9/18/12

This is a copy of a Facebook post written by Sydney......I thought you all might enjoy celebrating with her.

LRH

Yesterday marked my two-year anniversary since my car accident, and I just want to say how grateful I am to my family, friends, the hospital staff, and especially my Heavenly Father who blessed, supported, and helped me through the hard times and still continue to bless my life today! Even though I am still waiting for the day when I will make a complete recovery, I have come so far with the help of everyone I know. Thank you so much for your love; the memories I have from that experience are nothing but positive. Though time has passed, I hope we all can remember to live life to the fullest, and never forget that God loves us. ♥

March 6, 2011

Hi Everyone!

Sydney is doing so well! She walks without canes and looks great! She can also climb stairs without handrails! She still wears an AFO on her right foot, but she continues to get more function in her right foot and leg. She is still going to Physical Therapy once a week, which is very helpful, as Jason gives her tips on making her walking look more natural, how to turn, helps her strengthen, etc.

Great news - Sydney got into BYU! She is so excited! Her current plan is to pursue the Nursing program and then try to get into a Physical Therapy graduate program. (Yes, she has been inspired by her great nurses and therapists at the hospital!) We went to the Provo campus on Saturday to check out the housing, and Sydney is thinking of staying in Helaman Halls her first year. See the video above to see Sydney walking around campus.

What an exciting time in a young woman's life!

January 2011

Hi everyone! It is time to update you on what is happening with Sydney. She is doing so well! She is back to her regular teen-age life now!

Personal Life Update

Sydney started back to school January 18^th for 3^rd term. She was so excited to be back at school! It was so nice to see all of her friends and to attend her classes! Sydney loves school, so she was very happy to be able to attend AP Lit and listen to Woolsey, finally go to early morning seminary again, go to her EMT class, hear her Calculus and Chemistry lectures first-hand (easier to understand when you hear the lecture), and see all of her friends in Productions! (Musical Theater) She is also taking Digital Photography this semester, which she is excited about. Sydney’s friend Makenzie really helped her out the first day by picking her up at each class to carry her books for her. Sydney took a break from her Physical Therapy the first week at school so she could adjust to her new schedule. She got along fine with all the walking to her classes. We can tell she isn’t used to being on her feet this much and in her brace for so long, as her right foot has been very swollen; but she is not complaining!

As if going back to school on Tuesday is not eventful enough, Sydney asked a boy to Preference on Wednesday! Friday night we bought her a dress, and Saturday the 22^nd, after her “day date”, she spent 2 hours on the dance floor in 3” heels! (See picture) This was a great week for Sydney! She has been full of smiles!

Speaking of fun dates, she went ice skating with Daniel! (See picture) He was a gentleman and held her up, and she had a great time! In Productions, she participated in “Fear Factor”, where she ate (yes chewed and swallowed) a habanero pepper, retrieved 14 sticky notes from the bottom of a box filled with “creepy crawly things”, and held a snake! She is brave!

Like all of her Senior friends, Sydney has been applying to colleges. She applied to UVU, Utah State, and BYU. She has been accepted at both Utah State and UVU with scholarships, but is still waiting to hear back from BYU (her #1 choice). We are proud of Sydney for qualifying for the Exemplary Regents Scholarship as well, which means that her hard work to get good grades and a good ACT score has paid off! From her experience in the hospital, Sydney wants to pursue an education to become either a Physical Therapist or a Nurse Practitioner.

As a final personal update, Sydney told me she is planning to go on the Pioneer Trek this summer! She is ambitious!

Recovery Update

When Sydney was in the hospital, she dropped her AP Psychology class, so she now has a “free” period every other day at school. The principal and the PE teacher have been kind enough to allow her to do her exercise routine at school during this free period – which is very helpful! The first day working out at school she had a breakthrough: she was able to get up off the ground by herself! She has not been strong enough to do this until now! We are very excited, as when she goes to college in the Fall, we have been a bit worried that if she is walking home alone and falls, she would not be able to get up. Now she can! She has had 2 other breakthroughs this week as well: she can sit cross-legged (which is a dramatic improvement in flexibility!), and she climbed the stairs without support! (She didn’t use a cane or the stair banister. This is all very encouraging, as it shows she is continuing to gain nerve function and muscle strength. Another big milestone is she is now off all pain meds! She has been on Tylenol for a while, but finally cut the cord!

When Sydney went to physical therapy this week, Jason put her in a harness and on a treadmill, turned up the speed, and she went jogging! What a thrill! She buckled after a few minutes, but now she has a new goal in mind of being able to jog!

We are proud of Sydney for her hard work and positive attitude, and we are so grateful that she is continuing to be blessed in her recovery. It is so rewarding to see her get back into her normal routine of school, fun activities, and friends. Thank you all for asking about her, being concerned about her, praying for her and sharing your love, friendship and service.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

I apologize for not writing recently! I have been so content having Sydney home that I have not been diligent in updating the blog!

