Saturday, April 30th, 2005: Dad spent the night with Tracy for a fourth night. Tracy was tight and grinded her teeth a lot throughout the night. She and Dad both were up all night. This morning, our good friend Mary-Jeanne' visited Tracy and brought Mom and Dad a delicious lunch. She brought Tracy some pictures painted by Cade and Cookie, her adorable children. Mom pinned them up on the bulletin board in Tracy's room. After Mary-Jeanne' left, Mom gave Tracy a bath and massaged her with Jasmine Vanilla lotion, this time from Cousin Caroline. Tracy is definitely the best smelling patient on the unit. This afternoon, Gloria and her beautiful daughters Sam and Kat came to visit Tracy. Tracy was having a rough day today. She must have been uncomfortable, because she was grinding her teeth a lot. The nurse gave her Tylenol with Codeine several times today and that seemed to help some. She finally settled down and was resting comfortably when Mom left this evening. Yesterday afternoon, some of the retired NBA basketball players were on the unit visiting the wounded soldiers and sailors from Iraq. There were some very BIG guys roaming the halls. It is such an honor to be in the company of so many selfless heroes. One of the NBA players even autographed a hat for Tracy! His name is Big Bob Lanier and he was inducted into the basketball hall of fame on May 11, 1992 (this is the date that he signed on Tracy's hat). He played for the Pistons from 1970 to 1979 and for the Bucks from 1980 to 1984. Now that she has surgically closed the wound, we will have to be very careful that it is able to heal completely over the next three weeks. Dr. Buescher said that Tracy would need to stay in the hospital for about 5 to 7 days.We are keeping our fingers and toes crossed that Tracy gets to go home on Sunday. When she gets home, she will need to be on complete bed rest for another two weeks. She can still have therapy but it will need to be in her bed. No sitting in her chair and no lying on her therapy mat until it is healed. Please feel free to visit Tracy at National Naval Medical Center. She is on 5 East in Room 515. We would love to have visitors. Tiffany is working hard too, and has a lot of work to do over her final two weeks of classes. Her master's proposal defense is scheduled for May 4th! It is definitely taking shape. She will have to tell you more about her master's project. It is very exciting and proves to make a difference to the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center's website. We are really looking forward to her return on May 15th for the summer. God bless and have a wonderful weekend.

Friday, April 29th, 2005: Dad spent the night with Tracy for a third time last night. Tracy was relaxed and rested well through the night. This morning, Mom and Jenny gave Tracy a bath and massaged her with Jasmine Vanilla lotion, this time from Cousin Caroline. Tracy is definitely the best smelling patient on the unit. Tracy was having a rough day today. She must have been uncomfortable, because she was grinding her teeth a lot. The nurse gave her Tylenol with Codeine several times today and that seemed to help some. We hope she finally is able to relax and sleep well tonight. This afternoon, some of the retired NBA basketball players were on the unit visiting the wounded soldiers and sailors from Iraq. There were some very BIG guys roaming the halls. It is such an honor to be in the company of so many selfless heroes. One of the NBA players even autographed a hat for Tracy! His name is Big Bob and he played in the early nineties. Mary-Jeanne, our good friend from Naples, came by to visit and brought some adorable art work from Cade and Cookie. Tracy was really looking at the pictures that they painted. Thank you! Sasha, Tracy's best friend from U of Miami, came to visit. It is always so nice to see them and makes Tracy's visit in the hospital a lot more manageable. Sasha and Mom went to the mall this evening to do some shopping and to have dinner, while Dad stayed with Tracyr. It was just what Mom needed. They had a really good time. Now that she has surgically closed the wound, we will have to be very careful that it is able to heal completely over the next three weeks. Dr. Buescher said that Tracy would need to stay in the hospital for about 5 to 7 days.We are keeping our fingers and toes crossed that Tracy gets to go home on Sunday. When she gets home, she will need to be on complete bed rest for another two weeks. She can still have therapy but it will need to be in her bed. No sitting in her chair and no lying on her therapy mat until it is healed. Please feel free to visit Tracy at National Naval Medical Center. She is on 5 East in Room 515. We would love to have visitors. Tiffany is working hard too, and has a lot of work to do over her final two weeks of classes. Her master's proposal defense is scheduled for May 4th! It is definitely taking shape. She will have to tell you more about her master's project. It is very exciting and proves to make a difference to the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center's website. We are really looking forward to her return on May 15th for the summer. God bless and have a wonderful weekend.

Thursday, April 28th, 2005: Dad stayed with Tracy again last night. She seemed to settle down and slept well after the nurse gave her some Tylenol with Codeine around midnight. This morning, Mom and Jenny gave Tracy a bath and a massage with the cherry blossom lotion that Sasha gave her for her birthday. She really relaxed and slept most of the day. In retrospect, Tracy has not been this relaxed since she contracted the wound over a year ago. It seems as though her wound was really giving her a lot of discomfort. We are confidant that Tracy will be able to participate even more in her therapies now that her wound has been resolved. We are looking forward to more good things when Tracy returns to outpatient therapy. This morning, Dr. Buescher came by to check on Tracy and removed her dressing. Her incision really looks fantastic. Dr. Buescher did a great job closing the wound. She should have a minimal scar. The new tissue that replaced the damaged tissue was very healthy and viable. Tracy still has a drain in place. Dr. Buescher plans to take it out in a few days. She will take her IV out tomorrow. Liz came by again today. Mom really looks forward to her visits! Tracy was visited by Dr. Thomas today too, one of our Naples' friends. It was really good to see him. Mom and Dad have been running into a lot of friends from Naples who are now assigned to Bethesda. It is nice to see so many familiar faces. Now that she has surgically closed the wound, we will have to be very careful that it is able to heal completely over the next three weeks. Dr. Buescher said that Tracy would need to stay in the hospital for about 5 to 7 days.We are keeping our fingers and toes crossed that Tracy gets to go home on Sunday. When she gets home, she will need to be on complete bed rest for another two weeks. She can still have therapy but it will need to be in her bed. No sitting in her chair and no lying on her therapy mat until it is healed. When Mom left this evening, Tracy was resting comfortably. Dad is staying with Tracy again tonight. She is on 5 East in Room 515. We hope they both get some much needed sleep tonight. Tiffany is working hard too, and has a lot of work to do over her final two weeks of classes. Her master's proposal defense is scheduled for May 4th! It is definitely taking shape. She will have to tell you more about her master's project. It is very exciting and proves to make a difference to the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center's website. We are really looking forward to her return on May 15th for the summer. God bless and have a wonderful week.

Wednesday, April 27th, 2005: Tracy slept well last night. Dad spent the night with her. This morning, Dr. Buescher came by to check on Tracy and to change her dressing. Her incision really looks fantastic. Dr. Buescher did a great job closing the wound. She should have a minimal scar. The new tissue that replaced the damaged tissue was very healthy and viable. Tracy still has a drain in place. Dr. Buescher plans to take it out in a few days. She still has an IV and is receiving antibiotics. Tracy spent the day resting and was remained comfortable, with a little help from Tylenol and codeine. Liz and Jenny came by and helped Mom with Tracy. She is such a brave girl! Now that she has surgically closed the wound, we will have to be very careful that it is able to heal completely over the next three weeks. Dr. Buescher said that Tracy would need to stay in the hospital for about 5 to 7 days.When she gets home, she will need to be on complete bed rest for another two weeks. She can still have therapy but it will need to be in her bed. No sitting in her chair and no lying on her therapy mat until it is healed. When Mom left this evening, Tracy was resting comfortably. Dad is staying with Tracy tonight. She is on 5 East in Room 515. We hope they both get some much needed sleep tonight. Tiffany is working hard too, and has a lot of work to do over her final three weeks of classes. Her master's proposal defense is scheduled for May 4th! It is definitely taking shape. She will have to tell you more about her master's project. It is very exciting and proves to make a difference to the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center's website. We are really looking forward to her return on May 15th for the summer. God bless and have a wonderful week.

Tuesday, April 26th, 2005: Tracy did NOT sleep well last night, especially from 4 to 6 AM. Dad and Mom didn't sleep well either. This morning, Mom, Dad and Jenny got Tracy dressed and to the Ambulatory Procedure Unit at National Naval Medical Center by 9:00 AM for her scheduled surgery. The staff had everything ready for Tracy when we arrived and they got her checked in right away. Tracy had the same anesthesiologist who did her last two surgeries, so he was very familiar with Tracy. Dad was able to go with Tracy into the Operating Room. Liz and Jenny stayed with Mom during the surgery. Mom was so glad she did not have to wait in the family waiting room by herself. The surgery took a little over two hours and Tracy came through with flying colors. Dr. Buescher closed Tracy's wound and was very pleased with how well it had healed. The new tissue that replaced the damaged tissue was very healthy. Now that she has surgically closed the wound, we will have to be very careful that it is able to heal completely over the next three weeks. Dr. Buescher said that Tracy would need to stay in the hospital for about 5 to 7 days.When she gets home, she will need to be on complete bed rest for another two weeks. She can still have therapy but it will need to be in her bed. No sitting in her chair and no lying on her therapy mat until it is healed. When Mom left this evening, Tracy was resting comfortably. Dad is staying with Tracy tonight. She is on 5 East in Room 515. We hope they both get some much needed sleep tonight. Tiffany is working hard too, and has a lot of work to do over her final three weeks of classes. Her master's proposal defense is scheduled for May 4th! Wow, not much time left, but we are confident that she will pull through. We are really looking forward to her return on May 15th for the summer. God bless and have a wonderful week.

