Heal Nick

Having not posted last Sunday, I almost forgot to do it and now it’s 15 minutes into Monday. So, here I am ready to turn in for the day, trying to think of something inspirational to write and it’s not coming easily. Last year about this time, Nicholas had just about fully recovered from outpatient surgery to reposition his shunt catheter and his progress from that point on has been tremendous, all things considered. The one thing I’ve really noticed lately is more initiative. It comes and goes, which is a huge step in the right direction. Just this evening when we returned from dinner with friends, I parked the car in the garage, and while I was retrieving his crutches from the trunk, Nicholas got out of the car and began to walk, steadying himself on the car toward the door into the house. This is the first time he’s done this and not waited for someone to stand by the car door with his crutches. This may seem like no big deal, but to have him take it upon himself to do something or anything with out be cued is indeed a big deal.

Again I must stress the importance of Nicholas interacting with friends. He gets enough family. If you are unable to come by for a visit, try emailing him at nicholasmrobbins@gmail.com. I will be sure to read all emails to him and he can dictate replies.

Nicholas was a guest of first year graduate PT students on Tuesday for a 2 hour class and, as usual, thoroughly enjoyed playing to an audience. He’s returning this week for encore.

One night after dinner I decided to turn-up the volume on one of the satellite stations and Nicholas began to sing along. By the end of the evening, he sang all the words to 3 songs by the Doors, 2 songs by Led Zeppelin, 3 songs by Guess Who and a few by Crosby, Stills & Nash. On top of this he never missed the rhythm, syncopation or note. I was blown away. Apparently, according to his speech therapist, music can definitely be a link to suppressed knowledge and she will be incorporating this into his sessions and I’m looking forward to more evenings of singing. Take a look at the Photo Gallery and Nicholas using an inverted pepper grinder for a mike. Good stuff.

Nothing really to report. All’s well, although Nicholas may be coming down with the first cold of the season. We’ll know more in a few days. We haven’t seen very many of his friends lately, and it’s extremely important he gets to intereact with more people than just his immediate family and therapists.

On another note we are attempting to convert the Robbins Fund into an endowment but need more capital to have this happen. Every donation large or small helps. Contribution details can be found by clicking on “Learn More” under Robbins Fund on the home page of this website. Thanks.

I trust everyone in Nick’s World enjoyed All Hallows Eve appropriately. We certainly did. There’s not much to report on last week’s activities, except for another successful cotreat with Nicholas new found TBI recovery friend. The interaction was better than last week and should continue to improve with each shared session.