July 31,2012

POOL TIME!

We want a pitcher ;)

Get down and give me 20!

Catch Dad!

Sorry blog followers I was a major slacker yesterday! But on the bright side today was a great day and I have pics to post! McKennlie had an amazing day in therapy and continues to get stronger each day! One of the things that kids with her type of injury tend to struggle with is their short term memory. This is not the case with McKennlie.  She has an amazing memory and will memorize different things they teach her in therapy and then later in the day she will repeat it back to the therapists.  Her small motor skills continue to improve on both hands and she is now able to hit a ball that Chris pitches to her! She was able to go to the pool for PT today and absolutely loved it! She is getting very good at the trike, push ups on the exercise ball, and rolling.  McKennlie's speech continues to get stronger and some of the sounds that were difficult she is mastering! Keep the prayers coming and THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for all you are doing for this family!

July 29, 2012

McKennlie was able to have another ride pass today and it was time to visit the grandparents!  She walked into Grandma's and said "it smells good"! She ate and ate and then ate some more! She is able to eat all by herself now and loves a good meal! It is so good to see her having fun and being her! We are excited for this week and feel like there are great things on the horizon! Keep the prayers coming.  We are on the count down to coming home!!

July 28, 2012

Today was such a fun day! McKennlie did therapy this morning and worked on strengthening her left arm. Then she went to the zoo and had an awesome time! She loved seeing all the animals and having her buddy Brendan push her around the zoo in her wheelchair. He was pushing her up a big hill and she told him to put his back into it! She is so funny and happy and it is awesome to be around her. After the zoo we went out to dinner and McKennlie has remembered how to roll her tongue! Her favorite part of dinner was the molten chocolate cake hands down! Thanks to everyone who helped or participated in the 5K for McKennlie today! We love you and are so grateful for everything you are doing for us!

Ok Blogger peeps!!! I am going to start with an apology right off the bat!!! I am sitting in as a substitute blogger! Cheri is at youth conference and so today it is up to me!!  ;)
Today was yet another great day for McKennlie! Just a week ago the therapists had her working with a computer and helping her to navigate the mouse and today she was able to work the mouse all by herself! Moving it all around and clicking on things all by herself!!!
This weekend she has TWO ride passes!!!!  The one tomorrow she wants to go to the zoo. Sunday she is going to visit her Grandmas and Grandpas!!!  Talking with Mel tonight she was saying how neat it is that one day McKennlie will need help with something and a couple days later it will just click and she will do it no problem!!! Times like this we know it is our Heavenly Father answering all of our prayers!!
Tyler

July 26, 2012

McKennlie was a biker chic today! She was able to ride the trike all over the second floor of the hospital. She did an entire flight of stairs today! Each day she continues to amaze all of us and her therapists. She is so positive and is one of the most amazing people I have ever met. She is still working toward walking on her own by August 15th. Please continue to pray for her and for Mel and baby Caleb to stay put until they get McKennlie home and settled.

Facebook post from Mel!!!

Well everyone......They told us a tentative date. August 15th we will be going home from the hospital. Please keep praying she will be able to get as strong as possible before that day. We love and miss everyone so much, and we will never be able to thank you for everything you are doing for us!

July 25, 2012

Today McKennlie decided that everything was funny today! She was super giggly and could not stop laughing. She worked really hard in therapy and has reached a lot of her goals, but has set a new one for herself. She really wants to walk by herself by the time she goes home! Please pray for her that she will be able to. She is getting tired of being at the hospital and all of her outings are so good for her spirits. We are grateful for McKennlie's postive attitude and her never quit attitude!

July 24, 2012

Today in honor of the pioneer children McKennlie walked for 5 minutes straight on the treadmill! She also worked Grandma Provost at tic tac toe! She did awesome in therapy! In speech her therapist is giving her some exercises to help to continue to strengthen her soft pallet. Some of them are really hard! When they are telling McKennlie what to do everyone in the room is trying to do it as well! (you can't help yourself) Mel went to the doctor today and baby Caleb is doing great! He is 5 lbs. 3 oz. and is no longer breech! He decided to cooperate and turn into the correct position and now he just has to stay. They are thinking McKennlie will have 2 ride passes this week. One on Saturday and one on Sunday. We think spending some time away from the hospital is so great for everyone especially McKennlie! Keep up the prayers for McKennlie. We need her really strong by the time Caleb is ready to come!