Monday, April 25th, 2005: Tracy had another good night's sleep last night. This morning, Mom and Jenny showered Tracy and got her ready for 11:00 AM Occupational Therapy with Regina. During OT, Regina and Mom got Tracy positioned on the peanut ball. Tracy had not been on the ball in several weeks. She did a really good job with her head and trunk control while on the peanut. Regina sat behind her and stabilized her pelvis, and Tracy did a good job supporting herself. Then Regina stretched Tracy's elbows behind her and she did a good job righting herself with little assistance. She tries so hard! Regina gave her little tactile cues, and Tracy would respond by bringing her body in the right direction to stabilize herself. After 20 minutes on the ball, Regina and Mom got Tracy on the mat. Regina stretched Tracy's shoulders and neck, and also worked with her to relax her right leg.

After OT, Tracy had Physical Therapy with Humayun. This is the last chance for several weeks to get Tracy on the tilt table, so Humayun did not waste any time getting her up to about 60 degrees. She tolerateed this incline pretty well, with just a little complaining that was resolved when Humayun loosened the restraining belt. Tracy did a good job relaxing and turned her head to the right. She was very much alert and trying to vocalize at this height. She tolerated about 30 minutes in this position.

Liz came over to help us get things ready for Tracy's admission to NNMC tomorrow. Gloria and her girls came over to see Tracy too. It is so wonderful to have the love and support of good friends during such difficult times. It makes each day's challenge a little easier! We are blessed to have such supportive friends and family.

This evening, Tracy had Speech Therapy with Karman. Tracy did a good job opening her mouth and letting Karman work with her tongue. She did not even need the mouth prop. Karman put a little honey on the roof of Tracy's mouth, and Tracy tried so hard to get the tip of her tongue to the roof to taste the honey. She was able to move the midportion of her tongue. The tip is a lot more difficult and takes a lot of motor control. We will continue to practice this. Karman showed Tracy some pictures that start with the "pa" sound such as pizza and puppy. Tracy is doing a much better job focusing her eyes. She is trying so hard to say "pa." Then Karman showed Tracy some pictures that start with the "ma" sound such as make-up. Tracy was able to say "uhmmm" several times. This is an easier sound and does not require blowing as the b sound does.

We are getting her things organized and packed for Tracy's trip Tuesday morning to National Naval Medical Center for her surgery. Last Wednesday, Dr. Buescher, Tracy's Plastic Surgeon, checked Tracy's wound and was very pleased with her progress. She decided that Tracy is ready to have the wound surgically closed. This is really good news, although it means another trip to the operating room and hospital stay for Tracy. She is scheduled to have the surgery at around 11:00 AM, which should take about 2 hours, on Tuesday April 26th. Dr. Buescher said that Tracy would need to stay in the hospital for about 5 to 7 days in another Clinitron bed of sand. When she gets home, she will need to be on complete bed rest for another two weeks. She can still have therapy but it will need to be in her bed. No sitting in her chair and no lying on her therapy mat until it is healed. Once it is healed, Tracy can start going in the pool. We would also like to take her therapeutic horseback riding. There is an equestrian school in Clifton and one in Great Falls where we have signed Tracy up for classes. There is a two year waiting list, so keep your fingers crossed that she gets in to the classes soon.

It was good to see Rick for dinner last evening. He has been really busy with work. Tiffany is working hard too, and has a lot of work to do over her final three weeks of classes. Her master's proposal defense is scheduled for May 4th! Wow, not much time left, but we are confident that she will pull through. We are really looking forward to her return on May 15th for the summer. God bless and have a wonderful week.

Sunday, April 24th, 2005: Tracy slept well last night. This morning, Mom and Dad showered Tracy and got her ready for noon Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Arlington. We were getting her dressed for church when we noticed that it was already 11:15 AM and none of us were close to being ready to leave the apartment. So, we put the pedal to the metal and believe it or not, we got to Mass with 3 minutes to spare. Now that is a miracle! Mass was really nice, and we got to see all of our church friends. We may not be back for several weeks, especially since Tracy is not going to be able to sit in her chair for at least three weeks. We'll have to watch Mass on television, I guess. After Mass, we met Nichole at Starbucks'. She is our good friend and Tracy's volunteer. It was so nice to see her and spend some time chatting over a latte or two. This was the first time that Nichole saw Tracy out of the apartment, so it was doubly nice. This afternoon, Dad and Mom stretched Tracy on the mat. She seems to be feeling better, however she is still a little tight. We got her sitting on the edge of the mat for about 20 minutes and Tracy did a good job with head and trunk control. This evening, Emil is over giving Tracy a massage. We are getting her things organized and packed for her trip Tuesday morning to National Naval Medical Center for her surgery. Last Wednesday, Dr. Buescher, Tracy's Plastic Surgeon, checked Tracy's wound and was very pleased with her progress. She decided that Tracy is ready to have the wound surgically closed. This is really good news, although it means another trip to the operating room and hospital stay for Tracy. She is scheduled to have the surgery which should take about 2 hours, on Tuesday April 26th. Dr. Buescher said that Tracy would need to stay in the hospital for about 5 to 7 days in another Clinitron bed of sand. When she gets home, she will need to be on complete bed rest for another two weeks. She can still have therapy but it will need to be in her bed. No sitting in her chair and no lying on her therapy mat until it is healed. Once it is healed, Tracy can start going in the pool. We would also like to take her therapeutic horseback riding. There is an equestrian school in Clifton and one in Great Falls where we have signed Tracy up for classes. There is a two year waiting list, so keep your fingers crossed that she gets in to the classes soon. Rick is coming over for dinner this evening. He has been really busy with work. Tiffany is working hard too, and has a lot of work to do over her final three weeks of classes. Her master's proposal defense is scheduled for May 4th! Wow, not much time left, but we are confident that she will pull through. We are really looking forward to her return on May 15th for the summer. God bless and have a wonderful week.

Saturday, April 23rd, 2005: Tracy had a good night's sleep again last night. Mom and Dad bathed Tracy and got her ready for the day. Tracy does not have any therapy today so Dad spent some time stretching and ranging Tracy this morning. Dad watched Tracy while Mom went for a LONG run from Crystal City to the Power Plant in Alexandria on the Mt. Vernon Trail. Mom called Dad periodically on the cell phone and Dad told Mom to keep on running. So, she ran and she ran and she ran.... does this sound like Forest Gump? Tracy rested most of today. She is a little tight and seems more uncomfortable today than she was yesterday. She has a low grade fever, so Mom gave her extra strength tylenol several times today. Liz came over to visit Tracy and stayed while Mom and Dad got ready for the Navy-Marine Corps Ball at the Washington Hilton. Jenny came over to stay with Tracy this evening. Mom and Dad enjoyed the ball and was able to see some old friends and meet some new ones too. Mom met a really nice person named Caroline who was very inspirational. God sends us angels when we need them. They are His way of remaining anonymous. Last Wednesday, Dr. Buescher, Tracy's Plastic Surgeon, checked Tracy's wound and was very pleased with her progress. She decided that Tracy is ready to have the wound surgically closed. This is really good news, although it means another trip to the operating room and hospital stay for Tracy. She is scheduled to have the surgery which should take about 2 hours, on Tuesday April 26th. Dr. Buescher said that Tracy would need to stay in the hospital for about 5 to 7 days in another Clinitron bed of sand. When she gets home, she will need to be on complete bed rest for another two weeks. She can still have therapy but it will need to be in her bed. No sitting in her chair and no lying on her therapy mat until it is healed. Once it is healed, Tracy can start going in the pool. We would also like to take her therapeutic horseback riding. There is an equestrian school in Clifton and one in Great Falls where we have signed Tracy up for classes. There is a two year waiting list, so keep your fingers crossed that she gets in to the classes soon. Tiffany is working hard and stressing out over all the work she has to get done in her final three weeks of classes. Her master's proposal defense is scheduled for May 4th! Wow, not much time left, but we are confident that she will pull through. We loved having her home with us and miss her already. It was also great to spend some time with Rick.We can't wait for her to return for the summer! God bless and have a wonderful weekend.

