I think I mentioned that my daughter had a stroke, on top of all her other medical stunts. No talking due to trach tube, but quite alert and communicative.

Right side is down.

Right arm is starting to work a little on command. She can't squeeze your hand, but she can wiggle her fingers.

So I'm sitting with her, and all of a sudden she reaches up and scratches her nose with her right hand. I say "nice use of the right arm, kiddo!" and she gives me a "what the heck are you talking about?" look, then notices her hand is by her nose. Not only am I dead sure she didn't think about the move, I don't think she realized it had happened.

Later, I gave her some yarn because her fingers seemed bored. And I was tired of taking her feeding tube out of her hand. She started trying to do a knot. Eventually, her head was somewhere else and both hands were in the yarn action.

That right hand is working just fine, it just isn't connected to her mind.

This is my own flesh and blood, my little girl who's life keeps flashing before my eyes starting with her mom calling me out in the hallway from my office to tell me she's pregnant, and when I consider her survival odds (last official estimate 4%, I think significantly improved but still not good) I literally can't breath. Still, this is fascinating.

I have to earn a living and keep my other kids going, so I only get to see her occasionally. Spent a bit over an hour tonight talking to her on the phone. One way conversation, except that I interpreted a change in the whoosh from her trach tube as probably laughing at a joke I told her.

This sucks. Beyond anything I have ever experienced. Way beyond.