Since Sydney has been home, she has continued to improve. (The miracle continues!) She now walks everywhere with one cane, and around the house she walks without canes! In addition to wiggling her right toes up and down, she can now move her foot to the side! The next big recovery we are watching for is the ability to flex her foot up, which will enable her to take a step without requiring a brace to hold her foot in a flexed position. Her pain has become very manageable; she only takes Tylenol.

She goes to therapy at TOSH in Murray twice a week. At therapy Tuesday Jason put her on a treadmill in a harness, and gave her pointers on how to improve her walking technique. She was so excited for the specific tips! Thursday, Nikki had her practice dancing to “The Wizard and I” music. This was fun, and very timely as Sydney just got asked to the Christmas Dance which is on Friday! She is so excited!

She walks and strength trains at home 4 days a week. (Many of you have seen her walking at WalMart or at the AF Rec center.) She walks a mile in about 20 minutes – which is quite fast – without canes! She works on homework in the afternoon, and is steadily getting caught up! (Thank you teachers for working with her!) She anticipates attending school full-time in January for third term. She sent in her college applications a few weeks ago, which is scary and exciting!

She still has muscle spasms after she has exercised or walked and her muscles are fatigued (clonus – a common result of spinal cord injury). However, these have really decreased! Her legs used to shake all the time after standing and walking, but now it is only after quite a bit of exertion (walking a lot or exercising). She still has a strong plantarflexion spasm (her foot pushes down like a ballerina) every time she steps on her right foot. Dr. Dodds put her on an anti-spasm medication at our last visit, which seems to help. By decreasing this right foot spasm, it makes it easier and less painful to walk. We believe this will decrease over time as she continues to heal.

Good news – she is driving! She uses her left foot to drive, and says it is really easy! It is nice for her to have this form of mobility and independence back.

Sydney has great friends who invite her to hang out. For example she went to see the Music Man play at Lone Peak and loved it! Her productions class made her a beautiful quilt made out of jean pockets they donated! (See picture). They each wrote her a note and put them in the pockets. It is the cutest thing I have ever seen! It is very soft and warm, and Sydney now uses it for a bedspread on her bed. Many of you have watched the video Makenzie made and asked if you could hear sound for the song Sydney sings early in the video. Here is a link where you can watch this with sound: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPUpZscUGCk

Many people have asked why Sydney has had to re-learn how to walk. Why did she have to work so hard to learn how to roll over, how to sit up, how to stand up, etc.? After being paralyzed, did her body forget how to do this? Was she weak from being in bed? Here is the scoop from a non-medical professional (me): When Sydney's spine was broken it damaged her spinal chord. The spinal cord is the bundle of nerves that conducts sensory (feel) and motor nerve impulses (for movement) between the brain and the rest of the body. Her breaks were in the middle of her back (T10-L1), with one vertebrae dislocating and twisting her spinal cord out at a 90° angle. At that point, the cord was damaged and could no longer relay information between her brain and her body from the middle of her trunk down. Even though she hadn't lost any muscle mass, she no longer had any nerve communication to her muscles. She could not feel them, could not tell them to move, etc.

As the miracle of her recovery started to take place, some of this nerve function was restored (some of the nerves in the spinal cord healed), and some of the nerve function regenerated (her body built a new pathway from her brain to her limbs to work around the former damaged pathways). But here is the challenge: visualize, for example, 100 nerves going to each leg to control the individual muscles. Let's say you have now regained the use of 10 of these nerves. Using the few muscle areas the 10 nerves now control, you need to somehow learn how to move again (without the benefit of all the other supporting muscle areas), and you need to intensely strength train the 10 muscles that have nerve function to do all the work for the other 90 muscle areas! This is why learning to move again is such hard work and seems so awkward! As Sydney was regaining function, her legs felt very heavy, and had only limited feeling and function. She has been regaining feeling and function from the top-down. At this point she has moderately good feeling and function in her trunk, upper legs, and pretty good in her lower left leg. She still has areas of numbness everywhere, lack of sensation in her lower back (cannot feel hot/cold or pass pin prick test), and still feels quite a bit of numbness in her lower right leg (but it is recovering and coming back!) The more nerve function she regains, the better she can move. She continues to heal and amaze us all! Likewise, the more strength training she does, the better her muscles with nerve control can adapt and take over for areas without nerve control.