Friday, April 22nd, 2005: Tracy really slept well last night after the antibiotics and bladder antispasmodics took effect. Her face looked so much more relieved too! Mom and Jenny showered Tracy and got her ready for her 9:30 AM Physical Therapy session with Humayun. Today was another tilt table extravaganza. Humayun is trying to get every opportunity in to get Tracy upright before she is confined to her bed and flat on her back for three weeks after her surgery next week! Everyone is NOT looking forward to the strict bed rest restrictions, especially the therapists. Please pray that Tracy does not lose any ground that she has made over the past three weeks! Mom thinks that she is going to come back stronger, and leap frog right off the tilt table! We are sure that she is going to feel much better with her butt healed up! We plan to be very conservative and take the healing process seriously, so she is ready for more hard work when she recovers. Humayun, Mom and Jenny got Tracy on the tilt table and this time she went up to 62 degrees! This was the highest she has ever gone on the tilt table and she tolerated it very well. She even relaxed her arms down and was able to keep her head in the middle with minimal assistance. At this incline, she was able to relax her neck and bring her chin down too. She tolerated about 30 minutes at this incline. We are all proud of her. We will look into making a new cast for her left foot while Tracy is in the hospital to help keep her foot midline while on the tilt table. Gloria came by for a visit and brought us a beautiful picture of the girls. They are both celebrating birthdays and are already 8 and 10! Time sure flies when you're having fun! This afternoon, Mom, Dad and Jenny took Tracy to see Dr. Wong in the OB/Gyn clinic to have a routine physical. Let's just say that Tracy was a much better patient than Mom is when she gets her annual physical! Everything checked out good! The weather is 55 and rainy today. The flowers could use the rain and it sure does help to wash away some of the pollen. Guess we didn't need the air conditioning today, now did we? Last Wednesday, Dr. Buescher, Tracy's Plastic Surgeon, checked Tracy's wound and was very pleased with her progress. She decided that Tracy is ready to have the wound surgically closed. This is really good news, although it means another trip to the operating room and hospital stay for Tracy. She is scheduled to have the surgery which should take about 2 hours, on Tuesday April 26th. Dr. Buescher said that Tracy would need to stay in the hospital for about 5 to 7 days in another Clinitron bed of sand. When she gets home, she will need to be on complete bed rest for another two weeks. She can still have therapy but it will need to be in her bed. No sitting in her chair and no lying on her therapy mat until it is healed. Once it is healed, Tracy can start going in the pool. We would also like to take her therapeutic horseback riding. There is an equestrian school in Clifton and one in Great Falls where we have signed Tracy up for classes. There is a two year waiting list, so keep your fingers crossed that she gets in to the classes soon.Tiffany is working hard and stressing out over all the work she has to get done in her final three weeks of classes. Her master's proposal defense is scheduled for May 4th! Wow, not much time left, but we are confident that she will pull through. We loved having her home with us and miss her already. It was also great to spend some time with Rick.We can't wait for her to return for the summer! God bless and have a wonderful weekend.

Thursday, April 21st, 2005: Tracy had another good night's sleep. She finally cooled off as did the rest of the bunch. Mom and Jenny bathed Tracy this morning and got her ready for her 12:30 PM Occupational Therapy session with Regina. Well, Mom must have mental telepathy or something. Maybe she should be on CSI Crystal City, because her diagnosis was right on the money! Tracy does have another UTI (Urinary Tract Infection) and is now on Levaquin and Pyridium (again). We are definitely going to have Tracy checked out by a urologist (kidneys, that's kidneys) while she is in National Naval Medical Center (the President's hospital) next week. No wonder she is feeling nauseous and having an off week. Who wouldn't with a UTI. She should be back on her game within 24 hours. Mom went for a long run today on the Mt. Vernon Trail. It was the first time in a very long time that Mom ran by herself and it felt really good. The last time she ran alone was in Naples at Carney Park. She is definitely going to make this a routine event! During her OT session with Regina, Liz showed Regina some of the exercises she created using the ball and getting Tracy to move the ball in both hands using volitional movement. Tracy did a little movement but really wasn't into it. She was clearly not feeling well. Regina told Mom and Liz that she got a new job working at a private school in Annandale: the Phillips School which focuses on special needs students from surrounding areas. Mom, Jenny, Liz and especially Tracy will miss Regina but are also happy for her new position. Regina is a very talented Occupational Therapist. We are sad to see her go but wish her many blessings in her new position. Last Wednesday, Dr. Buescher, Tracy's Plastic Surgeon, checked Tracy's wound and was very pleased with her progress. She decided that Tracy is ready to have the wound surgically closed. This is really good news, although it means another trip to the operating room and hospital stay for Tracy. She is scheduled to have the surgery which should take about 2 hours, on Tuesday April 26th. Dr. Buescher said that Tracy would need to stay in the hospital for about 5 to 7 days in another Clinitron bed of sand. When she gets home, she will need to be on complete bed rest for another two weeks. She can still have therapy but it will need to be in her bed. No sitting in her chair and no lying on her therapy mat until it is healed. Once it is healed, Tracy can start going in the pool. We would also like to take her therapeutic horseback riding. There is an equestrian school in Clifton and one in Great Falls where we have signed Tracy up for classes. There is a two year waiting list, so keep your fingers crossed that she gets in to the classes soon. Tiffany made it back safely to LSU today and gave an oral presentation last evening and another group presentation today. She is very busy working on several papers and her masters project proposal. We loved having her home with us and miss her already. It was also great to spend some time with Rick.God bless and have a wonderful week.

Wednesday, April 20th, 2005: Tracy slept well last night. I think the heat has finally gotten to Mom. She called the apartment manager today and asked that he come to our apartment. She said that she "wanted to show him something." Of course, George was quite curious at what exactly it was that Mom was planning on showing him. So, George showed up promptly at our door, and Mom showed him how unbearabley hot the apartment was, especially Tracy's room which is the hottest because of her fancy bed. George promptly asked Mom why she had the windows open and didn't (get this) have the air conditioning on. Mom looked a little disoriented, maybe due to the intense heat in the apartment. Oh, yeah, George said that the air conditioning is working fine and that they turned it on last evening. Mom, so composed, said, "Oh, I see." We are thinking that she really is a true blonde after all! Mom and Jenny showered Tracy this morning and got her ready for her 11:15 AM Physical Therapy session with Humayun. Tracy is still tight and extending her head back more often. Mom is certain that Tracy has another UTI. We are waiting for the results of her urine culture to see if she needs antibiotics. Dad has arranged to have a urology consult during Tracy's hospital stay. During Tracy's session, Humayun, Mom, and Jenny got Tracy on the tilt table. Humayun wants to use the tilt table as much as possible before Tracy's surgery, since she will not be able to get on it for several weeks post-operatively. Humayun cranked Tracy up to 42 degrees today. She was able to tolerate about 30 minutes. Everyone was sweating and uncomfortable so Humayun decided to not push Tracy too much. Liz came over and spent some time working with Tracy's arms and a small ball. She put the ball in Tracy's hands and coached her to move her arms up and down. Tracy was able to follow Liz's verbal cues and also moved her arms to move the ball. This provides sensory motor input for Tracy and is an excellent exercise to encourage active movement and feedback. Liz has so many good ideas. Mom gave Tracy about 4 ozs of frozen yogurt and Tracy did a really good job swallowing it. She really enjoyed it. Tracy had Speech Therapy with Karman this evening. She did a good job holding the kazoo/whistle in her mouth and blowing. Karman tried a pair of bright red plastic lips that also have a whistle inside. Tracy did a good job holding the lips in place and tried to blow. This is more difficult than the kazoo. Last Wednesday, Dr. Buescher, Tracy's Plastic Surgeon, checked Tracy's wound and was very pleased with her progress. She decided that Tracy is ready to have the wound surgically closed. This is really good news, although it means another trip to the operating room and hospital stay for Tracy. She is scheduled to have the surgery which should take about 2 hours, on Tuesday April 26th. Dr. Buescher said that Tracy would need to stay in the hospital for about 5 to 7 days in another Clinitron bed of sand. When she gets home, she will need to be on complete bed rest for another two weeks. She can still have therapy but it will need to be in her bed. No sitting in her chair and no lying on her therapy mat until it is healed. Once it is healed, Tracy can start going in the pool. We would also like to take her therapeutic horseback riding. There is an equestrian school in Clifton and one in Great Falls where we have signed Tracy up for classes. There is a two year waiting list, so keep your fingers crossed that she gets in to the classes soon. Tiffany made it back safely to LSU today and is very busy working on several papers and her masters project proposal. We loved having her home with us and miss her already. It was also great to spend some time with Rick.God bless and have a wonderful week.

