Nathaniel seems much more aware and awake. He still seems to sleep for about one hour in his chair after his afternoon nap, though. It's strange. He may not sleep at all in the afternoon, but as soon as we get him ready and put him in his chair, he sleeps for about an hour. If we put him in the chair at 4:00, he sleeps until 5:00. If we put him in at 5:00, he sleeps until 6:00. There doesn't seem to be any correlation between the number of hours slept during the afternoon nap and the hour he must sleep in the chair.
Someone gave Nathaniel a basket wrapped with cellophane. I put it on his table and told him to open it. He tried with his left hand. It was frustrating because the basket kept moving. I suggested that he try to use his right hand. He tried, but I still had to move the right hand to the correct place.
In the basket was a bag of coffee. I don't drink coffee, but Joe lives on the stuff. I told Nathaniel that the bag was coffee and asked if it was for me. He put out his index finger, which means "No". I then asked if it was for Abba, he gave a thumbs up, which is "Yes". This little interaction means that he hears, understands, and remembers from before the attack. Very encouraging.
Nathaniel likes to listen to music. A friend is a music therapist. She has Nathaniel shaking a tambourine to the beat of a song, beating on a drum, and learning notes by pushing keys on a keyboard. It is amazing to see.
We're working on having him hold his head up for longer periods of time. He seems to be getting stronger. He still has to be reminded, but he needs less prompting.
Every week he gets another injection to increase the size of the balloon used to expand the skin on his scalp. It's not supposed to hurt, but he really seems to be in pain for a few days after the procedure, which is why we give him pain killers. I think the balloon also feels funny to him. He keeps trying to touch it. He has at least another 2 months of weekly injections before they can do the cranioplasty surgery. I hope it will get easier as time goes on.
Next week is the trial for the terrorist. He confessed to his crimes. Now is the sentencing hearing. We were offered the chance to testify. I said I would make a statement. It has been very draining emotionally to think of what to say and to practice, but I hope that what I say will help keep the defendant in prison for a long long long time.