Once upon a time, there lived a fantastical child who traveled from land to land, sprinkling lessons on the unexpecting, and collecting wisdoms to apply to the tomorrows. Powered by electricity, he breathed in life  - often unsteadily - but always with determination to reach his goals and capture the wonders of the days laid out before him. 

He's recently back to Louisville receiving outpatient treatment at Frazier Rehab Institute. This time big sis is along for the adventure too. Because the past summer's trip to Kentucky brought more advances to his body than we'd seen in some time, it felt obvious to commit to the 12-week pediatric neuro-recovery program where he was offered a spot.  Our bunch has now been living  for four weeks at the Ronald McDonald House of Kentuckiana. Things are good!

Each day at 7:40am, Mattie has to be seated in class at her new local school. Moments later, at 8am, Fenton embarks upon several hours of active locomotor therapy. With electrodes for every muscle, and a staff/patient ratio of 4:1, the goal is to power-up his systems and accelerate full-body healing. The research indicates links to respiratory recovery doing so. For sure, this remains our family's top priority.  After proving he could spend time off the the ventilator this summer, the pulmonary contacts here are in hot pursuit of additional gains. They've partnered with us again to continue his diaphragmatic strength training. They're so skillful at their job, but their greatest influence is a confidence that he will breathe on his own again one day. We cherish any person along our journey who's dared utter a lofty goal and say it will become a reality! There are just a few.  I met another one this week - a doctor who we will return to see in December. She believes he will stand straight again, given time. She'll be attempting to help him with a minor surgery to his hip, hoping to decompress an angry nerve there and give him relief. 

Somehow all this displacement doesn't feel like work around the clock. The Braves won the World Series! We have gorgeous sunsets! We've all made new friends! Mattie's fit right in as the new kid at school, trying basketball and joining choir. Fenton stays busy entertaining whomever crosses his path. His rehab team lets him lead the dialogue as a distraction to his efforts. They cover so much ground with trivia, rapping, charades, sports stats, word problems and board games. Can you guess how many total gifts are exchanged from start to finish while singing The 12 Days of Christmas song? Fenton came shockingly close to the correct number (364) while hustling along on the treadmill sans scratch paper or a calculator. He loves to goof off with a riddle, a craft, a video game, or a Facetime call with one of his buds back home. He's learning to play wheelchair soccer and joined the chess program at Mattie's school which meets in the library where we sit once a week... me, as his medical chaperone. Picture a cozy castle room with low rafters and books galore.  How many volumes will our respira-story fill before we discover the ending?  As long as Fenton continues to impact the world with his wit and wherewithal, there'll be no writer's block for me.

An eyelash dropped to his cheek this week, so we made a customary wish by blowing it from my finger. While off the ventilator, he barely - yet somehow - managed to do it. The gains are so subtle they're often hard to distinguish.  Yes, there once lived a fantastical child who traveled to many lands capturing the day's wonders and sprinkling  unexpected lessons on those all around him. 

We're so incredibly proud of the person he is and the story he is living.