We had Christmas in April or at least it seemed that way at our house last week! Many thanks to all the generous folk at Harmony Elementary and Middle School for their contributions in the clothing drive. Both boys enjoyed going through the boxes. Salifu immediately slipped on a pair of bright yellow boots, a winter coat, smiley face back-pack and gloves. He was beaming with excitement.
There must have been 15 pairs of shorts to fit Francis. Of course he wanted to keep them all! We received just about everything we need to clothe these two guys. The feature attraction, however, was the impromptu dance recital. Francis chose a loud bright pink and purple slick-snap-down-the-side warm up pants and a sloppy jean hat for his ensemble. Salifu was a sight in his pale pink stretch pants and oversized T-shirt worn in a la Pee Wee Herman/Erckle fashion. Flipping on the calypso music they proceeded to cut a rug!! I have it all on video.
Francis actually helped the nurse remove his stitches today. With a little medication to help his nerves, he was able to smile and cooperate. Dr. Mani was unable to do this on Friday as Francis was again totally freaked out. His arm will require a splint-bandage combo for support. He will start moving it a bit this week however. Everything looks wonderful. The graft site has healed very well and the donor site is also in excellent shape. He is happy to see his arm extended out so fully.
Salifu will probably have surgery next week sometime. The doctors are discussing sliding one of the two layers of cranial bone over to close the gap. They were baffled at this litle guys ability to survive such an attack. He will probably be in for 3 to 4 days.
All the machinery attending spring is fascinating to them. Sprinklers, garden tillers, riding mowers, hoses, blowers, clippers, wheelbarrows, .....they love it all. These two boys beg me to let them mow everyday! How long will that last?
Their ability to absorb the language is still an amazement to me. You can just see in their faces how much more they can comprehend each day.
Later,
Ann