Wednesday, May 31st, 2006: Tracy SLEPT all last night! Dad and Mom slept too. We are so glad Tracy is feeling better. Dad gave Tracy a much deserved break from all of her splinting devices! Alleluia! Karina, Tracy's Occupational Therapist at Pinecrest, put all new straps on her night resting hand splints so they are good as new. This morning, Mom and Tracy's P.A. bathed Tracy and got her ready for the day. She had PT/OT at 2 PM at Pinecrest Outpatient Rehab Center in Delray. Karina was out, so Tracy had Sandy for OT. He spent some time educating Mom and Tracy's P.A. on stretching techniques. He was very knowledgeable and showed Mom some efficient ways to stretch Tracy while protecting the lower back. He also stated that Tracy had very good range of motion in all of her joints and extremities and that we were doing a good job maintaining Tracy's range. Then, Lisa, Tracy's PT and Sandy sat Tracy on the edge of the mat and put a large ball in her arms. They moved Tracy side to side for balance and vestibular training. Tracy did a good job tolerating this position and turned her head with assistance from side to side. We will practice more of this. Mom talked with Tracy's Speech Therapist, Linda, who gave Mom some Speech Therapist's contact numbers at Boca Community Hospital for her to refer to on electical stimulation. Mom is not sure what the difference is between Vital Stim and E-stim but will find out. Tracy had 3 rounds of 12 sessions of Vital Stim at Georgetown from July to February of this year. Tomorrow, Tracy has an appointment at Florida Atlantic University Communication Disorders Clinic in Boca Raton. Tracy will be attending the clinic for therapy on Mondays at 2 PM and Thursdays at 4 PM. We are looking forward to getting Tracy back into a college environment among her peers! We are all very hopeful that 2006 will bring great improvements and many miracles to Tracy and our family. Many thanks to all of you who continue to pray for Tracy's recovery! Please keep those prayers and powerful wishes coming Tracy's way! Take a look at today's daily OM. Each one of us has the power to become more vibrant, perpetuating positive energy by focusing on the good in our lives. Positive affirmations are another way to increase our positive energy. An excellent book to read by Louise Hay is I Can Do It! Lesson of the Day: Increasing The Light : Raising Your Vibration! Ongoing Events: Tuesday, May 30th, 2006: Lisa, Tracy's PT at Pinecrest Outpatient Rehab Center in Delray, assessed Tracy's nystagmus (eye movement in a specific direction), to see if she had a disorder of her inner ear caused by lodged crystals. It is known as Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo . Lisa performed some positional changes with Tracy lying on her back on the mat. She will continue to observe Tracy during her therapy sessions to see if she has signs of BPPV. If Tracy is thought to have BPPV, there is an easy remedy that can be performed by changing Tracy's position in a special chair. We'll keep you posted on this... This evening, Tracy had her third therapeutic horseback riding lesson at Vinceremos in Loxahatchee! Tracy did such a good job holding her head up and rode for almost thirty minutes. She was able to hold her head up a lot better with the foam pillow that Ruth made for her. This provides a stable platform for Tracy to prop her elbows on, thus helping her with trunk and head control. Jamie, Tracy's horse, even walked around the ring several times, worked around various pastel colored cones, and even walked over poles. Tracy could feel the horse stepping, turning, and walking up and down the small hills, and did a good job balancing with Dad and Ruth's help. We are so excited that Tracy is able to continue with therapeutic horseback riding and see marked improvements each week! Thank you Vicente and Sylvester for your assistance with Tracy's hippotherapy! Wednesday, May 24th, 2006: Dad made a brilliant observation that could explain why Tracy has been so sleepy during the day! (He is so smart, one of the reasons why Mom married him! The other is his good looks!) He was reviewing Tracy's Baclofen pump print-outs and realized that the internal clock had been reset 12 hours off from the actual time. This happened when Tracy got her pump refilled here in Palm Beach. The computer that is used to set Tracy's Baclofen pump had the wrong time. Since Tracy gets different Baclofen doses throughout the day and night, this created a significant problem for Tracy. Bottom line, Tracy was receiving her night doses during the day and vice versa. This might also explain her teeth grinding and coughing during the night! Mom has an appointment tomorrow morning with Dr. Lochner in Palm Beach to correct Tracy's pump settings. We'll keep you posted... Tuesday, May 24th, 2006: This evening, Mom and Dad brought Tracy to Vinceremos in Loxahatchee for her therapeutic horse back riding lesson. Tracy was very awake and alert at this time. Vincent and Jose helped Dad and Ruth get Tracy up on the horse. Then Ruth positioned Tracy with two boppy pillows so that she had a platform to push herself up with her elbows. Mom is going to find some bigger boppy pillows that fit Tracy so that she will have more stability. Tracy was able to tolerate much longer on Jamie this time. She was really working hard to get her head up and laughed a little and vocalized. Dad led Jamie around the field and Ruth pointed out lots of attractions such as Chico, a minature donkey with an afro! He was so cute! Tracy tried to hold up her head and look at Chico. Ruth noted that Tracy was tracking with her eyes and really trying to look at all the attractions. She did a great job and worked real hard to hold up her head. We plan to return next Tuesday at 6:30 PM. Thank you Vincent and Jose for meeting us out at Vinceremos and helping with Tracy! Tuesday, May 9th, 2006: This evening, Mom and Tracy's P.A. went to Loxahatchee for Tracy's first therapeutic horseback riding lesson. Dad and Emily, Tracy's Speech Therapist, met us at the center. Vincente, Orlando and two other friends came out from St. Mary's Church in Pahokee to help get Tracy on the horse. Tracy did a great job balancing herself on the horse with assistance, and actually lifted her head up twice to look at Jamie, the horse. Tracy was able to get both of her legs relaxed and positioned symmetrically on either side of the horse! It was a huge improvement since last Fall when she was unable to stretch her legs around the barrel at Lift Me Up! This demonstrates how persistence, hard work, and dedication pays off! Thanks to Duncan, Jen, Melissa, Jenn, Katie, Marlena, Nikki, Emily, Linda, Wilmene and all of Tracy's assistants and therapists who worked and continue to work so diligently with Tracy! It is truly paying off! We plan to return to Vinceremos on Tuesday evenings at 6:30 PM! After her lesson, Emily spent some time in the barn letting Tracy experience all the sights, smells, sounds and textures around her. She let Tracy feel and smell some of Jamie's dinner! Ruth held Tracy had and helped her pat Jamie's soft mane! Tracy really seemed to take it all in! Dad is staying busy and enjoying his new job with American Airlines and loves playing doctor again. Tiffany is learning a lot as Communications and Marketing Associate for Response, Preparedness and International Services at the American Red Cross NHQ. WE MISS HER! Mom is enjoying her job too as Tracy's lead therapist during our interim stay in Palm Beach. Once we get to Miami, she will organize a team of therapist similar to the team Tracy had in Virginia. Tracy has been making more sounds each day and really trying to talk to us. She has also been laughing more frequently. Although it seems sporadic, Tracy appears to be laughing when she is relaxed and day dreaming in her bed. This happens more frequently when she is waking up in the morning or falling asleep at night. Saturday, April 22nd at 9:00 AM: Mom, Dad, Wilmene and Tracy got in the van and headed to the Vinceremos Therapeutic Horseback Riding Center in Loxahatchee. Today was the day that Tracy was to be evaluated for readiness for the riding program. We met Ruth, the program director who brought out a very large plastic barrel on rollers, complete with a saddle and a bridle! It was a make-shift horse! Dad, Wilmene and Mom positioned Tracy on the "horse" and Tracy did a good job getting her legs around the barrel and relaxing them down around the "horse". It was a huge improvement since last Fall when Tracy could not get her legs around the barrel at Lift Me Up! Her pelvis seemed pretty stable, the challenge now is whether Tracy can demonstrate the head control to stay up on the horse. Ruth decided that she would brain storm over the next two weeks and Tracy would return on Saturday, May 6th to try out the horse for real. April 7th, 2006: Tracy had a doctor's appointment with Dr. Lochner in Palm Beach to get her Baclofen pump refilled. Dad and Dr. Lochner discussed the plan to lower Tracy's Baclofen dosage. They decided to lower her continuous dosage by 10 percent, leaving the complex boluses at the same dosage. We hope this adjustment will help reduce Tracy's sleepiness during the day so she will be more awake to do therapy. Dr. Lochner was very pleased with Tracy and said that every time he sees her she looks so much better! Dad is now Captain Fanancy L. Anzalone, Ret. He retired on Friday, March 3rd during a beautiful ceremony at the United States Navy Memorial in DC. Thank you everyone who participated in the ceremony! We greatly appreciate all of our friends and family who traveled far and wide to celebrate Dad's 29 years in the Navy! Dad started his 2nd career as the Miami Medical Director for American Airlines and has his new office at the Miami International Airport. Upledger Institute: March 13 to March 17th, 10 AM to 5 PM: Tracy completed the Intensive Program at the Upledger Institute in Palm Beach Gardens. John Upledger, DO specializes in Cranio Sacral Therapy. For more information, please refer to the previous link. February 21st, 2006: During the consult with Dr. Sonies, a Speech Therapist and researcher from the National Institutes of Health, some very pertinent recommendations were made for Mom and Linda to incorporate in feeding Tracy. She is going to provide Mom and Linda with a feeding protocol to follow which will allow some variety in the types of food that Tracy can eat. She recommended only feeding Tracy 1 cc at a time, using a syringe, with a total of 10 ccs per day of a given food. The goal is to retrain Tracy's oral motor function, and not to focus on the quantity of intake. Mom and Linda will start this protocol right away. Next, Tracy had an appointment with Dr. Pagan at Georgetown University Hospital to get BoTox injections to her lower extremities. He injected 600 units of BoTox into Tracy's right hamstrings, gastrocnemius, soleus, and tibialis anterior. He also injected her plantar surface of her feet to help with dorsiflexion. On her left side, he injected everything but her hamstrings. The plan is to continue with serial casting in south Florida and to work towards AFOs so that Tracy can stand with the help of a tilt table. Dad brought a very special gift to Tracy from his hometown parish pastor, Fr. McDuffy: rosaries personally given to him when he had a private audience at the Vatican with Pope John Paul II. These rosaries are very special because they are considered a secondary relic, something that the prospective saint has personally touched. Thank you cousin Frank Arthur for the beautiful St. Theresa medal. She is Tracy's patron saint. Pope Benedict XVI has approved an expedited process for Beatification and ultimate Sanctification of Pope John Paul II. Please pray to Pope John Paul II specifically requesting that he make Tracy one of the two miracles needed for his Sainthood! Here is his prayer: "Prayer for John Paul II's Intercession". We found Tracy's old files and want to share her last AP English Essay and a paper for her Biology Class from Gulf Breeze High School. This will give you some insight into how special she is and why she will come back to us. Here they are: BLESSED and Euthanasia: Filling God's Shoes.

