Thursday November 16, 2005

Thursday November 17, 2005 Zack slept a little later than usual so I had time to make him French Toast. He really liked it and kept thanking me for making it for him. When we were driving to Frazier East he told me he was really tired and didn’t think he slept much last night. He was concerned about the way I was driving. He didn’t want anyone to pass me or for the person in front to make the light and me have to stop. I started teasing him and driving slow, letting people pass me. We were both laughing by the time we arrived and when he got out of the car he told me, “You stink at driving. You’re still picking me up though.” In speech with Leslie they worked on putting words into categories and word retrieval. He still has aphasia and gets words mixed up. He knows what he wants to say, what different objects are used for, but sometimes he just can’t retrieve the word he’s looking for. That is why all kinds of objects in our home are labeled, to help him associate the word with the object. He had another speech session with Megan at 10:00 where they continued to work on naming items but this time he had to identify who worked with those objects. They worked on reading comprehension and focusing. Scott took him to Kroger’s and they focused on visual scanning and deficit awareness (that seems to be Scott’s new task…helping Zack recognizes his deficits). Then he got to go shopping at the mall where he bought me a Christmas present. He had asked me this morning what I wanted for Christmas and even wrote it down. When I arrived to pick him up he pulled an orange out of his lunch and began to peel it. He told me to wait a minute and went into the bathroom to wash his hands. When he came out he pulled a package out of his pocket and wanted to show me what he got me for Christmas. I told him I wanted to wait and be surprised and he seemed very disappointed. He said it was really good and didn’t I just want to look at it. When we got in the car he kept pointing to his bulging pocket and looking out the window smiling, like I could peek in there real quick and still act surprised on Christmas. I wasn’t biting. Zack was tired and ready for a nap but I reminded him that a photographer from the Outlook was coming with Ruth to take his picture. They arrived shortly after we got home and Zack enjoyed all the attention. They were really able to capture his personality (he even showed Ruth some of the dance steps he used to win $100 in the talent contest on Halloween). When they left he headed for bed and slept until Avery and Caroline stopped by for a visit. Trey also came by and since he just got his license yesterday they had to go sit in his car and listen to the stereo. They knew better than to even ask if Zack could go for a ride. After his friends left Zack got on the computer and was instant messaging some others. I would come in the office to see who he was talking to and was amazed at how his fingers flew over the keys. He could type his reply much faster that he could read what they wrote. Finally he came into the kitchen, put his arms around me for a hug and said, “Mom since I really didn’t sleep well last night I think I should go to bed early tonight”. It was only 8:00 so I told him he should try to stay up a little longer and if he would give me a few minutes I would play cards with him. Later I sent Logan downstairs to get Zack and she came back up and told me that he was sound asleep. He is still so sweet. He was telling Trey how much fun they were going to have in Nashville at the concert and thanked me several times for taking them. I am as excited about the trip as they are. It reminded me of how a parent feels when they take their small child to see Santa Claus and they just want to watch the joy on their face. That’s what I am waiting for…to see Zack having a great time with his friends and the pleasure in his smile. We are richly blessed right now and it dawned on me that God is still sitting on His throne saying, “Eileen, just wait until tomorrow”. His perfect plan continues to unravel and we cling to our belief that it includes complete recovery. Please continue praying for a recovery that will glorify God!