Thursday

Joel's really enjoying this new house ... there's more action going on and people to interact with.  He was really impressed that on the first day in House 5 he got dessert after lunch and after dinner ... and was served bacon and eggs in bed for breakfast the next morning!  And here we were thinking that this new house was all about him becoming more independent and making his own breakfast and the like. I think he's pretty good at turning on the charm and not above using flattery to get some perks :-)

He had to be ready for an early physio session at 9 am with his new physio, Steph.  I'm sure she's going to be just as good as Anne has been.  His walking is coming along although it's a bit jerky and his left arm has a tad more muscle tone than normal so he tends to hold it stiffly as he walks.  Steph was explaining to him that  the messages from the brain to his muscles should flow smoothly like a river but in his case it's as if there are dams and blockages in the way, so it spurts over all at once sometimes and makes things jerky. Please continue to pray for smooth muscle responses and for the nerve impulses to consistently reach his left foot. 

In the afternoon he enjoyed having a go playing 'Wii' against his new OT, Mandy and his sister, Hannah.  He was really pretty coordinated (and competitive ... I don't know where he gets that from?).  He won the tennis, it was a draw with Mandy in baseball (0-0 - they were both pretty bad) and Hannah pummeled him in a boxing match.  For those of you who have no idea what 'Wii' is ... we're talking 'virtual' sport that gets your arms and body moving, not just a click of a mouse!