Who's tired and cranky and (soon to be) red all over?

Savannah! After a long visit to the doctor today, we learned that Savannah has roseola-a virus that is apparently making the rounds amongst the under 5s here in Northern California. Thankfully, once the fever breaks in the next day or two, she should be back to her normal self. This will be a welcome change, as she has been nothing short of a terror the last 2-3 days. It's also good to know her bad temperament is due to her being ill and not (as I feared) an early bout of the terrible twos. The pediatrician said she contemplated selling her children when they had roseola-it's like teething on steroids in terms of how she's behaving. The only moment of real peace we had earlier today was when she snuggled up with Jason in our room. Even that was short-lived: it ended with her dumping chocolate protein shake all over the quilt on our bed!

In other news, Jason began outpatient occupational therapy yesterday. It was the first visit, so the whole time was spent discussing goals and what Jason could hope to work on in OT. It seems the main purpose is to trouble-shoot and problem solve any difficulties that arise at home. So, the first goal is to work on getting off the couch! We contemplated putting risers under the sofa, but decided against it since Savannah is definitely in an exploratory phase and I can see her knocking the risers out or hurting herself in some other way (she's quite creative in the ways she can demolish things and/or injure herself).

We also went by the wheelchair vendor to finalize the order for Jason's permanent chair. It'll definitely be nice to get rid of the loaner-it's very bulky. If we're traveling in our car, only Jason, Savannah, and I can be in the car. The chair takes up the trunk and the two passenger seats in the back. The one Jason is ordering is MUCH more compact, so all of it should fit in our car's trunk. We're looking at buying a new car sometime next spring. Jason is already beginning research into the best options. We don't want to do too much right now, though, since we don't really know what the extent of his injury is just yet. We're both committed, however, to doing all that is necessary to avoid purchasing a minivan :)

On the new sensation front, Jason can feel some tingling in his bottom if he sits in one position for too long. This is great, because, at the very least it means he'll be reminded to move around and will avoid pressure sores. Hopefully, it means maybe he'll get more sensation below the waist? He can also feel when his ankles swell, which tends to happen towards the end of the day since his circulation is impacted by sitting in the wheelchair most of the day. Again, any feeling is good, even if it doesn't ultimately mean regaining full sensation. We're cautiously optimistic, though.

We're trying to focus on the silver lining with this injury, and for sure one of the positives about this whole experience is the way our family and friends have rallied around us. It's been great to hear from everyone, both old and new. Thank you :)

All my love,

Ashley