Heal Nick

All good news to report for this week. Nicholas appears to have completely recovered from the seizure and has picked-up where he left off. Progress continues. Where and when this ends, if it does, no one knows. We’re just happy to be riding the wave. It seems that mile stones, big and small, occur almost daily. We decided to give the recumbent bike (tricycle) a go today. It’s been about 6 months since last used. Previously the articulation of his right ankle was so limited he could not keep his foot on the peddle without securing it with tape. Nor could he comprehend the use of the hand and peddle brakes. No problem now! It’s like he’s ridden it all his life and in complete control. In the past riding was a chore. Today it was fun. See for yourselves in the Photo Gallery.

Nicholas continued his encouraging progress all week. His balance during PT was the best ever. Although he never to my knowledge ever laid hands on a harp, he was handed one in speech therapy and began to play like a natural. His therapist considers this a great instrument, as playing it entails several therapeutic exercises. He made beautiful music. Check-out the Photo Gallery.

Unfortunately, he had a seizure Friday night. Although these are rare, it seems they may be unavoidable. They always physically exhaust him, and it takes up to week for him to fully recover. Fortunately, he appears to have bounced back from this one almost completely in just 2 days.

During our absence last week, it was reported Nicholas kept everyone thoroughly entertained.

The more conversive he becomes the more his aphasia is apparent. However, this doesn’t seem to be a cause of embarrassment nor deter him from continually trying to express his thoughts. Even when he struggles with words, there is no doubt his wonderful sense of humor has returned, as evident in the following, written in an email:

“We kid around and call Nicholas the Big Cheese but on Sundays I tell him God is the Big Cheese. I asked him who the Big, Big Cheese is, and he said Red. I said - close - did you mean God - yes I did. Well, what do you want me to tell God today when I go to Church - answer - Tell him his name is not RED.”

You can’t make this up!

Nicholas was a great assistant the other day assembling an Adirondack Chair. I took a couple of pictures of the “handyman” with the finished product and have uploaded them to the Photo Gallery.

It’s been quite a while since I’ve contributed to this website but today I’m too excited to let it go. Thanks to a call from N this morning to wake me up, I had THE BEST conversation with him I’ve had in 3+ years. Complete sentences, independent thoughts, apporiate questions, good timing/rhythm. It has put a smile on my face all day and I keep repeating the sentences he utter over and over again. Keep it up bro!

I indicated I wouldn’t be doing a posting ontil a week from Sunday. However, I’ve uploaded a few pictures taken at PT today. Check-out the Photo Gallery.