is way to young to have to deal with a poor self image.

So, that’s been our September. I’m hoping October is better. MRI is scheduled for Oct 7th so here’s hoping and praying it’s another clean scan!

Yesterday we went to John’s monthly appointment with the oncologist. He had his blood draw before the doctor came in and by the end of the appointment we had his lab results. On August 23rd his platelets were 254,000. Normal is 150,000 to 450,000. Yesterday his platelets were 110,000. Not super low but low enough that the doctor wants another blood draw next Thursday. He’s worried about Thrombocytopenia which of course we know all about thanks to Colby and his Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome that caused his stroke. Temador the chemo drug that he is on causes your platelet levels to drop. Happens to everyone on it. It doesn’t become a problem until the counts don’t come back up. That’s why he has to have another draw before starting the third round. In most people this doesn’t become a problem until later in the treatment plan. Kind of a bummer right? Hopefully on Thursday his platelets will be up and he can start round three on Sunday night just not this Sunday night like it was planned. The doctor gave him a slightly lower dose and said that this just shows that John will be one of the ones who is more sensitive to side effects. He said it’s probable that he will eventually get back up to a full strength dose so not to worry. Easier said than done right?

After we went to that appointment we headed up to his appointment at the Air Force Base. The Army is trying to move him into the wounded warrior unit so we’re not sure what will happen with that. Basically his job will be to go to his doctor appointments. Get paid not to go to work? Okay! Except we’ll lose his special duty pay of $450 a month so that’s kind of a bummer if it happens. Colby did not want to walk around the exchange while dad was at his appointment so I had to make him take a nap. Got some Christmas shopping done there since I didn’t have to pay tax. I figure if his salaries going to get cut I better start thinking about spreading things out in anticipation of it.

Then we went to the mall where for the first time in over a year I got some new clothes for my birthday next week. I’m excited to wear something other than free Army t-shirts that are stained and holy. I appreciate my husband forcing me to spend a little something on myself even if I kept thinking there were better uses for it.

After that we headed up to my inlaws house to pick up the girls and then we went home. It was an incredibly long day. I’m used to the drive down to Salt Lake City but in the truck it seems longer than in my car. Guess I’ll have to get used to that since that’s what I’m driving now.

Anyway that’s what’s going on for now. The doctor will call us on Friday and let us know when to start or if he should or shouldn’t start. I’ll post when I find out.

Colby had a great day at school yesterday! He threw up a lot but silly mom jinxed him by telling him he hadn’t thrown up much since his surgery! I sent tons of wash clothes today and three t-shirts so he should be good to go. I think his allergies are acting up because he’s pretty congested.

I had anticipated a relaxing day yesterday. Yes, I was doing school with Jahnna and Riley but it’s really not that much work. I planned on working on blog posts and getting the house cleaned up after 3 weeks of holding Colby and not getting much accomplished.

Sometimes I amaze myself with how badly I underestimate my plans! Aside from getting Colby out the door on time nothing else went as planned. We did get school done but not with Riley. Sure, she’s just doing preschool stuff but I want her to get used to learning and exploring not just watching T.V.. Didn’t happen. Oh well.

I spent most of the morning resizing pictures for my Rhodes Bake N Serve guest blog post. Then I conveniently remember 15 minutes before we were supposed to be there that Jahnna had a Dr. appointment. There went an hour and a half. We came home, realized we hadn’t been grocery shopping in two weeks and went to the store for a few things. Payday isn’t until next week so just a few things. Came home got that put away and then Colby came home. Throwing up. Got him settled without going to sleep which was a bonus since I had no nurse for him last night.

Realized it was 5:30 and I had no plans for dinner. Sigh. Threw together a fast casserole. Good thing I cooked up a ton of chicken a few weeks ago, shredded it and froze it in dinner sized packages. Maybe I am getting more organized. Not really but I can pretend!

Had a friend call and invite us for a dessert potluck at the park. John surprisingly agreed we should go. So we packed up the kids, gave Colby his bedtime meds, brought a blanket and a box of otter pops and headed back out. Colby slept for the hour and half the kids played. He was dehydrated from throwing up so it was a good thing for him to sleep. The kids played and the adults talked until it got dark. We headed home and agreed that we should do that more often. It was fun to get out of our routine.

So the freedom I was planning on turned out to be not so free, but that’s okay it ended up being a great day!

Colby was not happy yesterday when I reminded he that school started today. He cried huge tears! This morning he was really spastic while he was being dressed and was fighting it the entire time. Finally he settled down and seemed resigned to the fact that he was going.

I even got him to count with me all the way to number 6! He said school, one, two, three, four, five and six. He told John, Love you. He’s definitely saying more all the time. You have to really listen because the words are still garbled but they are words!