MCKENNLIE PROVOST VOLLEYBALL CAMP!!!!!!!
Saturday, August 4th @ Ben Lomond HS!!!!
Check it out!!!

July 23, 2012

McKennlie had a great day again today. The most exciting development is that McKennlie's real voice is starting to come through in some of what she says! It is an amazing thing to hear HER voice! She did awesome in PT and was able to stand up by herself while leaning against a barrel with her right hand and throwing bean bags with her left. She gets to have her dad sleep over with her tonight so her mom can go to her Dr.'s appointment tomorrow. Her favorite physical therapist is back and we are so glad! She pushes McKennlie really hard, but McKennlie still loves her! We a so grateful for each of our many blessings and for the tender mercies we receive each day!

July 22,2012

Today was a relaxation day for McKennlie! She really needed it because she has worked her guts out this last week! She was able to take the sacrament for the first time today! She really enjoys going to church and spending Sunday with her family.  We think this coming week is going to be an amazing one with tons of new progress and accomplishments! Mel is loving the AC at the hospital and can not believe how hot it is when they leave for a ride pass!

July 21, 2012

McKennlie did great today! In PT she was able to play soccer! She has started stopping the ball and then kicking it with both her right and left legs! Mel said she scored over 20 goals and was loving every minute of it! McKennlie had her ride pass today and went to Uncle Tyler and Aunt Cheri's!( we were so excited!) She chose what she wanted for dinner and chose lasagne. She ate great and then worked the boys at sequence! She is doing so great and it is so fun to see all of the improvement she is making. Her core muscles are getting so much stronger and she will sit up by herself from laying flat. She will NEVER tell you that she is tired no matter how hard she has worked and how exhausted she is! She is definitely a trooper!

July 20, 2012

McKennlie did great again today. She is becoming quite the drummer in music therapy and can lay down a wicked beat! She is glad that the weekend is here and she will get a bit of a rest! She is still working very hard and never quits even if she is tired! We are grateful for all the people McKennlie has in her corner and we know she will continue to amaze all those around her!

July 19, 2012

The head neuro surgeon came in today to check on McKennlie and told Mel that he sees a lot working at Primarys, but that no doubt McKennlie is a miracle! We already knew that, but it's still nice to hear! McKennlie not only walked on the treadmill today but did it with weights on her ankles. She is doing better each day and has an amazing attitude and perseverance. She is reading during her therapies and also does problem solving. McKennlie is looking forward to her next ride pass and getting another field trip. We love her smiles and laughs and thank our Father in Heaven each day for our miracle girl!

July 18, 2012

McKennlie had yet more spectacular break throughs today! She did more work in PT in the swing and loved it. She also did more pushups, rolling and holding herself up on her elbows while laying on her tummy. She did some truly awesome work in speech therapy today! She was able to write her first and last name the numbers 8,12, and 17 and the words SWEET SIXTEEN! All of these have significance. The number 8 was in answer to how old are you, the number 12 how old are you when you go to young women's and 17 for how old do you have to be when you date! (lucky Christopher almost had an extra year on the whole dating thing, but Mel reminded her you have to be sweet...... And McKennlie said SWEET SIXTEEN and then wrote it out on the white board!) Each day McKennlie shows us that she is still the smart, sweet, awesome little girl as before! We are so excited to see some more awesomeness tomorrow!

July 17, 2012

Today was Bella's birthday! McKennlie did great in therapy and was able to spend the afternoon with her little sister laughing and having a ton of fun. It is the moments of sisters being sisters that make things seem somewhat normal again. McKennlie is doing four different kinds of therapy each day physical, occupational, speech, and music. She stays extremely busy and works super hard each day! Chris and Mel are doing an amazing job trying to juggle all the different things in their life and I know they feel your prayers in their behalf! Please continue to pray for our girl. Heavenly Father hears and answers prayers I have no doubt.

July 16, 2012

McKennlie has had another great day with more accomplishments. She was able to walk on a treadmill today in physical therapy. The therapists helped steady her and she held on to the top and was able to go for 3 minutes the first time and 2 minutes the second time. She also was able to go I the swing for the first time today. She thought that was a fun change! She did some work on months of the year and did a great job remembering which holidays fall in which month. She is doing well with her eating, but it is really hard to get enough liquids in each meal.(do you drink your 8 glasses of water each day? Me neither!). She has also figured out how to spit when she is brushing her teeth! It is amazing how many things we do each day that we just take for granted! So tonight as you spit when you brush your teeth remember to be grateful you can!

