I realize that I'm a slacker...

But we'll all just have to get over that.  :)  Hi everyone! I know you all miss my charming narratives, and I do want them to be more frequent, but life is a bit hectic right now.  Okay, enough excuses...I know you just want to hear about Jamie.

Last weekend Ryan and I went down to visit our girl.  We are really impressed with the changes and improvements that we see.  She still does not like the RAs at the apartment, which we all need prayers on.  But no matter her mood, she is willing to do her therapies at the clinic, and is constantly improving.  Ron & Kathy will soon have a meeting with the staff to see how they are marking her progress.  The first big meeting (after the two week initial evaluation) just covered her baselines.  The results were a little discouraging because it really pinpointed exactly where some of her deficiencies were.  We are hoping and praying that the next meeting will be more encouraging in that it will give us an idea of how she has progressed since being in Bakersfield. 

Last weekend, the thing that stood out the most was her ability to retain more and more short term memory, as well as her general awareness.  Her conversational skills have improved, and you are able to have much more of a back and forth with her.  Previously, you would have to be the main instigator of conversation, and J would simply respond, without expounding or contributing further to the line of conversation.  We noticed last weekend that she is able to keep up more with conversation, start new but related streams of conversation, as well as really think about what her answers are when asked questions.  We loved it. 

She also did a great job grocery shopping.  She was able to multi-task a little and remember several items from her shopping list at once, which is a marked improvement from the first time we went shopping with her.  The first weekend she was in Bakersfield, Ryan and I went to the store with her, and we had to keep reminding her that she had a shopping list and what to do with it.  That first time, it was also difficult for her to see items on the shelves and recognize them as being what she was looking for; this time she was able to notice things across the aisle or several feet/yards away.  Huge difference! She is also learning how to use the shopping list as a tool to help her remember not only what she is shopping for, but also what she has already picked up on that trip.  About halfway through the trip, Ryan didn't need to remind her to mark something off the list once she got it, she would do it automatically.  It is really great to see her learning these tools that will help her with her independence. 

One other area where Jamie needs your prayers is the changeover from short term memory to long term memory.  She can retain her short term memory for longer now, maybe several hours or as long as a day, but she can't then bank those new memories into her long term memory.  I don't know enough to know whether or not this is improving, but we do know that she could use your prayers in that.  Part of this exhibits itself in some of her confusion.  She was fixated last week on the idea that she is moving apartments.  We don't really know where this came from, but she will be insistent that she is moving.  We have to either convince her that she's not (not easy) or divert her attention to something else.  Please pray that her confusion will lessen and that her memory (long term and short term) will continue improving.  Please pray that she like her apartment, that she try to get to know her roomates, and that she try and get along with her RAs. 

A huge blessing we are seeing right now is that Jamie has wanted to go to church each Sunday.  Whoever is down for the weekend goes with her, and she really enjoys herself.  She sings along with the songs and does a great job of paying attention.  She will even lean over and comment to me about things the pastor is saying.  This is such an encouragement, to know that she is wanting to seek God in all of this!

All in all, Jamie's progress continues to maintain an upward trajectory.  We continue to be amazed at God's handiwork in her recovery.  It seems like a lifetime has transpired since the accident, but it has been only 5 months.  I think she is making a speedy recovery, and is surpassing all our expectations! Keep going Jamie!! We will be praying for God to work out all the details...