Happy birthday, America! We are thankful for the freedoms we have living in the United States and for this land of the free and home of the brave!
Speaking of the brave, Daniel is doing really well in anticipation of his surgery. He was cool as a cucumber this evening, eagerly packing his things and planning what friends he will bring with him – Curious George, Sally-Lilah, and Puppy. Curious George has been selected for the honor of accompanying Daniel into the operating room tomorrow morning. He (Daniel, and Curious George, actually) went to bed well and with the help of music, a white noise machine, and ear-plugs he has slept almost entirely through the INCREDIBLE (read LOUD!) fireworks being set off all around our house. These Missourians LOVE their fireworks, people!
Let me just say that while we had a nice time at the Cardinal’s game today, in celebration of the Fourth, today my thoughts about Independence Day have been about the Independence Daniel will receive from spasticity tomorrow. The potential independence Daniel can achieve through this surgery is wonderful. As we were leaving the ball park a woman turned around and said to Daniel, ‘You need some beads!” and placed this string of beads around his neck. I love them, not just for their patriotic nature, but for the hope we have for so much more independence for Daniel.
So, Daniel is the first on the surgery docket tomorrow morning and we have been asked to arrive at the hospital at 7:15 a.m. Next post will probably be after he goes into surgery and we are waiting for him. Thank you all for your prayers!
On Monday, we had Daniel’s Pre-Op appointments and they went very well. We met with one of Dr. Park’s PA’s and reviewed health history and what to expect on Wednesday. Then Daniel had a very extensive physical therapy evaluation where Daniel did what he does best – ham it up for the therapists! He was put through a many step pre-operative evaluation, and we were extremely pleased with how he did, and with the positive feedback from the therapist. He did some of his best movements yet, including standing independently from a sitting position and staying upright for almost two seconds. The therapist indicated she expects Daniel to do very well following the SDR surgery and looks forward to seeing his progress. The highlight of this evaluation may have been when Daniel randomly began to pray and said, “Dear Lord, thank you for this day. Help me to have a good day. Help me not to say any bad words. Amen.” Maybe you had to be there, but it was extremely funny.
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