Monday, January 31st, 2005: Tracy had another good night's sleep last night. She really seems to like her new Clinitron bed made of sand! Liz tried it out today and really liked the way it feels. It's like a new ride ay Disney World. It gives new meaning to pounding sand! Tracy seems to be breathing much better and is not congested any more. Thank God! She had also been tolerating her tube feedings, and is back to her usual 6 cans a day. Mom and Jenny gave Tracy a bed bath today. It is a little tricky in the new bed, especially since we cannot raise and lower the height of the bed. Good thing Jenny and Mom are short. Hope they don't start to look like the hunch back of Notre Dame. After her bath, Mom and Jenny stretched and ranged Tracy on her exercise mat in the Therapy Corner. Later on, Liz came over and Mom, Jenny, Tiffany and Tracy surprised her with a Baskin and Robbins ice cream cake for her birthday which was yesterday! She was very surprised. Even Uncle Johnny sang to her over the phone! This afternoon, a new Occupational Therapist, Joise came to evaluate Tracy. Tracy was pretty sleepy and not her usual self. She is still recovering from her five day trip to the ICU. Humayan will be back tomorrow to resume Tracy's Physical Therapy. We are excited to try out the new tilt table. Mom and Liz removed Tracy's casts last Tuesday as planned. Her skin looked great! Marisa did a great job padding the casts. We have an appointment to return to Children's next week to get new casts put on. Tracy's wound continues to heal well. Mom and Jenny changed Tracy's dressing Sunday morning and it is making good progress. We have an appointment with Dr. Buescher next week. We'll let you know how that goes. Nana and Uncle Johnny enjoyed their visit. We already miss them and can't wait to get down to Florida for a visit. Tiffany is back in DC/Virginia visiting for the weekend. We are glad that she is home with us. Rick made it back safely this evening from Texas. It is good to have him back in DC. We would like to thank the emergency medical techicians who cared for Tracy from Reagan National/Arlington and Alexandria fire departments. They were incredible. We would also like to thank all of the physicians and staff at Inova Alexandria Hospital who cared for Tracy during her stay. They were extremely caring and compassionate professionals. It is very comforting to know that we have such excellent care so close to home!

Sunday, January 30th, 2005: Tracy had another good night's sleep last night, in her new Clinitron bed made of sand! She really likes her new bed. Mom tried it out and fell asleep right away! Tracy seems to be breathing much better and is not congested any more. Thank God! She had also been tolerating her tube feedings, and is back to her usual 6 cans a day. Dad attended his second day of the Surgeon General's conference this weekend, so Jenny came to help Mom. Mom and Jenny gave Tracy a shower and washed her hair this morning. Jenny trimmed Tracy's hair and added some layers. It really looks cute. Jenny did a good job! Tracy does not have therapy today so she was able to rest on her therapy mat in the Therapy Corner. Mom and Jenny spent a long time ranging and stretching Tracy's arms and legs, to make up for lost time while in the hospital. Humayan will be back next week to resume Tracy's Physical Therapy. We are still looking for an Occupational Therapist, and miss Katie alot! She made it safely to Charleston before the snow storm hit last weekend. Mom and Liz removed Tracy's casts last Tuesday as planned. Her skin looked great! Marisa did a great job padding the casts. We have an appointment to return to Children's next week to get new casts put on. The tilt table finally arrived yesterday. It is really nice and we can't wait to use it. Tracy's wound continues to heal well. Mom and Jenny changed Tracy's dressing this morning and it is making good progress. We have an appointment with Dr. Buescher in a few weeks. We'll let you know how that goes. Nana and Uncle Johnny enjoyed their visit. We already miss them and can't wait to get down to Florida for a visit. Tiffany is back in DC/Virginia visiting for the weekend. We are glad that she is home with us. Rick returns Monday morning from Texas. It will be good to have him back in DC. We would like to thank the emergency medical techicians who cared for Tracy from Reagan National/Arlington and Alexandria fire departments. They were incredible. We would also like to thank all of the physicians and staff at Inova Alexandria Hospital who cared for Tracy during her stay. They were extremely caring and compassionate professionals. It is very comforting to know that we have such excellent care so close to home!

Saturday, January 29th, 2005: Tracy had another good night's sleep last night, in her new Clinitron bed made of sand! Around 11:00 PM, Mom and Dad discovered that Tracy's bed had sprung a leak and there was a pile of sand on the floor! It really did feel like we were back in Pensacola at the beach! Dad called the Clinitron technician and he was here within an hour with a new mattress cover. Tracy seems to be breathing much better and is not congested any more. Thank God! She had also been tolerating her tube feedings. Dad had to attend the Surgeon General's conference this weekend, so Jenny came to help Mom. Mom and Jenny gave Tracy a bath this morning, which was a new challenge in her bed made of sand. It felt more like quick sand. Mom, Jenny, and Tracy all had a major workout. This afternoon, Tracy had Speech Therapy with Karman. She did not seem very happy to be back at work so soon. She was a little sleepy, but tried her hardest to participate. She was more excited when Jenny gave her a facial. She was really relaxed and enjoyed it alot. Who wouldn't enjoy all that pampering? Mom and Jenny spent several hours ranging and stretching Tracy's arms and legs, to make up for lost time while in the hospital. Humayan will be back next week to resume Tracy's Physical Therapy. We are still looking for an Occupational Therapist, and miss Katie alot! She made it safely to Charleston before the snow storm hit last weekend. Our good friend, Fausto, came by to visit Tracy today. It was really good to see him! It had been a long time since we had seen him. Tracy received the cutest home made card from Sophia that said "God Love You!" Sophia is Tracy's 6 and a half year old cousin who lives in Marietta, Georgia. She just got accepted into the Talented and Gifted Program and we are very proud of her. (She must get it from her Auntie Debbie, of course!) Mom and Liz removed Tracy's casts last Tuesday as planned. Her skin looked great! Marisa did a great job padding the casts. We have an appointment to return to Children's next week to get new casts put on. The tilt table finally arrived yesterday. It is really nice and we can't wait to use it. Tracy's wound continues to heal well. The wound care nurse had some very good recommendations to improve healing. We have an appointment with Dr. Buescher in a few weeks. We'll let you know how that goes. Nana and Uncle Johnny enjoyed their visit. We already miss them and can't wait to get down there for a visit. Tiffany is back in DC/Virginia visiting for the weekend. We are glad that she is home with us. Rick is in Alice, Texas this weekend. His grandmother passed away Thursday morning after a brief illness. Please keep Rick and his family in your prayers. We would like to thank the emergency medical techicians who cared for Tracy from Reagan National/Arlington and Alexandria fire departments. They were incredible. We would also like to thank all of the physicians and staff at Inova Alexandria Hospital who cared for Tracy during her stay. They were extremely caring and compassionate professionals. It is very comforting to know that we have such excellent care so close to home!

Friday, January 28th, 2005: Tracy had a good night's sleep last night, with Mom and Dad keeping a close watch on her breathing. She continued to maintain her breathing and oxygen saturation with minimal coughing. Jenny and Mom gave Tracy a bath this morning. Mom, Dad and Jenny took Tracy to see Dr. Chandler, Tracy's primary physician at National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda. He did a complete assessment and chest x-ray on Tracy. Everything looked really good. Her chest x-ray was clear. Premliminary reports from the neuroradiologist showed that there were no changes when they compared her recent CT scan to her previous ones. This afternoon, Tracy got a new bed to help her bedsore heal faster. It is like the one she had in the hospital, filled with sand. Now she can feel like she is back in Miami at the beach! All we need is some Hawaiian Tropic Suntan Lotion and some reggae music. Later this evening, Tracy had a mini-massage with Emil. She seemed to really enjoy being back in her routine. Tomorrow, Karman, Tracy's Speech Therapist, will come to re-evaluate her and resume her Speech Therapy plan. We can't wait to see her! Humayan will be back next week to resume Tracy's Physical Therapy. We are still looking for an Occupational Therapist, and miss Katie alot! She made it safely to Charleston before the snow storm hit last weekend. Tracy continues to having a difficult time digesting her tube feedings, however, she did not having any vomiting. Her vestibular system improved today and she did not show any signs of being dizzy (unlike her Mom!). She is getting the same amount of tube feeding as she was prior to her hospitalization. Keep your fingers crossed that she is able to digest it! Tracy is receiving antibiotics for her UTI via her G-tube, and does not have an IV anymore! Mom and Liz removed Tracy's casts last Tuesday as planned. Her skin looked great! Marisa did a great job padding the casts. We have an appointment to return to Children's next week to get new casts put on. The tilt table finally arrived yesterday. It is really nice and we can't wait to use it. Tracy's wound continues to heal well. The wound care nurse had some very good recommendations to improve healing. We have an appointment with Dr. Buescher in a few weeks. We'll let you know how that goes. Nana and Uncle Johnny enjoyed their visit. They made it safe back to Florida. We already miss them and can't wait to get down there for a visit. Tiffany is back in DC/Virginia visiting for the weekend. We are glad that she is home with us. Rick is in Alice, Texas this weekend. His grandmother passed away Thursday morning after a brief illness. Please keep Rick and his family in your prayers.

