Day 72 - Out of State Visits

We had a morning visit from Gordon and Karen today. They thought Daniel looked really good and that he had made good progress from his January burn. Daniel was not in the best of moods refusing to eat much of his breakfast and making ¨eeaahh¨  protests with eat bite. While his protests are nothing new, the tongue pushing out most foods was. This morning was not his time to be a big eater. Maybe he was down, or just not super hungry - that's the thing with this guy you can't really tell what he's thinking. Mom did get Dan to eat a bit of a protein bar at least. Dan was pre-medicated for physical therapy which usually gives him a long sleepy-head face as those meds kick in. The eyes start to get heavy and everything slooowwwsss ddooowwnnnn.

After visiting with his Aunt and Uncle, Daniel was "worked over" by his PT who did arm stretching followed-up by a walk around the 3rd floor with his mom. While the visit was short it's good to gain perspective from family who know Daniel and are able to see changes that aren't as apparent to us. 

While the humans were visiting Daniel, this little 13-week noname pup was learning all about stairs, running, chasing and ballplay from Sydney and Chaka. Oh and barking, growling and chewing too. Chaka revealed how he can steal puppy food and Sydney did her best to show how all REAL dogs should bark REALLY LOUD all the time when it's playtime - which for Sydney is defined as any hour of the day a ball is in view. 

Needle teeth are good at picking up ball.

I escorted G&K back to our home so they could pack up and head east. 

Meanwhile back at the bat-cave... mild-mannered Daniel and Dawn are... no, um...

Daniel and Dawn are eating peanuts and discovering that Daniel prefers the wild berry and orange flavors of Boost Breeze, NOT PEACH! Blech!! Maybe that's why breakfast was to yukky.

After a break Dan's OT came to work with him. We ply him with candy usually so Daniel is more willing to "perform" even though it's hard work to move his arms and grab and try self-feeding.

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After another spin around the floor and a break it was time for dinner and Jamie stopped in to check on Daniel. She noticed that part of his body burn-net was cutting in to his armpit and trimmed it down to make it fit right. She started massaging his arms, shoulder and back after Daniel slowly ate dinner. She found some really good stretches and massage that Daniel enjoyed immensely. No protests, just a really super-relaxed face - his whole demeanor changed and for the first time here at the hospital I saw him return to his calm relaxed self. 

My Happy Place