Here is the end result right before the bus came.

and because Riley could not be in a picture here she is pajamas and all.

Colby, I hope your new year is fantabulous just like you! (yes it’s my made up word but I like it!)

Four years ago was the day we realized Colby had a stroke. There are parts of me that still haven’t accepted that. Then there are the parts that have already forgotten what it was like before this was our normal.

Before our life was filled with physical therapy and occupational therapy, before I had doctors appointments scheduled every two to three months, before I knew that you could use Botox for something other than wrinkles on your forehead. Before we had suction machines, oxygen concentrators, walkers and enough medical equipment to stock a hospital room in our home.

Before I found out what a strong spirit our little man has. Before I realized how amazing my kids are, not that I didn’t think they were amazing I just didn’t know HOW amazing they are.  Before I knew what it was possible to make it through without giving up even on days you want to. Before I knew what a single step or word meant. Before I saw miracles in the small every day things.

Colby is a fighter. His body  might not work the way he wants it to. He might get frustrated but he never gives up. Ever. Yesterday he was in his walker and he wanted to stop so bad. I asked him to give me two more steps. He tried to make me think he was going to give up. He cried for a few minutes and then looked at me out of the corner of his eye, pulled himself together and gave me those two steps. He might try to make me think he’s ready to give up but he never does. He has more fight in him than anyone I’ve ever met.

The anniversary of Colby’s stroke will always be a bitter-sweet day for me. It’s the day he chose to live but it’s also the day he lost most of the abilities we take for granted. Today is the day I remind myself of how lucky our entire family is. I get to hold my little man a little closer today. Kiss him a few more times and tell him how much I love him over and over again. Today is the day I will remind his sisters how lucky we all are to be together. Today we celebrate life.

I’ve been researching serrapeptase for a little while now. I don’t have a specific link to direct you to on it. It’s a silk worm enzyme and it’s suppose to help with Alzheimer’s and neuron regrowth. Supposedly there are no side effects but if you look it up long enough you eventually find that it can cause nausea and muscle cramping or spasms. Can you see why I’ve been a little reluctant to try it with Colby? He’s already throwing up and having muscle spasms. I don’t want to make it worse!

Anyway this last week I’ve had three different people tell me about it so I figured I ought to go get some and at least give it a try. What are the odds that three different people are going to bring up a relatively rare supplement  concerning brain health in one week? I think I’m finally starting to learn how to listen to my instincts and go with promptings. Anyway. I started Colby on one pill yesterday and last  night I asked him if he wanted me to go pick up pizza or if he wanted dad to go pick up pizza. He looked right at me and clearly said “You go”

First off I realize that 4 hours after 1 supplement is way to soon to tell if it’s going to help. Can you say placebo effect? Anyway I was really surprised by it. He talks and he says things but very few of those words are clearly said and for two words to be put together so clear almost never happens.

Today I was getting him ready for therapy and he was throwing up. He was being ornery and didn’t want me to leave the room to put his walker in the truck or get his shoes. We’d tried the walker earlier in the morning and he screamed as soon as I buckled him in. There is no working with him when he is doing that. So I took him out. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to give him another pill before we went so while I was getting his 1:00 meds together I added in another capsule of the serrapeptase. Two and a half hours later we’re ready to head out just as his show is ending. The little PBS Kids song came on and he giggled and said “PBS kids!” I almost dropped him I was so surprised! The look on his face was pure pride!

Off we went to therapy (remind me why I take the girls with me? they were awful) the therapist looked at him and said “Colby I think today you are going to have a break out day!” And you know what? He DID! When we got done the therapist said that today was the best day he’s ever had in almost 4 years of working with him!

He was walking in his walker. He advanced both feet forward on his own. He was pushing his feet on his own. Of course when he got tired 15 feet into it they started dragging a bit but he hasn’t had any muscles to work with in 4 years so 15 feet is a huge effort for him. He was turning his head side to side and he never really went into a full extension like he usually does. His legs get locked when that happens, his back arches and it’s pretty painful.

After we took him out of the walker we played hall ball. He sits on a bolster with the therapist and he helps Colby hit a big blow up ball down the hall. He was using his arms, his feet stayed flat on the floor. That in and of itself is a major accomplishment. Usually when he uses his arms his legs come up in a frog leg pattern. They never stay on the floor. He was looking for the ball and he was flinching when he was trying to swing which is great because it means he was actually tracking the movement of the ball! He had great trunk control and was looking around. The smile on his face was huge!

So, is it to early to tell if this is helping him? Probably but there’s nothing else to explain it. All my wishful thinking in the world can’t make his body work the way he wants it to. I’m hoping and praying that this will continue to help him and that we will see some more improvements soon.