She has been using an e-stim kit at home for a few weeks, which we love! She secures two electrodes on her right shin, turns on the e-stim, and it sends a strong electrical current down the working nerves to her foot and forces her muscles to contract. It will only work if there is a working nerve path to follow, so she has only been able to use this since she recovered some nerve function to her foot. Placing the e-stim on her shin forces her toes to contract up, and also contracts her right foot to the side (the nerve paths that work today). The benefit of this is if she only has a few nerves working to control her foot, they may not control enough muscle to flex her toes up very much. The e-stim strengthens the nerve signal for these few nerves and forces a stronger muscle contraction, which means the few muscles she controls will be strengthened faster so they can better lift the weight of her foot. When we first started using the kit we were so excited to watch her toes flex up so high that we just sat and watched it for about 10 minutes! Family entertainment at its best!

We love you all and appreciate your prayers and support! We call Sydney our “Walking Miracle” (coined by Mrs. Woolsey!) We are so grateful for the Lord's mercy in healing her, are so grateful for your September fast and continued prayers, and are grateful for Sydney's example in exercising such great faith and in living an exemplary life following all the commandments, for which we believe she was blessed. After the fast and prayer, our family was blessed with peace and comfort; so we didn't need to struggle with the ongoing anxiety, fear or discouragement which can be such a burden under these circumstances. After Sydney was told in a blessing she would recover, we felt such immense hope, gratitude and joy, that we have treasured the miraculous blessings we have observed during her recovery. As friends heard about this tragedy and came to visit or extend sympathy, please forgive our family for not having the typical tears of sadness. We have felt so blessed and are so grateful by this miracle that we can only express joy and gratitude.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Hello, everyone! Here is the youtube link to the video Makenzie made about Sydney http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDaPjFeQADc. Makenzie is Syd's best friend, and she showed this video at the Glee Club concert. Thank you Kenzie - you are so talented!

As for an update on Sydney, Tuesday night she was able to wiggle the toes on her right foot up! Previously she could only move them down, and only if she was having a muscle spasm (she didn't have enough strength to move them on her own without the spasm). Tuesday she wiggled both up and down, and without a spasm! She will continue to work on this to strengthen it, and her next goal is to be able to move her foot at the ankle. She still wears an AFO brace on her lower right leg to keep her foot flexed so she can walk, but we know that with time she will get this functionality back! At therapy yesterday, Jason used "e-stim" (electronic stimulation) to flex her toes. We think this will help her build her muscle strength on her foot, so we are hoping to order an e-stim kit for home. Jason is also having a rep come to one of our therapy sessions to show us options for a better foot brace.

Sydney is doing great! She tries to do her exercise routine twice a day, and walk twice a day. It takes her about 1.5 hours to get through the exercise routine, and then we walk for about 30 minutes. Today she walked a mile in 26 minutes and 26 seconds! She was cruising!

Thank you for all your love, prayers and support!

Friday, November 5, 2010

Hello, everyone!

I need to tell you about our fun day on Thursday! We spent the morning at the gym checking out all the exercise equipment. We found quite a few things we could do there that would be helpful. I am thinking Sydney and I could both get buff!

When we got home, the Stake Young Women Presidency visited. It was so nice to visit with them and to hear their words of encouragement.

In the evening, we went to the Glee Club Extravaganza! Emma King, the president of the Glee Club, and Sydney's friend from Junior Miss, organized the concert and dedicated it to Sydney - which was so sweet! We were really amazed with all the talent at the concert. They sang, acted, danced (including some amazing break dancing!), a talented band played a U2 song, Devin sang an amazing song and played the guitar (Devin is a future famous person – he is making a CD), there was the most creative and fun fashion show, Nick from BYU came and sang, and Mr. Nelson (Colby's English teacher) was the most entertaining emcee! They also showed a touching video Makenzie made about Sydney (Makenzie is Syd's best friend – and so talented!) I will post the video after I get a copy from Makenzie. We had a great time! We were so impressed with everyone's kindness and thoughtfulness toward Sydney. I know how busy these kids are at school and with extracurricular activities, so I was so impressed they worked so hard to put together this amazing concert and make it such a special night. Sydney came away feeling very loved and supported. The downside to staying home with mom all day is I'm sure Sydney misses seeing all of her friends at school. It was so nice for her to see everyone and feel their love and support! The Glee Club donated all the proceeds of the concert towards Sydney's medical expenses – which is very generous! Thank you Glee Club, and to your parents as well!

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Hello, everyone! Now that I have learned how to post pictures, I thought I would post these cute pictures of Sydney taken for her Drama class at school. (Scott Hancock, Daniel's Dad, took these pictures).

