Hi Everyone,

Corey’s graduation was amazing on many levels. To watch her walk in to the stadium, watch her walk on stage, watch the faculty and administrators step forward to shake her hand and then to witness the senior class and every spectator applaud her accomplishment was overwhelming! I didn’t have to worry about being the only one shedding tears of pride and joy…there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.

My favorite line of the night…after Corey walked back to her wheelchair she was greeted by many excited teachers, friends and family. After she greeted everyone she turned to me and asked
C – why are all these people coming up to me?
M – this is a pretty big deal!
C – why? doesn’t everyone graduate high school?

We will get pictures and her video up on YouTube as soon as we can get it off the video camera (that’s Caitlin’s project for this week)

Thursday was back to Bryn Mawr for PT. Friday we visited with family and prepared for Saturday’s bridal shower for Jackie and JohnPaul. After family left on Sunday, Corey and I headed to their new house to clean and prep for their move in date. Corey was a big help in the kitchen…but not with cooking, just yet. I scrubbed the top cabinets and she was in charge of the lower set. Together we made Jackie and JohnPaul’s kitchen look like new.

On to a new week…
Today was botox day. It was an interesting process. Corey’s left ankle and foot are worse then the Doctor expected. After a physical exam of her left arm and leg, he suggested we use the majority of the botox in her ankle/foot and only shoot her forearm not her shoulder. We can work through the tone in her shoulder with longer warm ups but her ankle and foot are locking up and we need to focus on them.

Thank goodness Corey has a high tolerance for pain and she couldn’t see the needle the Doctor was using. I’m not sure I would be as brave.

The doctor uses a combination of ultrasound and echo-sound to find the perfect spot. Once the doctor finds the muscle he wants to target, he inserts the needle. Using the echo-sound machine when the needle hits the muscle at the ‘right spot’, it sounds like a helicopter muffled over a radio wave.

This is not a fast process; it took 90 minutes! Corey must lie completely still. She received 2 shots in the front of the left calf that will target the downward curl of her toes and the big toe flexing up. We helped her roll to her belly to shoot 4 targeted areas in the back of the calf that will hopefully release her ankle tone for greater range of motion. After the leg/foot were taken care of, it was time for the forearm and bicep just above the elbow. The 2 arm shots will target the muscles that are preventing Corey from rolling her hand/forearm palm up. It is a functional movement that will not only help her cook but dress herself and take care of her personal needs.

The medicine will take about a week to activate, a month to peak and will last a total of 3 months. During this time, it is up to us, Natalie and Anne to maximize the affects of the botox with therapy. We are hoping for greater range of motion and flexiblity.

A funny side note; when the Doctor asked Corey how she was doing, she replied, “I think I’ve had worse things done to me, so this is easy”!

Keep your fingers crossed, xoxo