To crazy! We were in the newspaper on Saturday. If you want to read it, you can go to LDS Church News to read it. If you aren’t familiar with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints you can go to  LDS.org to learn more.  It might seem weird to see them say Sister or Brother Amundsen if you didn’t know that’s what religion we belong to.  Just to clarify in the article it says Jahnna has ADHD, ODD and is Bi-Polar. She is only Bi-Polar. I don’t think I did a good job of explaining the whole story. At various points she has been diagnosed ADHD or ODD but only until she had her first manic episode at age 6. That is when she was finally diagnosed as Bi-Polar.

Also as an MRI update we still don’t have results. We go see the neuro oncologist on Friday so I’m hoping by then we will have heard something or that he will have the results then. This MRI was actually ordered by the neuro surgeon at the original office we went to. It’s a whole complicated confusing system since he is being followed by two different teams at this point. They are sharing information though so that’s why I’m hoping we’ll know by Friday.

We did get back his first blood work results this morning and those numbers looked great. It means he is good to go for round # 2 of Chemo starting Sunday night. This will be his first full dose of the treatment and he is not looking forward to it. Half strength has already made him so tired. It’s also playing with his immune system. Right now he has the hugest cold sore I’ve ever seen on his chin. He hasn’t had a cold sore in over two years. We’ve been putting some cream stuff on it for three days. You know the kind that’s $20 for a teeny tiny tube and is supposed to clear it up in 24 hours. It isn’t helping. Also his ingrown toenail that he had fixed right before starting the first round hasn’t completely healed yet either. It’s frustrating to him since he always healed fairly quickly before this.

Colby and I got our teeth cleaned today. Colby did really well considering his teeth are awful! Well, his gums are awful. They bleed all the time. The dentist wants to see him every 4 months instead of 6 months. His back teeth are completely ground down smooth so he wants to hold off on capping them until we absolutely need to. I’m good with that. He wants to put a sealant on twelve of my teeth. I’ve been grinding my teeth the last year (stress, much?) and I’m starting to have the beginnings of some cavities where I’ve cracked my teeth. Good times.

I’m really hoping that John’s truck gets fixed this Thursday. That’s the plan for now anyway. Then I’ll be able to fit everyone in the truck at once.

That’s about it for now. As soon as I hear about the MRI I’ll post an update. Thanks for all the prayers and support. I draw strength from knowing they are being said.

Today is John’s first follow-up MRI and I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was nervous. I didn’t think I’d be so nervous for this. I told John that I was this morning and he kind of laughed. He said that he had been thinking about it yesterday. He couldn’t decide whether he should dread an MRI or if he should look at it as a confirmation that it hasn’t come back. He’s decided to go with the later. I’m trying to be that positive but I suppose that every two months I will feel like this. Prayers for a clean scan would be fabulous if you could do that!

In other news. We have a wonderful friend who spoke with some people and they decided to give Riley a scholarship to a preschool here in town that is insanely expensive. I never would have even looked it up because I knew I couldn’t afford it. She called me yesterday and asked if I would let her go. It’s 3 hours 3 days a week and it includes swimming, tennis, gymnastics and creative movement! I am so excited for her. Riley was so cute when I asked her if she wanted to go. She said “Sure!” and then she got this really serious look on her face and said “But I will miss you while I’m gone” It was so sweet and cute. I told her I would miss her to but I’d still be here every day. Now she is super excited and she woke up this morning expecting to go today! Oops. I probably should have waited until it was closer to the start date to tell her about it.

I took Jahnna and Riley to the dentist this morning and they loved it. Both of them had no cavities. Riley’s teeth are perfectly straight. Jahnna’s not so much. She has a cross bite that we’ve known about but we’ve got to get it fixed now so she won’t have to have surgery when she’s older. Next week Colby and I are up for visits. Colby has to have the ultrasonic cleaning because his teeth get so covered in plaque from his medications. I’m hoping that giving his some Clonidine before the appointment will make him either sleep through it or relax him enough that he won’t fight it as bad this time. He grinds his teeth so we’ll eventually have to cap his molars as he has already ground them down flat. I’m hoping we still have more time before we end up having to do that.

In car news we’ve decided that we’re going to be a one car family at least for a few months. I still haven’t found a money tree and financing one isn’t an option right now. So we’re fixing John’s truck and I’ll get to drive that one for a while. Ugh it’s a 10 cylinder beast so I’m really going to have to start consolidating doctor appointments in Salt Lake City. Not to mention it’s hard on my back to get Colby’s wheelchair in and out of the bed of the truck since it’s raised up a few inches. Oh well. Who needs a back anyway right?