Tuesday, May 30th, 2006: Tracy was awake most of the night grinding her teeth. Argh! It is the absolute worst sound! Mom and Dad were both up all night with her. Mom gave Tracy some medicine for bladder spasms and Extra Strength Tylenol at around 4:30 AM. It helped for awhile. It is so difficult to determine what exactly is bothering Tracy when she is unable to tell us. Despite all of her grinding, Tracy wore her dynasplint for four hours with the tension set at level 3. She was too tight to wear her night resting hand splints. These devices are meant to preserve Tracy's alignment and range of motion. There is also a potential for the dynasplint to restore some range of motion to Tracy's right leg, minimizing her need for surgical releases at this time. This morning, Mom and Tracy's P.A. showered and shampooed Tracy and got her ready for her busy day. Tracy's first appointment was at Pinecrest Outpatient Rehab Center in Delray. She had a cotreatment session with Lisa, a Physical Therapist and Karina, an Occupational Therapist. They spent some time stretchng and ranging Tracy and then Lisa assessed Tracy's nystagmus, to see if she had a disorder of her inner ear caused by lodged crystals. It is known as Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo . Lisa performed some positional changes with Tracy lying on her back on the mat. She will continue to observe Tracy during her therapy sessions to see if she has signs of BPPV. If Tracy is thought to have BPPV, there is an easy remedy that can be performed by changing Tracy's position in a special chair. We'll keep you posted on this...After PT/OT, Tracy had Speech Therapy with Linda. She was awake and alert this time, and even laughed out loud several times. Linda and Mom discussed the next step for Tracy's Speech Therapy. Mom will begin feeding trials of nectar consistency Hydrolyte again to help strengthen Tracy's tongue. especially the anterior tip. After therapy, Mom and Tracy's P.A. took Tracy to get her Baclofen pump refilled at Dr. Lochner's office in Palm Beach. The internal clock in Tracy's pump was accurate and on time. Mom told Dr. Lochner that Tracy seems to be more awake and alert during the day now that her pump has the correct time setting. This evening, Tracy had her third therapeutic horseback riding lesson at Vinceremos in Loxahatchee! Tracy did such a good job holding her head up and rode for almost thirty minutes. She was able to hold her head up a lot better with the foam pillow that Ruth made for her. This provides a stable platform for Tracy to prop her elbows on, thus helping her with trunk and head control. Jamie, Tracy's horse, even walked around the ring several times, worked around various pastel colored cones, and even walked over poles. Tracy could feel the horse stepping, turning, and walking up and down the small hills, and did a good job balancing with Dad and Ruth's help. We are so excited that Tracy is able to continue with therapeutic horseback riding and see marked improvements each week! Tomorrow, Tracy has a cotreat PT/OT session at 2 PM at Pinecrest Outpatient Rehab Center in Delray. We are all very hopeful that 2006 will bring great improvements and many miracles to Tracy and our family. Many thanks to all of you who continue to pray for Tracy's recovery! Please keep those prayers and powerful wishes coming Tracy's way! Take a look at today's daily OM. Sometimes, we may find ourselves shutting down, stifling our creativity due to fear of the unknown. We need to work on maximizing our creative potential by fostering an environment that nurtures our creative soul. Lesson of the Day: Protecting Your Flow : How Fear Blocks Creativity!

Monday, May 29th, 2006: Tracy slept well again last night. She wore her dynasplint for four hours last night with the tension set at level 3. Dad gave her a break from her night resting hand splints. These devices are meant to preserve Tracy's alignment and range of motion. There is also a potential for the dynasplint to restore some range of motion to Tracy's right leg, minimizing her need for surgical releases at this time. This morning, Mom and Tracy's P.A. bathed and dressed Tracy and got her ready for the day. Nana and Uncle Johnny came over to spend the day with us. Mom and Uncle Johnny went for a run while Dad left for Publix to pick up a few things. Nana visited with Tracy and her P.A. while Dad, Uncle Johnny and Mom swam laps. They swam so many that they lost count. Mom is working on perfecting her kick. Dad says she kicks like a dog! She will continue to work on it! This afternoon, Mom, Dad, Uncle Johnny, and Nana met the realtor to look at some more houses. They saw some very pretty ones in Lighthouse Point. There were so many pretty houses to see, it took all afternoon and evening. Summer is the time everyone decides to move! Tracy spent the afternoon catching up on her beauty sleep with her P.A. She has a very busy day tomorrow, so it is a good thing that she rested! Tomorrow, she has PT/OT at 1 PM at Pinecrest followed by Speech at 2 PM. Then they are off to Dr. Lochner's to get Tracy's pump refilled at 4:30 PM. At 6:30 PM, Tracy has therapeutic horse back riding at Vinceremos in Loxahatchee.Whew! Thank you Susi for the beautiful original matted, framed, pencil sketch of the Praying Angel Teddy Bear that she gave Tracy! It is the original from which Susi designed Tracy's logo "Prayers For Tracy." Tracy loves it and we will cherish it always! We are all very hopeful that 2006 will bring great improvements and many miracles to Tracy and our family. Many thanks to all of you who continue to pray for Tracy's recovery! Please keep those prayers and powerful wishes coming Tracy's way! Take a look at today's daily OM. Sometimes, we may find ourselves shutting down, stifling our creativity due to fear of the unknown. We need to work on maximizing our creative potential by fostering an environment that nurtures our creative soul. Lesson of the Day: Protecting Your Flow : How Fear Blocks Creativity!

Sunday, May 28th, 2006: Tracy had another good night's sleep last night. She wore her dynasplint for four hours last night with the tension set at level 3. Tracy also wore her night resting hand splints for eight hours. These devices are meant to preserve Tracy's alignment and range of motion. There is also a potential for the dynasplint to restore some range of motion to Tracy's right leg, minimizing her need for surgical releases at this time. This morning, Mom and Tracy's P.A. showered and shampooed Tracy and then it was off to Pahokee with the family for 12 noon Mass at Uncle Johnny's Church. It was the Spanish Mass in the large hall next to the little church. The hall was packed and everyone was very happy to see Tracy. Mom, Dad, Nana, Aunt Diane, Tim, and Tracy's P.A. were there. Several times during the Mass, Tracy broke into laughter. It was unbelievable! She really was laughing hard during his sermon, when Father, Brother, Uncle Johnny was speaking in Spanish and English (so we could understand him). Tracy was really laughng a lot during the Mass. She seemed to enjoy the lively Latino music. After Mass, our good friends Josefa and Carla made us a delicious Mexican lunch with tacos, enchiladas, salad, fruit ambrosia, and watermelon. It was really good! After lunch, we all visited the beautiful Icon in the little church. We had to lift Tracy up the five or six stairs into the church. It will be so nice to have the new church built which will be totally accessible. Mom wrote a prayer to the Blessed Mother and everyone said a prayer! When we returned home, Emily, Tracy's Speech Therapist, came over to do speech with Tracy. She was very surprised to see how alert and awake Tracy was. She had the BEST speech session yet! Emily fed Tracy 5 ccs of Hydrolyte (Nectar consistency lemon flavored water) with a syringe so she could get it to the back of her tongue. Tracy did a good job swallowing. She also did a good job answering Yes/No questions with two blinks for Yes and head shakes for No. Emily was also very impressed with Tracy's ability to close her mouth on command, after Emily showed her how to do it. This evening, Mom, Dad, Uncle Johnny and Nana relaxed and visited on the balcony with Tracy. It was a beautiful evening with a nice breeze. Jupiter was bright and visible in the early evening sky. Nana was talking to Tracy when she chuckled several times. It is great to hear Tracy laughing and to see her smiling. The change in her Baclofen dose timing seems to be making a difference. Tomorrow, Nana and Uncle Johnny are coming to visit and then we are all going house hunting in the afternoon. Keep your fingers crossed that we find the right house to meet our needs. We are all very hopeful that 2006 will bring great improvements and many miracles to Tracy and our family. Many thanks to all of you who continue to pray for Tracy's recovery! Please keep those prayers and powerful wishes coming Tracy's way! Take a look at today's daily OM. Sometimes, we may find ourselves feeling reluctant to ask questions for fear of appearing dunb. Remember there is no such thing as a dumb question. We must trust the univese to teach us new things and that there are no mistakes in life, only opportunity for personal growth. Lesson of the Day: Intelligence Speaks For Itself : The Fear Of Appearing Dumb!

Saturday, May 27th, 2006: Tracy slept well again last night. She wore her dynasplint for four hours last night with the tension set at level 3. Tracy also wore her night resting hand splints for eight hours. These devices are meant to preserve Tracy's alignment and range of motion. There is also a potential for the dynasplint to restore some range of motion to Tracy's right leg, minimizing her need for surgical releases at this time. This morning, Mom and Tracy's P.A. bathed and dressed Tracy and got her ready for the day. Then Mom and Dad spent the afternoon househunting. Tracy was sleepy and dozed off and on while Mom and Dad were gone. This evening, Mom and Dad caught up on chores while Tracy slept. Tomorrow, we plan to go to Uncle, Brother, Father John's church in Pahokee for 12 noon Mass. Then Josefa is preparing lunch for our family in the rectory. We look forward to going to Mass at St. Mary's and praying to the Russian Icon in the old church. Thank you Susi for the beautiful original matted, framed, pencil sketch of the Praying Angel Teddy Bear that she gave Tracy! It is the original from which Susi designed Tracy's logo "Prayers For Tracy." Tracy loves it and we will cherish it always! We are all very hopeful that 2006 will bring great improvements and many miracles to Tracy and our family. Many thanks to all of you who continue to pray for Tracy's recovery! Please keep those prayers and powerful wishes coming Tracy's way! Take a look at today's daily OM. Sometimes, we may find ourselves wishing we knew what our lives are going to look like or what gifts and challenges are going to be presented to us in the coming months or years. Today's daily OM describes how not knowing the future keeps us fully committed and in the present moment. Lesson of the Day: Fully Committed to Now : Why We Are Not Shown The Big Picture!

Friday, May 26th, 2006: Tracy enjoyed another good night's sleep last night. She wore her dynasplint for four hours last night with the tension set at level 3. Tracy also wore her night resting hand splints for eight hours. These devices are meant to preserve Tracy's alignment and range of motion. There is also a potential for the dynasplint to restore some range of motion to Tracy's right leg, minimizing her need for surgical releases at this time. This morning, Mom and Tracy's P.A. showered Tracy and got her ready for the day. Thank God we did not have to go anywhere today. Tracy was still tight this morning, however, it sometimes takes several days to see the effects of the Baclofen dose changes. Tracy's P.A. stretched and ranged Tracy's extremities and then put on her AFOs while Mom got some office work accomplished. Then, Mom went to the pool to swim her 50 laps while Tracy rested. This afternoon, Mom and Tracy's P.A. got Tracy seated on the edge of the bed to practice head and trunk control. Tracy tolerated 45 minutes in this position. This evening, Melanie came to give Tracy a Cranial Sacral Therapy session. It was storming outside so Tracy was not able to go out on the balcony for her session. Tracy seemed to enjoy the CST session and worked hard to vocalize, making several loud noises. Mom rode her Spin bike for one hour while Dad got a Cranial Sacral Massage. He was well overdue! Mom and Dad relaxed and caught up on the last few episodes of Desperate Housewives leading up to the season finale. The season finale was great, and we look forward with enthusiasm to next year's season. Tiffany made it back to NOVA and had a wonderful learning experience in Atlanta at the American Red Cross training workshop. She is glad to be home. Thank you Susi for the beautiful original matted, framed, pencil sketch of the Praying Angel Teddy Bear that she gave Tracy! It is the original from which Susi designed Tracy's logo "Prayers For Tracy." Tracy loves it and we will cherish it always! We are all very hopeful that 2006 will bring great improvements and many miracles to Tracy and our family. Many thanks to all of you who continue to pray for Tracy's recovery! Please keep those prayers and powerful wishes coming Tracy's way! Take a look at today's daily OM. It encourages the use of incense to stimulate the senses in meditation and self-examination. As spiritual beings enjoying the physical experience of life, incense meditations can help us remember the beauty and wonder of our existence, where heaven and earth, body and spirit, are all available to us in every moment. Lesson of the Day: Journey Of The Senses : Incense Meditation!

