Halloween

For Halloween this year, Robin picked up the kids costumes while she was in California. We convinced them (mostly Kennedy) that it would be fun to be Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion (although Talen was more cute than cowardly). We got them dressed up and walked around the neighborhood. Talen had a great time being strolled around in this wheelchair. I really think that he likes being able to do things that kids his age are doing. He had a huge grin on the entire time!!! It was cute too because one of Kennedy's best friends (Katelyn Leavitt) had the exact same Dorothy costume and we had no idea beforehand.

October 2009

Just before we made the trip up north for Now I Can, I celebrated my 30th birthday. I never thought I would actually see this day, but it is official - I am old!!! It is crazy how your body just seems to know when you get older. I had done some running last year and it felt so good, this year I have just had the hardest time getting into it and I really think it is my body telling me to stop acting like a spring chicken and settle down a bit. Isn't getting older fun!?!? Two days after my birthday, we celebrated Jay's. Sadly this was also the day that Talen and I left. So, Jay didn't get much of a birthday this year, we will just have to try to make it better next time around.

NOW I CAN - Day 20

I don't know how, but Talen seems to just know that today is our last day. He is so sad to be leaving. He has cried today more than any day since we got here. It is like his feelings have been really hurt. The only thing that seems to cheer him up is Sergio. It is so cute, Talen just loves Sergio! I am also sad to be leaving, but am greatful to be going home. I can't believe that it has been a full month!!! It has been hard, but I truly believe that this is the best thing for Talen. So, after some coaching and good-byes, were are off!!!

NOW I CAN - Day 19

Talen sat up by himself!!! Now I should preface this by saying that he was wearing the neuro suit (so that was helping) and it was only for 1/2 a second, but it is a start. His posture is so much better and he is a ton stronger. I really think that once we get his head/neck under control he will just soar with the rest of his body. His neck is getting much stronger, but it is still going to take a lot of work. I have to keep reminding myself that I can't go to the gym for 4 weeks and expect a six-pack, so I shouldn't expect him to be 100% after 4 weeks either. One day at a time, right!?!? Oh, he got retaped today too, so we have our little smurf back!!!

NOW I CAN - Day 18

Talen had another good day! I noticed today that Talen's feet are starting to go straight again. They had started to turn because he doesn't get pressure on them like a child that walks would do. But, Sergio said that he has been stretching and working with them and I have to say, it is noticable that there is a difference. That was pretty much the highlight of today. After therapy, we met up with my cousin Trisha and went out to the best pizza place in Provo (PizzaPieCafe). It was a nice visit!!!!

NOW I CAN - Day 17

Well, there isn't anything new and exciting to report today. Talen is continuing to work hard and he is definately stronger than he was before we came here. I am so greatful for the opportunity that we have had to come here. I really believe that the PT's here will be able to help Talen in a way that no one has been able to yet. I scheduled Talen's next visit and it will be April 12 - May 7. We are planning on another 4 week session as long as we can afford it. We had originally planned on only doing 3 weeks each time instead of 4, so we may end up coming a little short. But, I know that the Lord works in mysterious ways, so if Talen is meant to be here the 4 weeks, we will find a way!! Gotta have faith, right? Anyway, that's it for today, only 3 more days and we will be headed home!!!

NOW I CAN - Day 16 (Week 4)

Another good day!!! Talen is actually using his arms now. Nicole said that her and Sergio were a bit concerned in the beginning because he wasn't using them at all. However, since we have been doing the electrical impulses on him, he has started to move them more. Nicole said that today he reach out 3 times for a toy!!! HOORAY!!!! He is also doing wonderful in the corner chair. I went in to watch him for a minute while he was in the chair and he just sat there without any help (other than the chair). I am so glad we decided to stay the 4th week. He has been working so hard and I know that it will be beneficial for him!!!

Thanksgiving Point

Jay and Kennedy came up to visit again, so we decided to go check out Thanksgiving Point since we have never been there before. After a nice lunch, we went over to the dinosaur museum. Kennedy must have thought it was a race because she tried to run through it as fast as she could, while Jay and I were taking our sweet time. Some of the dinosaurs were so amazing. I couldn't believe how big some were. I am certainly glad I did not live when they roamed the earth, SCARY!!!

