Full Speed Ahead

The big news for today is that Shannon had the MRI she needed to see if she was ready for the bone replacement surgery on Monday. The MRI showed that the swelling in her brain had diminished enough to allow her to proceed with the surgery on Monday at noon. Shannon is thrilled with the prospect of being able to ditch the helmet that she wears for protection whenever she is out of bed. One of the neuro-surgery docs showed Shannon and me a bunch of the scans, including the ones right after the accident and the ones from today. It was interesting to look at the side view from today and see where the bone is missing and how it would fit into place. So much of this whole process is mind boggling to me. I am amazed at the skill and knowledge of so many of the professionals that work with Shannon. It makes me even more in awe of the greatness of Heavenly Father's knowledge and mercy.

Shannon lacked a little energy in her therapy sessions in the morning due to the fact that she hadn't had anything to eat or drink since the previous evening so she could be sedated for the MRI. Even at that she did really well. She really surprised the OT with her skill in playing a memory game. After the MRI she slept for a while as the sedative was wearing off, but woke to participate with a music therapist. She enjoyed listening to and singing with this lady as she shared her talents with Shannon. After that, it was on to the afternoon sessions of therapy. Again she did really well. The Speech Therapist gets a kick out of Shannon's responsiveness to her cues to look her in the eye and use voice inflections when she talks. In PT she was particularly adept at basketball--she shot a higher percentage than either the Celtics or the Lakers.

Every day brings additional progress as Shannon marches forward to recovery. We are ever grateful for the blessings that come each day and love to see her fun personality bring joy to those around her. Thank you all for your love and support.

Udell