Thursday, May 25th, 2006: Tracy slept well again last night. She wore her dynasplint for four hours last night with the tension set at level 3. Tracy also wore her night resting hand splints for eight hours. These devices are meant to preserve Tracy's alignment and range of motion. There is also a potential for the dynasplint to restore some range of motion to Tracy's right leg, minimizing her need for surgical releases at this time. This morning, Mom and Tracy's P.A. bathed Tracy and got her ready for her 11:00 AM appointment with Dr.Lochner to get her Baclofen pump clock adjusted. Ther internal clock was about 12 hours off, switching her days and nights. Hopefully, this will correct Tracy's increased tone in the morning and teeth grinding and coughing that she is experiencing at night. When we returned from Tracy's doctor's appointment, Tracy's P.A. stayed with Tracy while Mom went to her hair appointment. She was LONG overdue! Tracy rested in her chair while Mom was gone. She wore her AFO's for a total of 7 hours yesterday, 5 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the evening. She is tolerating them well with no redness noted. This afternoon, Mom and Tracy's P.A. got Tracy on the therapy mat on the balcony for Physical Therapy. It has been a while since they got her on prone over the peanut ball on her knees so that she could weight bear through her hips. She did a great job relaxing and tolerated one hour in this position. The weather was still hot and humid with lots of clouds, it looked like rain, although the weatherman was not predicting any rain in Palm Beach. After her therapy, Mom gave Tracy a facial out on the balcony while they waited for Dad to get home from work. It was a beautiful evening with a cool breeze; the humidity had finally lifted. This evening, Mom rode her Spin bike for one hour on the balcony. Meanwhile Tracy was resting and Dad was catching up on paperwork. There always seems to be a mountain of paperwork: insurance EOBs, reports, statements, etc. to keep up with. Argh!Tiffany finally made it home safely from her training in Atlanta. Her flight was delayed several hours due to mechanical problems with the plane. (She was flying Delta and not American!) Thank you Susi for the beautiful original matted, framed, pencil sketch of the Praying Angel Teddy Bear that she gave Tracy! It is the original from which Susi designed Tracy's logo "Prayers For Tracy." Tracy loves it and we will cherish it always! We are all very hopeful that 2006 will bring great improvements and many miracles to Tracy and our family. Many thanks to all of you who continue to pray for Tracy's recovery! Please keep those prayers and powerful wishes coming Tracy's way! Take a look at today's daily OM. It talks about how each one of us has the power to heal ourselves and others, as long as love is the motive. It briefly decribes how to lay hands on another in healing touch, tapping into the positive energy of the universe. Lesson of the Day: Restorative Energy : Everyone Can Heal!

Wednesday, May 24th, 2006: Tracy had another good night's sleep last night. She wore her dynasplint for four hours last night with the tension set at level 3. Tracy also wore her night resting hand splints for eight hours last night. These devices are meant to preserve Tracy's alignment and range of motion. There is also a potential for the dynasplint to restore some range of motion to Tracy's right leg, minimizing her need for surgical releases at this time. This morning, Mom and Tracy's P.A. showered Tracy and got her ready for the day. Then Mom and Tracy's P.A. sat Tracy up in her bed for one hour so she could see the TV and work on head control. The goal is to strengthen Tracy's muscles in her neck so that she can sit up on the horse with less fatigue and interact with her environment. Dad made a brilliant observation that could explain why Tracy has been so sleepy during the day! (He is so smart, one of the reasons why Mom married him! The other is his good looks!) He was reviewing Tracy's Baclofen pump print-outs and realized that the internal clock had been reset 12 hours off from the actual time. This happened when Tracy got her pump refilled here in Palm Beach. The computer that is used to set Tracy's Baclofen pump had the wrong time. Since Tracy gets different Baclofen doses throughout the day and night, this created a significant problem for Tracy. Bottom line, Tracy was receiving her night doses during the day and vice versa. This might also explain her teeth grinding and coughing during the night! Mom has an appointment tomorrow morning with Dr. Lochner in Palm Beach to correct Tracy's pump settings. We'll keep you posted... This afternoon, Tracy rested while Mom ran some errands. She had a LONG list of things to get done. Tracy wore her AFOs for a total of 9 hours today (4 hours in the morning and 5 hours in the evening) and her wrist cock up splints for 6 hours. She is doing a good job tolerating these devices! This evening, Mom rode her Spin bike for one hour while Tracy rested and Dad caught up on paperwork. We are getting all of Tracy's therapy reports together to take them to Pinecrest and Florida Atlantic University. Tracy will start speech therapy at FAU, which has a program similar to George Washington University in DC. The program is run by master's students and supervised by adjunct professors in Speech and Language Pathology. We are really looking forward to Tracy participating in the program. Tiffany made it through her second day of training in Atlanta and is learnng a lot as Communications and Marketing Associate with the Red Cross. She met some of her colleagues from other states today. Tiffany met cousins Guy, Dawn and Sophia this evening for dinner and had a good time. She returns to NOVA tomorrow afternoon. Thank you Susi for the beautiful original matted, framed, pencil sketch of the Praying Angel Teddy Bear that she gave Tracy! It is the original from which Susi designed Tracy's logo "Prayers For Tracy." Tracy loves it and we will cherish it always! We are all very hopeful that 2006 will bring great improvements and many miracles to Tracy and our family. Many thanks to all of you who continue to pray for Tracy's recovery! Please keep those prayers and powerful wishes coming Tracy's way! Take a look at today's daily OM. It talks about how each one of us can make a difference in the universe through even the smallest good deed or selfless act of kindness. We can compare this to the ripple effect that a stone creates when dropped in still waters. Lesson of the Day: Dropped Into Still Waters : The Ripple Effect!

Tuesday, May 23nd, 2006: Tracy enjoyed another good night's sleep last night. She wore her dynasplint for four hours last night with the tension set at level 3. Tracy also wore her night resting hand splints for five hours last night. This morning, Mom and Tracy's P.A. bathed Tracy and got her ready for her 1 PM appointment at Pinecrest Outpatient Rehab Center in Delray. Today, Tracy has a Speech evaluation with Linda. This morning, Mom and Tracy's P.A. positioned Tracy on the edge of her bed so that she could weight bear through her feet. Then Mom sat behind Tracy and worked with her head and trunk control. This was the first time since we moved that Tracy was seated in this position. She tolerated 20 minutes. We plan to do more of this exercise to strengthen her trunk and head control. This will make it easier for her to sit up on the horse during her therapeutic horse back riding lesson. After lunch, Mom and Tracy's P.A. got Tracy in the van and off they went to Pinecrest Outpatient Rehab Center in Delray. This is where Nana did her rehab after her bilateral knee replacements. Tracy is being re-evaluated for Speech Therapy to see if she qualifies again for outpatient therapy. If she is not ready for outpatient therapy at this time, Mom would like the therapists to develop an updated rehab plan that she can implement with Tracy. She plans to contact the local OT, PT and Speech Therapy programs to recruit students to work with Tracy this summer. Tracy was very sleepy during her evaluation with Linda. She did wake up and open her eyes briefly when Linda shook a maracas near her right ear. We will try again next Tuesday and hopefully Tracy will be more awake at 2 PM. This evening, Mom and Dad brought Tracy to Vinceremos in Loxahatchee for her therapeutic horse back riding lesson. Tracy was very awake and alert at this time. Vincent and Jose helped Dad and Ruth get Tracy up on the horse. Then Ruth positioned Tracy with two boppy pillows so that she had a platform to push herself up with her elbows. Mom is going to find some bigger boppy pillows that fit Tracy so that she will have more stability. Tracy was able to tolerate much longer on Jamie this time. She was really working hard to get her head up and laughed a little and vocalized. Dad led Jamie around the field and Ruth pointed out lots of attractions such as Chico, a minature mule with an afro! He was so cute! Tracy tried to hold up her head and look at Chico. Ruth noted that Tracy was tracking with her eyes and really trying to look at all the attractions. She did a great job and worked real hard to hold up her head. We plan to return next Tuesday at 6:30 PM. Thank you Vincent and Jose for meeting us out at Vinceremos and helping with Tracy! Tiffany made it through her first day of training in Atlanta and is learnng a lot as Communications and Marketing Associate with the Red Cross. She met some of her colleagues from other states today. She will get together with cousins Guy, Dawn and Sophia Wednesday evening for dinner. Thank you Susi for the beautiful original matted, framed, pencil sketch of the Praying Angel Teddy Bear that she gave Tracy! It is the original from which Susi designed Tracy's logo "Prayers For Tracy." Tracy loves it and we will cherish it always! We are all very hopeful that 2006 will bring great improvements and many miracles to Tracy and our family. Many thanks to all of you who continue to pray for Tracy's recovery! Please keep those prayers and powerful wishes coming Tracy's way! Take a look at today's daily OM. It talks about how our every thought is a prayer of intention to the universe, even our worries. When negative thoughts slip into our minds, it is best to counter these with postive affirmations! Lesson of the Day: Thoughts Of Concern : When Worry Becomes A Prayer!

Monday, May 22nd, 2006: Tracy slept well again last night. She wore her dynasplint for four hours last night with the tension set at level 3. Tracy also wore her night resting hand splints for eight hours last night. This morning, Mom and Tracy's P.A. showered and shampooed Tracy and got her ready for the day. She seemed to really enjoy her shower. It was a beautiful day with soft billowy clouds and no wind. It has been very hot and humid these past few days with temperatures in the high 80's. After lunch, Mom and Tracy's P.A. got Tracy in the van and off they went to Pinecrest Outpatient Rehab Center in Delray. This is where Nana did her rehab after her bilateral knee replacements. Tracy is being re-evaluated for Occupational, Physical and Speech Therapies to see if she qualifies again for outpatient therapy. If she is not ready for outpatient therapy at this time, Mom would like the therapists to develop an updated rehab plan that she can implement with Tracy. She plans to contact the local OT, PT and Speech Therapy programs to recruit students to work with Tracy this summer. The first evaluation Tracy had was with Lisa, a Physical Therapist who graduated from the University of Miami in 2000. She did a thorough assessment on Tracy. Mom discussed Tracy's nystagmus (dizziness leading to a spasm) initiated when we quickly change Tracy's position in space. Lisa also is a vestibular/balance therapist and will evaluate Tracy for inner ear/balance issues. There is a treatment that can be performed that may correct Tracy's vestibular issues. Keep your fingers crossed that we are successful in this. Next, Karina, the Occupational Therapist, evaluated Tracy, checking out her splints and measuring the range in her upper extremities. She recommended modifying Tracy's wrist splints and doing some additional stretching and range of motion exercises to keep Tracy's wrists in tip top shape. We will return next week for a two week trial for both OT and PT. Tomorrow, Tracy has an appointment with Linda for a Speech evaluation. We'll let you know how that goes. Tomorrow evening, Tracy has a therapeutic horse back riding lesson at Vinceremos in Loxahatchee. We are looking forward to getting Tracy back on the horse. Tiffany made it safely to Atlanta and will be attending a conference this week with the Red Cross. She is looking forward to meeting other Communications and Marketing Associates and learning new things. She will get together with cousins Guy, Dawn and Sophia Wednesday evening for dinner. Thank you Susi for the beautiful original matted, framed, pencil sketch of the Praying Angel Teddy Bear that she gave Tracy! It is the original from which Susi designed Tracy's logo "Prayers For Tracy." Tracy loves it and we will cherish it always! We are all very hopeful that 2006 will bring great improvements and many miracles to Tracy and our family. Many thanks to all of you who continue to pray for Tracy's recovery! Please keep those prayers and powerful wishes coming Tracy's way! Take a look at today's daily OM. It talks about how the world is a mirror that teaches us how to live in harmony with nature. Mankind evolves parallel to our counterparts in nature, like a flower. Lesson of the Day: The Mirroring World : We Are Like Nature!

