Slow but steady progress

Charb did well this week. On Wednesday he visited the eye specialist in Kentville who confirmed that Charbel can see (although the clarity of his vision remains uncertain). He says that since Charbel is still in a phase of recovery, nothing needs to be done with his eyes right now. Eventually he may need surgery to realign his eyes, but he thinks we should wait and see if this can correct itself in time.

Charbel is still having trouble with reading letters and seeing small objects. It is difficult to know whether his inability to read is because his vision is blurry, or because his brain cannot recognize the symbols. We’re hoping that more extensive professional testing can be done to determine the extent of his ability to recognize visual stimulus (hopefully this will be part of the rehab plan in Halifax).

Despite questions about his vision, Charbel has made strides this week in his ability to write. It seems that he is gaining greater control over his right hand and as a result, his writing is much clearer. Over the weekend he wrote several words, such as our names and small messages such as “hello” etc. His writing is improving greatly, which is very exciting. Still, Charb finds writing rather frustrating, and he tends to have trouble with certain letters such as “h” so he just starts scribbling on the board – other letters he doesn’t seem to have problems with.

This weekend Charbel also started doing more things on his own, such as brushing his hair and holding a cup to drink on his own. Charb also started drinking from a straw this week! (videos in the photo album) He’s always thirsty and tells us this by pointing to his throat and making a sign with his hand as if he is taking a drink. Today he had some chocolate milk for the first time and loved it!

We have seen a little progress this week with the left arm and leg (and my little, I mean little) but still it’s progress. He is starting to move the left foot more, and can slightly move the left leg, but still cannot bend the knee or push down with the left foot. The left hand/arm has been improving also, but it is still very slow, and he cannot extend his left elbow so that it is straight. Working on the left side will be important in the coming weeks of rehab so that it continues to get stronger in preparation to stand. The right leg is doing really well, and Charb can bend the right knee, push down with the right foot, and move the right leg up and down.

We tried to help Charbel stand the other day, but it took four people to help him up and have him (almost) standing upright. His core body is still not strong enough to be able to hold himself up, so this is the most important thing (in addition to straightening his angles/feet) in order to start standing and eventually walking. Right now, Charbel experiences some pain when we try to stand him up, because his muscles are very tight in some parts of his body. But we continue to try and sit him up and stand him up so that he can get used to that sensation again and start reusing those muscles.

We have a long road of hard work and recovery ahead but we’re all up to the challenge!