Thursday, August 7

The last couple of days, Tommy has been getting into the routine at Ren rehab. Today he had three therapy sessions--PT, OT and speech--two in the morning, one after lunch. Practice included "scooting" from wheelchair to raised platform (with significant help), standing at a counter (ditto) and eating a banana (no help needed there). With his passage of the banana test--i.e., successfully chewing and swallowing it with no coughing--the speech therapist, Holly, upgraded his diet to "mechanical soft", which means that instead of "baby food" he can now eat spaghetti sauce, crumbled bacon and other relatively recognizable food. We spent the late afternoon working a puzzle on the facility's only outdoor porch, and at dinner Tommy was delighted with the goodies I brought him from home to supplement the cafeteria fare--gazpacho and, to top his frozen yogurt, pureed blackberries.