Last week Ilan played both seated basketball and standing table tennis with his brothers and had a non-stop smile on his face for over an hour as he pushed his limits to achieve better control of coordination.
Ilan is now showing good signs of improvement in his walking. He is able to walk by himself about 40-50ft with very limited assistance - however, he is still lacking in confidence. He has not remedied his right leg problem which does not produce good movement unless he is reminded.
These past few weeks Ilan has received very deep, and sometimes painful, muscle and body massage therapy from a family friend. Initially Ilan moans and groans as his body is contorted and bent in a variety of positions; but shortly after, he gives a big smile of deep appreciation as he hears his back produce a few popping noises which result in great relief for him.
Ilan has also been working with an ankle specialist to improve the range of motion in his ankles with the same actions and results. As a result the demands on Ilan for extra exercising at home have multiplied.
We hope to enroll Ilan in early June at a specialty fitness gym where he will work on regular equipment and additionally receive electronic stimulation during the workout.
Also, we hope to enroll him is an electronic stimulation program offered at Cedars Sinai to enhance his swallowing (and possibly speech) abilities.
We thank all of his friends for their continued encouragement and support, whether it is in person or on Facebook/AIM/texting.
We congratulate Ilan's Milken classmates on graduation and wish them great success in the coming years.
Thank you for reading Ilan's blog - Enjoy this summer!!