August 20th, 2006

Monday of this week was very exciting. I received a call from John (Occupational Therapist). He was all excited because Jess had held his head up by himself for one minute and thirty seconds. It was such great news to start our week! Tracy (Speech Therapist) has been working with Jess on the switches (hi & see you later) and he is doing well moving his hand to hit them. Chris recorded the messages on the switches and it sounds so much like Jess. She is also working on the new computer program with him on a lap top computer. Chris is building Jess a new desk top table in his room so that he can fit under it in his wheelchair. We are so lucky to have such a talented builder in the family. Robby called to say he is finished cleaning up the viruses on Jess' computer but he wasn't able to save much of the old stuff that was on it. Jess will just have to start over again. We took a drive to Twin Falls yesterday (Jess, Chris, Mom, Dad and I) and ordered a flat screen television for Jess that will also serve as a computer monitor. It is 32 inches so we think he will be able to see it much better than a regular computer screen.
Jess also had a visit from Kelsey. He was in awe as usual when he looked at her. She stopped by to say goodbye as she is on her way to Arizona to college. We wish her the best always. School starts here on the 28th. Jess will be attending high school again. Most of his friends are all in college now but being in a school environment is good for Jess. He needs to be around kids close to his age. So, we know he will make some new friends.
Chris' mom from Cleveland is coming for a visit also that week. It's been a year since we spent time with her and we are all excited to see her. We are really bummed out that it will be Daniel's last week. It seems we always have "the good" and "the not so good". I don't like to report about "the not so good" but we all need to send some prayers for some special people. Joey's mother-in-law (Angela's mom, Janice) received news that her cancer is back so we need to send her and all the family in Minnesota some really good and positive energy! We are all praying for her wellness and that it will go back in remission! Also, Amanda received bad news that her stepdad was in a motorcycle accident on Wednesday so she left on Thursday to help her mom care for her dad. He's going to be ok but suffered an awful broken leg. And, Jess' best friend Curtie is going in for some surgery next week. Please say a few of those wonderful prayers for all of these special people that are part of Jess' life.

August 12, 2006

Jess, Amanda and I made our trip to Boise yesterday to visit the United Cerebral Palsy Lending Library. Jess was pretty sleepy by the time we got there. I think the 3 hour drive was pretty tiring. But, it was well worth the trip. We did get him in front of a computer with a program that would show him pictures going across the screen like a basketball or a piece of pizza and then all of a sudden it would stop and show a picture of the mouse. It would say "hit the mouse button" over and over until Jess hit a big red button that took the place of a regular mouse. He caught on and with a little coaxing hit the button for about 15 minutes. When he got too tired there was a guy sitting next to us who was so annoyed with the voice asking Jess to hit the mouse button over and over that he reached over and hit the button for him! It was pretty cute. We came home with two computer programs and 3 switches. We can program the switches to speak and he just has to touch them to activate the message. We thought since he is starting school we could program one to say "hi" and one to say "bye" so when friends say hi to Jess in the halls he can reply (we hope) by hitting the switch. The lady (Kathy) who helped us was very encouraging. She said that this was just the beginning stages of helping Jess to do a lot more communicating. She said once he realizes he has some control in his environment he will want more. So, now I am looking for a good computer workstation that Jess can fit under. He is so tall in his wheelchair that he won't fit under a regular desk. I also need to get him a larger screen since we still question how well he can see. It is so wonderful to have an organization that will lend you some different assistive technology devices to try before you buy because they are very expensive.

I can't believe school starts the end of this month. Summer has gone by so fast. Jess and I went for a long walk on the bike path today. I love being able to be outside with him. Chris made a quick trip to Dallas, TX and we miss him. I can do most everything for Jess by myself but I sure hope he doesn't grow much taller. We still keep hearing that prayers are being said for Jess across the country. We appreciate each and every one!!! God bless!