Sunday, May 21st, 2006: Tracy had a good night's sleep last night. She wore her dynasplint for four hours and her night resting hand splint for six hours. This morning, Mom and Tracy's P.A. bathed Tracy and got her ready for 12 noon Mass at St. Edward's Church in Palm Beach. After Mass, everyone stopped at Starbucks for lattes. When Mom, Dad, Tracy's P.A. and Tracy returned, Nana, Aunt Diane and Tim were relaxing on the balcony. It was great to see everyone after our week in Orlando. Dad and Mom took a walk on the beach while Aunt Diane, Tim and Tracy's P.A. relaxed on the balcony with Tracy. It was the first time Dad had been on the beach since we moved to Palm Beach. He was surprised to see all of the sand that the city had deposited on the beach since last hurricane season. This afternoon, Nana, Uncle Johnny, Mom and Dad brought Tracy in the pool for pool therapy. This was the first time Tracy had been in the pool since March. She did a great job and seemed to enjoy the water. The water was a perfect temperature. Then, Mom and Dad put Tracy on a lounge chair to enjoy the sun. It was a beuatiful evening and everyone watched the sun set from the pool. This evening, Dad and Mom cooked telapia, sweet potatoes, and corn on the cob for dinner and Nana and Uncle Johnny joined them. Tomorrow, Mom and Tracy's P.A. will take Tracy to Pinecrest Outpatient Rehab Center in Delray for a re-evaluation. We are hoping that Tracy will be eligible to begin outpatient therapy at Pinecrest. Please say a prayer that Tracy will be able to qualify for therapy at Pinecrest.Tiffany is getting ready to attend a training in Atlanta next week with her job at the American Red Cross. She is really looking forward to learning new things and meeting new colleagues at the training. Thank you Susi for the beautiful original matted, framed, pencil sketch of the Praying Angel Teddy Bear that she gave Tracy! It is the original from which Susi designed Tracy's logo "Prayers For Tracy." Tracy loves it and we will cherish it always! We are all very hopeful that 2006 will bring great improvements and many miracles to Tracy and our family. Many thanks to all of you who continue to pray for Tracy's recovery! Please keep those prayers and powerful wishes coming Tracy's way! Take a look at today's daily OM. It talks about HUGS and the energy that one can empower from an embrace. Lesson of the Day: The Energy Of An Embrace: Hugs!

Saturday, May 20th, 2006: Tracy enjoyed another good night's sleep last night. She seemed happy to be back in her own bed after a week in Orlando. Tracy wore her dynasplint for four hours last night with the tension set at level 3. She has not worn her dynasplint on her right leg since last week. Mom forgot to bring the cotter key which is needed to make the necessary adjustments to get it on her leg. She also wore her night resting hand splints for eight hours last night. This morning, Mom and Tracy's P.A. showered and shampooed Tracy and got her ready for the day. She seemed to really enjoy her shower. It was a beautiful day with soft billowy clouds and no wind. Tracy's P.A. sat out on the balcony with Tracy under the awning and watched all of the boats go by, while Mom pruned the flowers. They had really grown a lot since the last time they were pruned about 6 weeks ago. They looked really pretty once Mom was finished with them! This morning, Dad took Caroline to the airport in Miami to catch her flight to New Orleans. When he returned, Mom, Dad and Tracy's P.A. got Tracy on the therapy mat and stretched all of her extremities. Then they got her prone on the mat on the balcony so that Dad could stretch her right hip. She tolerated 25 minutes in this position. This evening, Mom and Dad finished off the Chinese food and watched past episodes of 24 in preparation for the season finale Monday evening. They also caught up on Desperate Housewives episodes that they had not seen. Tomorrow, Mom, Dad and Tracy's P.A. are planning to attend 12 noon Mass at St. Edward's Church in Palm Beach. Then, Nana, Aunt Diane, Tim and Uncle Johnny are coming to visit us for the day. Tiffany is getting ready to attend a training in Atlanta next week with her job at the American Red Cross. She is really looking forward to learning new things and meeting new colleagues at the training. Thank you Susi for the beautiful original matted, framed, pencil sketch of the Praying Angel Teddy Bear that she gave Tracy! It is the original from which Susi designed Tracy's logo "Prayers For Tracy." Tracy loves it and we will cherish it always! We are all very hopeful that 2006 will bring great improvements and many miracles to Tracy and our family. Many thanks to all of you who continue to pray for Tracy's recovery! Please keep those prayers and powerful wishes coming Tracy's way! Take a look at today's daily OM. It talks about the importance of tapping into our personal power to realize our dreams in fulfillment of our life's purpose. Lesson of the Day: Life Into Being : Personal Power!

Friday, May 19th, 2006: Tracy slept well again last night. Dad gave here a well-deserved break from her night resting hand splints. She has not been able to wear her new dynasplint for her right leg because Mom forgot to bring the cotter key which is needed to make the necessary adjustments to get it on her leg. This morning, Mom, Dad and cousin Caroline got everything packed up and into the car for the trip home. It only took them an hour to pack everything up! Good thing Caroline is an Army brat; she is used to packing up and moving every couple of years. She was such a BIG HELP! Mom really enjoyed her company and she took such good care of Tracy during her visit. She will make an awesome nurse! Tracy did well on the car ride home. It took about three and a half hours to get to Palm Beach. She slept most of the way home in her chair. Seems like she really enjoyed her trip to Orlando and all of the social events with AsMA. When we arrived home, we unpacked all of the suitcases and put everything away. It took three hours to unpack. A lot longer than it took to pack it all up! Tracy enjoyed resting in her own bed while Dad, Caroline and Mom unpacked and got organized. This evening, Mom swam her mile in the pool while Caroline took pictures of the beautiful sunset and Dad stayed with Tracy. We all had Chinese food for dinner and caught up on past episodes of Grey's Anatomy. It is hard to believe that the second season is over already. Looks like we are in for a lot of reruns this summer. Maybe there will be some new shows coming on the television. Tomorrow, Dad will take Caroline to the airport in Miami for her flight back to New Orleans. We really enjoyed spending the week with her in Orlando. She is a doll! Tiffany is getting ready to attend a training in Atlanta next week with her job at the American Red Cross. She is really looking forward to learning new things and meeting new colleagues at the training. Thank you Susi for the beautiful original matted, framed, pencil sketch of the Praying Angel Teddy Bear that she gave Tracy! It is the original from which Susi designed Tracy's logo "Prayers For Tracy." Tracy loves it and we will cherish it always! We are all very hopeful that 2006 will bring great improvements and many miracles to Tracy and our family. Many thanks to all of you who continue to pray for Tracy's recovery! Please keep those prayers and powerful wishes coming Tracy's way! Take a look at today's daily OM. It talks about the warmth of the sun and how integral the suns rays are to one's daily life. We base our days around the cycle of the sun; we rise with the sunrise and we wind down with the sunset! Lesson of the Day: Rays Of Life : The Sun!

Thursday, May 18th, 2006: Tracy enjoyed another great night's sleep last night. She seems to have acclimated to her new bed in the hotel. She wore her night resting hand splints for eight hours. She has not been able to wear her new dynasplint for her right leg because Mom forgot to bring the cotter key which is needed to make adjustments. This morning, Mom, Dad and cousin Caroline got Tracy is the whirlpool jacuzzi tub for the first time for a bath. She really seemed to enjoy it. Then the girls hit the hotel gift shop for some souvenir shopping. After that, Mom, Tracy and Caroline went to the big pool with the water slide and large waterfall. It was packed! Mom and Caroline spent some time feeding the black birds french fries. It was hilarious to watch the birds' sneak attack on the french fries! They ate them without ketchup. This evening, Dad, Mom, Tracy and Caroline went to the Aerospace Medicine Association Honors Night Banquet. It was a lot of fun to get dressed up and see all of our AsMA friends one last time before everyone disperses until next year. The conference will be held in New Orleans next year! We are looking forward to going, especially since we will be able to visit Mamaw and Papaw too! Today, Tracy wore her AFOs and her wrist cock up splints for four and a half hours. She is doing a good job tolerating them with minimal redness which disappears within 30 minutes. We hope they are helping to get her feet ready for standing in the future. Tomorrow, we head back to Palm Beach after nearly a week here in Orlando. It was a great week and everyone really enjoyed themselves. Tiffany is getting ready to attend a training in Atlanta next week with her job at the American Red Cross. She is really looking forward to learning new things and meeting new colleagues at the training. Thank you Susi for the beautiful original matted, framed, pencil sketch of the Praying Angel Teddy Bear that she gave Tracy! It is the original from which Susi designed Tracy's logo "Prayers For Tracy." Tracy loves it and we will cherish it always! We are all very hopeful that 2006 will bring great improvements and many miracles to Tracy and our family. Many thanks to all of you who continue to pray for Tracy's recovery! Please keep those prayers and powerful wishes coming Tracy's way! Take a look at today's daily OM. It talks about confronting our emotions in order to dispell the behaviors that numb us. In doing so, we are more available to truly feel. Lesson of the Day: Opening To Feel : Ways We Numb Ourselves!

