UPDATES
February 24 2003 Update
Marla continues to make progress, but it continues to be erratic. We’ve been told from the beginning to expect a step backward for every two forward. She is still fighting a couple of antibiotic-resistant internal infections, but she may be gaining ground on those. In the last few days, she’s been outside several times; and it won’t surprise anyone who knows her to hear that she loved it. Today she asked to go out, and with her feet provided most of the power to move her wheel chair.
She knows where she wants to go within the unit and knows her way to her room, which the attendant says is unusual. She has been watching a little TV in the evenings, indicating increased attention span. Yesterday, her friend Bridget came by with her baby. Marla leaned forward, the baby took her finger and they held hands for about 20 minutes.
In the afternoon, she spent nearly 25 minutes in conversation with Mary and Leo; “conversation” to the extent that she can. Mary showed her Valentine cards. Marla said, “Pretty,” and felt the texture on some of them. She responded with “Uh-huh” and “Huh-uh” to questions and comments, and giggled a couple of times when Mary described something funny. This is a wonderful improvement from the frequent crying and inattentiveness we saw a week ago, and we enjoy seeing more and more of the Marla that we know shine through. Thank you to everyone who continues to show such wonderful loving support to Marla and her family.