Tuesday, April 19th, 2005: Tracy had another good night's sleep last night. The good news is that Mom and Jenny's hayfever symptoms seem much better.The bad news is that Tracy has had three episodes of vomiting since yesterday and we are not sure what is causing it. We sent a second urine sample and are awaiting the results of the culture.Mom and Jenny let Tracy sleep in a little today while they did some spring cleaning. Around 9:30 or so, they bathed Tracy and got her dressed and ready for Occupational Therapy with Regina. Tracy does not have PT today. During OT, Regina positioned Tracy on the edge of the mat and had her practice sitting with minimal assistance. Tracy did a good job controlling her head and neck. She is actively trying to keep her head in the middle, with minimal verbal cues. She is still extending her neck, but then brings her eyes down to get her head back to the middle. This is very good, because it means that she is aware of where her head is in space (spatial proprioception) and what she needs to do to get it back to midline. Tracy is also turning her head much more easily and frequently to the right and also is trying hard to focus her eyes to find objects. This takes a lot of energy and coordination. Tracy was able to turn her head and find Jenny while sitting on the edge of the mat with some support. Liz came over and spent some time working with Tracy olfactory (sense of smell). She used aromatherapy to stimulate her sense of smell: lavender, eucalyptus, lemon, tangerine, cinnamon, to name a few. Tracy has a really good sense of smell. Then Liz held up some pictures for Tracy to focus on. She did a good job focusing, even for a short time. Tracy had Speech Therapy with Karman. She did a good job holding the whistle in her mouth and was able to hold it with her lips without any assistance for about ten seconds. This demonstates good lip closure. Tracy also was able to blow several times. Then Karman tried to put the mouth prop in Tracy's mouth to stabilize her jaw so that she could work with her tongue. Tracy did not want to work with the dental prop. She gave Karman a very dirty look. Oh, if we could only read her mind! At the end of her session, Tracy got nauseous and vomited. Now Karman and Regina are even (just kidding)! Tracy may have a slight virus which is making her nauseous or the heat and high pollen count could be getting to her as it got to us! This evening, Emil is coming over to give Tracy a massage. Hopefully, she will feel better after her massage. Last Wednesday, Dr. Buescher, Tracy's Plastic Surgeon, checked Tracy's wound and was very pleased with her progress. She decided that Tracy is ready to have the wound surgically closed. This is really good news, although it means another trip to the operating room and hospital stay for Tracy. She is scheduled to have the surgery which should take about 2 hours, on Tuesday April 26th. Dr. Buescher said that Tracy would need to stay in the hospital for about 5 to 7 days in another Clinitron bed of sand. When she gets home, she will need to be on complete bed rest for another two weeks. She can still have therapy but it will need to be in her bed. No sitting in her chair and no lying on her therapy mat until it is healed. Once it is healed, Tracy can start going in the pool. We would also like to take her therapeutic horseback riding. There is an equestrian school in Clifton and one in Great Falls where we have signed Tracy up for classes. There is a two year waiting list, so keep your fingers crossed that she gets in to the classes soon. Tiffany has been busy working on several papers and her masters project proposal. She goes back to LSU tomorrow and will be really busy with end of the semester papers, projects, and exams. We loved having her home with us and will miss her terribly. It was also great to spend some time with Rick.God bless and have a wonderful week.

Monday, April 18th, 2005: Tracy slept well again last night, even though the weather is getting warmer and our apartment complex manager has not switched over from heat to air conditioning yet. We are on the first floor, so windows are only an option during the daytime. The pollen count is really high in Northern Virginia, and everyone (except Tracy) is having hayfever symptoms. We are not complaining. It beats the cold and snow! We will gladly take the heat! Just hope that the hayfever symptoms go away soon! Mom and Jenny showered Tracy and got her dressed and ready for her Physical Therapy with Humayun. Tracy has all three therapies today. During PT, Humayun, Jenny and Mom got Tracy on the tilt table and up she went to 60 degrees! This is the highest that Tracy has ever been on the tilt table, and she tolerated 25 minutes! She was actually weight bearing and vocalizing, and seemed to be comfortable even at this high of an incline. Liz came over to visit. She is such a big help! We have really enjoyed having Tiffany home too! Tracy had a brief rest and then it was time for Occupational Therapy with Regina. During OT, Tracy was lying on the exercise mat on her back. Regina worked on getting Tracy to actively bend and relax her left arm. Tracy was trying so hard to bend and relax her arm, therefore working her biceps and triceps. Although the movement was slow, Tracy was able to initiate movement in the muscles in her arm. She has a hard time isolating each muscle, and sometimes fires all of the muscles in her arm. The important part is that she understands, follows directions, tries real hard, and is executing the movement, even if the magnitude is low. This will come with practice and time. Regina held a bright colored frisbee as a target for Tracy to focus on and she did an excellent job focusing on it. The goal will be to bring her arm up to the target and eventually hit it. I can think of several people's faces that we can put on the frisbee for her to aim at! After this exercise, Regina sat Tracy on the edge of the mat and Tracy did a fantastic job at head control. She is turning her head much more easily and frequently to the right and also is keeping it in the middle a lot better. Tracy was able to turn her head and find Jenny while sitting on the edge of the mat with some support. She tolerated about 25 minutes of continuous movement, and then got nauseous and vomited. Unfortunately, the only way she is going to get her vestibular control back is by movement and sometimes this results in vomiting. After another brief rest and about two ounces of nectar consistency hydrolyte (lemon flavored water), Tracy had Speech Therapy with Karman. She did a good job looking at the plate, fork, spoon, knife, bowl, and cup, and tried really hard to say the words. Tracy has apraxia, which means that she has the words in her memory bank, and even recognizes what the objects are. The disconnect is from her brain to her mouth, when she tries to say the word. The harder she tries, the more difficult it is. It sometimes will come out with automatic speech, not thinking but just saying the word. Karman works on this type of speech too. She may hold up the fork and say " What's this, Tracy?" Tracy is so close to talking. She tries really hard and gets frustrated alot. It will come. Karman then held up two objects for Tracy to differentiate between. Tracy did a great job looking at the correct object and can focus on it for a few seconds. Last Wednesday, Dr. Buescher, Tracy's Plastic Surgeon, checked Tracy's wound and was very pleased with her progress. She decided that Tracy is ready to have the wound surgically closed. This is really good news, although it means another trip to the operating room and hospital stay for Tracy. She is scheduled to have the surgery which should take about 2 hours, on Tuesday April 26th. Dr. Buescher said that Tracy would need to stay in the hospital for about 5 to 7 days in another Clinitron bed of sand. When she gets home, she will need to be on complete bed rest for another two weeks. She can still have therapy but it will need to be in her bed. No sitting in her chair and no lying on her therapy mat until it is healed. Once it is healed, Tracy can start going in the pool. We would also like to take her therapeutic horseback riding. There is an equestrian school in Clifton and one in Great Falls where we have signed Tracy up for classes. There is a two year waiting list, so keep your fingers crossed that she gets in to the classes soon. Tiffany has been busy working on several papers and her masters project proposal. She and Rick are at the Nationals vs. the Marlins game tonight. We hope they continue their winning streak. God bless and have a wonderful week.

Sunday, April 17th, 2005: 27 Months Since Tracy's Cardiac Arrest!~ Tracy had a good night's sleep. Today, she has been tight. We did not go to Mass today, our usual Sunday morning plan. Instead, Tiff and Rick stayed with Tracy and Mom and Dad went to see the DC Nationals play the Arizona Diamondbacks. It was a great game and a beautiful day for baseball. The Nationals beat the Diamondbacks, 7 to 3! It was a great day. Mom and Dad bathed Tracy and got her dressed and out on the balcony in her chair. Tiffany and Rick sat outside for a while too, while Tracy listened to music on her pink Ipod. Later in the day, Tracy's good friend Sasha came over to visit. They all had pizza and hung out together. It will be so great when Tracy can have some pizza too! Our backyard now has new grass in it. Unbelievable! While we were away at Tracy's speech evaluation at Georgetown the grass grew! Now how did that happen? We are so glad they are not jack hammering and back hoeing anymore. The grand opening is May 15th, so they are working day and night to get it ready. It will be much better, especially since the pool is now accessible. It has been a work in progress, since last September. It will now be well worth the noise and dust flying! Last Wednesday, Dr. Buescher, Tracy's Plastic Surgeon, checked Tracy's wound and was very pleased with her progress. She decided that Tray is ready to have the wound surgically closed. This is really good news, although it means another trip to the operating room and hospital stay for Tracy. She is scheduled to have the surgery which should take about 2 hours, on Tuesday April 26th. Dr. Buescher said that Tracy would need to stay in the hospital for about 5 to 7 days in another Clinitron bed of sand. When she gets home, she will need to be on complete bed rest for another two weeks. She can still have therapy but it will need to be in her bed. No sitting in her chair and no lying on her therapy mat until it is healed. Once it is healed, Tracy can start going in the pool. We would also like to take her therapeutic horseback riding. There is an equestrian school in Clifton, Virginia where we have signed Tracy up for classes. There is a two year waiting list, so keep your fingers crossed that she gets in to the classes soon. Tiffany has been busy working on several papers and her masters project proposal. She and Rick are planning on going to the Nationals vs. the Marlins game tomorrow night. God bless and have a wonderful week.