Today I’m kind of struggling to not be down about things. So I’m sorry if this is kind of a negative post. I’m working on counting my blessings and focusing on the good. I suppose today is hard just because I’m nervous so I will spend the rest of the day trying to focus on keeping my mind busy so I don’t think about what it could show. So in honor of that I’m off to wash the dishes and fold some laundry.

The past two weeks have flown by for a variety of reasons. We’ve had so much go on that I’ve decided I need to focus on the good things that have happened. If you look hard enough there’s always a silver lining to your trials, right? I hope so, so I’m looking hard!

The most important is that John completed his first round of chemo! He did pretty good. It made him tired but no throwing up or anything like that. It was just a half dose so I’m sure the full dose is going to make him more tired but if that’s all it does that will be fabulous! He starts his next round in August after two blood tests next week and the following week.

Colby started summer school. He HATES it. Different teacher that is a man so I’m actually not surprised. Colby is a flirt so of course he likes his regular teacher better. I don’t think we’ll do summer school next year. It’s a nice break for me but every morning he gets so sad and pleads with me not to put him on the bus. Those puppy dog eyes of his kill me every morning! Little stinker knows how to get mom to give him what he wants!

My car died in the drive through at the pharmacy last week. We all thought it was the starter. John, his brother Rob and I spent all weekend just trying to find the stupid starter in the car. After we couldn’t find it (yes, I know you should be able to follow the positive battery cable to it but it disappeared!) we started testing other things on it. There was no compression in the engine. At that point we knew it wasn’t the starter and that we had a much bigger problem on our hands.

I had it towed into a shop on Monday. Tuesday he called and asked me how I was doing. I replied with “I don’t know, you tell me! How am I doing?” His response was “Weeeeel we don’t know what’s wrong with it. I need to take off the valve cover and take a look inside the engine because my x-ray vision isn’t working today”. Yes that’s what he said. I should have told him no but I was still hoping it might just be the timing belt or something while expensive not the end of my engine. He called back on Wednesday. The car has had a “catastrophic engine failure” again those are his words not mine! Good grief my car was only a 2005 and it only had 73,000 miles on it. It’s not supposed to do that for at least another 50,000 to 70,000 miles. I think I might have said before that you truly can’t make my life up! You can’t it’s not possible to have this much stuff happen to one family in a fictional story! People just wouldn’t believe it.

He wants $4,400 to replace the engine. I just laughed. Sure let me write you a check for that! As it is I now owe him a $150 just to tell me my engine is shot!

In good news I called the health insurance company about retrofitting a mini van to be wheelchair accessible. The will pay for a lift and installation just not any physical modifications to the vehicle. I really didn’t think they would cover anything so to hear that they will pay for a $20,000 lift is beyond outstanding! Now I just gotta get my hands on a mini van. Anybody have one they wanna give me? Just kidding! I know it’s not that simple but I can dream right?

In the mean time I’m driving this beauty my in-laws lent me!

Don’t hate me because you are jealous! Just kidding! Actually I’m incredibly thankful to have anything to drive at all. John’s ball joints on his truck are bad and it needs new tires before it can be driven and I already told you my car is dead. It was kind of fun to drive to Salt Lake City Tuesday for Colby’s doctor appointments. You should see some of the looks I got, especially with Colby’s wheelchair in the back. Ugh that hurt my back to lift it in and out that high but it’s okay. It’s wheels and it got us there.

The surgeon said Colby’s surgery site looks great. He didn’t actually change the tube like he said he was going to. He would have needed an x-ray after that and I know how to change it already so he was fine just leaving it in for now. Next we headed over to the neurologist and this is where I really wanted to bang my head on a wall! Almost did to!

Last August we put a Deep Brain Stimulator in Colby. We had been adjusting it every month but due to all the craziness we haven’t adjusted it in over 5 months. We went in and talked about the two programs I ran on him. One of them sent him into huge spasms and the other one I couldn’t tell any difference with. Dr. S. decided that she wanted to shut it off and see what happened. That way we would be able to see if there was any difference in him at all. She shut it off and he immediately went limp! Absolutely rag doll floppy! This is what it’s supposed to do when it’s on, not when it’s off! I really just about burst into tears. Dr. S. said “Well I wasn’t really expecting that! I’ve seen it happen but it wasn’t what I wanted to see.” Anyway it’s been off since Tuesday and he’s exactly the same as he was with it on. Basically it means that the two contacts we’ve been using this entire time are doing nothing for the spasticity. We still have 4 contacts left to try but that just cut down our options significantly. I am supposed to call them and let them know what happened after I left. Maybe I’ll do that this afternoon.

And just because I can’t end on a bad note, here is this cute picture. Riley climbed up into Colby’s bed and was holding his hand. I asked her what she was doing and she said “I just wanted to snuggle with my brother!”