Thursday, January 27th, 2005: Tracy rested last night with both Mom and Dad keeping a close eye on her breathing. She maintained her breathing and oxygen saturation with minimal coughing. Jenny and Mom gave Tracy a much-needed shower and washed her hair. She seemed to really enjoy being back in her bathroom. Mom and Dad brought Tracy out to the mat in the living room and put her in the prone position to help clear her lungs. She tolerated this and since being on her stomach, she has been breathing better.Tracy continues to having a difficult time digesting her tube feedings, however, she did not having any vomiting. Her vestibular system improved today and she did not show any signs of being dizzy. She was able to have 4 of her normal 6 cans of Jevity and we will not be using the infusion pump just yet. She will resume therapy this week. Tracy is receiving antibiotics for her UTI via her G-tube, and does not have an IV anymore!Mom and Liz removed Tracy's casts on Wednesday as planned. Her skin looked great! Marisa did a great job padding the casts. We have an appointment to return to Children's next week to get new casts put on. The tilt table finally arrived yesterday. It is really nice and we can't wait to use it.

Wednesday, January 26th, 2005: Tracy was discharged home at noon today and is resting in her own bed this afternoon. Dad stayed with Tracy last night, and they both had a good night. She is breathing on her own and maintaining her oxygen saturation levels. We have an oxygen tank as back up. Maybe Mom and Dad will take a few hits (just kidding!) Tracy is having a difficult time digesting her tube feedings, and had several episodes of vomiting yesterday. It seems that her vestibular system is out of whack and she is getting dizzy with any movement. When we took her in the elevator to get a CT scan, she got a little nauseous. This happened after her baclofen overdose last March in Miami. Tracy was able to overcome it with time and exposure to movement. As the neurologists say "It just takes time!" We will go back to feeding her at night with an infustion pump until she can tolerate bolus feedings again. She will resume therapy this week. Tracy is receiving antibiotics for her UTI via her G-tube, and does not have an IV anymore! Mom and Liz removed Tracy's casts yesterday as planned. Her skin looked great! Marisa did a great job padding the casts. We have an appointment to return to Children's next week to get new casts put on. Jenny waited all day for the tilt table to be delivered. It finally arrived this afternoon. Mom and Uncle Johnny took it out of the huge crate and put it together. It is really nice and we can't wait to use it. Tracy's wound continues to heal well. The wound care nurse had some very good recommendations to improve healing. We have an appointment with Dr. Buescher in a few weeks. We'll let you know how that goes. Nana and Uncle Johnny are enjoying their visit. Gloria came by to visit and Liz has been a HUGE help shuttling us back and forth to the hospital, making lunch, and doing what she does best... giving everyone TLC! Tiffany is back in Baton Rouge attending classes and will return this weekend. We are looking forward to seeing her soon. We really miss her.

Tuesday, January 25th, 2005: Dad stayed with Tracy last night, and they both had a rough night from 10 PM to 2 AM. At around 2 AM, Tracy coughed and her Oxygen Saturation went up to 100% (the best). She must have been congested. She received nebulizer treatments and chest physiotherapy through the night to help her breathing . This must have helped because her pulse ox stayed at 100% (the best) from 2 AM. During the night, she was receiving oxygen via face mask. She progressed to a nasal canula this morning. Tracy's respiratory therapist and her nurse worked on weaning Tracy off oxygen throughout the day and by 3 PM, Tracy was on room air (breathing like you and I breathe). Tracy is having a difficult time digesting her tube feedings, and had several episodes of vomiting today. It seems that her vestibular system is out of whack and she is getting dizzy with any movement. When we took her in the elevator to get a CT scan, she got a little nauseous. This happened after her baclofen overdose last March in Miami. Tracy was able to overcome it with time and exposure to movement. As the neurologists say "It just takes time!" Tracy is on IV antibiotics to treat her UTI. Her fever has subsided, and she will most likely receive IV antibiotics for several more days at home. The goal is to get Tracy discharged Wednesday if she continues to improve throughout the night. We will be happy to get Tracy home and back to her therapy schedule.Mom and Liz removed Tracy's casts today as planned. Her skin looked great! Marisa did a great job padding the casts. We have an appointment to return to Children's next week to get new casts put on. Jenny waited all day for the tilt table to be delivered. It finally arrived this afternoon. Mom and Uncle Johnny took it out of the huge crate and put it together. It is really nice and we can't wait to use it. Tracy's wound continues to heal well. The wound care nurse had some very good recommendations to improve healing. We have an appointment with Dr. Buescher in a few weeks. We'll let you know how that goes. Nana and Uncle Johnny are enjoying their visit. Nana made dinner this evening. She is really walking well after her total knee replacements. It is so nice to have family close by. Tiffany returned to Baton Rouge and has class this evening. We are looking forward to seeing her soon. We really miss her. Recap:Tracy is in the ICU at Inova Alexandria Hospital. Mom and Dad called 911 Friday evening around 11 PM when Tracy began to breathe irregularly. We think that she had a reaction to the morphine that was added to her pump on Thursday. It seems that Tracy is very sensitive to morphine, even at the low dose that the pump administers daily. Dr. Howe, Tracy's neurosurgeon removed all of the medication from Tracy's pump last night in the ER and replaced it with only baclofen. He also decreased Tracy's baclofen dose to 1400 micrograms per day. She was put on a ventilator with an endotracheal tube, which is helping Tracy to breathe.

Monday, January 24th, 2005: Tracy had a good night last night. She rested well and her vital signs remained stable. Today, her doctor wanted Tracy to work hard to get her breathing tube out. Dad and Mom coached Tracy to take deep breaths, and the ventilator assisted Tracy when she needed help breathing. She was pretty sleepy for a while, then perked up when the technician did her EEG. The EEG did not show any sign of seizure activity which is really good news. Tracy has been coughing some, so the nurse collected a specimen of her sputum. The doctor changed Tracy's antibiotic to one that is more broad spectrum, to protect Tracy from developing pneumonia, which is common with patients who are on a ventilator. This way it will treat her Urinary Tract Infection and her lungs if needed. The wound care nurse came in to take a look at Tracy's wound and she and Dad changed Tracy's dressing. While they were changing Tracy's dressing, they had positioned Tracy on her side. Tracy managed to spit out her breathing tube for good. That's right! She was working on trying to push the tube out all day and she finally did it. That's the Tracy we all know and love! The anesthesiologist assessed Tracy and decided to leave it out. Tracy is receiving breathing treatments and chest physiotherapy. She is receiving oxygen by mask. She seems to be holding her own, and is being monitored very closely. Dad is staying with her tonight. Please say some extra prayers that Tracy breathes well on her own. We have been going slow with Tracy's tube feedings. Her stomach does not seem to have kicked in yet. We will keep giving her a little at a time until her stomach is able to digest the feedings. Recap:Tracy is in the ICU at Inova Alexandria Hospital. Mom and Dad called 911 Friday evening around 11 PM when Tracy began to breathe irregularly. We think that she had a reaction to the morphine that was added to her pump on Thursday. It seems that Tracy is very sensitive to morphine, even at the low dose that the pump administers daily. Dr. Howe, Tracy's neurosurgeon removed all of the medication from Tracy's pump last night in the ER and replaced it with only baclofen. He also decreased Tracy's baclofen dose to 1400 micrograms per day. She was put on a ventilator with an endotracheal tube, which is helping Tracy to breathe. Rick has been such a big help this weekend. He has been driving us to and from the hospital in the snow, and brought us lunch Sunday. We really appreciate all his help. It has been a blessing to have Tiff home with us during this difficult time. Uncle Johnny and Nana arrived mid-day on Monday. We are REALLY happy to see them. Nana is walking without a cane and doing well after her knee surgeries. Thank you for all of your prayers, positive energy and support. Please continue to pray for Tracy's speedy recovery and prompt discharge home. We are anxious for her to return to therapy.

