Update on Friday, May 17th, 2013

Update on Ben Wolverton

Today is the 44th day since Ben fell off of his longboard. He had a grueling afternoon yesterday in rehab. For the first time, he took some steps without his walker, though his therapist stood behind him and held him a bit in case he fell. He then got to walk up and down a flight of stairs, using only the handrails for support.

He worked hard on some mental exercises with his speech therapist, and that was tough to watch. It took about 40 seconds for him to think of an animal that started with A--ape, and he couldn't think of one that started with a B at all. By the time he got to D, though, he was able to come up with a couple--dragon and dog.

We found that with each of his exercises, he started out poorly but made great improvements by the time that we were done.

So, Ben is progressing well, and we're excited to see him coming along so well.

One thing that I've often noticed is that children very often grow up feeling that their parents don't love them. The truth is that you spend years feeding your children, bathing them, changing diapers, teaching them to walk, helping them learn to read, and so on. But those memories fade too quickly. I know several people who don't remember anything before the age of eight or so, so they've forgotten how much time and attention they've been given.

I see Ben's accident as an opportunity for me as a parent to remind Ben how much we care for him, and I think he's getting the message. Yesterday he told his big brother "I'm the favorite in the family now."

When Spencer asked Ben how he knew that he was the favorite, Ben said, "Because when dad was feeding me a couple of days ago, he said, 'Chirp, chirp, eat up little bird! Chirp, chirp."

That's a game that my mother played with me, to get me to eat as a child, but I'm sure that Ben had long forgotten it.

In any case, I think that it's good for children to know that they're loved, and perhaps its even good if from time to time they feel that they're loved more than any others.

So if you're having trouble with your relationship with your children, now you know what to do. Chirp, chirp.

No pictures yet today. I'll be signing books tonight in Taylorsville, Utah, but for those who would like to get a signed copy of Nightingale or some other book, here is a link:

http://www.gofundme.com/HelpBenWalk