Monday update

It turned out that Linda does not have a swallowing test today. That was apparently a misreading of the schedule. It has still been a big day, however. She told the speech therapist again that she wants to eat ice cream. It's a bit too soon, so Linda asked for ice chips. It turns out that ice chips are what her therapist always starts people on anyway, so Linda got to swallow small ice chips this morning. It went well, so it's reasonable to think her swallowing test is not too far off.

The physical therapist was impressed that Linda could use her abductors and adductors. He asked her if she wanted to try some of her leg muscles with weight. She'll try about anything, so, instead of the standing frame, they wheeled Linda's wheelchair between a pair of parallel bars. Using only Fred (the physical therapist) for support, they had her stand up. Understand that Fred was doing a lot of the work here, but he was very very impressed by how well Linda did--it's much more advanced than the standing frame. The exorcise was even harder because Linda kept laughing, which makes it difficult to use your muscles.

We're still spelling a lot, which seems to keep Linda in a better mood. If nothing else, she can more easily ask silly things that are bothering her and have her questions answered, so I think she is mentally more calm. The speech therapists were very impressed with my letter board. I have a computer version done up, which I intend to upload later for those interested.