Sunday, January 23rd, 2005: Tracy had a pretty good night last night, and seemed to feel much better once she vomited. It looks like the baclofen and the morphine slowed down her digestive system to a halt, and Dad and the night nurse decided to stop her tube feeding for the time being. They tried to feed her small amounts today, but Tracy still wasn't emptying her stomach. So, we have increased her Zelnorm to 2 mgs, twice a day instead of 1 mg in the morning. (We just got her down to 1 mg per day! Can you say DEJA VU?) I know God is teaching us PATIENCE, but this is ridiculous! Tracy had her eyes open most of the day, which is a huge improvement from her sleepy self yesterday. She is still not breathing on her own, but is letting the ventilator do most of the work. This evening, she was helping a little, but each time the Respiratory Tech did a breathing trial, Tracy had about a 20 second pause between breaths. This is known as an apneic episode. Please pray that she begins breathing on her own so that we can take her endotracheal tube out and take her off the ventilator. The longer she is on the ventilator, the more at risk she is of developing pneumonia. Tracy did receive IV antibiotics for a UTI today. This most likely is the reason for her grinding her teeth last Friday. Tracy got a new bed today, which is made of silicone beads that equalize the pressure. This is to prevent excessive pressure which can lead to pressure sores. Speaking of pressure sores, Tracy's wound continues to heal. We are still doing dressing changes every other day. Tracy's doctor ordered a wound consult; we will let you know how that goes. Tracy's tone is back, which is also a good sign since the drugs made her very floppy yesterday. Recap:Tracy is in the ICU at Inova Alexandria Hospital. Mom and Dad called 911 Friday evening around 11 PM when Tracy began to breathe irregularly. We think that she had a reaction to the morphine that was added to her pump on Thursday. It seems that Tracy is very sensitive to morphine, even at the low dose that the pump administers daily. Dr. Howe, Tracy's neurosurgeon removed all of the medication from Tracy's pump last night in the ER and replaced it with only baclofen. He also decreased Tracy's baclofen dose to 1400 micrograms per day. She is currently on a ventilator with an endotracheal tube, which is helping Tracy to breathe. Rick has been such a big help this weekend. He has been driving us to and from the hospital in the snow, and brought us lunch today. We really appreciate all his help. It has been a blessing to have Tiff home with us during this difficult time. Uncle Johnny and Nana arrive mid-day on Monday. We are REALLY looking forward to seeing them. Thank you for all of your prayers, positive energy and support. Please continue to pray for Tracy's speedy recovery and prompt discharge home. We are anxious for her to return to therapy.

Saturday, January 22nd, 2005: Tracy is in the ICU at Inova Alexandria Hospital. Mom and Dad called 911 last evening around 11 PM when Tracy began to breathe irregularly. We think that she had a reaction to the morphine that was added to her pump on Thursday. It seems that Tracy is very sensitive to morphine, even at the low dose that the pump administers daily. Dr. Howe, Tracy's neurosurgeon removed all of the medication from Tracy's pump last night in the ER and replaced it with only baclofen. He also decreased Tracy's baclofen dose to 1400 micrograms per day. She is currently on a ventilator with an endotracheal tube, which is helping Tracy to breathe. She is resting comfortably and Dad is spending the night with her. Tomorrow, if Tracy has a good night, they will try breathing trials to wean Tracy off the ventilator. Please say a prayer that Tracy has a good night with Dad in the ICU and makes it through this hurdle with no setbacks. Liz and Admiral Tomaszeski came by this morning to see Tracy and Ashley and Sasha brought us lunch from Noodles. Jenny, Tracy's P.A. (Personal Angel) came to visit and brought us the best homemade coconut cookies (Mom's favorite!) We truly appreciate all the wonderful prayers, phone calls, acts of kindness, and positive energy that come our way each day through the many angels surrounding Tracy. Tiffany made it in from New Orleans before the snow storm forced the cancelation of many flights into Reagan National Airport. Rick picked Tiffany up from the airport and brought her to the hospital. Then he drove Mom and Tiff home to get some sleep. We hope that the storm will not prohibit Uncle Johnny's and Nana's arrival on Monday. We are looking forward to seeing them.

Friday, January 21st, 2005: Tracy had another great night's sleep without any coughing! This is a second! Mom and Jenny bathed and stretched Tracy this morning and got her ready for the day. We received a call from Midland therapy equipment and (depending on the snow storm predicted for this weekend), the tilt table should be delivered on Monday. We are all very excited and anxious to get Tracy vertical and weight bearing on the tilt table. Tracy did not have any therapy until this evening, at which time she had Speech Therapy with Karman. So, Tracy rested on the mat while Jenny gave her a manicure. Lucky Girl! Tracy seemed to be grinding her teeth and having neck spasms more today. We are not really sure why, since she seemed very relaxed during her range of motion this morning. Mom gave Tracy tylenol which seemed to relieve her discomfort somewhat. We are hoping that the morphine which was put in her pump with the baclofen will help to control her discomfort. It is a very low dose of morphine which is delivered with the baclofen intrathecally (directly in her spinal cord), so it should not give Tracy any central effects such as drowsiness or nausea. We'll let you know how that goes. Tracy is doing a great job tolerating her new casts. These casts are not bivalved like the previous ones; but stay on 24/7 for a week. Tracy does not seem to mind them much. Perhaps she got accustomed to wearing the bivalved ones and now she is ready for these serial casts. We will remove them next Tuesday, and then Tracy will get a shower and massage. Wednesday, she will get new casts that will stay on for another week. Each week, Marisa, Tracy's PT at Children's will adjust her casts until her feet are as close to neutral as possible. The final step will be to make Tracy a pair of braces that will hold her feet in place. We are hoping that Tracy will be able to wear shoes some day. She always loved shoes! This evening Tracy had Speech Therapy with Karman. Tracy was somewhat sleepy during her session and did not seem as attentive as yesterday. She was grinding her teeth more and also seemed to be sweating some. We will see if she gets any relief once the morphine takes effect. Tracy's home health nurse, Suzanne, came by to check on Tracy. She was able to assess Tracy's wound and give some recommendations to improve healing. Suzanne agreed that it was not time to take off the wound vac and that Tracy would need another 6-8 weeks for her wound to heal. We are bracing ourselves for a snow storm that is predicted to hit the DC area tomorrow morning. Keep your fingers crossed that Uncle Johnny and Nana make it in on Monday for their scheduled visit. Tiffany is back in Baton Rouge at LSU, already working hard. We are looking forward to Tiffany returning in February to spend some time with us. Then in the summer, Tiff plans to work on her professional project and internship in DC. Nana and Uncle Johnny plan to visit us next week. We are really looking forward to their visit. We haven't seen them since June and really miss them alot!

