1/19/05 @ 9:00 p.m.

We had a very positive day yesterday. Our speech therapist was able to get some good answers for yes and no from Jess with his eyes. She would ask him a question and he would look at signs, one with a "yes" and one with a "no". His eye contact was the best she has seen and she was very pleased. She comes all the way from Burley just to work with Jess. The doctor's office in Salt Lake called to schedule us for another visit on February 17th. She made a point to ask me if the speech therapists were working on communication. She mentioned again that Jess was in there and that we just had to find the way to communicate with him. After 7 months, I can't tell you how much those words mean to us.

Later in the day we took Jess to the high school gym to watch his teammates play basketball. It was another big adventure for us. The boys were in the locker room so Jess, Chris and I (imagine a mom in the boy's locker room!) went into the locker room and witnessed the planning for the next game. Jess was intently watching & listening to Coach Trinkle and his friends. Coach told me they dedicated the last game they played to Jess and they won! I think it was hard on his friends to see Jess in a wheelchair and knowing he was not able to talk to them but I know it meant a lot to Jess to see some familiar faces, hear familiar voices, smell the familiar smells and try to remember who he is. This is just a beginning for us. We are working on getting him on a horse once a week at the Sagebrush Arena to help strengthen his neck and trunk. The movement on a horse gives him the sensation of walking. Last weekend we also took him into his friend Curtis' house where he has spent a lot of time hoping he would recall all the fun times he had there. We are also looking at getting a new van so we can transport him in his wheelchair easier. We have been through many stages, emotions, fears, tears already since the accident and as I said this is just the beginning.