So here we are...

Over five months since Jamie's accident, and she has improved more and faster than anyone dared hope for.  We have been praying for a full recovery since January 18, but I don't know that any of us could picture it.  Especially for the first few weeks, those prayers for a full recovery were ones of desperation, where I was praying because I didn't know what else to do.  Now, I am praying for a full recovery because I am beginning to believe its actually possible. 

J has been in B-field (as we affectionately refer to it) for almost two months, and the improvement is remarkable.  When she arrived and completed her first evaluation, her deficiencies were most prevalent in her cognitive processing and her short term memory.  This included issues with self care, independent living and some reading comprehension.  In the last few weeks, Jamie had her next evaluation, to see how much she has improved from that initial baseline eval.  We are ecstatic with her progress. 

J's physical progress has always been strong.  She continues to get stronger and more coordinated.  She told her physical therapist that she wants to start running, so he will be easing her into that.  Once he is comfortable with her balance (and we think she is getting pretty close), he will start her jogging and building her up to actually running.  Before the accident, Jamie was in the beginnings of training for a marathon.  After the accident, it was furthest from our minds.  Now, there seems to be a glimmer of hope that its one more goal that Jamie will obliterate! Now, we just have to get the rest of us into shape to go with her...that may prove to be a bit more difficult.  

Another area where we've seen marked improvement is in her independent living skills.  These skills are measured on a 0-100 scale.  When Jamie first got to B-field, she was hovering in the 40s.  NOW, she is in the 80s!! This means that she can do most things on her own around the house, but still needs some cueing and help initiating on some tasks.  This high number doesn't mean that she is ready to break and live on her own, but it gives us good hope that this is a someday possibility. 

In the next week or two, there will be a 24 hour period where she alone is responsible for getting through her day.  Staff will be observing, but no one will step in to cue her on what task to do next or how to do it.  I assume that once she gets to the clinic, she will still be helped by her therapists, but getting up, getting ready and going to clinic will be totally up to her.  The staff has said that some patients stay in bed all day (which doesn't sound too bad) and some get up as if they need no help whatsoever.  I'm sure we all know what we are hoping for with Jamie. 

One of the other improvements we've seen is in her reading comprehension (which is obviously a cognitive function.) I think there are six levels or something, and Jamie was at a 1 after the initial eval.  I think (but could be mistaken) that she is creeping up to the 5 range, but I have no idea how high that scale goes.  All I know is that she can now read People magazine and understand which celebrity the article is about. :)

Church is always a real treat.  She sings along, and really follows along to what the sermon is about.  Last week, she even took notes in the bulletin, and was totally on point.  It was amazing.  I think this might be what parents feel like when they see their kids learning and growing.  I know she's not my kid, but still, I feel like a proud mama.

Since last weekend was Fourth of July, we just HAD to go see a Giants game! San Jose Giants, that is.  The minor league team in B-field (the Blaze, who are incidentally part of the Texas Rangers franchise) were in town for the holiday game.  We carried our American flags proudly (and may have gotten yelled at when some were accidentally placed on the bleacher floor behind us) and we sported some festive beads.  Jamie was even cool enough to wear a head band with some pinwheels attached, but she got over that. :)  We ate ballpark food, cheered for the Giants and sang God Bless America at the top of our lungs. 

Some of the most exciting improvements we are seeing are Jamie's increased short term memory and overall awareness.  While in church last Sunday, we were looking at the front of the bulletin.  The church is doing a sermon serious on questions that people from the congregation had, and all of the summer's topics are listed on the front.  Now, as we were walking in, Jamie said she had never been to that church before (but she had been the week or so before with Ron and Kathy).  But as we were taking our seats, she was looking at the bulletin and pointed out the previous week's topic.  She told me that she had been there for that one, and that her mom liked it! Which is totally true! It was very cool that she was able to retain that for a week! She also posted on my sister's facebook page this week (we'll get there in a minute) that she was really glad to have seen her last weekend.  My sister was there last weekend, and Jamie retained that at least until Thursday.  She also told Ron and Kathy about the visit this weekend.  We are so thrilled to see her be able to retain all of this information. 

So, Facebook.  As some of you now know, our girl is back in touch with the internet world!! Ron brought her laptop down to B-field a few weeks ago, and she has been loving it! I think most people who've talked to her online or gotten Facebook posts from her were a bit shocked at first, but now we're all just super excited.  I think its so great that she can now read all the messages that everyone has been sending these last few months.  She commented last weekend about all the emails she had gotten about people wishing her well.  I think she can feel the love. :)

Hope all is well with you all - thanks for staying faithful to Jamie as she gets better and better.  We love ya, and so does our girl.

love, us.