A time for us to be thankful

Ellen has made lots of progress in the last couple of days. She is officially off the ventilator for over two days. The trach has been removed but hasn’t been closed up yet. The doctors will see how much progress she makes in the next 1-3 days and will determine whether to insert a small trach or close it up. Ellen is now sitting in a wheelchair which is great for her lungs and recovery. The lung infection is clearing but she still has the eye infection. Ellen’s x-rays came back positive and her neck is not broken. The neck brace was removed yesterday and Ellen was very happy about that. She's getting a cat scan next week at another hospital for further tests on her brain. When I saw her the other day she waved hello and goodbye and even tried to blow a kiss. The best news of all, Ellen spoke her first words…She said Mom, hello and she wanted to speak with her twin sister, Amy and a couple of friends. She speaks very quietly but it’s not a whisper. At times it’s hard to understand her and she does get frustrated. She started swearing after every other word which was to be expected and the staff also thinks she will ask a lot of questions over and over again. All good signs!! She knows how old she is but was confused about what year she was born. Ellen is still in semi acoma and state of unconsciousness. She won’t remember most of what she is doing and saying but everything she is doing is part of the waking up process. Diane limited her visitors and Ellen was well rested over the weekend. Diane has been reading Ellen her favorite books and she’s listening to her favorite music, which all helps the healing process.

We are all very happy with Ellen’s progress. Even her doctors and nurses were surprised at the speed of her progress in the last week. If only they knew Ellen the way we all do then they wouldn’t be so surprised. She’s such an independent, strong, positive girl with a zest for life (as Brenda has said many times). We still need to take everything day-by-day. TBI injuries are 1 step forward, possibly 2 step back process to recovery. We are constantly reminded of this and are praying the next couple of days will be good days for Ellen.

We have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. Let’s all give thanks for our loved ones, for good health and for Ellen's accomplishments. Let’s all take the time to pray for her continued progress and full recovery.

I'm also very thankful for everyone who has supported us with their generous donations, has taken the time to visit our site and write the most heartfelt comments for our family to read. This website has truly helped get me through the roughest days.

Thank you and God Bless.