Today marks 9 weeks since Holli's accident. So much has happened during this journey but we still have a long road ahead of us. Sunday and Monday were not good days for Holli. She was very restless and agitated and very hard to get her settled down. Today was so much better, she has been very restful. She tolerated being up in the chair for 2 hours and then working with physical therapy. Tonight she had another scalp acupuncture session with Dr. Zhu. If you are interested in reading about him the web site is www.scalpacupunture.org. This was the second time he has stood Holli up beside her bed using leg braces and a support belt around her waist. She stood with help for about 10 minutes tonight. It was great to see. I have been fighting a sinus infection for the past several days. Holli's good friend Eliza came today and brought me vitamins and other healthy products to fight colds and last night another friend, Frannie, went out and bought chicken noodle soup from the deli for me. It is so nice that Holli's friends want to take care of me too. Thanks guys!

Holli made up for her quiet day yesterday by being very vocal and restless today. She had a busy day. She worked with speech therapy this morning. As she was constantly moaning during the session her therapist started singing the ABC song, Holli stopped and listened quietly which is something she had not done before for the entire song. She sat up in the chair for 3 hours and then went to to the PT gym for her work out on the mat. That was the first time she had gone to their department. She was exhausted by the time she got back to the room. She had several visitors tonight....one from Canada who had met Holli 2 years ago at Burning Man. She was the one that organized the Canada benefit for Holli . I am touched by all the lovely friends that know and love Holli. She has finally gone to sleep so I will do the same.
Diane

Holli has been very quiet today. It was good to see her relaxed for the majority of the day, even when she was up in the chair for 3 hours she was sleeping. Tonight she had a group of about 50 of her friends that were on a bicycle run come riding by the hospital stop on the street below and yell up to Holli. It was great! She has such wonderful friends here in California. We just finished her acupunture tonight and the acupunturist doctors told me tonight that she is getting better. I know it is just small steps but I cling to those words of encouragement.
Diane

Holli has been slowly progressing. She is now pumping both legs up and down in bed and trying to lift her head off the pillow at times during the day. She is vocalizing more making different sounds and showing more expression on her face. She definetly responds to certain voices by the way she moans and looks like she is going to cry. She is now sleeping at night with the help of sleeping medication. We have been trying to keep cool with the extreme warm weather the last 3 days. We don't have air condition but we do have 2 fans that have been a great help. It has been 8 weeks today since her accident. I know she has come a long way but that she also has a long way to go. Thanks for keeping us in your prayers.
Diane

It has been a quiet weekend. The weather has been great getting into the 70's with sunshine. Feels like a summer day outside. Holli didn't sleep well Friday night but did last night. I think at times she fights through her medication at night no matter what she is given. The afternoons and early evening are her more agitated times with moaning and constantly moving her left leg up and down. Her morning are usually quiet times with her dozing off and on. The acupunturist came yesterday for a session. After they left she rested quietly. I am really enjoying having a laptop and being able to communicate with the world again.

Newest update from Diane! We love you Diane! and tell Holli, we love her too!


Had a great night! Holli slept all night with the assistance of a sleeping pill which meant I got a good nights rest too! The doctor wants to try and straighten her days and nights out and also not give her any sedation or pain medication during the day. That way therapy can adequately evaluate her progress. She was again on the tilt table today and tolerated it well. She seems to have alittle more of quiet, relaxed times today without the aide of medication which I feel is good. I hate to see her agitated all her waking time. I want to continue to thank everyone for your thoughts, prayers, love and cards that we have been receiving. We could not make this journey without all of you and the many blessings that have come our way. l thank our Lord everyday for all His blessings and to give us strength everyday. I want to wish my great nephew, Sam, Happy Birthday!

Love
Diane

This is an email I received from Diane last night. Please continue to remember her in your prayers.

This is the first day to spend without Heather and Doug. They left yesterday afternoon flying back to Nashville and got home about 1 AM. It seemed very lonely here today without them to keep me company, I know they will be back whenever they can. Holli had a very restless night last evening never going to sleep until about 5:30 this morning and only sleeping a couple of hours today. The doctor does not want her to have sedation or pain medication during the day and try giving her something to make her sleep at night. Tonight wll be the first night to give this a try. They want her awake during the day so they can work with her better in therapy and not having her fall asleep during her session. They stood her up for the first time today on the tilt table....just think ....the first time to stand in 7 weeks. She tolerated it really well. But this afternoon she was really restless and was found to be running a fever again. I'm afraid it might be another urinary infection....waiting for the doctor to find out for sure. I canceled her acupuncture for tonight due to the fever and rescheduled it for Friday night.

I will keep everyone posted on her progress.

Heather, Doug, Michelle (Holli's friend since 5th grade from Pheonix) and I were invited to Karen's home which is across from the ocean for Easter brunch. It was so nice. We went for a long walk down the beach with her, the dogs, Mark and her sister Gail and friend Ruth. It was a beautiful day here...sunny and only needing a light jacket. Doug and Michelle collected shells while we enjoyed seeing surfers, hang gliders and people and dog watching. We then went back to her home when her other sister from Syracuse, NY Donna arrived and had a delicous brunch. Karen said a beautiful toast celebrating Holli and how far she has come and to the near future of when she will awaken. She had both Doug and I in tears. I only wished Holli could have been there with us. We are now back in the hospital room with her. Michelle has gone back to Pheonix and Heather and Doug have gone to get some Mexican food for dinner. I am sad to think I only have one and a half day left with Heather and Doug before they head back to Tennessee. Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter. I praise the Lord for all his blessing and love. Happy Easter

Heather, Holli's sister, and Doug, her step-dad, arrived in San Francisco today. This was the first time Diane had seen either of them since she left for India in late February. I'm sure it was a great reunion! Heather said that Holli is now opening both eyes very wide and looking around alot. She is also kicking her left leg really hard. She said that it seems sometimes as if she's trying to get out of bed. When Heather first arrived and was speaking to Holli, Holli grabbed her hands and squeezed them really tight. She said that she then "got really worked up" like she's trying to communicate but can't. She felt that Holli is getting frustrated at not being able to talk to them. She also said that Holli can definitely hear and recognize voices as evidenced by her reactions to them. Diane says that just in the past few days, she has noticed subtle changes in Holli for the better.

Diane now has a laptop, and as soon as she gets it up and running, she will be able to post as well. Please be looking for these, and let her know how much we are all praying for her. As someone who has dealt with something very similar, it makes such a difference to know you are being lifted up in prayer.

Thanks

Jill

Diane said Holli has been very restless for the past 24 hours. She is moaning a lot and seems uncomfortable at times. The doctor has started adjusting her medications in attempts to wake her up, but this will take time. She is running a fever again, and they have started her on antibiotics again. Please continue to pray for both Holli and Diane.