Thursday, January 20th, 2005: Tracy had another great night's sleep without any coughing! This is a first! Mom and Jenny bathed and stretched Tracy this morning and got her ready for 11:30 Physical Therapy. During PT, Humayun did a quick warm up/range of motion of all 4 of Tracy's extremities. He also gave his stamp of approval of Tracy's new casts. After her warm-up, Mom, Jenny and Humayun got Tracy seated on the edge of the mat on a microfiber pillow. Tracy did a good job relaxing in this position and also balanced herself for a few seconds. She did a really good job holding her head up and actually turned her head to the right several times with verbal cues and some neck support. Humayun was very pleased with Tracy's effort, attentiveness, and ability to follow commands. We received a call from Midland Equipement that the tilt table will be arriving on Monday. We are all very excited and anxious to get Tracy vertical and weight bearing on the tilt table. Liz came over and brought a delicious chicken dish for lunch. She is such support! She brings so much to Tracy's therapy team. We are very blessed to have her as a friend! Tracy is doing a great job tolerating her new casts. These casts are not bivalved like the previous ones; but stay on 24/7 for a week. Tracy does not seem to mind them much. Perhaps she got accustomed to wearing the bivalved ones and now she is ready for these serial casts. This afternoon, Mom, Liz and Jenny brought Tracy to an appointment with Joy at the neurologist's office to get her baclofen pump refilled. This time, Dr. Howe decided to include a very low dose of morphine in the pump with the baclofen to help Tracy manage the pain that she is having from her decubitus. This should also help to decrease the amount of spasms she is having in her neck and help with her grinding her teeth. These symptoms seem to be in response to Tracy's pain from her wound which is healing well. This evening, Tracy had Speech Therapy with Karman. Tracy was very attentive and focused intently on Karman. She did a good job opening her mouth to let Karman work with her tongue tip. She is trying to get Trace to stick out her tongue and to lift her tongue tip, all important to speech and swallowing. Tracy also looked at pictures of animals, fish and flowers. She seems to be focusing her eyes much better too! Liz offered many good ideas for Karman to use in therapy. We are sad to say that Tracy had her last official session with Katie, her OT, last evening. Katie got engaged before Christmas and is relocating to Charleston, South Carolina where her family and fiance live. We are REALLY going to miss her alot! Katie has been with Tracy for almost two years and has become one of the family. She has taught all of us so much about overcoming adversity and finding the silver lining. We wish her and David many blessings in their marriage and careers! We will all miss her! Rick came over to visit and we all watched the Apprentice season premiere and had Chinese food. We always enjoy his visits. Tiffany is back in Baton Rouge at LSU, already working hard. We are looking forward to Tiffany returning in February to spend some time with us. Then in the summer, Tiff plans to work on her professional project and internship in DC. Nana and Uncle Johnny plan to visit us next week. We are really looking forward to their visit. We haven't seen them since June and really miss them alot!

Wednesday, January 19th, 2005: Tracy slept well again last night. This morning, Tracy had an appointment at Children's National Medical Center (CNMC) to get her feet casted. Mom and Jenny bathed Tracy but did not have time to range and stretch her. Liz came over bright and early to help Mom and Jenny get Tracy ready and on their way to the 11 AM appointment. When we arrived at CNMC, it had started to snow. The weather man said that the snow would not accumulate; what do they know? Two to three inches of snow fell in just a few hours, enough to paralyze the city and all of the outlying highways. To make matters worse, many of the auxillary roads were closed in prepration for the Inauguration. It took us three hours to get home from CNMC when it only took 20 minutes to get there! Thank God Liz drove since Mom hasn't driven in the snow since 1977! The physical therapists that casted Tracy were really experienced in casting, especially children with spasticity. When we arrived in the Physical Medicine and Rehab department, Merisa from CNMC, Mom, Liz and Jenny transferred Tracy to the casting table and positioned her on her stomach (prone). This position seems to be ideal for reducing Tracy's spasticity. Tracy relaxed and really seemed comfortable on her stomach. She was listening to Dave Matthews on her walkman, so she was really chilling. Merisa and another PT got Tracy casted in no time. Tracy never seemed to be uncomfortable throughout the entire process, and tolerated being prone for over an hour! Wow! All that therapy paid off. Humayun will be very proud! When we left CNMC, we stopped off at NRH, to say hi to Tracy's nurse practitioner, Judie and also Tracy's social worker, Amy. They came out to the van to see Tracy in the SNOW! They were really happy to see Tracy. We will try to stop by next week when the weather more cooperative. We are sad to say that Tracy had her last official session with Katie, her OT, last evening. Katie got engaged before Christmas and is relocating to Charleston, South Carolina where her family and fiance live. We are REALLY going to miss her alot! Katie has been with Tracy for almost two years and has become one of the family. She has taught all of us so much about overcoming adversity and finding the silver lining. We wish her and David many blessings in their marriage and careers! We will all miss her! Tracy's Speech Therapist is back Thursday evening. We all miss her and are looking forward to her return. Tiffany is back in Baton Rouge at LSU, already working hard. We are looking forward to Tiffany returning in February to spend some time with us. Then in the summer, Tiff plans to work on her professional project and internship in DC. Nana and Uncle Johnny plan to visit us at the end of the month. We are really looking forward to their visit. We haven't seen them since June and really miss them alot!

Tuesday, January 18th, 2005: Tracy slept well again last night. She had the absolute best day yet! This morning, Mom and Jenny stretched, bathed and dressed Tracy for the day. Tracy had both Physical and Occupational Therapies today, this time they were spread throughout the day. She had PT with Humayun at 11:30. Mom, Liz, Jenny and Humayun got Tracy prone on the peanut ball (on her tummy) with her arms extended in front of her. Then they got her into a kneeling position so Tracy could bear weight through her knees. Tracy relaxed and seemed to be very comfortable in this position. Next, Mom stretched Tracy's arms on her shoulders squatting in front of Tracy and then Humayun, Liz and Jenny assisted in lifting Tracy in a tall kneeling position. Trace did such a good job holding her head up. They did this same exercise three times and Tracy was awesome. Humayun is gradually getting Tracy ready for the tilt table when it arrives. It should be delivered any day now. Tracy did an outstanding job following commands and initiating movement. She is getting much stronger! We plan to go to Children's Hospital on Wednesday to get new casts made. The therapists at Children's have a lot of experience in serial casting patients with spasticity such as Tracy. We are sad to say that Tracy had her last official session with Katie, her OT, this evening. Katie got engaged before Christmas and is relocating to Charleston, South Carolina where her family and fiance live. We are REALLY going to miss her alot! Katie has been with Tracy for almost two years and has become one of the family. She has taught all of us so much about overcoming adversity and finding the silver lining. We wish her and David many blessings in their marriage and careers! We will all miss her! During Occupational Therapy, Katie had Tracy lying supine (on her back) and stabilized her right arm/shoulder over her head. In this position, Katie coached Tracy to extend her right forearm over her head and then bend it down. Tracy was able to find her triceps muscle and initiate movement on command. Although slowly,Tracy was able to actively range both forearms with assistance. This is a very good sign because it demonstrated that Tracy has some active movement in her forearms, even though it is weak. This movement should be able to be strengthened over time and with repetition. Next, Katie and Mom got Tracy in a seated position on the peanut ball. Then they used the large yellow ball and had Tracy lean on her elbow on the yellow ball while sitting on the peanut. (I realize that this can be tough to visualize. I think we need to start taking pictures!) Tracy was able to actively pull herself to a neutral position with assistance. This is really a big step for Tracy. Last, Katie had Tracy in a long sitting position leaning back on her elbows. Tracy did a really good job supporting herself on her elbows while Katie helped support her head. This is a great stretch for Tracy's chest and shoulders. This evening, Nichole, Tracy's volunteer came over to work with Tracy. She read many of the wonderful emails from Tracy's website. Tracy was pretty tired from her marathon therapy session. It was really good to see Nichole. She works really well with Tracy and we are looking forward to her visits. Tracy's Speech Therapist is back tomorrow evening. We all miss her and are looking forward to her return. Tiffany is back in Baton Rouge at LSU and had her first class this evening. We are looking forward to Tiffany returning in February to spend some time with us. Then in the summer, Tiff plans to work on her professional project and internship in DC. Nana and Uncle Johnny plan to visit us at the end of the month. We are really looking forward to their visit. We haven't seen them since June and really miss them alot!

