March 23, 2006

Dear Family & Friends:
Hello! It's Amanda! It is so wonderful having Jess home! I have missed him terribly while he was away in California. Although, it was very beneficial for Jess to get some much needed, intense therapy to aid in his progress. I worked daily at the high school with the special needs students, patiently awaiting Jess’s return.
Jess and I continue to spend time with each other throughout the week. The only day that I am not at his side is on Thursdays, in which case, Daniel takes Jess for the day. This is a good thing, for Jess needs a male companion once in a while to get away from all of us girls! Jess is only in one class this semester since his return from California, and this is psyche for success. I must admit, I truly love this class and the content that is taught, for I have learned a lot! And it is always a joy to see Jess react to his classmates, as well as the discussion of various aspects involving “personal power”. Pure and simple, the boy is wiggly during this class, it’s as if he is going to get right up and walk out of his chair. I am hoping and praying that this actually occurs one day!
There are many types of exercises that I work on with Jess that include: vision exercises, thermal stimulation (swabbing the inside of Jess’s mouth with a cold glycerin swab to get him to swallow more often, to strengthen his tongue). I also do range of motion, which involves exercise of the lower and upper extremities, in which I unload Jess onto a plinth, to let him stretch out a bit and get a break from his chair. And lastly, communication in which I instruct Jess to tell me yes or no with his eyes by blinking. I ask him a variety of questions that involve a direct answer and then I also show him photographs of his family, and familiar surroundings, I also include objects and animals. For the most part, Jess is 90% accurate with his communication, swallowing is stronger, eye gaze is stronger, and I have noticed more fluid movement in his extremities. We can thank the CNS Institute for this wonderful progress! I just pretend that I am a drill sergeant and I keep Jess motivated with these exercises through out the day at school. And he gets lots of kisses on the nose, along with hugs from me!! I am certain that by the end of the day, Jess is secretly saying ok please God get me away from this woman! These exercises that I am allowed to perform are within my scope of practice, I leave the harder stuff for the therapists at the hospital.
I suppose I better not get to lengthy, like I did the last time. I just wanted to give everyone an update on how Jess is doing and what I have observed since his return. He is stronger, he has made good progress, it is still slow, but extremely continuous!! And this is what we want. I will continue to do all that I can for this wonderful young man; I work very aggressively with the exercises, as his therapists do, in hopes that someday we will have a break-through. May God bless each and every one of you!Love Always, Amanda