I would also like to update you on the last couple of days. We have been so happy to have Sydney at home! She has found that living at home is great therapy! She climbs stairs at least 3 times a day, goes through her exercise routine every morning and night; and yesterday for her walking practice we went shopping at WalMart and Kohlers! I'm sure everyone at the stores thought I was a pretty mean mom, as she had to open the doors, get the items off the shelf, etc. Tonight she raked leaves with the youth as part of a service project, which really worked her core muscles! All of these activities strengthen her balance, so the OT's encourage me to have her do as much as possible as it strengthens all of her muscle groups. This does wear her out, so we have to give her time to rest at home to recover. We are trying to establish a routine of getting her heavy workouts completed the first half of the day; taking time to rest, and then studying in the afternoon. We would like to get Sydney caught up on first term, and then second term, as she would like to attend 1-2 classes at some point.

Yesterday we had our follow-up visit with Dr. Maughan, who is the neurosurgeon who operated on Sydney after she was brought to the emergency room. We are so grateful that he sacrificed a night of sleep to come to the hospital and use his skills to repair her back! I will post the pictures of the x-rays after I can figure out how to read the format of the files. When he saw Sydney he said something like "It is so wonderful to see you walk into my office and not be in a wheelchair!" He is so happy she has had such an amazing recovery! We asked him when Sydney could stop wearing her TLSO brace (we call it the turtle brace). He said that at this point she could take it off now for periods of time, which is so wonderful as it will give Sydney a new level of independence! Before, Sydney could not get out of bed without me helping her get the brace on, as she could not be in an upright position without it. Dr. Maughan says she should still use it as needed for support (her back muscles will not be very strong yet), for protection (especially in public places where someone may bump her), and as a reminder to her body to not move in an inappropriate way. Today Sydney went without her brace for a good portion of the day and it felt so liberating! But at the same time she was quite sore by the evening so we put it back on.

Today we went to Cottonwood for her outpatient rehab eval. Jason will be Sydney's PT, and Nikki will be her OT. We will take Sydney to Salt Lake 2 times a week for rehab, and then work with her at home the other 4 days. This way we can get outpatient therapy through March. Today they did evals measuring Sydney's strength and endurance. Next week they will review our home therapy/workout routine and modify it as needed. After next week, Grandma Joyce will drive Sydney to rehab so I can start back to work part-time, working from home. This next couple of weeks we'll try to figure out a routine where I would be able to work while Sydney rests, studies or does the exercises she can do on her own. I'll build in a breakfast and lunch break so I can take her walking. (We are still figuring this out!) Meanwhile we are going to enjoy the next 2 weeks as it is really fun to go walking together, to workout, and otherwise talk about life in general and figure out how to be independent at home!

We are so grateful for your love, support and prayers! (For now you can focus your prayers on Sydney's overall recovery and especially her right foot :) It really does make a difference when you know everyone is praying for you and supporting you! Sydney is so grateful to everyone! She is especially grateful to the Lord for his mercy in healing her.

Friday, October 29, 2010

Sydney came home today after 44 days in the hospital! She will really miss the nurses, therapists and patients at the hospital. They all treated her like family and provided so much service to her while she was recovering. She feels fortunate to have them in her life.

She received such a warm welcome home from the ward! Please see the picture! Each of the ward members brought Sydney a bouquet of balloons, forked them into our lawn and attached notes in ziploc bags! It is the cutest thing I have ever seen! I made an early trip home from the hospital to bring Sydney's things, and while I was home I kept seeing neighbors drive up to the house to bring bouquets of balloons. What a touching act of service! Sydney felt a lot of love when she pulled up to the house and saw all the beautiful balloons, notes, signs and yellow ribbons on all of our trees! Thank you everyone! We are spoiled to have the best ward, neighbors, friends and family in the world! Jill and Ruth also brought us a delicious dinner – thanks!!

After a rest, it was time for Night Terrors! Sydney invited a few close friends, her brothers and her new friend Lance to go through with her. We all got scared :) (Cole screamed like a girl the whole time! ha ha!) I was so glad Lance was there, as he kept Sydney safe while she walked up hills, over some pretty rough terrain, and through a weird psychedelic surprise at the end! When Lance left Sydney cried. She said “Mom, he is one of my best friends.” We are grateful to Lance for always believing in Sydney, for supporting her, and teaching her to walk! He has a big heart and really cares about his patients. Sydney plans to visit Lance at the hospital from time to time as she continues to make progress in outpatient rehab.

Speaking of outpatient rehab, Lance tells us that Jason, our new outpatient PT, just received the Physical Therapist of the year award at the conference Lance was attending. We look forward to working with him!

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Zombie day! We have found that rehab is such a fun place to be! Since they are having an inspection on Friday, and most of the regular staff does not work on Saturday, the hospital staff made Thursday their official Halloween party day – with a theme of Zombies. It was so fun to see everyone dressed up! Of course Sydney did not want to miss out on the fun! She slept in curlers, and then got up early and fixed her own hair and make-up to become the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland! She did a great job – and won 1st place in the costume contest! I will post a picture of her and the staff.

