From Susan

The charming and beautiful Susan is the inspiration behind this post. Tonight, she made Ali giggle-yes! GIGGLE!!!- and she wanted to let you all know. Ali has been doing great. Yesterday was her best day in physical therapy yet. I think I may have already told you that she had her best day yet last time, but this time topped that time and we're looking forward to the next time. We went to physical therapy, we went to Target, we hung out in Starbuck's again, we chatted in Starbuck's with the worship leader's wife from Calvary Chapel Eureka, we put Ali back in the car, and went home. Later, we put Ali back in the car to go to see Dr. Jeff with the hip hyphenated last name, and than back home. We put Ali in her car seat a total of five times and she may have squawked for maybe a nano second the whole day. And then she went to bed and slept from about 8:30pm until 6:00am this morning. That's unheard of. Ali was unheard from.

And tonight, the giggling. We're giddy. The charming and beautiful Susan is on the verge of tears.

The charming and beautiful Susan said that every time we put out a request for specific prayer, we see this kind of phenomenal progress. So we want to put out to you all the things Ali needs prayer for in her rehabilitation.

1. Head movements/strength...Ali has recovered quite a bit of head mobility, but she has a long way to go and progressing further depends more on strength in her muscles rather than making the neural connection. She turns her head in response to sounds and voices, but her movements are not very deliberate.
   
2. Focusing her vision... Ali looks into our faces as we're holding her or feeding her or kissing her little lips. But she doesn't track with objects as they move across her field of vision. Within the last week, she has, for the first time, shown the potential for developing this ability in spite of her neurologist's grim predictions. By the way, Ali's neurologist saw her during our trip to San Francisco and was very impressed with Ali's progress. He gives us the credit, it's you all knock, knock, knocking on Heaven's door for us.
   
3. Arm movements/strength... Now that the g-tube has been pulled, more of Ali's rehab will revolve around working with her on her stomach. But she hasn't developed full range of motion with her arms. And she also needs to develop the instinct put her arms out protectively in case she tips over or falls.
   
4. Crawling... Crawling seems familiar to her and she is very motivated to do it, but, again, she lacks the strength. And she lacks the coordination. So these are the areas she needs to develop this. And, of course, after you crawl, walking follows.
   
5. Pull the plug... Today Ali drank over eighteen ounces of formula. And we loaded a pacifier with her meds so that she can take those orally as well. So, we want to see this become a way of life so we can close up artificial access to her digestive system. I can't even begin to tell you how much Ali has calmed since she started bottle feeding. This is the way she needs to be to learn.
   

These are the things the charming and beautiful Susan would like you to know.