Friday, April 20, 2012

Hugs from Hannah

One of the things Hannah is known for is her hugs. She hugs all her former teachers and aids, her current teacher, her friends, classmates, friends of classmates, friends of friends, cousins, friends of cousins. You get the idea...she's a hugger. So it was such a great treat to walk in to her room Thursday and see her get off the couch, stand on her own, walk to us and give each of us a hug!!! I remember the last time we visited her about 2 weeks ago, she couldn't walk, talk, hold herself up in a sitting position, eat solid foods, smile or laugh. I was amazed to see her now doing all of those things! She is truly a miracle.
Not only was she talking, but she loves to call people on her mom's cell phone. She talked to Mr. Averett while all the teachers were in a faculty meeting a few days ago. I was amazed at how sharp her memory is. She named each of us and as soon as she saw Josie she got off the couch and looked through her books and papers. I wondered what she was looking for and then she found it. A Megamind coloring book...Josie's all-time favorite character. I couldn't believe that Hannah had remembered that and was so focused and determined on finding that coloring book to show Josie.
Hannah and Lindsey played game after game of Memory which totaled probably two hours. Hannah was really good. She beat Lindsey every game and was so delighted with each win. I'm going to have to work with Lindsey on that game. :) Lindsey and Hannah went to physical therapy together and Hannah got to do some new things like playing in the barrel and climbing and descending stairs. She practiced on the hospital stairs before heading to the Rehab Lab to play on their stairs. Her left-side coordination and strength doesn't match her right-side yet due to the brain damage, but if she keeps her determination and will up I know she'll be able to get that back.
Her OT came in after the PT was done and worked with Hannah on fine motor and cognitive skills. She showed Hannah a card with a bead pattern which Hannah had to replicate by choosing the correct shape and color and threading it on the string in the right order. She did great and progressed through the cards as they got more difficult.
We headed to the playroom to have some non-therapy fun. Linds and Hannah quickly found the Barbie house and were having a great time...
...until this little girl pushed her way into their game. Three's a crowd so the girls moved to the foosball table where Hannah won...again.
Hannah kept us very busy and by the end of our visit we were exhausted. I hope she slept as well as I did that night.

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