Day Twenty-Two - Day Twenty-Six

I haven't posted for a bit because not too much has been happening here. Which is good news, right? James has been doing really well. We've noticed that since coming off the Keppra (anti-seizure medication) that he's been speaking much more. He's still fairly quiet around anyone other than us, but with family he is coming out of his shell much faster.  We have a speech evaluation on Thursday December 1st to reassess where he's at and if they recommend further services. 

His speech evaluation went well. They did a Clinical Evaluation of language fundamentals. They looked at his receptive language as well as expressive. He did fairly well on his receptive language based on his age - observations related to understanding words, sentences and following directions followed by 1 step directions answering yes and no questions. His expressive language was not as strong as he only used single words and at times repeated words said by his communication partner and his speech was low in volume volume and at times reduced intelligibility. They've recommended speech therapy once a week for 30 minutes for at least three months with the possible need for additional therapy in school. We agreed with their findings and look forward to his progress. 

His net bed finally came. I set it up tonight and got his room as settled as possible. He seems to like it and looks excited to sleep in it. I however am a nervous wreck about him sleeping without me in his little tent. That thing is super secured, filled with pillows to protect him and zippered up tight for the night. Hopefully I can sleep-I guess I have to let Al sleep in the bed again haha. 

Although James' recovery has been nothing short of a miracle, my emotions get the best of me daily. Every time I answer the question "how did it happen", I'm able to answer strongly but lose it when I'm alone later. I cry, I cry a lot. I relive that day over and over in my head. I worry about Nathan and how he's processing all of this. Occasionally he'll say things like he wishes dad didn't build those stairs or he should have been there to catch James. I remind myself each time that my mind goes dark that it was exactly what it's called, an accident. It happened and James is not only safe, but home with us. I bring myself back from the tears by reminding myself that the how's, what ifs and the could ofs don't matter. The only thing that matters is that we were given a second chance with James. We've come so far from where we were on November 5th and if I've learned nothing else it's to take NOTHING for granted. 

I'm looking forward to breaking out the Christmas tree and decorations this weekend. Christmas means a little more this year too. Thanks for following and the continued support and prayers. Our next big appointment is Tuesday. James has a CT Scan scheduled to have a look at the swelling and then a neurosurgery followup right after where we'll hopefully know more about possible date for reconstruction!