Good evening!! Jess and I went after work to hang out with Matt and Wendy, and to take Matt a small birthday gift (tomorrow is his b-day) of cookie cake…His favorite! Wendy was looking quite perky and awake. She was able to laugh and talk with us throughout the visit and give some of her input into some of the decisions they are considering in preparation for when she is ready to come home. One of the other highlights I would have to say is that Wendy also got to partake in some of cookie cake icing!!! She really liked that!! She was able to have some icing because she has been doing well enough in speech therapy that they have been trying applesauce, pureed peaches, and baby food bananas. Matt says Wendy is scheduled for a modified barium swallow study on Thursday, June 18. This will assess her ability to safely swallow and to see if she is aspirating or not. If she does well, then the typical process is to wean from the feeding tube and back to normal foods. She continues to show more of her personality and gives her input at times into conversations. We asked if she wanted to go for a bike ride since I had mine there, and she said “Sure, get me out there. Ill go” She laughed when we said we would strap her to the tour pack to keep her from falling off!! Matt and I went to get him dinner while Jess hung back and showed Wendy all of the pictures that Jess has downloaded to facebook. Jess said Wendy really enjoyed the pictures, but continues to have memory problems with anything from the last 1-2 years. We would venture to say that there is some connection happening because Wendy looked at Jess and asked “Do I really have 4 kids? I thought that was a dream!” This makes us believe that if she at least thought it was a dream, then there is some connection to it all that will just take time to redevelop. Matt has said that Wendy’s memory has its ups and downs day to day. There are times when he feels she is able to have a better understanding of it all. All in all it was a great visit because we got to laugh, eat cookie cake and watch Matt get Wendy up from the wheelchair and back into bed, in which he did very well with caring for her. As we were leaving, her grandparents (Grandma and Grandpa Stier) and dad (John) showed up and then later our friends Genie and Becky showed up and Matt said they painted her nails!! She looks so much better!! Keep praying please!! Have a great evening!!

Bryan