Saturday, April 16th, 2005: Tracy slept well again last night. Today, she has been grinding her teeth again. We are not sure why. Her tone is tighter today as well. We tested her urine and she does NOT have a UTI, so that is good. This morning, Mom and Dad showered Tracy and got her ready for the day. The only therapy she has is Speech with Karman at 2:00 PM. Our backyard now has new grass in it. Unbelievable! While we were away at Tracy's speech evaluation at Georgetown the grass grew! Now how did that happen? We are so glad they are not jack hammering and back hoeing anymore. The grand opening is May 15th, so they are working day and night to get it ready. It will be much better, especially since the pool is now accessible. It has been a work in progress, since last September. It will now be well worth the noise and dust flying! During Speech Therapy, Karman continued to work on Tracy's tongue. She started using a mouth prop to help stabilize her jaw so that Tracy can work on elevating the tip of her tongue. Today, Karman put a dab of honey on the roof of her mouth and Tracy was able to lift her tongue twice. Practice, practice, practice! Then Karman had Tracy blow the whistle again. Tracy does a good job getting her lips around the whistle, and then Karman assists with completing the seal at the corners of her mouth. Tracy blew the whistle three times. She gets very frustrated and is really trying to talk to us. Baby steps, baby steps! This evening, Emil, his wife Kathryn, and their adorable grandson Zian came by to visit Tracy. Zian is 7 months and so cute. Later, Mom, Dad, Tiffany and Rick had dinner together at home. Dad cooked one of his specialties, salmon steaks. Yesterday, Mom, Dad and Jenny took Tracy to her Speech Evaluation at Georgetown Medical Center. Tracy was seen by Kerry Parsons, the speech therapist at Georgetown who performed her evaluation which consisted of collecting a lot of background information on Tracy. She was very thorough and very nice. We are looking forward to returning to their program. They have a special program called VitalStim which focuses on strengthening Tracy's pharyngeal muscles which are needed for swallowing. We are excited about trying this new therapy. We are looking into doing Tracy's outpatient Physical and Occupational therapies there too. Last Wednesday, Dr. Buescher, Tracy's Plastic Surgeon, checked Tracy's wound and was very pleased with her progress. She decided that Tray is ready to have the wound surgically closed. This is really good news, although it means another trip to the operating room and hospital stay for Tracy. She is scheduled to have the surgery which should take about 2 hours, on Tuesday April 26th. Dr. Buescher said that Tracy would need to stay in the hospital for about 5 to 7 days in another Clinitron bed of sand. When she gets home, she will need to be on complete bed rest for another two weeks. She can still have therapy but it will need to be in her bed. No sitting in her chair and no lying on her therapy mat until it is healed. Once it is healed, Tracy can start going in the pool. We would also like to take her therapeutic horseback riding. There is an equestrian school in Clifton, Virginia where we have signed Tracy up for classes. There is a two year waiting list, so keep your fingers crossed that she gets in to the classes soon. Tiffany made it home safely and we are enjoying spending time with her and Rick. Her master's project is coming along. She'll tell you all more about this later. God bless and have a wonderful weekend

Friday, April 15th, 2005: Tracy had another good night's sleep last night. She is not grinding her teeth anymore and is much more relaxed. This morning, Mom and Jenny bathed Tracy and got her ready for Physical Therapy with Humayun at 9:30 AM! During PT, Humayun, Mom and Jenny got Tracy on the tilt table. Today's goal is to get Tracy to 45 degrees incline for 10 minutes and then back to 30 degrees for 30 minutes. Tracy did a really good job tolerating 45 degrees. She had her old cast on her left foot and it did not fit well. That's why we only kept her at 45 degrees for 10 minutes. We decided that we need to donate this to the Smithsonian. She has definitely surpassed this cast and is able to get her foot much closer to neutral than this cast. This was the highest we have had Tracy on the tilt table ever. She did a good job keeping her head in the middle without any verbal cues. After PT, Tracy rested briefly and then had Occupational Therapy with Regina. Since she was going to be in her chair this afternoon for her speech evaluation at Georgetown Medical Center, Regina let Tracy rest on the mat while she worked with her arms. She supported Tracy's right shoulder and upper arm, and encouraged Tracy to bend and straighen her lower arm, working her triceps. Regina helped Tracy to passively bend and straighten her right arm, so she could feel the motion. Tracy tried real hard to bend and straighten her right arm. She was able to hold her arm in extension and then slowly lower it down. We will be working on this exercise while Tracy is recuperating from her surgery and confined to complete bedrest. Tracy tries so hard. It will come one day soon. Gloria and her two beautiful daughters Samantha and Katherine came by to visit us. They brought their good friend Tom from Hawaii. We enjoyed their visit, even though it was short. It is always great to see them and spend some time with the girls. After Occupational Therapy, Mom, Dad and Jenny took Tracy to her Speech Evaluation at Georgetown Medical Center. Tracy was seen by Kerry Parsons, the speech therapist at Georgetown who performed her evaluation which consisted of collecting a lot of background information on Tracy. She was very thorough and very nice. We are looking forward to returning to their program. They have a special program called VitalStim which focuses on strengthening Tracy's pharyngeal muscles which are needed for swallowing. We are excited about trying this new therapy. After Tracy's speech evaluation, we met Sasha and Tas and Tas' family in Georgetown. Sasha is Tracy's best friend from the University of Miami and fellow crew team mate. Sasha is currently serving as a personal assistant to a awesome student at Georgetown named Tas. Tas came to visit Tracy for her birthday. We also got to meet Tas' twin sister, Alba, and their parents who were visiting from NYC. We really enjoyed meeting them. We hope to see Sasha this weekend. Last Wednesday, Dr. Buescher, Tracy's Plastic Surgeon, checked Tracy's wound and was very pleased with her progress. She decided that Tray is ready to have the wound surgically closed. This is really good news, although it means another trip to the operating room and hospital stay for Tracy. She is scheduled to have the surgery which should take about 2 hours, on Tuesday April 26th. Dr. Buescher said that Tracy would need to stay in the hospital for about 5 to 7 days in another Clinitron bed of sand. When she gets home, she will need to be on complete bed rest for another two weeks. She can still have therapy but it will need to be in her bed. No sitting in her chair and no lying on her therapy mat until it is healed. Once it is healed, Tracy can start going in the pool. We would also like to take her therapeutic horseback riding. There is an equestrian school in Clifton, Virginia where we have signed Tracy up for classes. There is a two year waiting list, so keep your fingers crossed that she gets in to the classes soon. Tiffany made it home safely and we are so happy to see her. We are looking forward to spending the next five days with her whiles she is home. Her master's project is coming along. She'll tell you all more about this later. God bless and have a wonderful weekend.

Thursday, April 14th, 2005: Tracy slept well again last night. She is not grinding her teeth anymore and is much more relaxed. This morning, Mom and Jenny bathed Tracy and got her ready for Physical Therapy with Humayun at noon. This was the first day this week that Tracy did not have to rush to a doctor's appointment. So, we let her rest in her comfortable bed until it was time for PT. During PT, Humayun, Mom and Jenny got Tracy on the tilt table. Today's goal is to get Tracy to 45 degrees incline for 15 minutes and then back to 30 degrees for 30 minutes. Tracy did a really good job tolerating 45 degrees. This was the highest we have had Tracy on the tilt table ever. She did a good job keeping her head in the middle without any verbal cues. After PT, Tracy rested briefly and then had Occupational Therapy with Regina. She was a little fatigued after her PT session, so Regina decided to get Tracy positioned on the edge of the mat. She put the therapy table in front of Tracy and had her weight bear through her elbows on the table. Tracy did a good job sitting with minimal support. Then, Regina asked Tracy to look on the table and find the pretty colored butterfly. Tracy tried real hard to lower her head and look for the butterfly, but her neck was in spasm and she kept pushing back in extension. We think her wound might be hurting her, so Regina laid Tracy back down on the mat for a break. Tracy tolerated about 15 minutes in a sitting position. Regina then worked on having Tracy actively relax her right arm. This is important for Tracy to begin to reach for items. Tracy was pretty tired. We'll try again next time. After OT, Jenny fed Tracy about two ounces of nectar consistency lemon water. She is doing a really good job closing her mouth and swallowing with no tactile and minimal verbal cues. She swallows well with no choking or coughing. We are so proud of her. Next, Tracy had Speech Therapy with Karman. First, Karman put the mouth prop in Tracy's mouth to help stabilize her jaw so that she can work on Tracy's tongue tip. Tracy was moving her tongue really well, and lifted the tip to the roof of her mouth three times! This is really big! Next, Karman had Tracy hold a small whistle kazoo in her lips and Tracy closed her lips around it with minimal assistance. Karman had to help Tracy seal her corners of her mouth. Then, (wait 'til you hear this!) Tracy took a big breath and blew the whistle, not just once, but FIVE TIMES! This is major HUGE! This demonstrates many things: 1) Tracy was able to follow three step commands (close your mouth, take a breath, and blow); and 2) Tracy has the control to blow the whistle. Woo Hoo! Yesterday, Dr. Buescher, Tracy's Plastic Surgeon, checked Tracy's wound and was very pleased with her progress. She decided that Tray is ready to have the wound surgically closed. This is really good news, although it means another trip to the operating room and hospital stay for Tracy. She is scheduled to have the surgery which should take about 2 hours, on Tuesday April 26th. Dr. Buescher said that Tracy would need to stay in the hospital for about 5 to 7 days in another Clinitron bed of sand. When she gets home, she will need to be on complete bed rest for another two weeks. She can still have therapy but it will need to be in her bed. No sitting in her chair and no lying on her therapy mat until it is healed. Once it is healed, Tracy can start going in the pool. We would also like to take her therapeutic horseback riding. There is an equestrian school in Clifton, Virginia where we have signed Tracy up for classes. There is a two year waiting list, so keep your fingers crossed that she gets in to the classes soon. Tomorrow, Tracy has a speech evaluation at Georgetown Medical Center. They have a swallow program called Vital Stim which works with electrical stimulation on the pharyngeal muscles (muscles in the throat that help you swallow) for swallowing. We will let you know how that goes. We miss Tiffany and can't wait to see her tomorrow. She will be home for five days! Woohoo! We are looking forward to seeing her. Her master's project is coming along. She'll tell you all more about this later. God bless and have a wonderful Friday!