Monday, January 17th, 2005: Tracy had another great night's sleep last night. She is coughing so much less. We think that she is getting better at managing her secretions. We continue to slowly decrease her stomach medicines (Zelnorm, Nexium and Domperidone). Tracy seems to be tolerating this gradual decrease in her meds this time around. This morning, Mom and Jenny stretched, showered and dressed Tracy for the day. Tracy had both Physical and Occupational Therapies this morning, back to back. She had PT with Humayun at 11:30. Dad, Jenny and Humayun got Tracy prone on the wedge (on her tummy) with her arms extended in front of her. Tracy did an outstanding job lifting her head up on command. She is getting much stronger! She was able to weight bear through her shoulders and stretch out her hips and back in this position. The flexibility in her right knee seems to have improved in the past two weeks. We plan to go to Children's Hospital on Wednesday to get new casts made. The therapists at Children's have a lot of experience in serial casting patients with spasticity such as Tracy. We are sad to say that Tracy has only one more session with Katie, her OT. Katie got engaged before Christmas and is relocating to Charleston, South Carolina where her family and fiance live. We are REALLY going to miss her alot! Katie has been with Tracy for almost two years and has become one of the family. We wish her and David many blessings in their marriage and careers! We will all miss her! During Occupational Therapy, Katie had Tracy lying supine (on her back) and stabilized her right arm/shoulder over her head. In this position, Katie coached Tracy to extend her right forearm over her head and then bend it down. Tracy was able to find her triceps muscle and initiate movement on command. Although slowly,Tracy was able to actively range both forearms with assistance. This is a very good sign because it demonstrated that Tracy has some active movement in her forearms, even though it is weak. This movement should be able to be strengthened over time and with repetition. Next, Katie and Mom got Tracy in a seated position on the edge of the mat. Katie had Tracy sit on a microfiber pillow, instead of the donut pillow. Tracy was much more relaxed with the softer pillow and was able to tolerate this position for about 15 minutes. She tried real hard to turn her head to the right, thus overcoming her spasm in her neck. This evening, Morgan, Tracy's reading volunteer came over to read to Tracy. She continued reading the story Inkheart. Tracy was a little tired and dozed off and on. She was pretty tired from her marathon therapy session. It was really good to see Morgan and her mom, Laurie. Morgan gave Tracy the movie Holes for Christmas, the story that she had read to Tracy last year. This evening, Rick came over and had dinner with Mom, Dad and Tracy. We had a good time but all miss Tiffany. Tracy does not have Speech Therapy until next Wednesday because Karman is in Puerto Rico at a friend's wedding. Tomorrow, Tracy will have Physical Therapy with Humayun. Tiffany is back in Baton Rouge at LSU and starts her next semester of classes tomorrow. We are looking forward to Tiffany returning in February to spend some time with us. Then in the summer, Tiff plans to work on her professional project and internship in DC. Nana and Uncle Johnny plan to visit us at the end of the month. We are really looking forward to their visit. We haven't seen them since June and really miss them alot!

Sunday, January 16th, 2005: Tracy slept really well last night, with no coughing! We continue to slowly decrease her stomach medicines (Zelnorm, Nexium and Domperidone). Tracy seems to be tolerating this gradual decrease in her meds this time around. Mom and Dad stretched, bathed and dressed Tracy for the day. Tracy had Occupational Therapy this morning with Katie. We are sad to say that Tracy has only two more sessions with Katie, her OT. Katie got engaged before Christmas and is relocating to Charleston, South Carolina where her family and fiance live. We are REALLY going to miss her alot! She has really become one of the family. We wish her and David many blessings in their marriage and careers! During Occupational Therapy, Katie had Tracy participate in rolling onto her left side. This side is easier for Tracy since her head tends to go to the left. Tracy helped with adducting her shoulder while Katie helped with Tracy's lower extremities. Tracy seems to find the appropriate muscles, but needs to develop the strength to execute the movement. Then Katie helped Tracy prop herself on her left elbow. Tracy again was trying to help with stabilizing her elbow and weight bearing. Katie repeated these steps several times with Tracy, each time coaching her to participate. Tracy was trying really hard. Then Mom helped with Tracy's legs and Katie assisted Tracy in a seated position. Mom helped Tracy to relax her right leg onto the floor. Tracy was trying so hard to turn her head to the right and look at Dad that her veins were popping out on her forehead. She got so frustrated that she started to vocalize a lot. She gets an A for effort in today's session. She worked so hard that she passed out for several hours on the mat in a well-deserved sleep. Dad spent some time this afternoon stretching Tracy's legs and feet while she rested on the mat. He was able to stretch her arms over her head. This evening, Tiffany and Rick are making dinner for everyone. Ashley came over to visit Tracy too. It was good to see her as well. We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends. Tracy does not have Speech Therapy until next Wednesday because Karman is in Puerto Rico at a friend's wedding. Tomorrow, Tracy will have Physical Therapy with Humayun. Tiffany arrived safely in New Orleans this afternoon and is headed back to LSU to start her next semester of classes. The week sure went by fast. We really hated to see her leave. We are looking forward to Tiffany returning in February to spend some time with us. Then in the summer, Tiff plans to work on her professional project and internship in DC. Nana and Uncle Johnny plan to visit us at the end of the month. We are really looking forward to their visit. We haven't seen them since June and really miss them alot!

Saturday, January 15th, 2005~ Two years since Tracy was hit by the car!~ :Tracy had another good night's sleep last night with minimal coughing. Dad had to work this morning. When he returned, Tiffany and Rick made everyone brunch. Mom and Dad stretched, bathed and dressed Tracy for the day. Tracy does not have any therapy today, so she got to relax a little on the mat. Sasha, Tracy's good friend from U of Miami, came to spend some time with her. Tracy must not be feeling well, because she grinded her teeth a lot today. We are giving her Tylenol every four hours. Hopefully it will help with her discomfort. We are checking to make sure she doesn't have another UTI! Keep your fingers crossed!This afternoon, Mom, Dad and Sasha got Tracy prone on the wedge and stretched her hips, back and arms. Tracy relaxed in this position for about 20 minutes. She also picked up her head several times. This evening, Tiffany and Rick are making dinner for everyone. Ashley came over to visit Tracy too. It was good to see her as well. We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends. Tracy does not have Speech Therapy until next Wednesday because Karman is in Puerto Rico at a friend's wedding. Monday, Tracy will have Physical Therapy with Humayun. Tiffany and Rick have been busy getting Rick moved into his new apartment. We can't wait to see it. Tiffany leaves tomorrow to go back to LSU. The week sure went by fast. We really hate to see her leave. We are looking forward to Tiffany returning in February to spend some time with us. Then in the summer, Tiff plans to work on her professional project and internship in DC. Nana and Uncle Johnny plan to visit us at the end of the month. We are really looking forward to their visit. We haven't seen them since June and really miss them alot!

Friday, January 14th, 2005: Tracy had another good night's sleep last night with minimal coughing. Mom and Jenny stretched, showered and dressed Tracy for the day. Tracy had Physical Therapy with Humayun this morning and had a great workout. Humayun did a quick warm up stretch of all Tracy's extremities and then Mom, Jenny, and Humayun got Tracy prone on the wedge. That means on her tummy on the wedge with her arms stretched, this time all the way over her head! Humayun positioned her hands on the edge of the mat so that she had a grip and Tracy lifted her head a little several times by herself. She did a really good job extending her right leg on the mat. Humayun was very pleased with the range in her right leg in this position, he measured her at about -45 degrees which is a huge improvement! Tracy's hips and back looked pretty straight too. Humayun is waiting for the tile table to come (Mom is too!) After PT, Emil came and gave Tracy a massage. She really relaxed and seemed to enjoy it too. Suzanne, Tracy's home health nurse, came to visit Tracy. She was very pleased with Tracy's progress, since her last visit which was before the holidays. Jenny stayed with Tracy this evening while Dad and Mom went to workout at the gym next door. Mom realized that the last time she was in a gym was at the Fit Zone in Naples, two years ago tomorrow! It felt good to get in the hot tub and the sauna. We will have to make a date to do this every Friday night. Jenny is the best personal assistant! We love her. Tracy does not have Speech Therapy until next Wednesday because Karman is in Puerto Rico at a friend's wedding. Tomorrow, Tracy will have Physical Therapy with Humayun. Tracy's visiting nurse and case manager for the home health agency, Suzanne, will also come by to assess Tracy. Tiffany and Rick have been busy getting Rick moved into his new apartment. We can't wait to see it. Tiffany will be home with us until January 16th, and plans to return to LSU for her last semester of classes. She will then work on her professional project and internship in DC this summer. We are really enjoying her visit. Nana and Uncle Johnny plan to visit us at the end of the month. We are really looking forward to their visit. We haven't seen them since June and really miss them alot!