Wednesday, May 17th, 2006: Tracy enjoyed another great night's sleep last night. She seems to have acclimated to her new bed in the hotel. She wore her night resting hand splints for eight hours. She has not been able to wear her new dynasplint for her right leg because Mom forgot to bring the cotter key which is needed to make adjustments. This morning, Mom and cousin Caroline bathed Tracy and got her ready for the day. Caroline just graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Hammond, Louisiana and will start the nursing program at Southeastern Louisiana University (Dad's alma mater) in the fall. We are all so proud of her and Mom (Grandma Dora Jean, Aunt Cheryl and Aunt Alice) sure are glad there will be another nurse in the family! Around noon, our good friend Henry came by to examine Tracy. He is a retired Navy neurologist. He recommended a therapeutic technique to help resolve Tracy's nystagmus. She gets dizzy sometimes when we change her position, especially when we recline her. We will follow up with his recommendations. We are so blessed to have such smart friends! After lunch, Caroline, Tracy, and Mom headed out to the pool for the afternoon. Mom swam 20 laps (40 lengths) of the pool, which is double the size of the one she is used to. The water was a little choppy too, and it felt like swimming in the ocean. The waterfall was churning the water, and it looked like white caps. This evening, Mom, Dad, Caroline and Tracy went to the Fantasy of Flight with all of the Navy Flight Surgeons. The event was sponsored by the Society of US Naval Flight Surgeons. It was a dinner catered in an antiquated airplane hanger surrounded by founder, Kermit Weeks' world's greatest airplane collection. It was great to catch up with old friends amongst the many beautiful flying machines. Today, Tracy wore her AFOs and her wrist cock up splints for four and a half hours. She is doing a good job tolerating them with minimal redness which disappears within 30 minutes. We hope they are helping to get her feet ready for standing in the future. Tiffany is getting ready to attend a training in Atlanta next week with her job at the American Red Cross. She is really looking forward to learning new things and meeting new colleagues at the training. Thank you Susi for the beautiful original matted, framed, pencil sketch of the Praying Angel Teddybear that she gave Tracy! It is the original from which Susi designed Tracy's logo "Prayers For Tracy." Tracy loves it and we will cherish it always! We are all very hopeful that 2006 will bring great improvements and many miracles to Tracy and our family. Many thanks to all of you who continue to pray for Tracy's recovery! Please keep those prayers and powerful wishes coming Tracy's way! Take a look at today's daily OM. It talks about doing what you love and loving what you do at work. It is the rare person who can find what they love to do in life and get paid for it too! Lesson of the Day: Working Way: Being Happy With Your Job!

Tuesday, May 16th, 2006: Tracy had another good night's sleep last night. She seems to have acclimated to her new bed in the hotel. She wore her night resting hand splints for eight hours. This morning, Mom and cousin Caroline bathed Tracy and got her ready for the day. Caroline just graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Hammond, Louisiana and will start the nursing program at Southeastern Louisiana University (Dad's alma mater) in the fall. We are all so proud of her and Mom (Grandma Dora Jean, Aunt Cheryl and Aunt Alice) sure are glad there will be another nurse in the family! Around noon, our good friend Els, Caroline, Mom and Tracy boarded the minivan and headed to the outlet mall. Actually, all Mom had to do was start the van and it headed straight to the shopping mall. Imagine that? (That's what we used as our alibi with Dad anyway!) There was some liquid sunshine pouring down: isn't that what they call rain in Florida? It was raining pretty much all day long. Mom treated everyone to delicious Turkish coffee in a cute little internet cafe called The World of Coffee. They had every type of coffee and dessert one could imagine from all over the world. The peanut butter brownie cake looked scrumptuos! So did the ginger zinger biscotti and the white chocolate macadamia nut cookie. Mom got Tracy a raspberry chocolate lollipop which she seemed to enjoy! Everyone shopped until they dropped and then it was time to go back to the hotel. The girls ran into another AsMA spouse and Mom gave her a ride back to the hotel. Her name was Ann and she was from Ohio. She was really sweet. This evening, everyone relaxed in the room and ordered room service for dinner. Mom went to the gym and worked out on the elliptical for one hour. It was a really nice gym! She did some light weights too. It had been a long time since she worked out with the weights. It felt good! Today, Tracy wore her AFOs and her wrist cock up splints for four hours. She is doing a good job tolerating them with minimal redness which disappears within 30 minutes. We hope they are helping to get her feet ready for standing in the future. Tiffany is getting ready to attend a training in Atlanta next week with her job at the American Red Cross. She is really looking forward to learning new things and meeting new colleagues at the training. Thank you Susi for the beautiful original matted, framed, pencil sketch of the Praying Angel Teddybear that she gave Tracy! It is the original from which Susi designed Tracy's logo "Prayers For Tracy." Tracy loves it and we will cherish it always! We are all very hopeful that 2006 will bring great improvements and many miracles to Tracy and our family. Many thanks to all of you who continue to pray for Tracy's recovery! Please keep those prayers and powerful wishes coming Tracy's way! Take a look at today's daily OM. It talks about aging gracefully (how timely) and how beauty is much more than outward (thank God). It is about one's inner beauty and wisdom that takes a lifetime to learn. Lesson of the Day: Seasons Of Beauty: Aging Gracefully!

Monday, May 15th, 2006: Tracy slept well last night, except for some teeth grinding sometime during the night. Dad gave Tracy some Tylenol and she seemed to relax and return to sleep. This morning, Mom and cousin Caroline bathed Tracy and got her ready for the day. Caroline just graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Hammond, Louisiana and will start the nursing program at Southeastern Louisiana University (Dad's alma mater) in the fall. We are all so proud of her and Mom (and Aunt Cheryl) sure is glad there will be another nurse in the family! Around noon, Mom, Caroline and Tracy went to the Wing Hospitality room to register for the conference and to visit old friends.The Wing is the spouse group of the Aerospace Medicine Association, of which Mom served as President in 1993 in Toronto, Cananda! It is so great to see everyone after such a long time. Then they headed to the gift shop to do a little shopping! This afternoon, Mom, Caroline and Tracy attended the Wing Welcome Reception. It is always a nice event and this year's was really fun! Mom had the opportunity to thank everyone for the many prayers, Mass cards, and emails that everyone has sent Tracy and the family over the past three years since her injury January 17th, 2003. One of Mom's long time friends from Bangkok gave Tracy and Mom a pair of beautiful natural pearls! As part of the program, everyone exchanges little gifts which express the flavor of their home town. Mom received an Orlando cookbook, book of antique postcards from historic Winter Park, and some Key Lime pie mix from a new friend, Dianne Hudson! What fun! This evening, Dad, Mom, Caroline and Tracy went to the AsMA Fellows Dinner at the conference center. This is the group of members who are honored each year for outstanding contributions to aerospace research. It is so amazing to see so many incredible people from all over the world and their many accomplishments. It was sldo nice to reconnect with old friends and to meet new ones! Everyone was so happy to see Tracy and thought that she looked really good. It was the first time that many of them had seen Tracy since her injury. Today, Tracy wore her AFOs for four and a half hours straight and her wrist cock up splints for seven hours. She is doing a good job tolerating them with minimal redness which disappears within 30 minutes. We hope they are helping to get her feet ready for standing in the future. Tiffany attended a conference on "the Hill" in DC in celebration of the American Red Cross' 125th anniversary, and is getting a lot of experience. She was able to hear First Lady Laura Bush and former Secretary of State Colin Powell speak today. Yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Frist addressed the attendees. What great experiences! We are all very hopeful that 2006 will bring great improvements and many miracles to Tracy and our family. Many thanks to all of you who continue to pray for Tracy's recovery! Please keep those prayers and powerful wishes coming Tracy's way! Take a look at today's daily OM. It talks about the ability to free yourself from the many self-inflicted constraints that are driven by trying to achieve perfection in one's life! Lesson of the Day: Set Yourself Free: Letting Go Of Perfection!

Sunday, May 14th, 2006: Tracy enjoyed another restful night's sleep last night. She slept well in the hotel bed, which is great because it means that we can all travel as a family again! We are looking forward to traveling to visit friends and family this summer! This morning, Mom and Tracy's P.A. bathed Tracy and got her ready for the day. Then Ashley Spoto visited us for the day. She brought Mom a beautiful Mother's Day card and some yummy bagels. She is so thoughtful and it was so nice to spend the day catching up with Ashley! Fallon, Alex and their two daughter's Mia and Emma joined us too. They brought Mom some beautiful flowers for Mother's Day! How sweet is that!!! Tracy really seemed to enjoy seeing them all and we reminisced about all the fun times we shared in Key West. Tracy was alert and seemed to be really tuned in. The only one missing was Tiffany! We miss her so much! Dad joined us for a little while out by the pool and Mom took Mia in for a short swim. She did not seem to like it very much and screamed! Mom thinks she might have gotten a little scared! She calmed down after a while and fell asleep. This evening, Dad, Mom and Tracy went to the AsMA Welcome Reception at the conference center. It was so nice to reconnect with old friends and to meet new ones! Everyone was so happy to see Tracy and thought that she looked really good. It was the first time that many of them had seen Tracy since her injury. Cousin Caroline made it safely to Orlando and we are so happy to have her visiting us this week. She is such a big help! She will start the nursing program at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond this fall. She will make a caring and compassionate nurse! Today, Tracy wore her AFOs for four and a half hours straight and her wrist cock up splints for four hours. She is doing a good job tolerating them with minimal redness which disappears within 30 minutes. We hope they are helping to get her feet ready for standing in the future. Tiffany attended a conference on "the Hill" in DC in celebration of the American Red Cross' 125th anniversary, and is getting a lot of experience. She was able to hear First Lady Laura Bush and former Secretary of State Colin Powell speak today. Yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Frist addressed the attendees. What great experiences! We are all very hopeful that 2006 will bring great improvements and many miracles to Tracy and our family. Many thanks to all of you who continue to pray for Tracy's recovery! Please keep those prayers and powerful wishes coming Tracy's way! Take a look at today's daily OM. It talks about maintaining spiritual health by nurturing one's spiritual side through meditation or journaling! Lesson of the Day: In Line With Spirit: Staying On Track Spiritually!

Saturday, May 13th, 2006: Tracy slept well again last night. She slept well in the hotel bed, which is great because it means that we can all travel as a family again! We are looking forward to traveling to visit friends and family this summer! This morning, Mom and Tracy's P.A. bathed Tracy and got her ready for the day. They took Tracy to the pool at the hotel. It was a beautiful day with LOW humidity and a cool breeze. The pool had a huge waterfall and a water slide. The grounds at the Caribe Royale are so beautiful with lots of flowers, toucans, and waterfalls. This afternoon, Fallon, Alex and their two beautiful daughters Mia and Emma visited Tracy out by the pool. This was the first time that we got to meet the babies. They are beautiful! Fallon put Emma on Tracy's lap and took a picture of the two of them. Tracy really looked like she wanted to say something and then she got frustrated and then shed a tear. It was amazing. Then Fallon put Mia in Tracy's lap for a picture. Tracy was very tuned in! This evening, Tracy, Mom and Dad went to the Airline Medical Director's Association banquet. It was great to see old friends and to meet some new ones. Tracy seemed to enjoy seeing everyone again. Today, Tracy wore her AFOs for three and a half hours straight and her wrist cock up splints for four hours. She is doing a good job tolerating them with minimal redness which disappears within 30 minutes. We hope they are helping to get her feet ready for standing in the future. Tomorrow, Ashley Spoto is coming to visit us! We are really looking forward to seeing her! Tiffany attended a conference on "the Hill" in DC in celebration of the American Red Cross' 125th anniversary, and is getting a lot of experience. She was able to hear First Lady Laura Bush and former Secretary of State Colin Powell speak today. Yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Frist addressed the attendees. What great experiences! We are all very hopeful that 2006 will bring great improvements and many miracles to Tracy and our family. Many thanks to all of you who continue to pray for Tracy's recovery! Please keep those prayers and powerful wishes coming Tracy's way! Take a look at today's daily OM. It talks about repeating the same life experiences until we get them right! (We are doing this Daily OM over again until we get it right! HA! HA! Lesson of the Day: Over And Over Again: Having The Same Experiences!