The staff brought a delicious potluck lunch, and during lunch Sydney and Josh did the Thriller dance routine for them. Josh is so much fun!

Wednesday October 27, 2010

Today was a travel day (ha ha!)

While Sydney was practicing rolling a suitcase down the hall, we heard an announcement over the loudspeaker something like this: “Hello. This is your pilot. Thank you for flying with us on flight 1222. You may safely stow your luggage in the overhead compartment. Please take your seat and prepare for departure. We will be traveling at 500 mph. The weather will be sunny and 68 degrees. etc....” It was so funny!!!

Sydney had a great day in Therapy today! Lance and Ron and Josh are making sure she is ready to go home with the skills she will need. Today she learned some techniques for carrying her school books.

Backpack:
Advantage: she can take it up and down stairs or through tight spots or crowded halls, and it frees up her hands.
Disadvantage: it is heavy and could strain her back.

Rolling Laptop Suitcase:
Advantage: takes the weight off her back, and is not too difficult to roll down the hall.
Disadvantage: it is much heavier than a backpack, which is important if she needed to lift it up stairs or through tight spots. Also, she can only use 1 cane; and actually preferred using no canes and pushing the suitcase in front of her.

The Young Men and Young Women from Uncle John's ward came up to visit Sydney in the evening and entertained her with skits. That was a lot of fun!

Last night a surprise visitor dropped off some flowers and a very nice note telling Sydney she had been selected for the Woman of the Week, aka WOW award! What an encouraging gesture!

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Hi everyone! I think I will start posting updates about once a week now that Sydney is doing so well. I'll let you know how she does once she gets home, and will also update you when she starts outpatient rehab. We are looking forward to many milestones in the future – so I will be sure to keep you updated!

The therapists are starting to prepare Sydney for her transition to home. Lance is working on a sheet of exercises she will need to do daily at home. We are anticipating about 4 hours a day of exercises, walking, and stretches to continue her progression. She can do some of these on her own, but currently will need someone assisting for most of this time. Sydney has not had her outpatient rehab eval yet, but we are anticipating that we will take her to Salt Lake twice a week for guided therapy, and then the other 4 days we will do the therapy ourselves at home.

We also need to build in time for her school work, as she will need to make-up her school work for Term 1, and then catch up on Term 2. And of course we need to give her time to rest, as the therapy really wipes her out! She will be plenty busy at home!

Today in PT, Lance showed her how to use the stationary bike to strengthen her quads, and had her practice walking down the hall sideways while bouncing a ball back and forth with the PT Aid, Dave. He also took her for a long walk outside, up and down stairs, and bought her an ice cream cone to eat while walking (that part was fun!)

In OT, Ron had Sydney play wii boxing with another patient to work on balance. I'm sure Sydney's brothers will volunteer to help her with this part of her therapy at home! :) He also had her vacuum the staff break room, where she got a few offers for housecleaning employment!

This evening Sydney worked on her Chemistry homework (I'm sure Ms. Wenz appreciates this!) Overall, she has had a very happy and productive day! She has built a lot of friendships with the staff and patients in rehab. She will really miss them when she goes home.

Saturday, Sunday & Monday October 23,24,25

Hello Everyone! Look at the top of Friday's entry, as I have added a link to Sydney's and Christian's dance routine! (You will notice that the professional videographers definitely do not have any competition with our home videos! Not the greatest quality! But we still enjoy them!) I will summarize the last few days below:

Saturday
After a morning session of therapy, we brought Sydney home for an overnighter! It was so nice to be home! Her brothers were very excited to hang out with her, and drove us crazy racing the wheelchair around the house and taking her canes to try them out. They were also very nice to Sydney, and when she went upstairs to have a rest they kept asking when she would come back down. Sydney had a chance to see what it would be like at home, and we found a few tweaks we needed to make (such as a bedside lamp so she won't have to get out of bed to turn off the light), but other than a few adjustments I think everything will work out just fine. We worked out a system where she can use her cell phone to call us when she is done resting during the day so we can come and help her get her brace on. She also calls us when she needs something at night (the home version of a nurse call button!) Yes, we do go in to check on her, but she has a quiet voice so we won't always know when she needs something.

Another bit of good news – Sydney doesn't need blood thinner shots anymore! She has been getting a shot in her stomach every day, and her stomach is pretty black and blue at this point, so she won't miss these shots!

Sunday
When we looked out the front door, someone had brought a big hand-carved jack-o-lantern with arms holding a bouquet of balloons, and a cute note welcoming Sydney home! How thoughtful and fun!

Sydney was really looking forward to going to church and seeing everyone again. We ended up being late because we started walking, but then became worried that her canes might slip on the wet sidewalks (it was raining), so we turned back and decided to drive (we live right across the street from the church – so we never drive to church!)

