8 November 2020

Nathaniel is showing more of his personality. He was even coming out of his shell before he tested positive for corona.

As part of occupational therapy at the hospital, we would use a keyboard to help Nathaniel to learn how to make patterns and how to remember and follow instructions. His friend came to the hospital to visit. I thought it would be fun to have him interact with his friend using the keyboard. I asked Nathaniel to play a pattern so his friend could follow. Usually Nathaniel would play 2-3 notes and then wait for us to follow. With his friend, he was all over the place and seemed to just be playing random notes. His friend was struggling to follow the pattern. I thought he was regressing and just didn't understand what I was asking. He kept doing this. The next time we played on the keyboard, he was back to his 2-3 notes. It took me a while, but I realized that he had known exactly what he was doing when his friend came to visit: he was teasing him.

Nathaniel tested positive for corona the week before Rosh Hashanah. Thank Gd he was better before Succot.

During Chol Hamoed, Nathaniel does not put on Tefillin. On the first day after the holiday, when the caregiver put on his Tefillin, he saw that Nathaniel had a tear running down his face. What emotion!

Because we left the hospital so fast due to corona, we didn't have time to prepare the next steps; therefore, we didn't start out-patient therapy until last week. However, someone from the community set up a Google doc of visiting times so visits would be spread out and organized. We meet either in the apartment or outside in the garden. The visits really help Nathaniel and the visitors are great. Nathaniel enjoys listening to people play music, read stories, learn Torah, and play games. He can actually play a modified game of the card game Taki.

We had a day of appointments at Hadassah last week with his neurologist, neurosurgeon, and rehab eye doctor. He also had a CT scan and an EEG. Everything looks good and the medical team was pleased with his progress. On the way to the hospital, the caregiver played YouTube videos of Divrei Torah for Nathaniel. He was really focused on what was being said, and didn't seem to mind the trip. It was a long day and on the way home, he slept.