All about Sophie...

A post dedicated to all the new things that Sophie is doing...26 days post-op...26 wonderful SEIZURE FREE days!!!

Cognitively...

She is beyond what she was doing before the surgery. She is doing better than what anyone would have ever expected. She is saying new words all the time. She is using words appropriately. Instead of just crying when we walk into the building where she gets private therapy, she now points to the door and says "byebye" and "door". In general, she just talks more. Requesting things using words instead of just pointing.

She is very expressive in other ways. She laughs a lot. I think she actually "gets it" when someone does something funny...especially when it is Elsa. She is more alert and interactive. She makes a lot of eye contact and she really seems to check things out.

She is starting to count but I don't think she quite understands it. If I say "one", she will say "two" and "three".

Most of all, it's the little things that she does that I notice the most. Like the other day, when she walked over the vent on the floor. She stepped back, bent down, touched it and stood back up. It was like she noticed it for the first time.

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Physically...

She is gaining her strength back but she has some work to do. She mostly lacks endurance. It is all just a matter of time. Her walking is getting more stable. She is starting to adjust to her right peripheral vision cut in both eyes.

Today was the first time she was able to climb into bed. But she refuses to walk up the steps to the second floor. Though, she is okay with walking up a few steps to get into the house and the small staircase at therapy.

The more tired she is, the less she uses her right hand. That is where I see the most deficit in her physically...the use of her right hand. Though, she is doing phenomenal with her left hand. She is independently using a fork and spoon on a consistent basis. She has never self fed herself like that before.

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I've tried to explain all the new things she is doing. There really is so much more. So much more than "what" she is doing. It really is just that look in her eye. You notice things clicking. Things make much more sense to her. She truly understands what I say to her. If I say something she doesn't want me to do, she will get upset as the words come out of my mouth. Before, she actually had to see the action to fully understand what was about to happen.

And for whatever reason, she has become much more attached to me. It's like she is finally going through the whole separation anxiety stage.

She has a new cry. That's kind of weird. It is a very high-pitched, scream-like kind of cry. Maybe she realizes I jump quicker when she cries like that...hmmm I wonder.

No matter what it is...it has all been wonderful. Seeing her change. Seeing her grow. And enjoying every single minute of it.