Hi Everyone,

Corey had a rough morning with another bad headache fortunately; it didn’t turn into a full blown migraine. Gillian is planning some of her therapy sessions for the evening so she can work with both Corey and me. Tonight we worked on trunk control. Corey is not yet sitting independently. I call her Raggedy Ann as she tries to find her center and hold her weight for balance. We also work on weight bearing for her left arm. Corey’s left side is still weak and her hand/arm is still contracted. We are trying to get more flexibility as well as try to open her left hand from a clenched posture to palm open, hand extended and flat on the matte to brace her weight. We closed the session together walking across the living room to the foyer.

Gillian was thrilled with Corey’s progress in just 3 sessions. Let me try to share the latter part of the session. Corey leans forward on the matte, using her leg muscles to push her butt up/off the seat to a standing position. (“Nose over Toes”) I stand at her side to hold her stance as Gillian moves from standing in front of her to bracing/supporting her weight from behind. I move to the floor to assist with Corey’s feet. With Gillian holding Corey from behind, she will follow the command to “lock your left leg and lift your right knee to take a step”. Corey places her weight on the left and takes the step with the right. “Now lock the right leg and lift your left knee”. This is my job to assist Corey by manipulating the movement. I push out the left knee as I lift the left foot forward for a small step. My task is to make sure Corey is heel down and not walking on her tip toes. This process is repeated for each step. Gillian was excited to “feel” Corey shifting her weight with each step. So far she can manage 8 feet. It takes us close to 30 minutes for a round trip but Corey appears to be gaining strength and more flexibility each time we cross the room.

After our therapy session we had a special night; Corey’s cousin was in from London! Katie, Billy, Meghan and Liam came to visit. You may remember last summer Corey took care of Meghan. Tom and Marjy’s daughter Katie was pregnant with Liam. Liam had a tumor growing in his lung and it was growing faster than he was. Corey spent several weeks helping Katie and Billy care for Meghan as Katie was on bed rest. Many of you have added Liam to your prayer lists. I can confirm that those prayers were answered. Liam celebrated his first birthday and is doing very well. They are in town to have their follow up at CHOP.

Other than Skype, Katie and Billy haven’t seen Corey since the ICU visits at Christiana. Corey loved seeing them and the kids. I enjoy watching Corey watch the kids. Meghan is quite the story teller now that she is 2 ½. She is very expressive as she tells each detail (Katie is an amazing translator!). Several times we saw Corey laugh out loud at Meghan’s animated portrayal of her daily adventures. Liam is just starting to pull himself up and he loved crawling up and down the ramp to Corey’s room. The kids love that Aunt Marie has a bowling alley in her house. Meghan also loved that there were plenty of “Princess” pillows and toys in Corey’s room too! We had a great visit filled with games, stories, baby sounds, cheers and squeals of laughter. What a fun night! xoxo