Hi Everyone,

As hard as we tried, the inevitable happened; Corey’s got a full blown cold! We are on alert for a fever spike and we have to pay close attention to her post nasal drip. Corey can not lay below 30 degrees for any length of time and with a cold we have to be careful that her sinus drainage doesn’t cause her to choke and aspirate. In addition, we are trying to teach her to cough hopefully to loosen the congestion we are beginning to hear in her chest and throat; it could lead to pneumonia. A normal cold for Corey can be very dangerous.

Other than feeling “Yuck” as Corey says, she had a very good day with her therapies.
I did not attend today’s therapies as I had my own wellness appointments scheduled.
Brittany, school OT, is working with Corey on recognizing letters using a large scale keyboard. She reported that today was the first day that Corey could locate the letters to her name with minimal prompts. PT and Speech both reported good sessions as well.

I am happy to report that both my primary care physician and my optometrist give me a clean bill of health for those of you who have been worried.

Tonight has been a quiet night relaxing and watching a few of our favorite shows. As we sat together I am a little worried about Corey’s cold. I’m hoping that it doesn’t manifest into something more serious. This is a side of Corey’s injury that scares me the most. Her health is very fragile and can be compromised by what used to be a minor consideration. At times I feel like a new mother again, worrying over the “little” things. Only the little things are no longer little.

Corey one of the lessons I’ve learned from this year is that it’s important to think clearly and realistically at what we are facing. We have to be prepared but we will lose ourselves if we focus on the negative thoughts that worry provokes. What do we gain from worrying? I once heard that ‘worry is possible only when you forget how strong you can be’. Another school of thought is that the best cure for worry is gratitude. If we stay focused on all that’s good in our day, there won’t be any room left to worry! It’s just as easy to be thankful as it is to be worried.

I’m grateful to spend the evening with you. To tuck you in, kiss you goodnight, tell you how much I love you. I am grateful for your smile as you sign “I love you, too” and then I feel your hand pat my back as you give me a good night hug. As I begin to count and appreciate our blessings, the worry gets crowded out of my mind. That leaves plenty of room for Happy Dreams! xoxo