Day 15 - Our final day in Birmingham!

First off, what an amazing experience that our family has been provided.  While this is truly about Ben and his future successes, we'd be remiss if we didn't take pause and thank ALL of the people involved in this effort.  A number of contributions from countless people have made this trip a reality and not the pipe-dream that I thought it would be when we first contemplated starting this journey.  It's a lot of fun to be part of a success story and we hope that your contribution to the process, whether it has been monetarily, spiritually, emotionally (or something else that I've not placed here) gives you a sense of accomplishment.  Don't take our word for it, Ben's pictures are a testament to his own hard work.  Many of you know Ben, and some of you know him well.  You know where he has been; through this blog over the last three weeks, you've seen where he has come. It is our family's hope that you continue to follow him in the future.  Please, take a moment and appreciate your role in the process.  We deeply and sincerely thank you for this opportunity.

Today was an odd day, as a number of administrative items needed to be addressed during our session today.  Before we got down to the paperwork, however, Ben took a moment to thank Ms. Jane for all of her hard work.  Honestly, Ms. Jane is an extraordinary individual who truly has a passion for the work she does.  Her focus is intense, she has a phone, but we never see it.  She doesn't where a watch.  She doesn't step out to go to the bathroom.  It's really cool to recognize just how focused she is on the task at hand.  Here, Ben was saying thank you with a small token of appreciation.

From there, the business of the day was to work on bilateral movements.  To accomplish this, Ben did a number of activities that involved the use of two hands.  For instance, he "read" books, played with a few large toys, and snapped together some toy "things."  I'm not sure what to call them, but I've included an image below.  Assign these things any name you'd like! (Interactive blog, how about that!)  

The other cool part of today was that Ben got to show off for Grandma and Grandpa Yenger.  We took them to therapy with us and they spent a few hours watching the work that Ben has been going through on a daily basis for the last three weeks.  Best of all, Ben got Grandma on a swing in the gym and had some fun swinging with her!

Our gym time pretty well completed our therapy session.  From the gym, we went back to the room and did paperwork, signed off on materials... yada, yada, yada....

We hopped in the car around 11:30 and took off for the great white North.  During our drive, Ben and I did a bit of talking, and we talked about the importance of using our left hand.  He demonstrated that he understood by using it to manipulate an old iPod touch,

Perhaps the coolest part of the day however was supper time at B dubs.  In the face of a long car ride and a 45 minute nap, I asked Ben to work with his left hand at supper.  I brought along a fork commensurate to the task and after one brief melt down, he was doing this:

Look ma, pinching with my left hand!!!

So y'all know, the fork was intended for his left hand.  The idea here is that if you use something bigger, it will make it easier to grasp.  Ben decided to go big and actually maintain a grip on a Splenda packet for quite some time!  Just a little bit of pride talking in our boy!

Demonstrating fantastic range of motion!

(And still holding the Splenda.)

Video evidence that he was a total boss at supper tonight with his left hand.

Bedtime was fast approaching so we did a bit of casted homework, then put on our supination splint for the night.  Here Ben is in his splint...

It was time for bed around 9:30ish in preparation for our return home tomorrow!  Can't wait to see Reanna and Ainsley.

Again, we want to thank all of those involved in Ben's story.  Mom and Dad just have to manage and maintain the therapy, but it is all of you, in your collective capacity, that have ushered Ben into a new way of living.  A more productive way of living.  Thank you.  We love you and we thank you for loving our son.

Peace.