Tuesday, August 5

It's been a week since Tommy arrived at Ren rehab, but it seems like only today that he, and I, are finally getting over the exhaustion of it all. It seemed like the first "normal" day since the move. As the therapists get to know Tommy, they're beginning to build on the progress he made at Milford. Today he had therapy in the morning and afternoon, where he had a good bit of practice standing up, and also of "pedaling" an ingenious contraption that attaches to the front of the wheelchair. For the pedaling practice, Tim, the physical therapist, has been taking Tommy outside to the cobblestoned courtyard, a special treat. Tommy needs to do things over and over, says Tim--it's all about relearning through repetition, about laying down new pathways from the brain to the various parts of the body.