Day 10 - The facts

All we can do is document changes that we are seeing in Lila, right?  We do not know whether these changes are stem cell related, however we are excited to share them with you all!  So, below are a few changes we have seen over the past few days, and regardless of how they have happened, we are very excited to have seen these positive qualities come out in Lila :-)

1.  For the past 18 months, really most all of Nora's life, my frustration level has risen with Lila.  When Nora does something Lila doesn't like, she hits her, pushes her, screams and throws fits (Lila, that is).  This goes back to her processing not being fast enough to use her words with Nora.  That all being said, over the past two days she has been using her words with Nora, and letting me know why she is frustrated!  (i.e. Nora took my puzzle piece, Mommy...OR...Nora, give me back the stroller).  I can then redirect Nora and thank Lila for using her words!  Wow!  This has made a tremendous difference in our daily routine, and I know Lila now feels better that her words are reinforced with positive feedback.  Whew!  What a blessing!

2.  Lila always, and I mean ALWAYS, asks for help in any type of physical scenario.  Out of habit, she will ask for help, and then when I get to her she will say, "I'll do it myself".  Very frustrating for all involved :-)  Nevertheless, yesterday after dinner, her and Nora were outside going up and down the slide.  1. She began to ask for help once, but didn't finish her sentence, 2. she went down the slide by herself, which happens very rarely at our house, and 3. She went down the slide, stood up at the side of the slide, walked to the stairs, climbed up, and went down the slide again (all while "vertical"!).  Check out the video of this great achievement!

(Sorry, can't seem to get the video to work.  I will hopefully be able to post it this weekend, however have attached a photo below of the experience )

3. I was not at home this afternoon, so when I called Matt to tell him that I was on my way home, he had gotten very excited.  He couldn't wait to tell me that Lila balanced on her own for at least 20 seconds.  (Hi!!Matt, here!....She was TRULY balancing!  Up until now, her balancing has mostly consisted of standing up and which ever way she leans first....she would fall over in that direction.  This was different!  True balancing.  She stood up, swayed back and forth, knees bent, both of us looking at each other, mouths wide open, very excited for this new experience!  AWESOME!  I love you all for helping and making this happen for us!  I can't wait to see it all unfold!  Thank you all!)  Maria here again....how exciting, huh?

4.  Lastly, Lila far exceeded our expectation that she will want to eat twice as much following her treatment...she ate 1 1/2 cans of her favorite vegetable soup, all while dipping a piece of toast in her bowl.  WOW!  She complained for a good hour that her belly hurt :-)  Just feeding those stem cells...go stem cells go!