Friday, May 12th, 2006: Tracy had another great night's sleep last night. Around 3:30 AM, Dad removed Tracy's dynasplint from her right leg, resulting in about 4 hours of wearing time. He had turned the tension up from level 2 to 3, which Tracy must be feeling. Her orthotist, Mark Selleck, said that wearing the dynasplint is like having a Physical Therapist on staff 24/7! Tracy wore her resting hand splints for 8 hours last night. Mark is planning on making Tracy some new resting hand splints when we return from Orlando next week. This morning, Mom and Tracy's P.A. showered and shampooed Tracy and got her ready for the day. The humidity was kicked up an extra notch and it even rained a little during the night. Mom and Tracy's P.A. finished up some last minute packing for the trip to Orlando. They got on the road around 5 PM and made it safely to Orlando by 8:30 PM. Then, Dad and Mom unpacked and got Tracy settled in. She tolerated the trip to Orlando really well. Today, Tracy wore her AFOs for four and a half hours straight and her wrist cock up splints for four hours. She is doing a good job tolerating them with minimal redness which disappears within 30 minutes. We hope they are helping to get her feet ready for standing in the future. Tiffany is attending a conference on "the Hill" in DC in celebration of the American Red Cross' 125th anniversary, and is getting a lot of experience. She was able to hear First Lady Laura Bush and former Secretary of State Colin Powell speak today. Yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Frist addressed the attendees. What great experiences! We are really looking forward to cousin Caroline's visit to Orlando this Sunday evening. We are also hoping that Tracy's good friends Fallon, Alex and Ashley Spoto come to see her while we are visiting Orlando! Fallon is planning on bringing her two little girls. We can't wait to meet them. We are all very hopeful that 2006 will bring great improvements and many miracles to Tracy and our family. Many thanks to all of you who continue to pray for Tracy's recovery! Please keep those prayers and powerful wishes coming Tracy's way! Take a look at today's daily OM. It talks about repeating the same life experiences until we get them right! Lesson of the Day: Over And Over Again: Having The Same Experiences!

Thursday, May 11th, 2006: Tracy slept well again last night. Around 2:30 AM, Dad removed Tracy's dynasplint from her right leg, resulting in about 4 hours of wearing time. He had turned the tension up from level 2 to 3, which Tracy must be feeling. Her orthotist, Mark Selleck, said that wearing the dynasplint is like having a Physical Therapist on staff 24/7! Tracy wore her resting hand splints for 8 hours last night. Mark is planning on making Tracy some new resting hand splints when we return from Orlando next week. This morning, Mom and Tracy's P.A. showered and shampooed Tracy and got her ready for the day. It was another hot and humid day. The wind finally died down. The sky was smokey and you could still smell the smoke from the wild fires north of Palm Beach near New Smyrna Beach. Today, Tracy wore her AFOs for a total of six and a half hours. She is doing a good job tolerating them with minimal redness which disappears within 30 minutes. We hope they are helping to get her feet ready for standing in the future. This afternoon, Mom and Tracy's P.A. took her to a 12 noon appointment with Dr. Lochner in Palm Beach to get Tracy's pump refilled. He was very pleased with Tracy's AFOs and commented on their excellent custom fit. This afternoon, Mom and Tracy's P.A. did some last minute packing for the trip to Orlando. Then Mom hit the pool and swam 100 lengths, which is one mile! This is the goal that she set out to do several weeks ago! This evening, Dr. Nedd from the University of Miami came to visit Tracy. He had not seen her in two years and was very pleased with her progress. He made some recommendations regarding more BoTox injections to help with her wrist and hands. We will follow up when we return from Orlando next week. Tiffany is attending a conference on "the Hill" in DC and is getting a lot of exposure. She was able to hear Senator Frist's speech yesterday and is listening to Colin Powell speak this morning. Wow! What great experiences! We are all very hopeful that 2006 will bring great improvements and many miracles to Tracy and our family. Many thanks to all of you who continue to pray for Tracy's recovery! Please keep those prayers and powerful wishes coming Tracy's way! Take a look at today's daily OM. It talks about the danger in repressing anger and the detrimental effects it can have on one's health. Lesson of the Day: Repression Expression: Passive Aggressive Behavior!

Wednesday, May 10th, 2006: Tracy enjoyed another good night's sleep last night. Around 2 AM, Mom decided to remove her leg dynasplint and her resting hand splints because Tracy was grinding her teeth. She settled down and went to sleep after that. Guess she had enough of them for one night, wearing them a total of 3 hours! This morning, Mom and Tracy's P.A. bathed and dressed Tracy and got her ready for the day. It was another hot and humid day. The wind finally died down. The sky was smokey and you could smell the smoke from the wild fires north of Palm Beach near New Smyrna Beach. Today, Tracy wore her AFOs for a total of six hours. She is doing a good job tolerating them with minimal redness which disappears within 30 minutes. We hope they are helping to get her feet ready for standing in the future. This afternoon, Mom and Wilmene packed Tracy's suitcase for their trip to Orlando to attend the Aerospace Medical Association annual conference. It has been four years since Mom has been able to attend the conference, the last one being in Montreal in 2002. Tiffany and Tracy have accompanied Mom and Dad to many of these conferences, and it will be good for all of us to see our AsMA and Wing friends again. We have been going to these conferences every year since 1985 and many of our friends are part of the AsMA family! We are looking forward to cousin Caroline coming with us to help Mom with Tracy while Dad attends the meetings. We will visit with Tracy's good friend, Ashley, during our stay. We leave Friday afternoon and return a week from Friday. This afternoon, Mom and Tracy's P.A. got Tracy prone on her knees over the peanut ball on the therapy mat on the balcony for Physical Therapy. Tracy did a good job relaxing and tolerated one hour in this position. This is so important for Tracy to weight bear through her hips, to maximize bone density and minimize bone loss. This evening, Mario came by to give Tracy a Cranial Sacral Therapy session on the therapy mat on the balcony. It was a beautiful Spring evening. Tracy relaxed and did well during her session. She vocalized quite a bit and even sneezed and chuckled a little. We are all very hopeful that 2006 will bring great improvements and many miracles to Tracy and our family. Many thanks to all of you who continue to pray for Tracy's recovery! Please keep those prayers and powerful wishes coming Tracy's way! Take a look at today's daily OM. It talks about giving ourselves permission to feel pain from previous losses that we may have repressed, choosing not to deal with them. It is important to give ourselves permission to feel the pain from a loss or injury. Lesson of the Day: Permission To Feel: Pushing Away Emotions! Ongoing Events: Tuesday, May 9th, 2006: This evening, Mom and Tracy's P.A. went to Loxahatchee for Tracy's first therapeutic horseback riding lesson. Dad and Emily, Tracy's Speech Therapist, met us at the center. Vincente, Orlando and two other friends came out from St. Mary's Church in Pahokee to help get Tracy on the horse. Tracy did a great job balancing herself on the horse with assistance, and actually lifted her head up twice to look at Jamie, the horse. Tracy was able to get both of her legs relaxed and positioned symmetrically on either side of the horse! It was a huge improvement since last Fall when she was unable to stretch her legs around the barrel at Lift Me Up! This demonstrates how persistance, hard work, and dedication pays off! Thanks to Duncan, Jen, Melissa, Jenn, Katie, Marlena, Nikki, Emily, Linda, Wilmene and all of Tracy's assistants and therapists who worked and continue to work so diligently with Tracy! It is truly paying off! We plan to return to Vinceremos on Tuesday evenings at 6:30 PM! After her lesson, Emily spent some time in the barn letting Tracy experience all the sights, smells, sounds and textures around her. She let Tracy feel and smell some of Jamie's dinner! Ruth held Tracy had and helped her pat Jamie's soft mane! Tracy really seemed to take it all in! Dad is staying busy and enjoying his new job with American Airlines and loves playing doctor again. Tiffany is learning a lot as Communications and Marketing Associate for Response, Preparedness and International Services at the American Red Cross NHQ. WE MISS HER! Mom is enjoying her job too as Tracy's lead therapist during our interim stay in Palm Beach. Once we get to Miami, she will organize a team of therapist similar to the team Tracy had in Virginia. Tracy has been making more sounds each day and really trying to talk to us. She has also been laughing more frequently. Although it seems sporadic, Tracy appears to be laughing when she is relaxed and day dreaming in her bed. This happens more frequently when she is waking up in the morning or falling asleep at night. Saturday, April 22nd at 9:00 AM: Mom, Dad, Wilmene and Tracy got in the van and headed to the Vinceremos Therapeutic Horseback Riding Center in Loxahatchee. Today was the day that Tracy was to be evaluated for readiness for the riding program. We met Ruth, the program director who brought out a very large plastic barrel on rollers, complete with a saddle and a bridle! It was a make-shift horse! Dad, Wilmene and Mom positioned Tracy on the "horse" and Tracy did a good job getting her legs around the barrel and relaxing them down around the "horse". It was a huge improvement since last Fall when Tracy could not get her legs around the barrel at Lift Me Up! Her pelvis seemed pretty stable, the challenge now is whether Tracy can demonstrate the head control to stay up on the horse. Ruth decided that she would brain storm over the next two weeks and Tracy would return on Saturday, May 6th to try out the horse for real. April 7th, 2006: Tracy had a doctor's appointment with Dr. Lochner in Palm Beach to get her Baclofen pump refilled. Dad and Dr. Lochner discussed the plan to lower Tracy's Baclofen dosage. They decided to lower her continuous dosage by 10 percent, leaving the complex boluses at the same dosage. We hope this adjustment will help reduce Tracy's sleepiness during the day so she will be more awake to do therapy. Dr. Lochner was very pleased with Tracy and said that every time he sees her she looks so much better! Dad is now Captain Fanancy L. Anzalone, Ret. He retired on Friday, March 3rd during a beautiful ceremony at the United States Navy Memorial in DC. Thank you everyone who participated in the ceremony! We greatly appreciate all of our friends and family who traveled far and wide to celebrate Dad's 29 years in the Navy! Dad started his 2nd career as the Miami Medical Director for American Airlines and has his new office at the Miami International Airport. Upledger Institute: March 13 to March 17th, 10 AM to 5 PM: Tracy completed the Intensive Program at the Upledger Institute in Palm Beach Gardens. John Upledger, DO specializes in Cranio Sacral Therapy. For more information, please refer to the previous link. February 21st, 2006: During the consult with Dr. Sonies, a Speech Therapist and researcher from the National Institutes of Health, some very pertinent recommendations were made for Mom and Linda to incorporate in feeding Tracy. She is going to provide Mom and Linda with a feeding protocol to follow which will allow some variety in the types of food that Tracy can eat. She recommended only feeding Tracy 1 cc at a time, using a syringe, with a total of 10 ccs per day of a given food. The goal is to retrain Tracy's oral motor function, and not to focus on the quantity of intake. Mom and Linda will start this protocol right away. Next, Tracy had an appointment with Dr. Pagan at Georgetown University Hospital to get BoTox injections to her lower extremities. He injected 600 units of BoTox into Tracy's right hamstrings, gastrocnemius, soleus, and tibialis anterior. He also injected her plantar surface of her feet to help with dorsiflexion. On her left side, he injected everything but her hamstrings. The plan is to continue with serial casting in south Florida and to work towards AFOs so that Tracy can stand with the help of a tilt table. Dad brought a very special gift to Tracy from his hometown parish pastor, Fr. McDuffy: rosaries personally given to him when he had a private audience at the Vatican with Pope John Paul II. These rosaries are very special because they are considered a secondary relic, something that the prospective saint has personally touched. Thank you cousin Frank Arthur for the beautiful St. Theresa medal. She is Tracy's patron saint. Pope Benedict XVI has approved an expedited process for Beatification and ultimate Sanctification of Pope John Paul II. Please pray to Pope John Paul II specifically requesting that he make Tracy one of the two miracles needed for his Sainthood! Here is his prayer: "Prayer for John Paul II's Intercession". We found Tracy's old files and want to share her last AP English Essay and a paper for her Biology Class from Gulf Breeze High School. This will give you some insight into how special she is and why she will come back to us. Here they are: BLESSED and Euthanasia: Filling God's Shoes.

