Another Update

This last week has been very good. Last weekend we were home for three days and had a very enjoyable time. Our daughters, Brittnee and her kids and Ashley and her two boys, were home waiting for us. We had a very nice homecoming and were greeted by grandkids and baby goats. I made the mistake of leaving the door open on the van and when I came back to the van there were three baby goats inside and two granddaughters with giant smiles on their faces. Needless to say, the granddaughters continued to smile as I chased the goats out. Our son, Trevor, is now home while he waits for school to start in September at BYUI. Our granddaughters know how to push his buttons and it seems they are almost always waging war. Wes had a great weekend playing with the kids and spending time outside. We bought a large water trough that we will use to water the horses but the grandkids have made a great swimming pool out of it. We watched them swim in it last Saturday and the kids took great joy in trying to splash Wesley. Wes smiled the whole weekend except when it was time to wake him up in the mornings.

Going into our front door we have put a metal ramp that lets us push Wes over the stairs. The ramp is very steep and we need to push him up into the house. Wes discovered that it is great fun to come down the ramp with no help. In fact, sometimes he will take a bit of a run at the ramp and then fly down the ramp as the wheelchair gains speed. It is really fun to watch him come off the ramp and when he does the grandkids are down below waiting to race him. I am afraid that one day he will run over one but until then it is all fun… until someone gets hurt.

Last week Wes did his horseback riding and did very well. Each week he continues to make progress and gets better and better. On Monday his new wheelchair came and it was so nice. It is purple and has wheel assists which means he pushes 25% and the wheel assist pushes 75%. He has really enjoyed having a little help with his pushing. Wes’s trainer, Tawnie, has been with us now for over a week and a half. She is really nice and is catching on, she is learning and already pushing Wes more and more. We are very excited about Tawnie being able to help Wes, Karen, and I. A week from Friday we are headed home and looking forward to it.

Wes loves all those who work with him and make him better each day. This may not seem like much to most people but already this week Nikki, his OT, had him take his clothes off all by himself. It took a while but he was able to do it with minimal assistance. He works hard on his transfers and is doing very well transferring to a bench or bed from his wheelchair. The therapists continue to raise the bar and push him to be better. It seems he has already come so far from where he was.

Today was a fun day for Wes. Nikki, his OT, arranged for Wes and two other quad patients to go to Snowbird to fish and to ride the tram to the top of the mountain. The other two young men are a year or two older than Wes but they see each other at therapy and have become friends. Their names are Stephen and Dale and they all see Nikki as well. She does a great job with all three and is making a difference in their lives. We arrived at Snowbird at 10:30 and then were taken to a pond and given fly fishing rods. Wes has fly fished many times before and it was fun for him to get this opportunity. Wes’s technique was great but the fish were not cooperating; I guess that is why they call it fishing and not catching. After fishing they had pizza ready for us and we had a great lunch. There were several people there to help and make sure the boys had a great time. It was a success because they did. After lunch we took the tram to the top of the mountain. It was a great experience just to get Wes out of his normal routine.

Here are a few pictures… notice the new purple wheelchair:

Wes showing off his new wheelchair

Fishing

The Boys

The Boys getting off the tram

Wesley’s new trainer, Tawnie.

This week while Tawnie and I take Wes to therapy, Karen and my sister, Tondi, have been able to attend Education Week at BYU. It has been nice for Karen to attend, she comes home and shares with me what she has learned. We are anxious to head home next week. We thank everyone for all of their kindness towards our family.

Check out the videos below…