Hi everyone,

What a beautiful day. It was so nice we went for 2 walks today. At one point Corey and I were sitting outside in the sun and I invited her to pretend we were at the beach! As we sat together, I held Corey’s hand. Corey either gives us thumbs up or a squeeze to respond to the Yes/No questions. I asked her if she was enjoying the sun…Yes. I asked her if she could feel herself getting stronger…Yes. I asked her if her thoughts felt foggy…Yes. I asked her if she is angry or sad…NO. I asked her if she gets frustrated…Yes. I asked her if she was going to keep fighting…YES!

Corey, we are so proud of you. You have inspired me and so many others. Your courage, hard work and determination keep us motivated to follow your example. There are many times during the course of a day that situations arise and the natural response would be to react with distress, irritation or anger. Instead, I put myself in your world and try to release those emotions. I pause to remember that today as a whole is what matters. Not the little annoyances. The positive thoughts we put into our day strengthen us to overlook the obstacles. Perspective is everything!

Sometimes perspective can be clouded by the emotions of being too close to a situation. That’s when we need to reach out to friends, family, teachers or coaches; in your case therapists and nurses. Tara worked with you today. She hasn’t worked with you in over a month. She was amazed at your progress! You may not be able to see your accomplishments Corey but to everyone around you, you have made tremendous strides. You stood today with Tara and a tech for 5 minutes. You adjusted your knee to keep your ankles straight and strong to support yourself. You lifted both your arms for Rob. You fully extended them to try to point, and then retracted them to touch your nose. I watch you with your team and I’m reminded that just a month ago you couldn’t do what you did today. Don’t lose sight of where you were, where you are and where you want to be! Keep asking munchkin, “why oh why can’t I”!
Happy Dreams, xoxo