Merry Christmas

It's Christmas Eve 2007. Grace is looking forward to Santa coming tonight. In a way he's already come, because she has her Standing Dani. She's doing really well with it, and we think it'll be a great thing for her. It will help a lot with keeping her upright and therefore keeping her spine healthy, and it will be her first experience with the independence that mobility brings. We can't believe how good she is at driving it after only a week or so. She drives it with a small joystick, and we can control how fast it goes. It's really a pretty incredible piece of equipment, and I'm sure Beth will get some pictures on the site as we take them.

Standing Dani

Grace is scheduled to have her Standing Dani delivered tomorrow. We're really excited to get it, although we've yet to do anything with our house or vehicles to make them accommodating to power mobility. That's the next step. My prediction is that it'll take Grace a little while to warm up to the Dani, but once she gets going, there will be no stopping her.

Grace's Top 3 on her wish list for Santa:
1. Barbies
2. Dollies
3. Doll House

She has all of these, so I'm not sure she grasps the concept of what to wish for (or she just wants more).

First Post

This is our first try at "blogging" on Race 4 Grace. Beth has been very creative in everything she's done with Race 4 Grace, and the website is her latest great idea. We thought it might be a good idea for us to periodically write about Grace and her life as a way for friends and family to follow her on her journey. Not wanting to write too much in this first blog, here is a brief run-down of Grace's daily life.

Monday through Friday--She goes to an in-home daycare with a great woman named Kathy Baustain. There are about 6 or 7 other children there, and it's a perfect size and fit for Grace. She loves going and usually cries when Michelle picks her up to go home. Not sure what that means.

Tuesday nights--She goes to a one hour class called "Taps". It's an AEA-sponsored class in which the kids sing songs and do signing and other things with their arms and legs. Grace can't do the leg stuff, but she loves going and singing the songs--she spends the rest of the week singing them at home. Her current favorite is "There's a Spider on my leg."

Thursday nights--She does one hour a week of water therapy at a physical therapy place in Sioux City. Her therapist's name is Kristine, and Grace absolutely loves the water. Her weekly "swimming" session is strenuous, but it's great for her.

Once a week she also has AEA therapists come to the home or to daycare. We're really happy with the Sioux City AEA people, and they always have new things for her to do. This week she got to play with shaving cream.

The Gracie Blog Introduction!

Welcome to the first Gracie Blog Posting!

This Blog is being continually updated by Nic and Michelle Nelson, Gracie Nelson's parents. Please feel free to add comments, aske questions, and share this information with others.

Thanks for stopping by and check back soon!