Burlington at 80 degrees in mid-April, the wonders of Vermont never seize to amaze. Courtney and crew have been soaking up at much UV as possible since being back, putting in tanning hours on the waterfront of Lake Champlain and exploring tourist havens like Middlebury and Stowe. Some of our other extracurricular activities:
A day at camp, the Flynn's own a quaint cabin and some land in Huntington, Vt. a town best known for it's gorge. We drove up in a pickup truck, grilled meat, fired guns and rode trails on an ATV thereby maximizing gas consumption. We are true-blooded Americans. The guns were of the BB variety and Court's aim wasn't half-bad, she buried a few rounds into the shooting range dummy Fernando.
Rock climbing, I was amazing after stepping into Petra Cliffs indoor climbing center in South Burlington. It's a warehouse sized building covered wall-to-wall with climbing and bouldering courses and a friendly staff of humans and canines. Having reviewed the work of Sylvester Stallone in Cliffhanger and pre-insanus Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible, I belayed as Courtney tried to get her feel for climbing back. She's been a climber since she was a teenager and she has the basic technique if not the strength to climb again. She maxed out twelve feet up the beginner's wall, it's certainly a challenging activity that we'll pursue more regularly.
Swimming at the Sports and Fitness Edge, a gigantic warm water pool in Essex with a hot tub and fairly bodacious water slide. I'm working with her on swimming, she uses a buoyancy belt to stay afloat and can perform a limited back stroke and doggy paddle. It's a great workout for her coordination and she has direct feedback if she's not pushing as hard with her left arm and leg.
Therapy is going well at Fanny Allen, her occupational therapists have Court moving around in the kitchen, she was able to measure and mix ingredients for brownies last week. In PT, she's using a walking staff to move on flat ground without assistance. She's still cautious moving on stairs and uneven terrain, but her stride and gait is becoming more fluid. In speech, she is still working on conscientiously speaking up, her therapist uses a recording device to play back Courtney's voice and give her feedback on clarity and volume.
On the vision front, Courtney is seeing an optometrist and an osteopath in Montpelier. She hasn't had a substantial improvement in her eyesight, it may be a matter of time before the prism prescription helps her adjust. It is frustrating for her when she's trying to read or stay aware when there is lot of movement in her field of view.
Overall, we're happy with how our transition to Burlington has gone. There's still a long road ahead, but having a support system of family and friends makes a big difference. We're lucky to have everyone to lend a hand. We're thinking of throwing a springtime party and BBQ, updates to come.
-Sean
Friday, April 25, 2008
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Moo! Fun in Stowe..
Today was a short day of therapy for Court. Since she only had one today, we decided to take a short road trip to Stowe. Sean,Courtney,her Dad and I headed over to visit the Cabot cheese store and sample some of the fine selections they had to offer! After downing various varieties of cheeses and other goodies, we then went next door for some fine chocolates! It was off to the Apple Cider place across the street for some cider donuts and fresh pressed apple cider.
Waterbury was next on the tour for actual dinner at a really good pub/brewery called The Alchemist. It was great to just get out and be a tourist for an afternoon! The weather was some what c0-0perative by hitting 61 degrees for a minute. Some fog and rain made an appearance but it managed to clear off by the time we headed back to Burlington.
Court has had a somewhat rough time this past week trying to get off her last anti-seizure drug. It went well for a few days but after her last pill she bacame quite weak and shakey. The doc said to put her back on the lowest dose until we can sort out the problem. Could be she will stay on this drug for a while. Time will tell.
Please be sure to keep Courtney in your healing thoughts and prayers. She still needs all the hope and help she can get. This time of rehab is really hard on all of us. She is not making positive strides as quickly now that she has come so far. It's only natural for this to happen but at the same time it becomes somewhat disheartening for everyone, especially Courtney. This is the beginning of the next stage of her rehab. Wish her good luck!
Thanks,
Love, Julie/Mom
P.S. These pictures were put on the blog under protest from Court...
Doesn't she look cute?
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