Still going strong...

Even though he looks innocent enough in the picture...his PJs say it all! (Not that we are complaining)

Two weeks now of seizure freedom!! We could not be more thankful. Jack is still making new small connections every day, and we enjoy and appreciate watching each one of them. What a blessing to see the healing God has done for our little boy who suffered from more than 100 seizures a day!

We are ready for the weekend, which means another outing! We live for those breaks now.

Mr. Social

Jackson has a new found love for people and faces. He is interacting with everyone in therapy. He really likes watching the other kids (all in their business) and even "flirts" with his therapists. His reward at the end of each session is that he can "snuggle" with them. That is his favorite part!

Jack is even showing new emotions with his face and gestures. He pouted for the 1st time. (i know that is weird to most, but if he was unhappy before he would just cry). This time...the PT was making him do a side sitting position for a really long time and he stuck his bottom lip way out and he had the BIGGEST puppy dog eyes. He just kept getting sadder and sadder with his chin down, until she gave in. It was pretty funny!

All this work seems to be helping him sleep through the night so much better....I am sure no seizures has much to do with it too! The last time he slept through the night was December 2007. It has been awhile, but we are almost there!

Staying longer...

Jackson is still doing great. He was able to get his incision sutures removed yesterday. He did not even cry out once the whole time...and there were so many to cut and pull! His incision is healing nicely.

He has had another 2 full days of therapy and seems to be adjusting to the long schedule. In therapy he is already doing some things that he hasn't done before, and some things we are still working to get back. It all has to do with his temporary left sided weakness from the surgery, but he is picking up more and more each day.

Dr. Chugani and the doctor over the rehabilitation unit would like Jackson to stay longer in inpatient therapy. They feel this is a crucial time for Jackson and that if he could get intense therapy longer, then he would benefit even more. If we were to go home now, he would not be able to get as much therapy in a day or week in Houston. So, we will be staying until Friday, October 24th! It is longer than we anticipated!!!...but we will do whatever is best for Jackson.

This new date means my Mom and Dad will leave me on Monday. My Mom will go to St. Louis to be with my younger sister, Molly who is due next week! She is having her first baby...and we can't wait for Emma to arrive. My Dad will fly back to Austin. Originally, he was going to drive back with me, but since we are staying longer he must get back to work. So my older sister, Maggie, is flying up on the 24th and will drive back to Texas with Jack and I. Should be a road trip to remember with the two of us! We will stop again in St. Louis to see our new baby niece and Jack's new cousin on the way. ;-)

Yesterday, we had the pleasure of meeting another family here in Detroit for testing to see if their daughter is a surgical candidate. They actually live in the St. Louis area...not too far from Molly and Dave. Sophie is 3 years old and is a precious little girl. She has been able to develop really well and do so much despite having Infantile Spasms, but she still has many seizures a day! Please keep this little one and her family in your prayers too. Please pray that they receive the answers they hope from the testing for surgical candidacy.

We continue to hope and pray for Jackson's complete recovery. Thank you for checking in on his progress!

Jack's 1st Outing

My mom, dad, Jack and I left the hospital for Jack's first outing post surgery. Since being here, we have heard all the nurses talk about the Cider Mills....and how we need to go. So we decided to go to the town of Franklin. The Cider Mills are a tradition in Michigan this time of year. Fresh apple everything, fall festival booths, lots of kid activities, etc. Everyone brags about the cider and doughnuts...which we had never heard of this combination before. However, it was really good! Detroit gets a bad rap, but the suburb areas are absolutely beautiful. Franklin was the most picturesque town. The leaves were turning bright colors, great weather...we could not ask for a better day.

Jackson loved being outdoors...he always has. He really had fun on the carriage ride through the town. The driver went pretty fast...so he was bouncing all over. Then we drove through Bloomfield Hills to Birmingham for a late lunch...which is another great area.

After a full day, Jackson still had so much energy last night. In fact, he was a little WILD. Not that I am complaining, but he far exceeded our expectations of his 1st day out of the hospital. I thought for sure he would go to sleep early when we got home, but he was up until 10:30 last night bright eyed and ready to do more. We continue to enjoy our little resilient miracle!

More Pictures from the Cider Mill

and a few more...

Jack's Papoo carrying him...he was a little tired as you can see when we made it back to the car, but it didn't last long!

New Spark

Today is even better than yesterday! Still all smiles. Jack smiles so much more than he used to and there is this new "light" behind his eyes. It's just different..in a good way. A new sense of awareness...a new perspective. It is so amazing to see already. We have been seeing small differences in him everyday, and the doctors say the "big" changes will hopefully come in a couple of months. It is just so gratifying to see these small changes (which are HUGE to us) so far!

We can really tell he is feeling so much better. His head doesn't seem to bother him anymore. He did great in therapy. We are so glad he is doing this inpatient rehab, because I know that if it was just me I would not push him like they do at this point.

Today is also a special day because it is our 5th Wedding Anniversary...and even though Tony and I are apart, we still have reason to celebrate. We could not ask for a better gift.

Here are a few pictures of Jackson at breakfast, lunch and therapy today. (sorry- my pics are a little blurry) Thank you for keeping Jackson in your prayers!