Tuesday, May 9th, 2006: Tracy slept well again last night. She wore her night resting hand splints for 8 hours and her dynasplint on her right leg for 7 hours. This morning, Mom and Tracy's P.A. showered and dressed Tracy and got her ready for the day. It was another hot and humid day. The wind continued to be strong throughout the day. Later in the day it poured, which was a good thing, since Governor Jeb Bush declared a Wildfire Emergency for the state of Florida. Today, Tracy wore her AFOs for a total of five and a half hours. She is doing a good job tolerating them with minimal redness which disappears within 30 minutes. We hope they are helping to get her feet ready for standing in the future. This evening, Mom and Tracy's P.A. went to Loxahatchee for Tracy's first therapeutic horseback riding lesson. Dad and Emily, Tracy's Speech Therapist, met us at the center. Vincente, Orlando and two other friends came out from St. Mary's Church in Pahokee to help get Tracy on the horse. Tracy did a great job balancing herself on the horse with assistance, and actually lifted her head up twice to look at Jamie, the horse. Tracy was able to get both of her legs relaxed and positioned symmetrically on either side of the horse! It was a huge improvement since last Fall when she was unable to stretch her legs around the barrel at Lift Me Up! This demonstrates how persistance, hard work, and dedication pays off! Thanks to Duncan, Jen, Melissa, Jenn, Katie, Marlena, Nikki, Emily, Linda, Wilmene and all of Tracy's assistants and therapists who worked and continue to work so diligently with Tracy! It is truly paying off! We plan to return to Vinceremos on Tuesday evenings at 6:30 PM! After her lesson, Emily spent some time in the barn letting Tracy experience all the sights, smells, sounds and textures around her. She let Tracy feel and smell some of Jamie's dinner! Ruth held Tracy had and helped her pat Jamie's soft mane! Tracy really seemed to take it all in! We are all very hopeful that 2006 will bring great improvements and many miracles to Tracy and our family. Many thanks to all of you who continue to pray for Tracy's recovery! Please keep those prayers and powerful wishes coming Tracy's way! Take a look at today's daily OM. It talks about the special nurturing that animals, such as horses, can offer us. Jamie, Tracy's horse, was so patient and gentle with Tracy on his back. He knew that Tracy needed some extra tender loving care, and Tracy and Jamie developed a special bond that will continue to grow as their relationship flourishes! Lesson of the Day: Wild Wisdom: Animals As Teachers!

Monday, May 8th, 2006: Tracy had another good night's sleep last night. She wore her night resting hand splints for 8 hours and her dynasplint on her right leg for 7 hours. This morning, Mom and Tracy's P.A. bathed and dressed Tracy and got her ready for the day. It was another hot and humid day. The wind continued to be strong throughout the day. This morning, Melanie, Tracy's Cranial Sacral Therapist came to work with Tracy. Mom and Tracy's P.A. got Tracy on the therapy mat on the balcony under the awning for her massage. Tracy did a good job working with Melanie, making lots of sounds during her session. Today, Tracy wore her AFOs for two, two hour sessions. She did a good job tolerating them with little or no redness noted. This evening, Dad and Mom stretched and ranged Tracy's extremities. She was very relaxed and her tone was much improved. Tomorrow evening, Mom and Dad are planning to take Tracy to Vinceremos to try her out on the horse. Please keep your fingers crossed that she is able to begin therapeutic horse back riding tomorrow evening. We are all very hopeful that 2006 will bring great improvements and many miracles to Tracy and our family. Many thanks to all of you who continue to pray for Tracy's recovery! Please keep those prayers and powerful wishes coming Tracy's way! Take a look at today's daily OM. It talks about the people that support us in our daily lives, helping us to achieve our life's purpose. Our supporters come in all colors, shapes and sizes and from all walks of life. We are thankful for all of our guardian angels! Lesson of the Day: The Power Behind Us: People That Support Us!

Sunday, May 7th, 2006: Tracy slept well again last night. She wore her night resting hand splints for 8 hours. We are waiting for Dad to come home to help Mom put on Tracy's new dynasplint for her right leg. This morning, Mom and Tracy's P.A. showered and shampooed Tracy and got her ready for the day. It was a hot and humid day. The wind continued to pick up throughout the day, with 30 mph gusts later in the evening. Today, Tracy wore her AFOs for two and a half hours. Mom gave her a break for the rest of the day since it was Sunday and a day of rest. Emily, Tracy's Speech Therapist, came over to work with Tracy. She did Tracy's facial exercises and then put the massager in her right hand and helped her put it on her face. Then, Emily put some frozen pineapple chunks on Tracy's lips and tried to get her to lick her lips. She tried really hard to stick her tongue out. Then she put some pineapple on the roof of her mouth, and Tracy got her tongue on the roof several times. This afternoon, Tracy hung out on the balcony with Mom, Aunt Diane, Tim, and Tracy's Personal Assistant, Sabine. Then everyone went down to the pool for a while. This evening, we had baked tilapia and red beans and rice. It was really good. Dad made it home safely from Atlanta! We missed him a lot and are so happy to have him home. We are all very hopeful that 2006 will bring great improvements and many miracles to Tracy and our family. Many thanks to all of you who continue to pray for Tracy's recovery! Please keep those prayers and powerful wishes coming Tracy's way! Take a look at today's daily OM. It talks about living our lives according to the Golden Rule! "Do unto others as you would want them to do unto you!" It is sometimes not the easiest philosophy to follow. Remember each day you practice a random act of kindness, kindness begets kindness, and that you are on your way to making the world a better place. Lesson of the Day: Do Unto Others: The Golden Rule!

Saturday, May 6th, 2006: Tracy enjoyed another good night's sleep last night. She wore her night resting hand splints for 8 hours. We are waiting for Dad to come home to help Mom put on Tracy's new dynasplint for her right leg. This morning, Mom and Tracy's P.A. bathed her and got her ready for the day. It was a hot and humid day. The wind continued to pick up throughout the day, with 30 mph gusts later in the evening. Today, Tracy wore her AFOs for five and a half hours. She still has some minor pressure areas around her ankles. Mom will let Mark, Tracy's orthotist know so that he can come back next week to make the necessary adjustments. This morning, Tracy hung out on the balcony with Mom, Aunt Diane, and Tracy's Personal Assistant. She relaxed in her wheel chair for most of the day. This afternoon, Mom and Tracy's PA got Tracy on the therapy mat over the peanut ball on her knees. She tolerated about 30 minutes. Then Mom and Tracy's PA got Tracy supine and stretched her extremities, paying close attention to her hips and ankles. Then they stretched her upper extremities, shoulders, arms, wrists and hands. This evening, Tracy rested in her bed while Mom rode her Spin bike for an hour on the balcony. It was really windy with strong gusts! Mom was afraid she was going to be blown right off the balcony! Dad returns tomorrow evening. His girls sure do miss him and can't wait for him to come home! Nana and Aunt Diane have been keeping Mom and Tracy company while Dad is in Atlanta. Tim made us dinner two nights in a row! Tomorrow, Tracy has Speech Therapy with Emily at 1 PM. It's been three weeks since she worked with Tracy. Today, Mom and Tracy's PA worked on her facial exercises so that she will be prepared for Emily. We are all very hopeful that 2006 will bring great improvements and many miracles to Tracy and our family. Many thanks to all of you who continue to pray for Tracy's recovery! Please keep those prayers and powerful wishes coming Tracy's way! Take a look at today's daily OM. It talks about approaching life with fluidity and flexibility, similar to a flowing river. It compares water to a great teacher that that shows us how to move through life with determination, ease, grace, and humility. Each time we move beyond our self-limiting egos, we can stretch and grow like a river that carves new paths in search of its optimal life force. Lesson of the Day: Fluid Like A River : Living Like Water!

Friday, May 5th, 2006: Tracy slept well last night. Mom gave her a well-deserved rest from her night splints and her dynasplint for her right leg. This morning, Mom and Tracy's P.A. showered and shampooed Tracy and got her ready for the day. It was another beautiful, clear day. The wind continued to pick up throughout the day. Today, Tracy wore her AFOs for three, two-hour sessions. She still has some minor pressure areas around her ankles. Mom will let Mark, Tracy's orthotist know so that he can come back next week to make the necessary adjustments. This evening, Dad made it safely to Atlanta last night and completed his first day of training today. He is attending the Medical Review Officers course offered by the Department of Transportation, so that he will be certified to oversee drug testing for the FAA, OSHA, and other government agencies and private employers. He will return to Miami late on Sunday evening. He is hoping to see cousins Guy, Dawn, and Sophia while in the Atlanta area. This evening, Aunt Diane is coming back again to spend the weekend with Tracy and Mom to help while Dad is away. Nana is coming Friday evening and will stay the weekend too. Aunt Diane's friend, Tim, is coming over to make all the girls dinner. We are all very hopeful that 2006 will bring great improvements and many miracles to Tracy and our family. Many thanks to all of you who continue to pray for Tracy's recovery! Please keep those prayers and powerful wishes coming Tracy's way! Take a look at today's daily OM. It talks about approaching life with fluidity and flexibility, similar to a flowing river. It compares water to a great teacher that that shows us how to move through life with determination, ease, grace, and humility. Each time we move beyond our self-limiting egos, we can stretch and grow like a river that carves new paths in search of its optimal life force. Lesson of the Day: Fluid Like A River : Living Like Water!

Thursday, May 4th, 2006: Tracy slept well last night. She wore her new dynasplint on her right leg for almost 7 hours and her night resting hand splints for 6 hours! She tolerated it well with no redness noted. This morning, Mom and Tracy's P.A. bathed Tracy and got her ready for the day. It was another beautiful, clear day with NO WIND, so we were able to put down the awning and enjoy the shade. Another surprise is that all the snow birds are gone and the traffic is actually becoming bearable! It may even be safe to get out the road bike and go for a ride down A1A! Bottom line, Palm Beach is even quieter when the snow birds fly the coop! Publix actually had available parking and the aisles were not crowded. The deli line was still pretty busy, though. Today, Tracy wore her AFOs for two hours this morning and four hours this afternoon. She is doing a great job with tolerating them. Mark, the orthotist, came by this evening and made adjustments to the areas where he noted pressure by her ankles and her big toes. We will test it out tomorrow and see if his adjustments resolved the pressure issue. This evening, Dad is on his way to Atlanta to attend a Medical Review Officers course offered by the Department of Transportation. He will return to Miami late on Sunday evening. He is hoping to see cousins Guy, Dawn, and Sophia while in the Atlanta area. This evening, Aunt Diane is coming to spend the night with Tracy and Mom to help while Dad is away. Nana is coming Friday evening and will stay the weekend. We are planning on having a girls' weekend in Palm Beach. Too bad Tiffany couldn't be here to spend it with us! We are all very hopeful that 2006 will bring great improvements and many miracles to Tracy and our family. Many thanks to all of you who continue to pray for Tracy's recovery! Please keep those prayers and powerful wishes coming Tracy's way! Take a look at today's daily OM. It talks about giving of ourselves through volunteerism. Giving of ourselves is the best gift that we can give. What a perfect Daily Om, especially this weekend when family is giving the gift of themselves to help Tracy! Mom just read a great book that talks about finding your Life's Purpose: The Alchemist. It is a great book that everyone should take the time to read! Lesson of the Day: Giving The Gift Of You : Serving Your Community!

