Hi Everyone,

Today was a good day. Corey was the most alert and engaged than I’ve seen her to date!

This morning she had PT for ½ hour. She started on her stomach resting on the wedge. She followed commands, vocalized, held her head for almost 15 minutes and when it began to droop, she picked it right back up. She went from the prone position to a “kneeling stand” position. Sue and Jarred were her therapists today. Sue helped Corey to an upright position to extend her torso which helps Corey work her trunk muscles.

Next move was to place Corey on a “peanut”. If you’re familiar with the large yoga/exercise balls, it is similar but has a divot in the center. It’s shaped like an actual peanut. Sue and Jarred placed Corey on the center of the peanut so she could straddle the ball. The team was working with her to strengthen her balance, when Rob the OT therapist arrived to work with a patient on the matte next to us. You will remember that Rob was the therapist that called out multiple commands and Corey followed them all in sequence.

Rob has a bellowing baritone voice. You can’t miss Rob when he’s in the gym. Corey was supposed to be working with Sue and following Sue’s direction but as soon as Rob came within site, she ignored Sue! Not only did Sue get the brush off, Corey followed the commands Rob was giving to his patient instead of the commands she was supposed to be following with Sue! Needless to say, we brought this to Rob’s attention. He deliberately moved across the room to check if Corey was truly following him. She was…she moved her eyes and her head to watch him cross the room. Sue, Jarred and I couldn’t believe it. Sue then decided to use her deepest voice to get Corey’s attention and pretend she was Rob! The gym instantly became a comedy club for the rest of the session!

This afternoon two of Corey’s girlfriends came to visit with their mom’s…my girlfriends! Corey was focused on the girls looking at each of them as they took turns speaking. At one point we were reminiscing about a dinner we had at a local pizza parlor. I used the word “putz” and the girls never heard that word before. They thought I made it up. We laughed today as hard as we did in the pizza shop. We looked over at Corey and she was laughing too! She didn’t actually make the sounds of laughter, but her eyebrows were raised, she had an open mouth smile and her body was physically chuckling (visualize silently laughing in church or the library!) She also had another 1st with the girls. She lifted her left leg while wearing her braces. Corey hasn’t lifted her left leg since New Year’s Eve and never with the braces on!

We closed the night with another dear friend, Sue from the Candy store. When Sue comes to visit she and Corey play “thumb wars”. Sue has been very anxious to see the thumbs up and Corey obliged, literally with a smile! After Sue left, Corey began to cry.

Corey you had a great day honey! I know that you were a little sad tonight but that’s okay too. You are expressing yourself. Missing your friends and family is normal. We recapped the day and you seemed so content reviewing the highlights. How exciting it is to witness so many wonderful little achievements. I can’t wait to see what tomorrow will bring! Happy dreams, xoxo