As we walked to the chapel doors, we realized the meeting had already started. Just then, the Bishop, who was conducting, looked up and saw Sydney at the door and choked up a bit and said “there's Sydney Heyrend”. Everyone turned to look and it seemed that the congregation became hushed. This choked up Sydney and intimidated her a bit and she didn't want to walk in late in front of everyone (she was already a little nervous!) The Bishop seemed to sense this so he started conducting again and pretended like he didn't notice her, so she got up the courage to walk in. After she sat down our sweet friends and neighbors would turn and smile at her to encourage her. She became quite teary and we had to borrow some tissues from Darcy to get her through the meeting. She felt quite overwhelmed to be in church with all these sweet people who had fasted for her recovery, who had been praying for her every night, and who were either providing service to her and our family or were anxious to help her in anyway they could. She has been so strengthened by the prayers, and is so grateful for everyone caring for her enough to fast for her recovery.

She stayed for all 3 hours and was so happy to be surrounded by friends and neighbors. We brought her a soft chair from the Relief Society room to sit on, as the other chairs were a bit too hard.

After church we had dinner, and then took her back to the hospital. Sydney's Uncle John had invited BYU's Young Ambassadors to come to the hospital to visit Sydney as she loves singing and performing – so he thought this would be a special treat. And it really was! We invited the other patients and staff into the hospital break room, and the Young Ambassadors performed a very inspired program for everyone! We thought just a few Ambassadors would come, but around 20 came! Everyone was teary during this program as well – they had chosen some very inspiring songs and hymns, and it was a very touching evening. They left Sydney with a Young Ambassadors T-Shirt, a bracelet that says “Anxiously Engaged”, and a Halloween bucket of treats. Sydney had a wonderful time, and we really enjoyed meeting these amazing young people! Sunday was such a wonderful day!

Monday
After a day of rest, it was time to get back to work! Remember how Sydney walked the whole floor in 2 minutes and 26 seconds with just 1 cane? Well today she walked the whole floor in 2 minutes and 27 seconds without any canes! Wow! Lance holds onto her safety belt, but the faster she gets walking, the better her balance is. Lance then worked with her on some technical aspects of walking, such as starting, stopping, 180 and 360 turns, and walking backwards and sidewards. He also worked with her on bending down to pick something up off the floor (without tipping over!) With good concentration and technique, she picked something up that was 11 3/4” off the floor without falling!

In OT, Ron had her work on balance and core strength. He had her stand and wash his office window. Next he had her bend to pick up bean-bags out of a bucket and throw them through a target. We keep thinking Sydney might come out of the hospital with more sports skills than she had before the accident; but actually she hits about the same number of targets as she hit before! (Don't ask her about her aim!) 4 more days until Sydney comes home, but then who is counting!

Friday, October 22, 2010

We had so much fun watching Sydney, Christian and their therapists perform the “Word Up” routine today! Try watching this on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXQ4loo7EBw

You may also want to check out the video on Christian's blog: ChristiansJourney1.blogspot.com

Christian is the other featured dancer; he is Sydney's friend in rehab recovering from a mountain biking accident. He went home on Saturday! Sydney's amazing Physical Therapist, Lance, is the guy with the big hair (he also chose the song and assigned Sydney and Christian to create the dance routine!) Josh, holding Christian's belt, is Syd's Occupational Therapist and he helped with the dance moves! Kris, short blonde hair, is the Recreational Therapist (she arranges fun outings for Syd like Halloween costume shopping!) Sarah, with short brown hair, is Syd's new friend and is a former rehab patient, recovering from a paragliding accident.

The video quality is not the greatest, as Tim was sitting so close he could either tape Sydney's and Christian's face or legs but not both!

Other activities on Friday:
Sydney walked around the entire floor with only 1 cane in 2 minutes and 26 seconds,
breaking the record she set with 2 canes! She is becoming a very good walker! She also walked around the entire floor once without any canes (Lance held her safety belt to help her balance).

We are really looking forward to having Sydney come home tomorrow for the overnighter. Remember to not visit her at the hospital on Saturday or Sunday as she won't be there! We will be going back to the hospital by Sunday evening, as the Young Ambassadors from BYU are coming to the hospital to sing to her and the other patients – which will be really enjoyable!

For those who live close, Sydney is looking forward to seeing you at church on Sunday!

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Just a brief entry tonight...

Sydney is getting ready for her show tomorrow, so she and Christian spent more time today coming up with and rehearsing their dance moves! They are looking good!

In addition to her dance rehearsal, Lance helped Sydney with exercises and stretches. She had a busy but fun day!