Wednesday, April 13th, 2005: Tracy had another good night's sleep last night. She is not grinding her teeth anymore and is much more relaxed. This morning, Mom and Jenny showered Tracy and got her ready for another doctor's appointment, this time with the Plastic Surgeon at National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda. Dr. Buescher checked Tracy's wound and was very pleased with her progress. She decided that Tray is ready to have the wound surgically closed. This is really good news, although it means another trip to the operating room and hospital stay for Tracy. She is scheduled to have the surgery which should take about 2 hours, on Tuesday April 26th. Dr. Buescher said that Tracy would need to stay in the hospital for about 5 to 7 days in another Clinitron bed of sand. When she gets home, she will need to be on complete bed rest for another two weeks. She can still have therapy but it will need to be in her bed. No sitting in her chair and no lying on her therapy mat until it is healed. Once it is healed, Tracy can start going in the pool. We would also like to take her therapeutic horseback riding. There is an equestrian school in Clifton, Virginia where we have signed Tracy up for classes. There is a two year waiting list, so keep your fingers crossed that she gets in to the classes soon. Tracy did not have any therapy today, so we let her rest. Tomorrow and Friday she has full therapy days, so it is good that she is resting up! Dad stayed with Tracy this evening while Mom went to the hair dressers. She was well overdue! We miss Tiffany and hope to see her soon! We are very proud of her! She plans to come home for a visit this Friday for five days! Woohoo! We are looking forward to seeing her. Her master's project is coming along. She'll tell you all more about this later. God bless and have a wonderful week!

Tuesday, April 12th, 2005: Tracy slept really well last night. She was totally exhausted and made up for lost time. Tracy had a much better day today! She is not grinding her teeth anymore and is much more relaxed. Her urine test came back normal. Yay! She had a very busy day with an early start at 6:00 AM. Mom and Dad got Tracy ready and they met Jenny and were out the door by 7:40 AM and off to an appointment with the Neurosurgeon at Children's National Medical Center in DC. The Neurosurgeon looked over all of her scans, MRIs, and X-rays and validated what we already know; that Tracy had an anoxic injury to her brain and that, as a result, she has severe spasticity. The key is to get her spasticity under control with the optimal levels of Baclofen, and that there are other options available to explore. We will work on gradually reducing her levels of Baclofen, if tolerated. After her appointment, Tracy saw Erin, the Occupational Therapist at CNMC who checked out her new purple neoprene splints. She was pleased with the fit. When we returned from CNMC, Tracy had Physical Therapy with Humayun. Mom, Jenny and Humayun got Tracy on the tilt table and up she went to 40 degrees for 30 minutes! Tracy did such a good job tolerating this incline with her cast on her right leg for support. She was even weight bearing some through her feet. She was completely relaxed in this position. This is the best tilt table session Tracy has had ever. She wasn't complaining or sweating. We are so proud of her! Liz came over and Tracy rested until it was time for Speech Therapy with Karman. Mom and Liz gave Tracy 3 ozs of nectar consistency lemon water (hydrolyte) and Tracy did a good job swallowing with no coughing. She also did a great job opening her mouth, relaxing her jaw, and letting Karman put in the new mouth prop which helps Karman work with Tracy's tongue. Tracy did a really good job moving her tongue too. Then Karman spent time getting Tracy to close her lips/mouth on verbal command and Tracy did an excellent job. It takes her a little time to close her mouth but she is understanding and following commands and then closing her mouth. She did a good job saying "ma" several times loudly and with correct annunciation. She also said "uhmma" several times. While Karman was here, Nichole, Tracy volunteer came to see her. She was able to observe Tracy's vocalization and was very pleased with her progress since the last time she was here about a month ago. Karman then showed Tracy some pictures that start with the M sound and Tracy was able to look at the correct picture when she put two up for her to differentiate between. Tracy is working so hard! We know that she really wants to talk and it is just a matter of time before she will. Nichole read a short story about Oprah from the book of Wise Women which Liz gave to her. Tracy really loves when Nichole comes to see her. We are truly blessed to have such wonderful friends. Emil came and gave Tracy a massage this evening. She was so relaxed and really enjoyed her massage. That's our girl! Tracy saw the wound care nurse at National Naval Medical Center at Bethesda yesterday. She examined Tracy's wound and took some pictures which she plans to show to Dr. Buescher, the Plastic Surgeon. There are three options: (1) Tracy could have surgery to close the wound; (2) Tracy could get the wound vac back on (yes, revenge of Fernando Jorge!); and (3) we could continue with dressing changes and be patient. We have an appointment with Dr. Buescher tomorrow and should have a plan by then. We'll let you know how that goes. We miss Tiffany and hope to see her soon! We are very proud of her! She plans to come home for a visit this Friday for five days! Woohoo! We are looking forward to seeing her. Her master's project is coming along. She'll tell you all more about this later. God bless and have a wonderful week!

Monday, April 11th, 2005: Tracy still seemed uncomfortable this morning although she slept well last night. She was really grinding this morning when Mom and Jenny gave her a shower. She seemed to enjoy her shower, and the Extra Strength Tylenol really helped relieve her discomfort. She had Occupational Therapy with Regina at 11:15 AM. This morning, Regina decided to take it easy on Tracy and skipped getting her on the balance ball. Instead, she and Jenny sat Tracy on the edge of the mat. Tracy was definitely not feeling well and was very tight. She was pushing her head back in extension and was not able to relax her legs down on the floor. She is either having spasms as a result of a Urinary Tract Infection or her wound is bothering her. We did an analysis of her urine at National Naval Medical Center and will have the results tomorrow. We'll let you know how that goes. At NNMC, Tracy was seen by the wound care nurse, Lydia Garner. She examined Tracy's wound and took some pictures which she plans to show to Dr. Buescher, the Plastic Surgeon. We should hear back tomorrow. There are three options: (1) Tracy could have surgery to close the wound; (2) Tracy could get the wound vac back on (yes, revenge of Fernando Jorge!); and (3) we could continue with dressing changes. We also have an appointment with Dr. Buescher on Wednesday and should have a plan by then. Tomorrow, Tracy has an appointment with Dr. Keating, neurosurgeon, at Children's National Medical Center. This is a follow-up to the spasticity clinic on March 10th. We are bringing all of Tracy's MRIs, CT scans, and x-rays and will go through them with a fine tooth comb. We plan to leave no stone unturned. Dr. Keating plans to evaluate Tracy's Baclofen pump to make sure there are no cracks in the catheter, etc. and to explore why she needs 1400 micrograms of Baclofen per day, a very high dose. Tracy rested well this afternoon in her wonderful bed of sand. I think we may have worn her out this weekend and will let her spend more time out of her chair, off her butt, and in her bed. She seems much more comfortable this evening, thank God! We miss Tiffany and hope to see her soon! We are very proud of her! She plans to come home for a visit this Friday for five days! Woohoo! We are looking forward to seeing her. Her master's project is coming along. She'll tell you all more about this later. God bless and have a wonderful week!

Sunday, April 10th, 2005: Tracy seemed a little more comfortable today, although she was still grinding some. Dad and Mom bathed and dressed Tracy this morning and then they were off to noon Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Church. It was great to be back in our parish and we were able to see some of the many parishioners who are praying for Tracy each week at Mass. After Mass, we met Katie, Tracy's Occupational Therapist and our good friend who recently got engaged and moved to Charlston, South Carolina and her friend Olivia at Starbucks at Pentagon Row. We visited for a while and caught up on the latest on Katie and David's wedding and honeymoon plans. It was great to see them. After that, Mom, Dad and Tracy went down to the Tidal Basin to see the cherry blossoms. They were exquisite. Mom realized after seeing the cherry blossom trees that the ones she had been raving about in our back yard were not cherry blossoms after all! They are PEAR TREES! Surprise, surprise! Mom occasionally relapses into a true blonde! Dad stretched Tracy this afternoon and sat her up on the edge of the mat. She did a good job with head and trunk control in this position. She is still pretty tight though, so we will check her out for another Urinary Tract Infection too and let you know how that goes. Keep your fingers crossed that she is spared from another infection. Tracy has an appointment with the neurosurgeon, Dr. Keating, at Children's National Medical Center on Tuesday as a follow up to the Spasticity Clinic that she attended March 10th. We'll keep you posted. Monday, Tracy has an appointment with the wound care nurse at Bethesda on Monday and then she will see Dr. Buescher, the Plastic Surgeon on Wednesday. Hopefully, the wound will close on its own and Tracy will not need surgery. We'll let you know how that goes. We miss Tiffany and hope to see her soon! We are very proud of her! She plans to come home for a visit around April 15th. We can't wait to see her! Her master's project is coming along. She'll tell you all more about this later. God bless and have a wonderful week!