NOW I CAN - Day 15

Talen is doing so good!! I am really glad that we decided to stay the 4th week. Nicole said that he has done so good these past couple days that as long as he is as good next week as he has been, it should be really beneficial for him!!! When they have done the electrical impulses, there has been more activity in his arms. This is a good sign because hopefully it will mean that he can start to use his arms more. I just know that if we can keep coming here, Talen will be able to see progress so much sooner than he ever would have without this place!!! On a personal note, we are really excited to see Jay and Kennedy again!! They are coming up for another visit and I think that we will try to go see Thanksgiving Point since we have never been there before. I just know KiKi will love the dinosaur museum!!!

NOW I CAN - Day 14

Today was another good day!! Nicole said that Talen did a couple purposeful movements with his arms. She said she had a toy there for him to feel and he intentionally moved away from it. She said that she might not be able to get him to do it again, but every little bit is good and we have to start somewhere. He was so tired when we finished that when they put him in the monkey cage he kept trying to go to sleep. It was so cute, I would call his name to wake him up and he would just smile. He knew exacly what was going on, the little stinker! I can tell that he has way more head control than when we first got here. Whenever I hold him, his head doesn't just flop around like it used to. Now, he will slowly lower it if he doesn't want to hold it up anymore. I am glad that we decided to add the extra week. Hopefully it will be beneficial!!

NOW I CAN - Day 13

When we walked in today, Talen was so excited to see Sergio. Sergio asked if Talen wanted to ride on his shoulders and Talen kept on grinning so we figured that was a "yes". So Sergio put him up on his shoulders and Talen looked so good. His head wasn't anywhere near as floppy as it has been in the past. He even held it up really good for a couple seconds. It didn't take too long though before it looked like Talen was trying to kiss the top of Sergio's head, but for the first little bit it was so nice to see the progress that Talen has made in his neck muscles. They have started to bring out toys to see if we can get any sort of interaction with Talen and them. Well, Talen likes to feel them with his hands, but he just doesn't care enough to make the effort to try to touch them himself. Like everything else, this will come with time I suppose. At the end of Talen's session when they were doing the electrical impulses, a lady came in to talk to Sergio and Nicole. It turns out that her little boy, Luke, has been here a lot too. In fact, I have heard about Luke through Laura, so as soon as she said Luke, I knew who she was. Anyway, we got talking and she asked where I was from. I told her St. George and she asked if I knew Matt. I told her yes, Laura was the one that got me connected with Now I Can. Then she asked if I knew Team Talen. I couldn't help but smile and say, "yes, that is us!!" I can't believe how news has traveled. She had been following the fund raiser and such, but didn't realize that Talen was his first name. As we continued to talk, she told me about a really amazing experience she has had with her son. It was a personal experience, so I won't share, but I couldn't help but crying. I want so much to do whatever I can for Talen. I know that Heavenly Father loves him so much and I need to make sure that I exhause every resource at my disposal to make sure that I get him all the help that he needs. I am so greatful for people that can come into our lives, if only for a few minutes, to wake us up to seeing that we need to become better!!!

NOW I CAN - Day 12

After a very good night's sleep, Talen was awake and alert. He worked so hard today! At one point I heard him crying, so I went in to check on him. He was upset because they were trying to get him to lift up his head, but he didn't want to. (Nicole said that he had lifted it about 20 or so times before, so he was tired of doing it.) We have discovered that the hardest thing about training Talen to workout is getting him motivated. He can do what you want him to, it is just a matter of getting him interested enough. We skipped the monkey cage today so that Sergio could re-taped Talen. So once again, he is our little smurf! Oh, I have also decided that we will be staying the 4th week. The only reason that we would come home now is if Talen were to get sick, so we are keeping our fingers crossed that that doesn't happen.

NOW I CAN - Day 11 (Week 3)

Today was a lot like the past two weeks, except Talen was very very tired. I think the last couple weeks of not sleeping is finally catching up to him. Nicole said that he just did not want to do much today because he seemed really tired. She said that she laid him on his stomach and he got this look on his face like "oh good, now I can go to sleep." I told her that he is a tummy sleeper, so that was probably not a good idea. She just laughed. While he was in the monkey cage they used electrical impulses on his neck muscles. I am hoping this will cause them to work quicker. I guess only time will tell though. That was pretty much it for today!!

Monte L Bean Museum

We decided to do something new while we were here and everyone keeps recommending the Bean Museum, so we went over to check it out. I was surprised at how many differend species of animals they had there. I think KiKi enjoyed pushing Talen around in his wheelchair more than she cared for the actual museum. It always amazes me how kids are entertained by the least likely things.

