Sinai Friends Come for a Visit

When we told Ilan that some more of his friends were coming to visit last weekend he became very excited.  He helped select the chips and sodas that he wanted served to his friends and had a smile on his face all afternoon before they arrived.  He was a little shy when they did come but he managed a few smiles and furtive glances at them.  The girls that visited were all classmates from Sinai Akiba and also from Milken.  He really enjoyed their company, their smiling faces and discussions with him.  He actually played a joke on them because when they asked him if he remembered them he responded with a "no" using his eyes.  Yet after that when we gave him the wrong names for each of the girls and asked him if that was their name, he shrugged his shoulders and laughed!  When they left Ilan grew quite sad - we asked him why he was sad and we were able to find out later it was because he was not able to speak with them! 

Ilan is looking his best in a long time and has an interested look on his face at all times - he is also becoming very keen on improving his ability to move and communicate.  Just this weekend he learned how to shake his head to respond "no" and nod his head for "yes".   He hasn't lost his humor - he has played a few pranks on us by giving the wrong answers on purpose and chuckling loudly when we look at him with a perplexed look.   Also, now that he has better control of his left arm he is able to shake hands well and give and receive a ball; these are huge steps for Ilan!! 

Ilan goes for an evaluation in February to determine if he is able to proceed to the next stage of his rehab - we believe that he is now ready and hope that the doctors feel the same way.  

Dad-Brian

Hannukah Party

Last Saturday, a bunch of Ilan's friends came over to spend time with him. The highlight of the day was a video they put together just for Ilan, which had friends and teachers from Milken wishing him a happy Hannukah. Ilan really enjoyed watching the video, but I think his favorite part was seeing familiar faces and being a part of the excitement. I'm attaching a few pictures of the fun day.


I figured now might be a good time to update on Ilan's progress, as it has been pretty amazing. Ilan's control of the left side of his body is getting better every day. He can move his arm pretty much on his own (into shirt holes and to arm wrestle with one of us), and he can bend and move his leg with ease. As some of you may remember, we used to communicate with him with blinks. Now, he has incredible control of his head in moving it from side to side so we try to use that instead. For example, instead of asking Ilan to blink twice if he wants to watch the Laker game, we now ask him to look at Michal. It makes it easier for us to understand what Ilan is saying, and also gives him good practice working out his neck muscles.

Ilan has some pretty amazing therapists working with him (some of whom might even be reading this). The big exercises for Ilan in physical therapy right now are sitting holding himself up on his own with his arms, and rolling his upper body over. He is also working on holding his head up on his own and doing more things with the right side of his body.

Thanks for reading and Shabbat Shalom!

- David

Trip to Milken

Sorry nothing has been posted for a while, but we'll hopefully be writing more especially over the next few days. Ilan has been pretty busy lately, hustling around for appointments around town. More importantly, he looks great. Ilan is smiling and laughing, and goofing off at every opportunity. He is moving his head on his own and loves being the center of attention.

Ilan and I have been arm wrestling on a fairly regular basis, and the strength in his left arm surprises me every time we battle. Lately he's been a little shy in doing it, but he might also be bored with beating me every time.

On New Year's Eve, the whole family went up to Milken so Ilan could hang out at his old high school. He really enjoyed being up there, especially when we stopped by a few of his hang out spots. I'm attaching some pictures, of us in the amphitheater and Ilan making note of his trip on a whiteboard. More to come in the next day or two, so keep an eye out.

- David