Aubrey is Body-Slamming the Odds

Hey everyone, it's Andy again.  We said we wouldn't update you on Aubrey unless there was something to report - well, there's something to report.  And it's good news.

Today, it was like the light switch turned on overnight.  There was dramatic improvement from yesterday to today - and I mean, abnormally dramatic improvement.

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When Aubrey woke up this morning, Ashleigh was with her.  Aubrey immediately wanted to play with her toys.  This is the first time she has shown any interest in actually playing with something.  That was very encouraging.  It gets even better.

As you may know, she's only said four or five words up until this point, and she has only said those in broken English and when she's angry.  But this morning, as she was trying to press a button on one of the toys she was playing with, she suddenly asked, "Mommy, can you help me?"  Ashleigh did a double-take, and then it hit her - "My daughter just spoke in a full sentence." Aubrey has continued to speak in full sentences today.  We praise Jesus for this.

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Two days ago, Aubrey was upset at the sight of a spoon.  Today, she actually tried to eat.  That's major progress.  Unfortunately, after one bite, she said her tummy hurt.  We think that's a sign of constipation, and that's probably why she's been so resistant to eating.  The doctors are going to give her a laxative to help with that.  We are hoping that once this happens, she will no longer need the NG tube.

Aubrey is also starting to walk.  She needs help because she is off balance and somewhat uncoordinated, but her strength is good.  Ashleigh helped her walk around the pediatric ward today, and Aubrey was giving stickers to all the nurses.

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Aubrey, the miracle kid

The infectious disease doctors came back, and the final test from the CDC came back confirming that this is West Nile Encephalitis.  In Aubrey's age group, West Nile has only caused encephalitis in 70 children in the last ten years, so it is quite rare.

Despite the seriousness of the disease, all of the doctors are amazed at Aubrey's progress from day to day.  Even though neurology can see some signs of brain disfunction, Aubrey's speedy recovery makes them hopeful that these problems will resolve in the coming weeks.  Personally, in my work as a doctor, I treat adults with brain injuries, and the kind of progress Aubrey has already made often takes weeks or months - or it never happens at all.  

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The automatic, involuntary movements of Aubrey's mouth and extremities have nearly disappeared and are quite mild at this time.  She shows some mild incoordination with her hands and during walking.  Her agitation and behavior have improved at least 50% or more since lowering the Keppra dose.  They want to keep her on Keppra for some time to suppress seizures, and there is a chance that Aubrey could come off the Keppra in a couple months, if all goes well.

We were hoping that Aubrey could soon be admitted to a rehabilitation hospital, but if she keeps making this kind of speedy progress, she may be able to go home and just do outpatient therapy.  That would be so wonderful.

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Please keep praying for Aubrey's complete recovery.  Here are some things you can pray for:

1. pray for Aubrey to start having good bowel movements.  She is quite uncomfortable from being constipated
2. pray that she will never have another seizure
3. pray that the remaining brain dysfunction will continue to clear, as it has been over the last several days
4. pray that she will want to start eating so we can pull out the NG tube
5. pray that when we leave the hospital, she will be able to come home instead of going to the rehab hospital
6. pray that we will soon have our little girl back, completely made whole

I cannot tell you how deeply it touches our hearts to know that so many of you have visited this site repeatedly to know how you can pray for a little girl you don't know.  We see the love of Jesus in this, and we celebrate His continuing victory.  We truly are a family in Christ.