Happy Birthday Dylan! Everyone keeps sending me emails, pics, and updates of your progress. We are all so proud of your accomplishments and can't wait to get you back to scouts, your pictures are up in the a-frame building and you're in our prayers at every meeting. You are an amazing kid and you will do amazing! Dan & Keri, I haven't talked to you in a while, and I really miss being able to stop by and see you guys but wow what a great move for Dylan! He is so lucky to have you guys and the selfless choices you have made on his behalf! You have really rolled with the punches and are an inspiration to us all!

GOD BLESS!!!!!!

Peace, Love, And Prayers!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DYLAN!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tom, Tracey, Triple T, and Janell Tracy

HAPPY 14th BIRTHDAY DYLAN!

We are all looking forward to coming up and visiting again soon. Hope you and your family have a good day! Love, The Smalling Family

Dylan scores high!

Our weekend up in Phoenix was GREAT!! Dylan has made sooo many improvements. When we got up there on Friday night, the patient tech told us that Dylan had a very busy week in therapy! He's doing so good. They said he is moving more and more aware of who/what are around him! He was wide awake when we got there on Friday night and we visited with him for a little bit before we went to the hotel. His blood sugars are still a little wobbly, they were in the mid 300's on Friday and for part of Saturday. Saturday morning Dyl was in the day room when we got there and when we walked in the door he smiled at us when he saw us! Such a neat thing to see!! The nurse told us that he's making a lot of progress with his therapy, she said that he's doing shapes right now, they give him a star/square/round shaped block and he has to put it in the correct opening and he was doing that!! I guess that's something they weren't expecting him to do at this stage!! He also was watching the patient care tech over the weekend and they both had glasses on and they were talking to Dylan and joking that he should reach up there and take their glasses off, and he reached up there to touch them! He also makes many movements on his own without prompting to get comfortable now! It's so neat to watch him relax in his chair or to settle himself more comfortably in his bed! He was hanging out in the day room on Sunday and we were talking to him about what was on his blanket (rodeo, cowboys, campfires and camping gear) and Dan asked him where the campfire was on the blanket and he lifted his hand and pointed right to it!! He is doing really good with keeping his head central (he used to have it turned to the left or right side) and he's pretty good about keeping it in the middle now. He is also using his hands to scratch itches on his face/nose and to rub his hair! It's amazing how much more mobile he is now! We saw and heard him laugh again this weekend! That's always a treat, he has such a sense of humor and really seems to know when you are having fun and joking around! Dan and I were asking him for kisses this weekend and he lifted his head toward us to get kisses.

He is also doing some art work with the therapist during the week, he did a picture they put up in his room! So cool to see that he's able to control his hands enough to do that kind of thing!! He understands more of what we are telling him too, he knows when we are going to lunch or to run an errand and we tell him we'll be back soon, and then he gets mad at us when we get back because he was by himself for a little while. Our friends went up to see him yesterday and they said the therapist told them Dylan's therapy went well his target goal was a "5" and he got 5 out of 5!! Way to go Dylan!!! They called Dan to tell him and when they put the phone up to Dyl's ear and Dan talked to him he got mad and started crying because he couldn't see Dan. So he seems to be understanding and aware of tons more stuff! His birthday is coming up soon and we are having a mini get together for him up there. I can't believe that he is going to be 14!! He's grown so much in the last few months! I saw a picture of him in his wheelchair yesterday and our friends kids were standing next to him and he looked like the jolly green giant next to them! He's so tall!! He really seems to enjoy being outside more and more. When we took him outside on Sunday he was just watching the birds and looking at the cars passing by and then checking out the mountains! He was so much more alert as to what was around him! He's still working on the knuckle-bumps and he's getting really good at moving his arms up over his head to relax. We've noticed more controlled movement on his right side too, which is great because his left side has been so dominant! ~Keri :o)

"Knuckle-bump"

Hi all! Dylan is doing GREAT!! He had tons of company this past week, his cousins came up to see him on Thursday! Yay!! I know he enjoyed their visit and the pics were cute! :) Then on Friday Ms. Ronda came up to spend a few hours of time with Dylan and give hims some "sugar", which I know he enjoyed :) Saturday his Gaga, Aunt Dena, Uncle Chris and the "cuzzins", Brad, Tracey, Brandon and Tyler all came over to see him!! It was a party in Dylan's room!! :) He's doing so much more moving around right now :) He is moving his left arm quite a bit, he is able to lift it over his head and rub his hair, he even uses his hand to scratch his nose a lot ;) He is now using his right hand a bit more too, the aid was telling us that he is doing a lot in therapy too, his is taking things out of the therapists hand and holding them! He did that for us this weekend too, we had his ipod and we dangled it in front of him so he could see it and he lifted his hand and held onto it :) He is also doing the "knuckle-bump", thanks to Brad for trying this out, it's a new thing he's doing and is consistent with :) He is able to lift his head for longer periods of time and is aware of who is near him and what they are conversing about. He was smiling and laughing again this weekend!! I know the company he had made him sooo happy! He was also able to see his Aunt Sherry and Uncle Garry via oovoo, it's an online live chat that we joined, and visit with them a bit! There's a sponge thing that the nurses use to give Dylan medicine for his thrush on his tongue, we used one on Saturday to give him a bit of water and he actually grabbed it out of his mouth and put it down by his lap, then we let him hold onto it and he put it in his mouth too!!! So many new things he is doing!!

Yay Dylan!!! - Keri

Dylan loves to laugh!

Wow, what a weekend Dylan had this weekend!! We didn't get to go up on Friday night, but boy did he show us such improvements on Saturday and Sunday!! Dylan's friends Meagan and Jeffrey went to visit him on Saturday, they were able to get there early in the morning (thanks to Lynn and Jeff for all your support and brining Meagan and Jeffrey up there, it means the world to us and to Dylan!!!) and got to spend the day with Dylan. They had him LAUGHING!!!! I can't tell you the feeling it gives you to see him laugh! We had seen him smiling for a couple of weeks, but he was actually laughing this weekend. He is understanding humor and relates smiling and laughing to an appropriate response to humor! When we walked into the day room on Saturday afternoon he smiled at us and then proceeded to laugh at jokes and smile when something made him happy. If you could have seen the smile on Dan's face, it was ear to ear, it made my heart happy!! Dylan is doing great, he is able to move his arms more and is getting very good at picking his left arm up over his head and resting it up there to relax, he is even starting to move his right arm more! He was touching his face quite a bit this weekend and it looked like he was rubbing his nose and cheeks, as if they were itchy, a lot this weekend! He is still pulling his knees back on his own when he is done stretching so that he doesn't get a muscle spasm, and he has figured that relief out on his own!! Dan asked Dylan to hold his hand this weekend and Dylan moved his hand from his lap up into Dan's hand all on his own, and he did it multiple times!!! I know he totally enjoyed having his friends there to visit this weekend! We love it when he has company, especially friends his age.

Then yesterday he had his aunt and grandparents up for a visit, which was sooo nice!! He was smiling and laughing again!! He has gained so much ground in the last few weeks!! The doctor wants to have a neuropsychological evaluation done on Dyl in June. It should help pinpoint the best plan for his recovery and therapy :) Dylan is also continuing to make choices with his eyes, he is asked yes/no questions and consistently answers the questions when asked and he is able to communicate some choices with what he'd like to wear and do for the day :) Please continue to keep Dylan in your thoughts and prayers, he has come a LONG way!!! - Keri