Teasing Teresa

Today after school we got to go visit Teresa at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. She is still in for her shunts. They are still externalized and will hopefully be put back in her next week as long as the fungal infection clears up. She is strong and the rest of her vitals are staying normal. The GI doctor will go in tomorrow (if they have an operating room available) and replace her G tube to a GJ feeding tube. They aren't letting her take in anything by mouth which is unfortunate because we worry that she will start to loss strength in her ability to eat. She was making great gains in this area.

As we were getting ready to leave the hospital, I saw that Teresa was fake sleeping. She does this a lot. I got right up to her and told her that I knew she was faking and that she was really awake...no reaction. Then I leaned forward again and said goodbye and she answered with a hmm. So I did it again and so did she...hmm. I told her I knew she was faking and she just smiled like a Cheshire cat!! This went on for about 15 times back and forth. If I said bye whe would answer back with her hmm sound. If I said anything else then she wouldn't talk. She was purposefully teasing me. I love it!! She is so there and nobody seems to realize it. This was her exact personality before separation. She was funny and a jokester at one years old. I think it is that great fiestyness(sp?) that keeps her going. I can't wait until we go back on Monday to play with her. By the way, Josie was loving being with her today, too. She spent most of the time talking to her and holding her hand.

I saw some more progress with the walking today. She is taking better steps that seem to have more control. We didn't have many opportunities to walk at school today, but she did a lot at home. I just need to work on her speed. We see Liz tomorrow she I will get ideas from her on how to approach this.

School was good today. One alarming thing happened. A little bit before we were going to leave she had a seizure that was a little bit harder and a little bit longer but still not in the grand mal category. She was walking with my assistance back to her seat from the carpet. All of a sudden she wasn't moving her feet. I told her to move and she didn't answer. I then realized that she couldn't answer that she was seizing. So it past like normal and off we went to her seat. Here is the alarming part, she had to write her name on her paper. She started and she put SOJ with the J backwards. I erased it, thought she was goofing off. I told her to write her name properly. It was eisoj with the e upside down and the j backwards. Even when she was learning to write her name in kindergarten she never ever put it backwards. A bit freaked out, I went to show it to Mrs. Watts. An you can bet your bottom dollar that the neurologist will be seeing this on Monday at her appointment. Freaky!! 2 minutes later she did all her work. Wrote in the correct order including her name. Some wire must have crossed during that seizure that enabled her from writing forwards. The brain, especially hers, is a mysterious thing.

Ok, off to put the final touches on the Valentine bags for tomorrow then to bed. Looking forward to a 4 day weekend. We are going to Arizona. More on that adventure later. Jenny and Josie