Wednesday, May 3rd, 2006: Tracy slept well last night. She wore her new dynasplint on her right leg for almost 5 hours and her daytime wrist cock up splints for 6 hours! She tolerated it well with no redness noted. This morning, Mom and Tracy's P.A. showered Tracy and got her ready for the day. It was a beautiful day with NO WIND, so we were able to put down the awning and enjoy the shade. Another surprise is that all the snow birds are gone and the traffic is actually becoming bearable! It may even be safe to get out the road bike and go for a ride down A1A! Bottom line, Palm Beach is even quieter when the snow birds fly the coop! Mom will see tomorrow how quiet it really is when she goes to Publix to do the grocery shopping. Today, Tracy wore her AFOs for three, two-hour sessions, with a total of 6 hours. The ankle foot orthoses are designed to help Tracy dorsiflex her feet in preparation for standing! She is really doing a great job with tolerating them. Mark, the orthotist, is coming by tomorrow to check on her and make adjustments if needed. This evening, we will put on her new dynasplint for 6 hours and see how she does. The goal is to get Tracy to 8 hours of wear time each night. Once we are there, we will begin to increase the tension to improve her hamstring stretch. Baby steps, baby steps! This afternoon, Mom and Tracy's P.A. got Tracy seated on the peanut ball in a straddle position. Tracy tolerated one hour in this position and was able to stretch her legs around the ball. This will get her ready to ride the horse. She still needs to practice head control. We will continue to work on this. This evening, Mario came over to do Cranial Sacral Therapy on Tracy. She really relaxes and enjoys this gentle touch and seems to do well with it. We are all very hopeful that 2006 will bring great improvements and many miracles to Tracy and our family. Many thanks to all of you who continue to pray for Tracy's recovery! Please keep those prayers and powerful wishes coming Tracy's way! Take a look at today's daily OM. It talks about our ability to tap into our personal power and the beauty it brings us to realize our dreams and life's purpose. Mom just read a great book that talks about finding your Life's Purpose: The Alchemist. It is a great book that everyone should take the time to read! Lesson of the Day: Life Into Being : Personal Power!

Tuesday, May 2nd, 2006: Tracy slept well until about 2:30 AM when she woke up and started grinding her teeth. Mom gave her an Extra Strength Tylenol and she finally fell back to sleep around 4 AM. Tracy was coughing quite a bit last night and Mom and Dad tried positioning her on her left side and suctioning her which provided some relief for a while. Tracy wore her night resting hand splints for about four hours. This morning, Mom and Tracy's P.A. bathed Tracy and got her ready for the day. She sat outside under the awning on the balcony with Tracy's P.A. while Mom caught up on the webpage updates! Tracy was pretty sleepy, most likely catching up on the sleep that she missed last night. This afternoon, Mom went down to the pool and did 48 lengths (24 laps). Her next goal is 50 laps! You ask how long the pool is? Not very long! This is big for Mom who never thought of herself as a strong swimmer. It just goes to show you how much you can achieve with a little determination and sweat! Tracy is keeping Mom and Dad in shape! This afternoon, Mom and Tracy's P.A. got Tracy on her knees over the peanut ball on the therapy mat on the balcony under the awning. This position is great for Tracy because it allows her to use her own weight to strengthen her hips. She was very relaxed and able to tolerate one hour in this position! She is getting so much stronger every day. Tomorrow, we will get Tracy straddled on the peanut ball to practice trunk and head control for therapeutic horse back riding. We plan to start at Vinceremos next Tuesday evening. This evening, Mom cooked dinner for Dad while he swam laps. He swam 12 laps (24 lengths)! Woohoo! Tracy wore her AFOs (ankle foot orthotics) for two hours, three times, for a total of 6 hours today. She had minimal redness which resolved itself in less than 30 minutes. The goal is to increase her wear time to 8 hours, 4 two-hour sessions. We will try to achieve that by adding an extra session tomorrow! Tomorrow, Tracy has a Cranial Sacral Therapy session with Mario at 2:30 PM. Take a look at today's daily OM. It talks about the beauty of each's individuality and uniqueness and the danger when one compares ourselves to others. Lesson of the Day: Embraceable You : Comparing Yourself To Others!

Monday, May 1st, 2006: Tracy slept well last night. She must have been wiped out from her trip! Dad gave her a well-deserved break from all of her splints! This morning, Mom and Tracy's P.A. showered Tracy and got her ready for her 10:30 AM Cranial Sacral Therapy session with Melanie. Tracy had her session on the therapy mat on the balcony under the awning. It was a beautiful morning with no wind (for a change so we could put out the awning! Tracy did a good job relaxing and participating in her therapy session. Melanie was very pleased when Tracy made several vocalizations! After Tracy's session, Melanie worked on Mom. She was desperately in need of CST, especially after the long car ride last weekend. It was just what the doctor ordered and she felt really good afterward. Melanie is a great therapist. Nana and Uncle Johnny came over to spend the day with us! Mom and Uncle Johnny took off on their bikes and headed for the north side of Palm Beach to check out Jimmy Buffett's house. Rumor has it that he lives on the north side of Palm Beach. They are not sure if they had the right house, but if so, it was gorgeous! When they returned, Mom and Uncle Johnny swam laps in the pool. Mom is up to 22 laps (44 lengths)! Then it was time to give Tracy a facial! Tracy loves her spa days. She relaxed in her chair in the shade on the balcony with Nana and Wilmene. Tracy did a good job tolerating her new AFOs (ankle foot orthoses) for two hours twice today. The plan is to wear them a total of 3, two hour sessions tomorrow until we work up to 8 hours per day! This evening, everyone went to dinner at the Four Seasons in celebration of Aunt Diane's birthday! Cousins Chip and Eileen and our good friend Anita joined Aunt Diane, Tim, Mom, Dad, Tracy, Uncle Johnny, and Nana! It was a lot of fun and it is so good to be close to family! We are all very hopeful that 2006 will bring great improvements and many miracles to Tracy and our family. Many thanks to all of you who continue to pray for Tracy's recovery! Please keep those prayers and powerful wishes coming Tracy's way! Take a look at today's daily OM. It talks about the beauty of each's individuality and uniqueness and the danger when one compares ourselves to others. Lesson of the Day: Embraceable You : Comparing Yourself To Others! Ongoing Events: Dad is staying busy and enjoying his new job with American Airlines and loves playing doctor again. Tiffany is learning a lot as Communications and Marketing Associate for Response, Preparedness and International Services at the American Red Cross NHQ. WE MISS HER! Mom is enjoying her job too as Tracy's lead therapist during our interim stay in Palm Beach. Once we get to Miami, she will organize a team of therapist similar to the team Tracy had in Virginia. Tracy has been making more sounds each day and really trying to talk to us. She has also been laughing more frequently. Although it seems sporadic, Tracy appears to be laughing when she is relaxed and day dreaming in her bed. This happens more frequently when she is waking up in the morning or falling asleep at night. Saturday, April 22nd at 9:00 AM: Mom, Dad, Wilmene and Tracy got in the van and headed to the Vinceremos Therapeutic Horseback Riding Center in Loxahatchee. Today was the day that Tracy was to be evaluated for readiness for the riding program. We met Ruth, the program director who brought out a very large plastic barrel on rollers, complete with a saddle and a bridle! It was a make-shift horse! Dad, Wilmene and Mom positioned Tracy on the "horse" and Tracy did a good job getting her legs around the barrel and relaxing them down around the "horse". It was a huge improvement since last Fall when Tracy could not get her legs around the barrel at Lift Me Up! Her pelvis seemed pretty stable, the challenge now is whether Tracy can demonstrate the head control to stay up on the horse. Ruth decided that she would brain storm over the next two weeks and Tracy would return on Saturday, May 6th to try out the horse for real. April 7th, 2006: Tracy had a doctor's appointment with Dr. Lochner in Palm Beach to get her Baclofen pump refilled. Dad and Dr. Lochner discussed the plan to lower Tracy's Baclofen dosage. They decided to lower her continuous dosage by 10 percent, leaving the complex boluses at the same dosage. We hope this adjustment will help reduce Tracy's sleepiness during the day so she will be more awake to do therapy. Dr. Lochner was very pleased with Tracy and said that every time he sees her she looks so much better! Dad is now Captain Fanancy L. Anzalone, Ret. He retired on Friday, March 3rd during a beautiful ceremony at the United States Navy Memorial in DC. Thank you everyone who participated in the ceremony! We greatly appreciate all of our friends and family who traveled far and wide to celebrate Dad's 29 years in the Navy! Dad started his 2nd career as the Miami Medical Director for American Airlines and has his new office at the Miami International Airport. Upledger Institute: March 13 to March 17th, 10 AM to 5 PM: Tracy completed the Intensive Program at the Upledger Institute in Palm Beach Gardens. John Upledger, DO specializes in Cranio Sacral Therapy. For more information, please refer to the previous link. February 21st, 2006: During the consult with Dr. Sonies, a Speech Therapist and researcher from the National Institutes of Health, some very pertinent recommendations were made for Mom and Linda to incorporate in feeding Tracy. She is going to provide Mom and Linda with a feeding protocol to follow which will allow some variety in the types of food that Tracy can eat. She recommended only feeding Tracy 1 cc at a time, using a syringe, with a total of 10 ccs per day of a given food. The goal is to retrain Tracy's oral motor function, and not to focus on the quantity of intake. Mom and Linda will start this protocol right away. Next, Tracy had an appointment with Dr. Pagan at Georgetown University Hospital to get BoTox injections to her lower extremities. He injected 600 units of BoTox into Tracy's right hamstrings, gastrocnemius, soleus, and tibialis anterior. He also injected her plantar surface of her feet to help with dorsiflexion. On her left side, he injected everything but her hamstrings. The plan is to continue with serial casting in south Florida and to work towards AFOs so that Tracy can stand with the help of a tilt table. Dad brought a very special gift to Tracy from his hometown parish pastor, Fr. McDuffy: rosaries personally given to him when he had a private audience at the Vatican with Pope John Paul II. These rosaries are very special because they are considered a secondary relic, something that the prospective saint has personally touched. Thank you cousin Frank Arthur for the beautiful St. Theresa medal. She is Tracy's patron saint. Pope Benedict XVI has approved an expedited process for Beatification and ultimate Sanctification of Pope John Paul II. Please pray to Pope John Paul II specifically requesting that he make Tracy one of the two miracles needed for his Sainthood! Here is his prayer: "Prayer for John Paul II's Intercession". We found Tracy's old files and want to share her last AP English Essay and a paper for her Biology Class from Gulf Breeze High School. This will give you some insight into how special she is and why she will come back to us. Here they are: BLESSED and Euthanasia: Filling God's Shoes.