Faces of Jack

At night, before I turn off the lights, I ask Jack to show me his sleepy eyes. The fact that he can do this is of great significance to me. Before Jack's anoxic event, he made the best faces ... we would ask him to show us his happy face, sad face, sleepy face, mad face, etc. and he was great. It took over a year after his anoxic event for him to be able to show me his sleepy eyes again. He is still unable to show us his other "faces" on request. However, the fact that I can ask him to show me his sleepy eyes and he can do it, is an affirmation that he is still "here" following his event. You can see him processing the information and the delay before he can get his body to do what his mind tells it to do. I ask him to show me a second time just to make sure (in my mind) that it was a conscious act and not just happenstance. You can also hear how excited I get over such a simple gesture. I just wonder what Jack could tell us if we could translate what's in those eyes to words.



Here is Jack this morning when I mentioned putting his DAFOs on. Obviously, he did not like the idea! There's a bit of acting going on as he tries to keep himself from smiling while giving me the pout. (btw, he will get his DAFOs on sometime today - much to his dismay.)



(DAFO = Dynamic Ankle-Foot Orthosis - braces for Jack's feet/ankles)

Got a call from the ophthalmologist's office Friday afternoon telling me that the doctor unexpectedly had to go out of town and he wouldn't be there on Monday. I told them I still plan on coming, so could they get us with someone else, which they did. Mark and I both think Eric will probably need surgery because his eye still wanders, so it's a bit disappointing that our doctor can't see Eric. Oh well ... trying not to sweat the small stuff. If nothing else, it's a much needed break away from the stresses of work and Jack.

Have a great weekend.