June 10, 2009

Hi everyone!  Spent the day with Christy, Don, Nalu and Dyl Pickles today... Christy is progressing well.  Chrisy's vision is getting better as she can identify all the letters of the alphabet very well!! Don was telling the story about Christy at Craig when she first arrived.  He said she was pulling out a toothbrush out of the bag of things that Malea had and she couldn't tell what it was..... She's come a long way baby!! Relearning so much in such a short time.  Christy had to relearn so many of the simple tasks we take for granted every day. 

Christy takes her pills on her own now.  She picks those little suckers up and takes them with her diet coke or iced tea, or water... whatever.   She's eating more on her own.  Her favorite thing right now that she can eat well is a sweet bread grilled tuna melt with avocado!! We all had them for lunch yesterday!  Don is always thinking up new activities & new ways to make Christy's meals easy to eat but yummy!!  He mixes her a shake with Ensure, Peanut Butter Chocolate Ice Cream and the protein powder for energy!! She loves it!!    

Christy and Don were doing some OT yesterday with golf balls and cups.  He rolls the golf ball over to her and she traps it under the cup, then flicks her wrist to pass the ball back!! Christy's left arm and hand has always been stronger and more dexterous than the right.  So she's working the right arm a lot to gain more dexterity.  

The whole family (Mom, Keli'i, Hanae, Cami, Don, Christy, Kelsen, his friend, Nalu, Dylan, Noa, Alana, and Kaeo and I)  had a great day at the pool- gazebo area this past weekend. Keli'i and Hanae have a perfect area for pool party fun at their town-house.   Don was at the grill, of course, and the kids were all swimming!  Noa brought some venison from Molokai for us to try.  Christy lounged out and talked story...  That night we went to watch Kelsen play his spring scrimmage at Pearl City High School.  Kelsen is on the Varsity team this year as a sophomore and is playing wide receiver. We can already see the growth he's made from his games last year!!

We also celebrated another year of life with Mom Gail!! We all went to Side Street Inn and had a delicious meal together!! The owners and management have been very generous to the family.  They donated a few large gifts for Christy's fundraiser and were treating us extra special that night!!!

For everyone reading this, let's put our energy together for Christy- focusing on her eating and swallowing and chewing.  Please imagine in your minds watching Christy eating well.   Seeing Christy's tongue pushing that food around so she can chew and swallow food with ease.  When you eat your next meal, appreciate how much you use your tongue and pay attention to the coordination of your teeth, tongue, and swallowing!  Send all your positive energy her way in Royal Summit! Christy needs to gain some weight, as she is struggling to eat enough calories to keep up with her consumption!  Christy needs her strength to continue her progressive road of rehab!  Love you Christy!!