Here is the 1st verse of “Word Up” by Cameo (you can hear the song on YouTube):

Yo! Pretty ladies around the world
Got a weird thing to show you
So tell all the boys and girls
Tell your brother, your sister and your mamma too
we're about to go down
And you know just what to do
Wave your hands in the air like you don't care
Glide by the people as they start to look and stare
Do your dance, do your dance, do your dance quick mamma
Come on baby tell me what's the word – Word Up!

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Today the staff lined up at the break room to watch Sydney rehearse (rock out!) Lance knows Sydney likes to sing and perform, so he burned her a copy of the song “Word Up” by Cameo and asked her to create some dance moves to go with the song and perform it for everyone this Friday! She and Christian (her good friend and inspiration in rehab – recovering from a biking accident) will be the featured performers, with Lance and Josh holding their safety belts from behind just in case they get too into their moves! Who said therapy couldn't be fun! Watch out Paula Abdul – Sydney has some good dance moves!

This morning we visited the 2 outpatient rehab centers we are considering for Sydney. One is Neuroworx, which was a very impressive site. Dale Hull is the founder. He was an OB/Gyn, but suffered a broken neck about 11 years ago in an accident and became a quadriplegic. He has regained quite a bit of use from his legs and arms through hard work and applying the latest research for recovery. They have a state of the art facility.

We also visited TOSH, which also has a good reputation for rehab, with two very experienced therapists who come highly recommended.

After discussing the pro's and con's of each, Sydney currently is leaning toward TOSH. She connected more with the therapists, liked the facility better (more windows – not as claustrophobic), and she is far enough along in her recovery that she does not need the specialized equipment at Neuroworx.

In PT today, Lance had Sydney walk with “moving parallel bars” (the Moses staffs held horizontally by Mom and Grandma). She practiced moving her arms in sync with the opposite legs. (These are things you and I don't even think about – we just do it naturally! Sydney is having to consciously think about these techniques and practice them to relearn this skill). Of course, in the afternoon Sydney was back outside for her all-terrain hike! Lance had her walk all the way to the end of the hospital grounds and back. By the way, Sydney invited Lance to go through Night Terrors with her next Friday – and he accepted! (Mom and Grandma are secretly relieved as he could catch her better if she trips!)

Sydney had a very fun and productive day! It was capped of by a visit from the young women from Sydney's church! Thank you everyone for your support! It has been such a privilege to watch Sydney's faith and hard work through this miraculous recovery! It has also been humbling to see the outpouring of love, prayers, support and service from all of our friends and family! Thank you! We love you all!

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Well, Sydney went jogging today! Twice! (She is trying to keep fit! Ha ha!) Lance held one hand and her safety belt, and Brad held the other hand, and they ran her down the hall! She said this was very hard! She buckled a few times, but Lance held her up. It was pretty amazing to watch! Lance says that if she trips while walking, it is important to be able to speed up her gait (jog) enough to catch herself. She also walked across the gym again without using canes, with Lance holding onto her safety belt. Next, Lance had her walk with 2 big poles which helped her balance, but did not allow her to lean her weight on them (like canes). She looked like Moses with the 2 big staffs! We can't wait until she can walk without any assistance – that will be such an amazing day!

Of course, you know that Sydney tries to break her own records, right? Well today was no exception! She walked 500 yards in 2 minutes and 32 seconds, breaking her previous record of 3 minutes! She is getting fast! She can do this without any assistance except when she starts getting tired. After her successful morning session, Lance told Sydney he does not want to see her in the wheelchair around the hospital – only the canes. She can now walk down to the gym, around her room, etc. which gives her more time to practice her walking!

For her OT session, Sydney walked down to the hospital credit union with Ron and withdrew some money, and then went to the cafeteria to order Ron's lunch. (She ordered him a salad – which will keep him healthy!) She then carried the bowl of salad in one hand, and used a cane in her other hand and carried this back to the elevators and to her room! Quite the balancing act to carry something and use only 1 cane! Ron held onto her safety (gait) belt to assist.

For the second session of PT, Lance took Sydney outside for more all-terrain training! They went up and down a flight of stairs on the way out, and up and down a flight of stairs on the way back in. Outside she walked up and down a fairly steep wheelchair ramp (walking down was much harder). She also walked across rocks, wood chips and across inclines and slants. She is going to get such good balance!

It is so wonderful to watch Sydney's progress every day! We feel so blessed that she is recovering and doing so well! Thank you for your service, prayers, love and support!

Monday, October 18, 2010

You won't believe it, but Sydney walked across the gym without any canes today! Lance held onto her safety belt to help her balance, but she made it across! She was so excited! This was definitely the highlight of the day!