Saturday, April 9th, 2005: Tracy spent most of the day grinding her teeth. We will look into it and see why she is grinding. Mom thinks she may have another Urinary Tract Infection. She finally settled down this evening after Mom gave her some tylenol with codeine. Dad and Mom showered and shampooed Tracy this morning and then they were off to Potomac Yard to run some errands. Dad bought a little fountain from Pier 1 that reminded him of the ones they had at Negumbo Spa on Ischia. It is named Serenity and sounds really nice. It feels like the air conditioning might be finally turned on. Mom said she felt like she was on Survivor and she finally got voted off and is back in civilization. Dad stretched Tracy this afternoon and sat her up on the edge of the mat. She did a good job with head and trunk control in this position. Later this evening, Mom and Dad changed Tracy's dressing, as they do every other day. Tracy has an appointment with the wound care nurse at Bethesda on Monday and then she will see Dr. Buescher, the Plastic Surgeon on Wednesday. Hopefully, the wound will close on its own and Tracy will not need surgery. We'll let you know how that goes. We miss Tiffany and hope to see her soon! We are very proud of her! She plans to come home for a visit around April 15th. We can't wait to see her! Her master's project is coming along. She'll tell you all more about this later. God bless and have a wonderful weekend!

Friday, April 8th, 2005: Tracy finished out her first week home with another great day of therapy. Mom and Jenny bathed Tracy (in record time since Crystal Plaza management has not switched the HVAC system over to air conditioning: it is really hot in Tracy's room with the Clinitron bed and no AC) and got her ready for her 10 AM Physical Therapy session with Humayun. He positioned Tracy on the tilt table after stretching and ranging her extremities and putting on her right leg cast. He slowly and gradually cranked Tracy up to 30 degrees, this time increasing her to 30 minutes duration. Mom was in the kitched with Regina scheduling next week's OT sessions when Tracy said "Momma!" Humayun called Mom and she came right away to check on Tracy and then Tracy turned her head to the right and looked right at Mom and said Momma. Mom had to run to a dentist appointment, but Liz and Jenny were there to oversee Tracy's Occupational Therapy session with Regina which followed PT, with no breaks today. Regina worked with Tracy's arms, positioning her left arm over her head and assisting Tracy with bending and straightening her arms (bicep and tricep strengthening). After passively demonstrating the movement with Tracy, Tracy slowly was able to bend and straighten her arm with Regina stabilizing her upper arm and shoulder. They practiced this several times on both sides and then Regina and Liz positioned Tracy on the edge of the mat in a seated position. Tracy seemed pretty tired and Regina thought it was due to her hard work with PT and the increased heat in the apartment. (We even got the fans out and opened the door, still no relief!) Regina worked with Tracy's right arm, practicing her reaching for objects. Tracy tries real hard but still needs practice, practice, practice. She initiates movement but needs to work on isolating the correct muscles. She will relearn this in time. After OT, Tracy took a well-deserved rest on the mat. Later this afternoon, Tracy had Speech Therapy with Karman. Tracy did a real good job with head and trunk control in her wheel chair. Karman wanted to work on Tracy's talking, and held up various objects such as a plate, spoon, fork, knife, and bowl. (I can't help but think that Tracy was wondering when are these people going to put some food on this plate!) Tracy looked at the fork and mouthed the word fork (or so we thought...I wouldn't blame her if she picked another f-word to say!) She positioned her mouth in the right way to say plate, however, this requires a puff of air "pa" and is a little more difficult. She is trying so hard. Then Karman held up two objects at a time and asked Tracy to look at one of them. She did a great job turning her head and focusing to look at the object that Karman said. Lastly, Karman tried out a new mouth prop that mom ordered which is to help Tracy keep her mouth open and not bite her lip or tongue. This helps Karman work with Tracy's tongue. Tracy did a good job opening her mouth to let Karman put in the prop (it's purple, Tracy's favorite color). Then, Tracy lifted her tongue tip to the roof of her mouth. Way to go TRACY! After Speech Therapy, Jenny gave Tracy some nectar consistency lemon flavored water with a spoon. Tracy swallowed almost 2 ozs (about 5 or 6 tablespoons). We will try again tomorrow. She is doing a good job closing her mouth and swallowing. Jenny did a good job too! Jenny stayed with Tracy for a few hours this evening while Mom and Dad went out to dinner next door at Oyamel. It was really nice. We miss Tiffany and hope to see her soon! She plans to come home for a visit around April 15th. We can't wait to see her! Her master's project is coming along. She'll tell you all more about this later. God bless and have a wonderful weekend!

Thursday, April 7th, 2005: Tracy had another great day of threapy.Mom and Jenny bathed Tracy and got her ready for her noon Physical Therapy session with Humayun. He positioned Tracy on the tilt table after stretching and ranging her extremities and putting on her right leg cast. He slowly and gradually cranked Tracy up to 30 degrees, since it had been almost three weeks since she had been on it. Tracy did a really good job relaxing her arms and turning her head to the right and keeping it in the middle. She even raised her left arm over her head and held it there for a few seconds, then slowly lowered it down. Humayun said that this movement was definitely not reflexive, but active movement. It may have been enhanced by increased tone or some spasticity. We will continue to work on strengthen her biceps and triceps muscles. Tracy tolerated 25 minutes on the tilt table. She most likely could have tolerated more, but Humayun wanted to take it slow since it was Tracy's first day back on the tilt table. After Physical Therapy, Tracy had a short rest break and then it was time for Occupational Therapy with Regina. She got Tracy sitting on the therapy ball and Tracy practiced holding her head up and in the middle. She is definitely showing a lot of improvement in her trunk and head control. Then, Regina and Jenny got Tracy prone (on her tummy) on the peanut ball so Tracy could practice weight-bearing on her knees. Tracy did a great job balancing on the ball. Regina then propped Tracy up on her elbows, and Tracy did the best job ever with picking up her head and keeping it in the middle. Tracy tolerated at least 25 to 30 minutes in this position. Jenny gave Tracy a pedicure and manicure today. She does such a good job! Mom was even able to go downstairs to the underground mall and get a pedicure too! That sure felt good. Thank you Christine, Tracy's room mate from Florence, for the beautiful bird of paradise card. Mom read it to Tracy as she does all of her cards, letters, and guest book entries. They mean so much to her. Please keep them coming! We miss Tiffany and hope to see her soon! She plans to come home for a visit around April 15th. We can't wait to see her! Her master's project is coming along. She'll tell you all more about this later. Thank you cousin Theresa for the beautiful Easter card and also to Joy McCabe for the Mass card. We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends.

Wednesday, April 6th, 2005: Today was a gold medal day for our girl TRACY! Even though she did not sleep a wink last night (and neither did MOM). Her bed of sand went kaput and the technician from Hill Rom needed to find a new motherboard (is this a bed or a space ship). So, her bed of sand was more like a bed of cement! The technician (Al's his name) shoveled out all 150 gallons of sand and replaced it with new sand. Mom and Tracy spent the night in Tiffany's bed last night! That is the most uncomfortable bed they have ever slept in! Whew! Guess we are spoiled with the fancy Clinitron bed! This morning, Jenny and Mom showered Tracy and got her ready for her 11:00 Occupational Therapy session with Regina. It was great to have Regina back. She was very pleased with Tracy's progress since the last time she saw her over two weeks ago. Regina went easy on Tracy today, especially since she did not sleep at all last night. She positioned Tracy on the edge of the mat after stretching and ranging her extremities. Tracy did an excellent job holding her head up and in the middle. She is doing much better turning her head to the right. Tracy tolerated sitting on the edge of the mat with minimal support for at least 20 minutes. The weather was absolutely beautiful today with temperatures well into the 80's. Mom, Jenny, Liz and Tracy went for a walk on the Mt. Vernon Trail. Tracy loved it. The cherry blossoms have not quite peaked yet down on the tidal basin but are in their glory in our back yard at Crystal Plaza. It is so beautiful and we are so glad that our prayers have been answered upon our return home. After our walk, Mom and Liz gave Tracy some chilled nectar consistency lemon water. She did not like it and said NO when Liz tried to give her some more. It was too cold, so we let it warm up to room temperature. When Liz tried again, Tracy drank 3 ozs, swallowing within 3 to 7 seconds for the most part. It took her less than 15 minutes to drink the 3 ozs! She closed her mouth and lips and swallowed on her own with minimal verbal cues. We are so excited that Tracy is working so hard! We will continue to practice her swallowing. This evening, Tracy had Speech Therapy with Karman. She was alert throughout the entire session and did a good job focusing her eyes. Tracy took a deep breath and blew into a whistle on command twice! Karman was very pleased with this. Tracy was very VOCAL thorughout the session saying Uh-ha numerous times. She was very interactive. She did a really good job keeping her head in the middle and mouthed "Uhmm" several times, with excellent lip closure. Tracy also vocalized "Uhmm" several times too. She is working on "Ba" and "Pa" and was able to mouth the words but now needs to blow the air with her cheeks. This will come with more practice. Tracy did an excellent job looking at pictures and was able to turn her head to midline to see the picture cards. These are all excellent steps! WooHoo Tracy! Emil is coming this evening to give Dad a massage. Mom and Tracy got a massage last night and it was great! Dad attended a conference in Norfolk today and got a flat tire on the way home! SO, he is definitely in dire need of a massage. We miss Tiffany and hope to see her soon! She plans to come home for a visit around April 15th. We can't wait to see her! Her master's project is coming along. She'll tell you all more about this later. Thank you cousin Theresa for the beautiful Easter card and also to Joy McCabe for the Mass card. We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends.

