I Love You

HE SPEAKS!

Today they put on a speaking valve over his trach, which allows him to get words out of his mouth. He sounds like WALL-E…ya know, that cute robot off that movie. Or..hmmm, let me think, okay so you know when your garbage disposal gets backed up and it makes that loud terrible noise…he sounds kind of like that too. But hey, WE WILL TAKE IT! It's been fun trying to get him to say things all day, nothing really comes out but we can kind of get the jist of it! It will take a while for his vocal chords to get back to working properly and the speech therapists will work with him on how to use his mouth and tongue to speak. We are really excited!! I've missed hearing his cute voice. Actually, fun fact about Britton…he was the worlds worst mumbler. Like 80 percent of the time you couldn't understand a word he was saying because he would talk so quiet and just mumble. It would drive my mom and dad nuts. I thought it was cute. 

Britt worked really hard in therapy today, he rolled over 4 times all by himself. BIG DEAL. He is getting sooooo much better at standing up and sitting down, we hardly have to help. His left eye is starting to get some movement in it, sometimes we can see a little crack. Some of the muscles on that side of his face are starting to work again too!! This is exciting stuff!! 

We had another pup in the buildin today, and Britt loved every second. It was extra poofy and he thought that was funny. 

It has been the most humbling experience in the world to watch my little brother go from completely helpless, unresponsive and hanging on to his life by a thread...to waking up and being able to move and communicate and taking steps towards recovery each day...when the circumstances suggested differently. 

It was kind of weird, and is still pretty confusing, but just to clear the air…Britt is no longer in a coma anymore, he is awake. Although, he is not completely awake, he is almost there! His case was a little different than most…he didn't just open his eyes one day and TUH-DUH! AWAKE. It all happened really slowly and gradually, and we are thinking that it will continue that way. The reason his eyes are not all the way open is because the muscles and nerves are still trying to figure everything out and reconnect, the nerves in the right side of his face were cut when they removed his skull the first day, and that is why his right eye and side of his face has been pretty inactive for the most part. But they think that with time it will heal and things will come back together! So that is what we are hoping for, and so far so good. 

The left side of his body is becoming stronger with each day. It has been incredible to watch it all slowly start to come back. 

Today I was sitting with Britt on his bed, and I told him that I loved him. And he said it back. Clear as day. (okay maybe not clear as day, but i could tell) You bet that brought some tears to my eyes. Do you know how long I've been waiting to hear him say that back to me again? It was a really good feeling. Maybe the best. It's just crazy cause 3 months ago….this day, hearing him say that to me, seemed…well, it didn't seem like it would ever happen. But here we are. So so grateful to have made it to this point. 

The Dixie State Basketball team came and visited Britt today, and he loved every second of it. They brought him a ball, a shirt and a few other things. He was showing them his follow through and everything haha. They were so sweet and encouraging towards him. It meant so much. I'm so thankful for the amazing community we live in and all the love and support you have shown Britton and my family. It has had an undeniable impact on where he stands today, and how we have been able to get through this as a family. There is no way he or any of us could do it without you. So thank you!!