Thursday, January 13th, 2005:Tracy had another good night's sleep last night with minimal coughing. Mom and Jenny stretched, bathed and dressed Tracy for the day. She had a doctor's appointment with Dr. Buescher, the plastic surgeon at National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda today. Dr. Buescher was really pleased and surprised at the amount of progress in Tracy's wound. Guess how much more time she said we had until it closes up? (This is a hard one!) Six to eight more weeks! Yes, you got that right. One thing is for sure, we are learning the true meaning of patience! Mom says that she wants patience and she wants it now! Tracy had only one therapy session today: Jenny gave Tracy a much-needed facial which she thoroughly enjoyed; a gorls got to get their spa days in, especially during this long winter! Occupational Therapy with Katie. Katie worked on rolling with Tracy and verbally coaching Tracy to keep her head in the middle and to control her spasms. Tracy tried real hard to keep her head in the middle and to fight the spasm that brings her head up and to the left (she extends her head and ends up looking at the ceiling which is pretty boring!) This spasm is usually acoompanied with grinding her teeth. Ouch! After rolling, Katie propped Trace on her right elbow and had her weight bear. Tracy needed support during this exercise, but any weight bearing is good stimulation for Tracy's bones and helps her to build stamina and strength.Tracy does not have Speech Therapy until next Wednesday because Karman is in Puerto Rico at a friend's wedding. Tomorrow, Tracy will have Physical Therapy with Humayun. Tracy's visiting nurse and case manager for the home health agency, Suzanne, will also come by to assess Tracy. Wednesday evening, Tamra, Tracy's case manager from Brain Injury Services came by to meet with us. Tamra is working on her masters degree and we discovered that tonight was her last meeting with us. We are sorry to see her go and wish her well in her career endeavors. She has been a huge help and we appreciate all her support. Tiffany and Rick have been busy getting Rick moved into his new apartment. We can't wait to see it. Tiffany will be home with us until January 16th, and plans to return to LSU for her last semester of classes. She will then work on her professional project and internship in DC this summer. We are really enjoying her visit. Nana and Uncle Johnny plan to visit us at the end of the month. We are really looking forward to their visit. We haven't seen them since June and really miss them alot!

Join the Email-athon! In recognition of Tracy's Two Year Anniversary of Injury and Reaffirmation of Tracy's Commitment to Recovery, we are asking that everyone sign Tracy's Guestbook, including your prayers, good wishes, positive energy, inspirations, and song lyrics that symbolize Tracy's strength, courage and commitment! Starting on January 13th, and ending on January 17th, Tracy's anniversary of injury, we are challenging you to see how many emails Tracy receives over the Martin Luther King holiday weekend. Utilizing Mr. King's spirit of "I have a dream..." let's see if we can reach 500 email messages! Nichole, Tracy's volunteer, is reading Tracy her guest book entries every week, so she will get to hear them all!

Wednesday, January 12th, 2005:Tracy slept well again last night, with less coughing. Mom and Jenny stretched, bathed and dressed Tracy for the day. She had two special visitors this morning, Andrea and Cory, Tracy's friends and Jenny's daughter and son in-law! They were so pleased with Tracy's progress since their last visit around Thanksgiving. Tracy tried to say "Hi" to them too. After her visit, Trace had Physical Therapy with Hamuyan. After a quick warm up which included range of motion, Mom, Jenny and Hamuyan positioned Tracy on the edge of the mat on the donut pillow. Tracy worked on relaxing her right leg until her heel reached the floor. This is in preparation for when we get her on the tilt table. Mom ordered it yesterday, so it should be here soon. Tracy seemed a little uncomfortable in a sitting position, but worked hard to overcome her spasms. She was trying real hard to look to the right, especially when her spasm has her turn her head to the left. Next, Mom, Jenny and Hamuyan positioned Tracy on the peanut ball in a straddle position. Tracy relaxed in this position momentarily, however, still seemed to be in discomfort due to her wound. Tracy tolerated this position for about 15 minutes and then we returned her to the mat for a rest. She had worked really hard and was totally exhausted. Tracy slept for several hours after Physical Therapy while wearing her cast on her right leg. Liz and Gloria came over to visit today! Gloria made a DELICIOUS roast beef and some parsnips. Liz made a yummy salad. It was a lot of fun and Tracy enjoyed the good smells in the kitchen. Dad enjoyed coming home from work after a long day and not having to cook dinner. This evening, Tracy had Speech Therapy with Karman. She was seated in her wheel chair at her therapy table. Karman worked with Tracy's tongue with the bite stick. Tracy tried really hard to stick out her tongue. This will come in time. Next, Karman showed Tracy some colored pictures of shapes. Tracy focused well and blinked her eyes in response to Karman's questions: Is this a square?" Tamra, Tracy's case manager from Brain Injury Services cam by to meet with us. Tamra is working on her masters degree and we discovered that tonight was her last meeting with us. We are sorry to see her go and wish her well in her career endeavors. She has been a huge help and we appreciate all her support. Tiffany and Rick have been busy getting Rick moved into his new apartment. We can't wait to see it. Tiffany will be home with us until January 16th, and plans to return to LSU for her last semester of classes. She will then work on her professional project and internship in DC this summer. We are really enjoying her visit. Nana and Uncle Johnny plan to visit us at the end of the month. We are really looking forward to their visit. We haven't seen them since June and really miss them alot! Thank you to Charles and his grandmother for the beautiful fresh flower arrangement that they sent Tracy for Christmas. We really appreciate your thoughtfulness!

Tuesday, January 11th, 2005:Tracy slept well last night, with less coughing. Mom and Jenny stretched, showered and dressed Tracy for the day. She relaxed on her mat this morning, and seemed pretty tired after her very busy day yesterday. Jenny and Liz stayed with Tracy while Tiffany and Mom spent some girl bonding time getting pedicures. Liz spent some time making word recognition cards for Tracy's volunteers to work with. Liz is so smart and such a visionary. Mom thanks God every day for the angels that He sends her. It just reinforces that God has a plan for all of us. Tracy's first therapy was Occupational Therapy with Katie at 4 PM. Tracy seemed uncomfortable when Katie positioned her on the edge of the mat. She even vocalized her discomfort and was sweating a little when Katie and Mom tried sitting her on the peanut/ball. Mom thought her wound was hurting her. Katie and Mom decided to give Tracy some tylenol and just let her rest. She took a little cat nap before Speech Therapy. Around 6 PM, Karman came for Tracy's Speech Therapy session. At the same time. Nichole, Tracy's volunteer from Brain Injury Services came to visit Tracy. Nichole spent some time observing Karman working with Tracy. Tracy was sitting in her chair and very attentive to Karman. She was working so hard that she broke a sweat. Tracy tried and succeeded to say "Ah" in response to Karman's cue. Tracy was really trying to talk. She also looked at colors and used eye blinks to say "Yes" to Karman's questions. Tracy also looked in the mirror and tried to stick out her tongue when Karman asked her. She is getting better at opening and closing her mouth with verbal and tactile cues and letting Karman work inside her mouth, especially with her tongue. Karman is trying to get Tracy to lift the tip of her tongue to the roof of her mouth. Tracy is working real hard to move her tongue. She has made some significant improvements in moving the back of her tongue. After Speech Therapy, Nichole, Tracy's volunteer spent some time reading Tracy's email messages to her from her Guest Book. Tracy really listened and seemed to enjoy hearing from her friends and family. Next week, Nichole is going to work with Tracy on her Scrapbook that cousin Caroline made Tracy for Christmas! Nichole is really looking forward to bringing Tracy the CD she made from the Garden State movie. They plan to listen to it next week while they scrap book. Yesterday, Dad and Jenny took Tracy to see the physiatrist, Dr. Gisolfi. He was very pleased with Tracy's range of motion in her upper extremities. He was also very impressed with the decreased spasms in Tracy's lower extremities. It seems that we are at an optimal dose for the baclofen. Dr. Gisolfi injected Botox Type A in both of Tracy's anterior and posterior tibialis. The plan is that once the Botox takes effect in about two to three weeks, we will take Tracy to Children's Hospital for serial casting. Children's Hospital specializes in spasticity management, so we are very excited to have Tracy casted there. We also have an appointment on March 10th with Dr. Evans, a pediatric physiatrist who specializes in spasticity management. We'll let you know how that goes later. Tiffany and Rick have been busy getting Rick moved into his new apartment. We can't wait to see it. Tiffany will be home with us until January 16th, and plans to return to LSU for her last semester of classes. She will then work on her professional project and internship in DC this summer. We are really enjoying her visit. Nana and Uncle Johnny plan to visit us at the end of the month. We are really looking forward to their visit. We haven't seen them since June and really miss them alot! Thank you to Charles and his grandmother for the beautiful fresh flower arrangement that they sent Tracy for Christmas. We really appreciate your thoughtfulness!

