Watching wrestling and having a BBQ!

Charb was very excited about going watching wrestling!

AJ, Ellen and Gerald took him to the arena, but he quickly despised it calling it "fake" and insisted in going to Ellen's house! There, they had a BBQ... and Charb ate a whole TBONE

topped with fries and salad!

Sorry for the picture! It was the "best" one of a series taken by Ellen!

An exciting visit!

First time in since last August 2007!

Robert and Doug came for a visit and Charb was thrilled to see them! Robert talked to Charb about recovery and asked him to do few moves. He was very responding and stayed in good mood!

Moving around a bit better ...

Now Charb is trying (with assistance!) to move from the bed to the mat, from the chair to the couch...

... Early on, I came to see him at the appartment in the evening. He was in his wheelchair. As I walked in, he said :"Dad, help me go on the couch."

--Are you sure?"

-- Absolutly!"

--Hang on tight to my shoulders, I said, "and llllllllets doooooo it!"

Helped, he pulled himself off the chair and, in mid air, started to slide! I started yelling for help to keep him from falling! Chantal grabbed his bum, Rachel pushed the chair under him... We were all screaming, but, confused, Charb never said a word! Still, we ended sprawled down on the floor, with Charb on top of me! Scared to have broken his knees or ankles, I did not feel anything but fear and cofusion! Luckily he was unharmed! Now, the girls unleashed their laughs, the scene MUST have being unreal! " Good thing Norma was not here to witness this!" they said.

--No one mentions any of this to her! Never! Agreed?"

A crucial problem faced us now: How to get Charb back in his chair or bed without the lift, wich happened to be in the adjascent room?

The flying carpet!!!

We slid the carpet from the other room, flipped Charb onto it, and dragged them both under the lift. Successfully, we put him back in the chair... He was as amused as I was anxious, and laughed with his sisters and made jokes about me being so amusingly frightened!

Lucky for us, every thing went OK, and Charb was unharmed... because few minutes later Noma asked me : "So... How was the ride?"

--What ride?"

--The Flying Carpet ride!!"

How did she know so fast? ... I still wonder!

More visits and excitement!

How exciting to see you guys!
Charb is always happy to see his friends!

Would it be for talking, playing cards or watching movies!
(Arm wrestling and thumb war, too!)

A small step forward!

Yes, 3 months since the last update!

Well, we waited for something new, different, shocking!

For an improvement we all hope to happen, despite the situation or the medical denial!

We wanted to talk not only about the daily routine, but about a big step ahead!

And here we are now thinking it had happened, this shocking event!

Still little shy... a baby step! But it won't stop there! Because Charb is very decided to walk "upstairs to my room!", and we are very stubbornly working to get him there!!

On February the 15th, with little help from Ellen and Dad, Charb stood up! on 2 feet!

and oh God! made 3 steps! What a moment!

Baby steps, they were! but two and a half yrs after his accident!

Helped and supported, yes, he was! he still moved his feet after two and a half yrs!

In no time, the incident reached Vancouver, LA, Texas, France, Lebanon! The phone was ringing uninterrupted for a day!... I wish our lives were nothing but happy moments and good news!

So excited they were, that Norma took pics so dark you can hardly see, and Chantal taped a movie side ways, you would need to flip your screen to watch!

(Photo: Charb is getting ready to stand and try few steps! His seating has improved a lot!)

Happy Holidays to All!

It's hard to believe that a whole month has passed since our last update! Time certainly is quickly passing us by. Charbel's routine has been basically the same as always with little, but important improvements from the month before.

The two main areas of Charbel's progress this month have been in eating and vision. Charbel's control of his mouth and tongue has been steadily improving - so much so that he can now eat solid food! This is a HUGE deal to us and him because he has been on mashed up and liquid foods since he started eating last year. He can now bite and chew! An awesome improvement for Charb who has been able to enjoy real food, finally! A couple weeks ago Charbel, Chantal, Mom and Rachel went out to A&W and Charb ate a hamburger - the whole thing, all by himself and he enjoyed every minute of it! He has since been eating a variety of food, from rice and beans, to eggs, and cake.

Charb's vision has also shown signs of improvement this month. He is able to see smaller letters now, and read short words. The fact that he can read is a very exciting development! His vision is not perfect and he sometimes mixes up his letters because he doesn't always see the full form of the letter clearly, but usually he can read short words, and he can see the letters and spell out longer words. He has a long way to go before he's back to seeing normally, but he has shown tremendous development in this area and we are very hopeful that he will be able to fully re-develop his vision. Reading was never one of Charb's favourite things to do, and he's just happy that he can read movie titles to pick out which DVD to watch!

We had a lot of fun decorating the Christmas tree together and you can check out the pictures in the Photo Album.

Last year at Christmas Charbel began to talk and we were blessed with the miracle of his recovery. Since Charb started talking we have spent so much time laughing and enjoying our time together - we laugh more now than we ever did! We are very blessed to have been given the chance to be a family again after such a devastating accident.

Christmas is a time of miracles and also a time to think of those in need. Our condolences go out to the Smith family for the loss of their son Brandon. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and Jared during this difficult time. May God bless you and help Jared recover from his injuries.

We wish you all a Merry Christmas and hope that the New Year brings love and peace in your lives.

Charbel's Birthday Party a Great Success!

Thanks to everyone who came out last Saturday to wish Charb a happy birthday, we had a great time! It was wonderful to see all of you there and catch up on what's new with everyone.

What a difference a year makes, last year at Charbel's party in November he still wasn't talking, this time he was laughing and joking and chatting with all his friends!

We hope to see you all again around Chrismas time, feel free to stop in any time you are in town, Charb loves the company and reminiscing about the good old days.

Check out the photo album for pictures of the party!