Solidarity

Melinda and Ivy's grandma, Pat got streaks of blue to show solidarity with Ivy and the long road she has in front of her. For all who know grandma's outlook on life, getting a bright blue streak in her hair is about as likely as getting a full sleeve tattooed on her arm. But she told Ivy that if she opened her eyes, she'd put a blue steak in her hair, and we all know she's a lady of her word. The good people at Hep Kat provided the color and wouldn't take a dime for it. Paris and Brittany also came to the hospital and recolored Ivy's hair the night before she left. The people at Hep Kat have been so supportive and concerned for Ivy, we can't begin to thank them enough. They're even talking about having a benefit for Ivy in the near future! Details to follow...
Yesterday was a difficult day for Ivy though she's still showing progress. She's gaining mobility in her neck, but we are beginning to wonder if she is becoming more aware of her situation. Right now it's hard to tell if she is in physical or emotional pain. My guess is that it's a bit of both. We've all had a couple weeks to grieve, and see her progress to this point, but Ivy is just now coming to terms with what happened to her. She isn't aware of how unresponsive she was the first week. She wasn't there when we got the grim results from the MRI. And she hasn't been able to witness her own progress. All she knows is that she's woken up without the ability to use her body and the cognitive function to recognize there's a problem. Of course this is all speculation on my part. Ivy has no way to communicate with us right now and until she does, all we can do is talk to her and make sure she's getting as much physical stimulation as she needs so she can start to reform those connections in her brain.