Tuesday, April 5th, 2005: Today was more like a country song played backward: we got our Physical Therapist back, we got our Speech Therapist back, and you guessed it, we got our Occupational Therapist back. The sun continued to shine on Crystal City and the cherry blossoms have popped out in our backyard. It seems that they have not arrived elsewhere, so if you want to catch a glimpse of them, you have to come to Crystal City. The temperatures made it up to the 70's today! We sure were happy to see the sun! Jenny was back today and we were glad to see her. Jenny and Mom bathed Tracy and got her ready for her noon Physical Therapy session with Humayun. It was great to have him back. Today he worked on stretching and ranging Tracy's muscles and joints and sitting her on the edge of the mat. Tracy did such a good job turning her head to the right without coaching. She lowered her head to midline to the count of five and then held it there for as long as 30 seconds. Humayun was very pleased with her progress. Tracy does not have Occupational Therapy today. Regina will be back tomorrow. We can't wait to see her. Gloria came to visit today and it was great to see her. She brought a beautiful plant for Tracy! Thank you so much! This evening, Tracy had Speech Therapy with Karman. She was alert throughout the entire session and did a good job focusing her eyes. Tracy took a deep breath and blew into a whistle on command twice! Karman was very pleased with this. She is also trying to get Tracy to lift the tip of her tongue to the roof of her mouth. This is really difficult for Tracy. Tracy was able to push her tongue forward several times on command. We will continue to work on her sticking her tongue out. Tracy said "uhhmm" softly several times on command. She is doing much better with lip closure too. Emil is coming this evening to give Tracy a massage. If Mom and Dad are lucky, they will get one too.After yesterday's stress, they both could use a massage! We miss Tiffany and hope to see her soon! She plans to come home for a visit around April 15th. We can't wait to see her! Thank you cousin Theresa for the beautiful Easter card and also to Joy McCabe for the Mass card. We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends.

Monday, April 4th, 2005: Today was a typical Manic Monday here at the Anzalone household in DC/VA! The sun was out and the mercury made it all the way up to 68 degrees. Jenny had the day off today, so Liz came over to help Mom this morning. Mom and Liz showered Tracy and shampooed her hair today. Even though it was not a Florida shower amidst the flower and fauna on the balcony, Tracy still seemed to enjoy it. Tracy's therapy schedule was also up in the air today. We will try agian tomorrow and hopefully things will return to normal (as if they every were normal!). I am sure the time change also added to the chaos! Liz and Mom took Tracy for her appointment with Joy, her Physician Assistant at the neurologist's office, today to get her pump refilled. Since we are using the lower concentration of Baclofen (2,000 micrograms per cc) we have to get it refilled every three weeks. She is doing much better on the lower concentration at a lower dose of 1400 micrograms per day. We plan to stay at this dose for now, and will make adjustments as needed. Tracy had an appointment this evening for an evaluation to determine if she is ready to return to Outpatient Therapy. When we got to Mt. Vernon Rehab Hospital for her appointment, we discovered that her case manager had made the appointment at another outpatient rehab center in Mt. Vernon. Who would have thought that they had another rehab center in Mt. Vernon. The town isn't big enough for two rehab centers! So, we plan to try again tomorrow... hopefully Mercury will not be retrograde and the planets will all be in alignment! Argh! Dad and Mom spent some time stretching and ranging Tracy this evening and got her on the peanut ball for about 20 minutes. She is doing so much better with head and trunk control and turned her head to the right many times on her own without any verbal cues. We miss Tiffany and hope to see her soon! She plans to come home for a visit around April 15th. We can't wait to see her! Thanks again to Rick for picking us up at the airport last night and giving our van a jump when the battery was dead. He is a lifesaver! Thank you to Nicole, Tracy's room mate from Florence for the beautiful butterfly, soft bunny rabbit, and Inspiration CD! Thank you to Katie for mailing Rick's jacket. We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends and are looking forward to their visit soon!

Sunday, April 3rd, 2005: We made it back to chilly DC/VA and already wish we were back in sunny FLORIDA! This morning, Mom, Dad and Jenny finished packing and caught the last rays of the sun before heading for the airport. The only one who was ready to return to DC/VA was Jenny. She missed her family and house. Nana, Aunt Diane and Uncle Johnny came over to tell us good bye. It was a beautiful day, low humidity and not a cloud in the sky. There was a sky writer above the condo, writing "Trust Jesus" and U + God = Happy Face!" We felt that this was God's way of remaining anonymous. We all headed for the airport this afternoon, turned in the accessible van and then it was hurry up and wait. Tracy did very well on the plane. We have to transfer her to an airline wheel chair from her wheel chair because the aisle is narrow on the 737 and her chair will only fit to the first row of first class. We tried to get first class but they were sold out in February. US Airways outdid themselves again and remains the official airlines of prayersfortracy.com.. When we arrived in DC this evening it was very windy and 50 degrees. Rick met us at the airport and helped transport the 7 suitcases to our apartment. He dropped Dad off to get the van which had a dead battery. After jumping the van, Dad and Rick returned to the airport to pick us up. Thank God for Rick and for jumper cables. We are so thankful to Uncle Johnny for a wonderful vacation and hope to return to Florida soon. We already miss Nana, Uncle Johnny, Aunt Diane, Chip and Eileen. We miss Tiffany and hope to see her soon! She plans to come home for a visit around April 15th. We can't wait to see her! Thank you to Nicole, Tracy's room mate from Florence for the beautiful butterfly, soft bunny rabbit, and Inspiration CD! Thank you to Katie for mailing Rick's jacket. We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends and are looking forward to their visit soon!

Saturday, April 2nd, 2005: What an incredible day for history: the passing of Pope John Paul II. This morning, Tracy had Speech Therapy at 9:30 AM so we decided to skip her shower and rushed to get her ready for her session. Tracy was very alert during her speech therapy with Emily. First, Emily spent time stretching and warming up her facial muscles. Tracy did not seemd to like this and shook her head to let Emily know it. Emily used the E-stim to stimulate Tracy's facial muscles and again, Tracy did not seem to enjoy it. Her facial muscles did respond appropriately to the E-stim. Then, Emily used a small chocolate lollipop to entice Tracy to lick her lips. Tracy tried really hard to lick her lips with her tongue and even got her tongue over her lower teeth several times. She tries so hard, and is so close to regaining control of her tongue. She even said "mmmm" several times on command. This afternoon, Cousins Guy, Dawn, Sophia, Chip and Eileen came to visit Tracy and have lunch with us. It was so great to see them. Nana and Aunt Diane were there too. We are so blessed to be able to spend time with our family and will miss them when we return to DC/VA. This evening, Nana and Aunt Diane had dinner with us. We are all packed up and ready for our trip home tomorrow. We are so thankful to Uncle Johnny for a wonderful vacation and hope to return soon. We miss Tiffany and Rick and hope to see them soon! Tiffany plans to come home for a visit around April 15th. We can't wait to see her!

Friday, April 1st, 2005: This morning, Mom, Dad and Jenny showered Tracy in her bikini on the balcony. It was another beautiful day and as usual, Tracy enjoyed her shower in the sun amidst the beautiful flowers. After her shower, we got Tracy on the therapy mat for some morning stretching. She has been very relaxed here in Florida. Nana and Uncle Johnny came by for a visit. We are so blessed to be able to spend time with them and will miss them so much. This afternoon, we got Tracy in her new swing on the balcony and she really loved it. We plan to buy one for her to put on the balcony in DC/VA. We hope the weather will be pretty and the cherry blossoms will be in bloom when we return Sunday! This evening, we visited our good friends Debbie and Dr. Rand for dinner at their home. Debbie is the Speech Pathologist who has worked with Tracy many times both in Plam Beach and in DC/VA. Marty, who is also a Speech Pathologist who has worked with Tracy many times in the past, was there with his wife Nenon. When we first arrived, we were taking Tracy around in her wheel chair for a tour, when we stopped in the living room to show her some of Debbie's collectible dolls, Tracy got so emotional and started to vocalize and babble. She then said "Mom." It was really remarkable. We think that she remembered being at the Rand's home for Passover with their daughter and Tracy's good friend Allison in 2001! We are all looking forward to seeing Guy, Dawn and Sophia Saturday for a short visit before we have to head back to DC/VA on Sunday evening. We miss Tiffany and Rick and hope to see them soon!