Monday, January 10th, 2005:Tracy slept well last night, with some coughing throughout the night. Mom and Jenny stretched Tracy, bathed and dressed her for the day. She has a very busy day today, with all three therapies and a doctor's appointment. The first therapy was Physical Therapy at 11:00 with Humayun. First, he spent some time ranging and stretching Tracy's joints to warm her up. Then, Mom and Humayun positioned Tracy of the edge of the mat. She was able to balance herself for several seconds with little support! Then, Mom, Jenny and Humayun positioned Tracy on the large blue ball. Tracy was able to turn her head to the right to look at Humayun. She was able to tolerate sitting for almonst 30 minutes, all total. Humayun is doing a really good job and is very pleased with Tracy's level of participation. He recommended that we purchase a tilt table, so that we can now begin to get Tracy vertical. After PT, Mom, Dad and Jenny took Tracy to see the physiatrist, Dr. Gisolfi. He was very pleased with Tracy's range of motion in her upper extremities. He was also very impressed with the decreased spasms in Tracy's lower extremities. It seems that we are at an optimal dose for the baclofen. Dr. Gisolfi injected Botox Type A in both of Tracy's anterior and posterior tibialis. The plan is that once the Botox takes effect in about two to three weeks, we will take Tracy to Children's Hospital for serial casting. Children's Hospital specializes in spasticity management, so we are very excited to have Tracy casted there. We also have an appointment on March 10th with Dr. Evans, a pediatric physiatrist who specializes in spasticity management. We'll let you know how that goes later. This afternoon, Tracy had Speech Therapy with Karman. Tracy was very focused and participated very well in the session. She was trying very hard to say "Ah!" and succeeded several times. Karman also had Tracy focus on animal pictures. Tracy was working very hard to focus on the pictures. Next, Karman had Tracy open her mouth so that she could work on her tongue. Tracy did not bite at all and let Karman work in her mouth. Karman worked with Tracy's tongue and also with her swallow. She used thermal stimulation (cold therapy) to the back of her throat. Tracy seemed uncomfortable with this, and let Karman know that she was over it. That's our Tracy, attitude shining through and through! This evening, Tracy's Occupational Therapist, Katie came to work with Tracy. She did some stretches of Tracy's shoulders and neck where she has been really tight lately. After that, Mom, Dad and Katie sat Tracy on the edge of the mat. Tracy did a good job holding her head up in this position. Then, Mom, Dad and Katie worked on taping Tracy's shoulders back and down with Kinesio-tex tape. Tracy did a good job sitting for atleast 20 minutes while Katie taped. She worked up a sweat! She should sleep well tonight. Yesterday, Tracy had Speech Therapy at 1:30 with Karman. Karman spent some time holding up bold black numbers for Tracy to focus on. Tracy would eye blink once for YES when Karman asked Tracy if she was holding up a number ONE. Tracy did blink once for YES and then Karman held up a number TWO. Karman asked Tracy to blink TWICE if she saw a number TWO! Tracy blinked TWICE. Even though it is hard to validate for sure, it seems as though Tracy is understanding and responding to Karman's number exercise. We do know one thing, Tracy is really trying like heck to follow and execute the commands that Karman gives her. Karman tried to work in Tracy's mouth, to get her to stick her tongue out, but Tracy seemed uncomfortable and grinded her teeth. She did open and close her mouth on command a few times but lacks the necessary control to do it every time. She tries so hard! It is really frustrating for Mom and Dad, and especially for Tracy. Apraxia is a neurological condition which involves voluntary motor control. Tracy does not realize at times that her mouth is open. She feels like it is closed. Karman is trying to retrain Tracy so that she knows when her mouth is open and closed. After Speech, Tracy took a little nap on her mat, while Dad stretched her hips and feet. Tiffany and Rick have been busy getting Rick moved into his new apartment. We can't wait to see it. Tiffany will be home with us until January 16th, and plans to return to LSU for her last semester of classes. She will then work on her professional project and internship in DC this summer. We are really enjoying her visit. Nana and Uncle Johnny plan to visit us at the end of the month. We are really looking forward to their visit. We haven't seen them since June and really miss them alot! During our absence over the holidays we received a beautiful fresh flower arrangement. The bad news is that there was no card attached. We are trying to determine who sent them. We tried to trace the sender through the florist, with no success. If our sender is out there, please email Deb at drdebanz@aol.com and let her know. Thank you!

Sunday, January 9th, 2005:Tracy slept well last night, still coughing periodically throughout the night. Mom and Dad got Tracy showered and dressed this morning. Tracy did not have any therapy today. This afternoon, Mom, Dad, Tiffany, Rick and Tracy went for a ride in the van to their favorite park: Great Falls. Tiff and Rick had never been there before and were really surprised to see the water falls, especially so close to DC! The trees were bare and looked a lot different from the last time when the foliage was so dramatic. The good news was that we could see the beautiful mansions that were hidden behind the foliage last trip. This evening, Tracy and Dad will have a well-deserved massage with Emil.

Yesterday, Tracy had Speech Therapy at 1:30 with Karman. Karman spent some time holding up bold black numbers for Tracy to focus on. Tracy would eye blink once for YES when Karman asked Tracy if she was holding up a number ONE. Tracy did blink once for YES and then Karman held up a number TWO. Karman asked Tracy to blink TWICE if she saw a number TWO! Tracy blinked TWICE. Even though it is hard to validate for sure, it seems as though Tracy is understanding and responding to Karman's number exercise. We do know one thing, Tracy is really trying like heck to follow and execute the commands that Karman gives her. Karman tried to work in Tracy's mouth, to get her to stick her tongue out, but Tracy seemed uncomfortable and grinded her teeth. She did open and close her mouth on command a few times but lacks the necessary control to do it every time. She tries so hard! It is really frustrating for Mom and Dad, and especially for Tracy. Apraxia is a neurological condition which involves voluntary motor control. Tracy does not realize at times that her mouth is open. She feels like it is closed. Karman is trying to retrain Tracy so that she knows when her mouth is open and closed. After Speech, Tracy took a little nap on her mat, while Dad stretched her hips and feet. Tiffany and Rick have been busy getting Rick moved into his new apartment. We can't wait to see it. Tiffany will be home with us until January 16th, and plans to return to LSU for her last semester of classes. She will then work on her professional project and internship in DC this summer. We are really enjoying her visit. Nana and Uncle Johnny plan to visit us at the end of the month. We are really looking forward to their visit. We haven't seen them since June and really miss them alot! During our absence over the holidays we received a beautiful fresh flower arrangement. The bad news is that there was no card attached. We are trying to determine who sent them. We tried to trace the sender through the florist, with no success. If our sender is out there, please email Deb at drdebanz@aol.com and let her know. Thank you!

Saturday, January 8th, 2005:Tracy slept well last night, again up many times with bouts of coughing. Mom and Dad got Tracy bathed and dressed this morning. Tracy had Speech Therapy at 1:30 with Karman. Karman spent some time holding up bold black numbers for Tracy to focus on. Tracy would eye blink once for YES when Karman asked Tracy if she was holding up a number ONE. Tracy did blink once for YES and then Karman held up a number TWO. Karman asked Tracy to blink TWICE if she saw a number TWO! Tracy blinked TWICE. Even though it is hard to validate for sure, it seems as though Tracy is understanding and responding to Karman's number exercise. We do know one thing, Tracy is really trying like heck to follow and execute the commands that Karman gives her. Karman tried to work in Tracy's mouth, to get her to stick her tongue out, but Tracy seemed uncomfortable and grinded her teeth. She did open and close her mouth on command a few times but lacks the necessary control to do it every time. She tries so hard! It is really frustrating for Mom and Dad, and especially for Tracy. Apraxia is a neurological condition which involves voluntary motor control. Tracy does not realize at times that her mouth is open. She feels like it is closed. Karman is trying to retrain Tracy so that she knows when her mouth is open and closed. After Speech, Tracy took a little nap on her mat, while Dad stretched her hips and feet. Tiffany and Rick have been busy getting Rick moved into his new apartment. We can't wait to see it. Tiffany will be home with us until January 16th, and plans to return to LSU for her last semester of classes. She will then work on her professional project and internship in DC this summer. We are glad to have her visiting us.