After all this excitement Lance gave her back the canes and took her outside for another “alternate terrain” session. Sydney told Lance a couple of weeks ago that her goal is to be able to walk through Hee Haws “Night Terrors” when she leaves. Sydney worked at Night Terrors last year (yes, scaring people!) and she wants to be able to walk through this year to prove to herself she can do it! To help her reach this goal, Lance had her practice walking outside with canes over rocks, wood chips, up and down small hills, etc. He also had her climb up 19 steps (very hard!) and back down those same steps on her way back into the hospital (this is the 2nd floor bedroom goal!) He had her do a 180º and a 360º turn, and walk backwards and sideways. Quite the workout! Lance realized today he only has 2 weeks left to work with Sydney – not very much time! There is so much more he wants to do with her, but some of it will need to wait for the outpatient therapist. It will be hard for Sydney to not work with Lance anymore!

We are discussing the possibility of having Sydney come home on Friday the 29th instead of Saturday the 30th, as she wants to walk through Night Terrors on the 29th. It probably doesn't make sense to drive back to Salt Lake late Friday night to sleep at the hospital for a morning session of therapy. We will let you know for sure what we decide.

We are planning to have Sydney come home this Saturday the 23rd for her first “overnighter” at home. We are excited! We will have the house ready by then. Sydney is a little nervous, but mostly excited!

Thanks for your love, support and prayers! We look forward to each day to watch Sydney's amazing progress!

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Watch out! Once you time Sydney she always tries to beat her record! Today was no exception! Sydney walked 500 feet in 3 minutes, crushing her time yesterday of 4 minutes and 30 seconds! She can now walk as fast as the average walking person!

OT worked on standing and sitting from a low surface. They also discussed backpack strategy. How to get it on and off a wheelchair, and what to do with your books if you are walking with a cane (we want to try a rolling laptop case, but didn't have one with us).

In the afternoon Kristen took Sydney outside and had her walk over wood chips, rocks, up and down curbs, and across inclines and declines. She walked for over 20 minutes with only 1 rest! After this endurance marathon she was totally wiped out! She slept for almost 3 hours – totally knocked out!

By the way, we sure have fun asking Sydney to wiggle the toes on her right foot for us! Such a thrill!

Thank you for your love, prayers and support!

Friday, October 15, 2010

Today Lance worked on Sydney's balance and control. The sport of choice was....Soccer! Pretty scary to lift one leg to kick a ball! Sydney is really going to like sports by the time she finishes therapy! She also walked through a grid of shoebox compartments Lance placed on the floor. She had to concentrate to lift her foot and precisely place it into a compartment; and then repeat the process with her other foot to walk across this grid.

Next Lance worked on Sydney's speed. He had her walk 500 feet using 2 canes, and clocked her at 4 minutes 30 seconds - which is really good!!

The highlight of the day was Halloween costume shopping! Sydney found a great costume, but I won't spoil the surprise of what she is going to be – you'll have to wait for Halloween! While she was shopping, she picked up a wig for her therapist Lance, since he is stylishly hairless! I'm sure he appreciated it. :)

Thursday, October 14, 2010

We had some more miracles today! You may remember that Sydney has been unable to move her right leg below the knee (flex her foot, wiggle her toes, etc.) We were wondering if the recovery she was blessed with perhaps did not include her right foot and some other functions, and we did feel very blessed with the recovery she has already had. Then Sydney received a blessing from her Bishop where she was told these areas would heal. Tim prayed about this blessing a week ago and was distinctly told the Lord was waiting to bless Sydney, but needed her to exercise faith in Him for these ongoing miracles. These experiences were very heartening to Sydney, and she has exercised faith that these miracles would happen, despite medical expectations. Today her faith paid off! She can now slightly wiggle the toes on her right foot! WE ARE SO EXCITED! We are so grateful! Prayers are being answered! She is healing in every area!

Since this news is so exciting, a report of the rest of the day will seem very mundane! But I will tell you what Sydney did today anyway, as we want to look back on this experience and remember her progress. Today Lance had her walk with canes through environments more challenging than the hospital hall. She walked around the therapy room where she had to walk around objects, turn, walk sideways in a tight spot, walk backwards, etc. Then he took her outside and had her walk on grass, walk across a slant and up an incline. This was all very challenging, but she concentrated and did very well, and we know her strength will increase. Lance also had her climb up and down 2 stairs using just canes and not the rail. This was also very difficult – but she did it! We are so grateful we have Lance as a therapist! He knows exactly how to further her progress! He says Sydney's miraculous progress makes him look good; but we also know his skill and insight are just what we need to help Sydney progress to her full potential!

We are so excited by Sydney's progress! We feel so blessed! We are so grateful! Thank you for your continued prayers for her. Tomorrow is going to be a blast, as Sydney LOVES to dress up for Halloween, so OT and RT are taking her on an outing to shop for a Halloween costume! You will HAVE to trick-or-treat at our house to say “hi” to Sydney, as she is coming home on Halloween! Thank you for your love, support and prayers!