Progress continues :-)

Charb has continued to progress in the past few days, although he has been more tired than usual. He hasn't had much time to rest as his days are filled with exercise, visiting friends, and family.

Charb's head control is improving on a daily basis, as his is arm movement. For example, he can now reach up to his head with his right arm, and he can put his right hand behind his head. His left hand is still very slow to move and is not as strong, but we are working on improving the left side of his body. Charb also has gained more control in his right leg, and is now able to lift his right leg at the knee, up and down. Again, the left leg is weaker and slower.

In addition to physical exercise, we are also working with Charb on making vocalizations and opening and closing his mouth, which are pre-cursors to talking. Charb used to have a lot of difficulty with opening his mouth on command, but he is getting better at this, and now hold his mouth open for more than a minute. He can also open and close his mouth several times in a row. We've been trying to get Charb to stick out his tongue but so far, we can see him open his mouth and move it around inside. All of this mouth/jaw exercise will help him to make sounds and eventually talk. At the moment, Charb cannot make sounds when he is asked to do so, but we are working hard with him to get to this point - we are all eagerly awaiting for it to happen.

Here's a story to showcase Charbel's determination and abilities:
Yesterday, I came into the room right after Charb had finished a massage and I began talking to him about exercise. Somehow the topic of abs came up, so I asked him if he wanted to do crunches. He nodded 'yes' so I told him to put his hands behind his head to support his neck, his right hand reached back right away, the left one slowly behind. Then, as I started counting, to my surprise, Charb started doing crunches! Mom lifted up his shirt and we could see his abdominal muscles contracting and releasing as he pulled himself up and down! We were so happy and surprised, and Charb was SO pleased with himself. When Mr. Walsh came to visit him, Charb showed off by doing 10 crunches in row! Today he did some more for Adam when he came to visit. Charb always seems happy when he is exerting himself physically, and to our surprise he still remembers all of the terminology such as crunches, bench press, curls, etc.

Another good development is that Charbel is taking deep breaths, especailly when exercising. Mom keeps after him to take deep breaths and to exhale out of his mouth. He's starting to do this, which is great for his overall circulation and oxygen levels.

We're looking forward to Christmas eve with Charb tomorrow - and we wish you all a very Merry Christmas!