Friday, January 7th, 2005: Tracy slept well last night with several bouts of coughing. Liz and Jenny got Tracy showered and dressed this morning. Mom and Dad had an early appointment. We are blessed to be surrounded by supportive friends and family. When Mom and Dad returned, Tracy's new Physical Therapist, Humayun Javeed, came to work with Tracy. Tracy really bonded with him. I think she was happy to have a male therapist for a change. Humayun spent some time observing Mom, Jenny and Liz working stretching Tracy and positioning her on the side of the mat. Humayun made several recommendations to improve our body mechanics when transferring Tracy so that we would not injure ourselves. He also took some time to assess Tracy's range of motion in all four extremities. He was very pleased with her range. Next, Humayun, Mom, Liz and Jenny got Tracy on the ball. Humayun worked with getting Tracy to turn her head to the right since she favors turning her head to the left. Tracy was able to turn her head to the right several times with only verbal cues. Tracy worked very hard and Haumayun was very pleased with Tracy's effort and participation. Later in the day, Karman Reese, Tracy's new Speech Therapist, came over to work with Tracy. She spent some time holding up different colored arrows and reviewing the colors and directions of the arrows with Tracy. Tracy squeezed her eyes shut for yes several times, and successfully shook her head no one time. She even nodded yes one time as well. We are still trying different modes of communication to see which one is most reliable for Tracy. Karman also worked with Tracy's swallowing and plans to do more with that on Saturday. Tiffany and Rick have been busy getting Rick moved into his new apartment. We can't wait to see it. Tiffany will be home with us until January 16th, and plans to return to LSU for her last semester of classes. She will then work on her professional project and internship in DC this summer. We are glad to have her visiting us.

Thursday, January 6th, 2005: Tracy slept well last night with several bouts of coughing. She must be having some discomfort again with her wound because she continues to grind her teeth. Mom, Dad, and Jenny got Tracy dressed and out the door for an early appointment with Dr. Attinger. He is the orthopedic surgeon who specializes in wound care at Georgetown Medical Center. Dr. Attinger took a look at Tracy's bedsore, and was very pleased with its progress. He recommended that we be patient and keep up the good work. The nurse practioner, Cara, recommended that we add a special white/saline dressing over the wound before applying the wound vac. Dr. Attinger said that the wound should continue to heal and close on its own. He wants to save surgical closure and/or skin graft for a last resort. Please pray for Tracy's wound to heal quickly so we can resume her outpatient therapy. We have been at home doing therapy since June and are really getting cabin fever. It would be nice to be able to take Tracy out more often for recreation. When we returned home from her appointment, Tracy was really tired and rested in her bed. Liz came over for a visit. Katie also came over to do Occupational Therapy. Mom, Dad and Katie sat Tracy up on the edge of the mat and positioned her arms on the new therapy table. Tracy tried hard to sit up tall. Something must have been bothering her because she kept going into extension and turning her neck to the left in a spasm. We hope to find out why she is having so much tone over the last few weeks. We are working on decreasing her stomach medications, this time at a much slower pace. These medications can increase her tone as well as the healing decubitus. Katie, Mom and Dad also positioned Tracy in sidelying and had her weight bear on her elbows. Tracy really likes this stretch. After Katie left, Karman Reese, Tracy's new Speech Therapist, came over to meet Tracy. She will be coming three times a week for Speech Therapy. Paige, Tracy's previous Speech Therapist, had a beautiful baby girl on New Year's Eve. Congratulations and may God bless! Tiffany and Rick made it to DC late last night. We were glad to have them arrive safely after such a long trip. Tiffany will be home with us until January 16th. We are glad to have her visiting us.

Wednesday, January 5th, 2005: Tracy slept well last night. I think she was happy to be back in her room and she was also exhausted from the long trip. Mom and Dad were really tired too. The good news is that Tracy is not grinding her teeth today! Mom and Jenny showered Trace this morning after a very long STRETCH! She really seemed to relax on the mat and wore her right leg cast for about 4 hours. Her left leg cast is not fitting well and we have decided to leave it off because we don't want another pressure sore! One is enough in anyone's lifetime! Tracy will have Occupational Therapy this evening with Katie. She does not have Physical Therapy or Speech Therapy today. Tomorrow, Mom, Dad and Jenny will bring Tracy to her appointment with Dr. Attinger, the orthropedic surgeon at Georgetown Medical Center. Dr. Attinger will look at Tracy's bedsore with hopes of expediting the wound closure process. Keep you fingers crossed that he will have a quick solution and help us get Tracy back to Outpatient Therapy at Mt. Vernon very soon. Emil also is planning to come this evening to give Tracy (and Mom) a much overdue massage.

Tuesday, January 4th, 2005: Tracy did not sleep very well last night. Thus, Mom and Dad didn't sleep very well either. I am sure that they were all afraid of oversleeping and missing the flight. Mom, Dad and Tracy left bright and early for the New Orleans airport. They had to make one stop to drop off the van. Tiffany and Rick also left today for DC, only they are driving and pulling a Uhaul trailer. Tiffany is coming home for a few weeks for her winter break, and Rick is moving to DC to start a new job at the Council for Opportunity in Education. Tiffany will spend some time looking for internships and coming up with her professional project topic. She will return to LSU January 16th for her final semester of course work. In the summer, she plans to return to DC for her internship. We are looking forward to her spending some time with us at home in Virginia over the next two weeks. Tracy survived the plane trip, however, was pretty uncomfortable sitting in the bulkhead seat in coach. She is a first class girl! Too bad there were none available when we booked our tickets. This evening, Katie came by to do Occupational Therapy with Tracy. Tracy was really tight and pretty tired from her trip. She did enjoy the stretching. We hope she sleeps well tonight. She has a big day tomorrow, starting back on home therapy sessions. It is good to be home!.

Monday, January 3rd, 2005: Tracy slept well Sunday night with only a few bouts of coughing. Mom, Bobbie and Dad got Tracy in Mawmaw's large tub on a pool raft. Tracy really loves being in the tub and relaxed well. I know she is really going to miss it. After her bath, Mom and Dad changed Tracy's dressing. Her wound is really coming along. We are all hopeful that it will be resolved soon and that Trace will be able to go back to outpatint therapy. The majority of the day was spent packing for our trip back to Virginia. Everyone came by to say good-bye and Aunt Kathy Sue made a spaghetti and meatball dinner that was delicious! During the two weeks that we were home, everyone made us many delicious meals. Aunt Cheryl made some of her delicious biscuits and gravy for Christmas breakfast, and also cooked up a big pot of jambalaya. Our good friend Lloyd even cooked a deep friend turkey, which is Mom's favorite! We are all so blessed to have such wonderful and supportive family and friends. We are sad to leave and looking forward to our next visit to Lousiana! Thank you to everyone who made our visit very special. We are especially going to miss our wonderful cousins who spent time giving Tracy massages, pedicures, and manicures.

Sunday, January 2nd, 2005: Tracy slept well Saturday night. Bobbie and Mom bathed Tracy and she spent the day on the mat in the living room watching football, of course. Even though everyone was upset with the LSU Tigers loss, Tiff, Mom and Tracy were very happy that the BC Eagles and the Miami Hurricanes won their prospective bowl games. Tracy had many family and friends visit with her on Sunday. They were all pleased with Tracy's progress. Uncle Frank fried the catfish that he and his Papa caught in Venice, Louisiana and everyone had lunch together. It was really good! Later in the afternoon, Dad and Mom got Tracy seated on the ball for 25 minutes. She tolerated it well and practiced head control and balance.

Saturday, January 1st 2005 ~ Today was a lazy day. Everyone relaxed and watched football games all day long. We all ate the lucky black eyed peas and cabbage, a Southern tradition to welcome the new year. No one was particularly happy that LSU lost to Iowa in the Capital One Bowl in Orlando. Saturday evening, we are awaiting Tiffany's boyfriend, Ricky's arrival from Texas. He is driving through on his way to DC, where he will be starting a new job!