Popeye the sailor man (toot toot)

Hello, everyone,

I'm going to send Pamela a photo of the area I am using for internet access...it'll give all of you a laugh. The one computer in the area is in high demand (brings back memories of the Ronald McDonald House in Houston!), so my time online is very limited. There are also firewalls out the yang, so I can't even do work-related things here. Sigh.

Anyway, things are going so well with Sahara and her rehab. She's working very hard and has impressed all of the doctors and therapists with her great attitude and willing spirit. She does whatever they ask of her, even if it hurts her poor body to do so. The stretches, the movements, all of the exercises and activities...she is so tired at the end of the day. Most of the time she's asleep by 8 or 8:30 at night. They keep her very busy.

She's started "school" here, also. It's great, because the teacher comes to our room! He's a really nice guy and Sahara likes him. He told me that she's the most agreeable student he's ever had - LOL. She's working on math and literature, so hopefully she'll stay on track with her classmates back in Cape. It's our goal to have her back in school just as soon as she can handle it. She misses everyone so much and really wants to get some "normal" back into her life.

This weekend we were treated to a fantastic outing, courtesy of the hospital and the US Coast Guard. We got to go out in a high-tech cutter, which was amazing. Took a nice cruise on a beautiful, sunny afternoon, had lunch on the boat, and got to see an air show that was out of this world. One of the sailors had to lift Sahara a couple of times to get her where she needed to be...she named him Popeye. The man had muscles on top of his muscles, and was truly Popeye the Sailor Man. LOL. It was a great way to spend the day and we had a great time. I was so glad she felt like going on the trip. She was so excited to get out of the confines of the hospital for a day!

Lots of hard work ahead this week...she's no doubt going to be pushed to the limit more and more as the days pass and she continues to gain strength and muscle control. Her legs are so much stronger I can't believe it. I'm just praying for the day that she can take some steps on her own. I've already seen it almost happen - they put her in a sling of sorts, and she took about 15 steps on the treadmill. She was suspended, but was bearing the weight and taking the steps on her own. I could see the pain on her face...it was killing me...but she kept going. I was so very proud of her!

The best news for today is that it's the LAST day of taking Decadron! She's tapering off now on hydrocortisone, and should be done with that by December if all goes well. Praise the Lord, the steroids are going away. She is SOOOO happy about that!

I'll post again when I can, and hope to have even better news as time marches on. Have a great week!!

Love,
Amy