NOW I CAN - Day 10

Wow, today was a busy day!!! After I took Talen to PT, Cheyenne and I decided to get some Christmas shopping in. So, we spent the next three hours running from store to store. We made it back to Now I Can for Talen's last hour. Just like I expected, Sergio was out sick, so it was just Nicole and a helper. Nicole said that while Talen was in the monkey cage, he wanted to see something, so he braced his weight on his arms and tried really hard with his neck. That is great, because Talen almost never uses his arms. Nicole also said that he is engaging his neck muscles more and more every day. I talked with Joe and he said that Tracey (the owner/manager of Now I Can) said that if we stay the 4th week, she will give it to us at a reduced rate. So, while we were originally planning on skipping the 4th week, I don't think we can pass up such a great deal. So as long as we are both healthy, then it is looking more and more like we will stay the extra week. Now I just need to find lodging, since the place I am in now will be unavailable. After therapy I ran Cheyenne and Talen back to the apartment and I took off to SLC to do a temple session. My family was completing my uncles temple work, so it was nice that I was close enough that I could be apart of it. It would have been a wonderful session, if it wasn't for my stinking allergies. They have been killing me lately!!! When I got back to the apartment around 12:30, Jay & Kennedy had made it here. I knew that I was missing them, but I didn't realize how much until they were finally here. It is so nice to have them here, I am already dreading the end of this weekend when they have to head back home!

NOW I CAN - Day 9

Well, we were able to have therapy today, but both Sergio and Nicole were in masks. Nicole said that she just has an infection in her lungs and has gotten on antibiotics, so she is already feeling better. Sergio is definately getting sick though. I highly doubt if he will be at work tomorrow, which is fine as long as he gets better for next week. Today they had Talen sit in the corner and he was absolutlely adorable. It looked like he had been bad so they set him in the corner, except he had a grin on his face. He was able to sit there all by himself and he held up his head so good. Nicole also said that when they put him on the ball, he is engaging his neck muscles so much more then when we first got here. I asked Nicole if she thought that he would have much neck control by the end of the session. She said that she anticipated that he would have enough that he would be able to work on it really good when we go home. That way, by the next session, we should hopefully see some really big improvements there. I also mentioned to her that I probably wouldn't stay the 4th week (mostly because both Talen and I are ready to come home), but she said to keep an open mind because it might be really beneficial for him. So, we will continue to wait and see.

NOW I CAN - Day 8

Well, I got a phone call this morning and physical therapy has been cancelled for today. Sergio's wife is sick so he is home with the twins and Nicole has come down with a cold. Nicole is getting on antibiotics today so hopefully we will be up and running again tomorrow. (This is probably a good thing, Talen had a terrible night last night!!)

NOW I CAN - Day 7

Today was a good day for Talen. Although, after finally getting a good nights sleep (the last 5 or so nights he has been waking up at 1:30 and fussing until 4 or 5) it is no surprise that today would be better. I don't think he cried at all. Even when he was ready for his bottle, he just smacked his lips to let Sergio know he was ready for a break, instead of crying for it. He didn't really do anything noteworthy today, but I talked to Sergio about his progress. He said that his neck control is stronger and his tone is decreasing (both good). Sergio put him in a stander-type thing and we spoke about what would be the best time and positioning for Talen when we get home and can put him in our stander. That was pretty much our day. We let Sergio off the hook 15 minutes early since Nicole was gone today and he had to carry the whole load alone. (Plus Talen was getting cranky at the end anyway, so everyone wins!)

NOW I CAN - Day 6 (Week 2)

Well, today was definately a Monday. Talen was unhappy for the first hour and a half, but eventually calmed down. We have discovered that Talen works so much better when he can't see me, so I spend the majority of my time in the family room. I can peek at him from around the corner, but mostly, I just listen from the family room. Sergio put him in the corner seat today and he said that Talen held up his head for approximatly 15 seconds. Also, when they put the neuro-suit on him, they decided to leave off the hat. He is showing improvement in his neck muscles, so instead of leaving the hat on and Talen becoming dependent on it, they have decided to slowly ween him off of it. At the end of his time in the monkey cage, after they took all the bags off of him, he kept his head in midline for 15 minutes. (This is great because one of his goals was to keep his head in midline for 30 seconds.) Of course, he did have a bag behind his head, but that isn't a whole lot of support. It was then that I realized that Talen was covered in black and blue. Now, it is not what you are thinking. Sergio put more kenisio tape on him. So with the left-over blue from last week and the black that he added this week, he is no longer a smurf - just a black & blue boy.