5K Fundraiser Info

http://helphealmckennlie.eventbrite.com/
This is a link to the site with all the info for this awesome event!!!!

July 15, 2012

McKennlie had a fabulous day today! She was able to attend church and also had a primary lesson. Today was her first ride pass and she was elated to be able to leave the hospital and go see her Uncle Austin and Aunt Adrienne. She had so much fun she did not want to leave! We were able to have a birthday party for Bella today and it was amazing to watch McKennlie sing to her little sister!  Bella had fun opening her presents and having cake and ice cream. Bella will be 6 on Tuesday and is such a great joy to her parents and McKennlie.   Each day it is amazing to see the progress and determination of McKennlie. McKennlie is doing great in meeting her nutrition goals and is so happy that the feeding tube is gone.  We can not begin to express the gratitude we feel for all we have been blessed with.  

July 14, 2012

McKennlie is rolling all by herself on the floor. She can also push up on her elbows and look up when she is on her belly. Her favorite part of the day was playing soccer in physical therapy. She stood up and the therapists helped her balance and Mel rolled her the soccer ball to her and she booted it 30 times. Her friend Tori was trying to show her that she had painted her toenails green in Mckennlie's honor and McKennlie could not see them so she used her stomach muscles and sat up. We are so excited for each new progression. Please keep praying for our girl! We know that faith and prayers and a loving merciful Heavenly Father will get our girl better.

July 13, 2012

Today was another good one. McKennlie is getting so much stronger and is able to do so much more each day. She is loving her new wheel chair and is going to be flying around the halls in it in no time. McKennlie was able to have her feeding tube pulled today! Woooohooooo! Last tube! She is working on her hand eye coordination. Tonight for dinner she had spaghetti and meatballs and pancakes! We are just so happy she is eating all on her own with no tube. On Sunday McKennlie has a ride pass and their family will all be gone from the hospital after 3 pm. We are so happy with McKennlie's progress and everyday is a whole new set of miracles!

July 12, 2012

McKennlie had a very good day in therapy! She was able to sit cross legged and held herself up for one full minute. She is learning to do stairs and she was able to stand on her own for a little bit today while holding on to the railing. The doctors are telling us if McKennlie can go two more days with no feeds through her feeding tube and reaching her goals of food and liquid intake she will be able to have her feeding tube pulled. We need prayers that McKennlie's soft pallet will get stronger to help with swallowing and talking. We are so thankful for all your love and prayers for our little miracle girl!

July 11, 2012

McKennlie is talking so much more and in full sentences. She gets frustrated when we can't figure out what she is saying because she knows exactly what she wants to say. She was able to meet all of her food and fluid intake goals and did not have to get any feeds through her feeding tube today. She was able to crawl today with only one therapists helping her. Lefty has woken up and is doing so many new things. They have started putting McKennlie in a new sports model wheel chair that is completely up right with no head rest. She did great in it today and I think she will be in it all the time very soon. They did a hearing test today and said McKennlie can hear better than most people! No shock there we try to whisper and she will answer the questions from our conversations. We can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!

July 10, 2012

McKennlie has become quite the little eating machine. She was able to have real blueberry pancakes for breakfast and Mac and cheese for lunch. (not blended up) She sang the whole ABC song today in music therapy and is still working hard on those sounds that are hard to make.(t,s,k) She continues to get stronger and the therapists have her sitting completely upright in her wheelchair for her sessions to help her continue to strengthen her neck and core. Mel went to her doctors appointment for baby Caleb today and he is 4 lbs.! Mel has decided this pregnancy will go by the fastest because she has so much else to think and worry about. She also said it is the best summer pregnancy because where she is its 72 degrees all day long! In situations like these always best to look for the silver lining!

July 9, 2012

Today was an awesome day! McKennlie was able to eat so much food that she only had to have 1 full feed and 1 partial feed through her feeding tube. She is so happy to have real food and she feels much better. Her speech is becoming clearer each day and she is singing. She is still working so hard at therapy and blows the therapists minds with her progress and determination. McKennlie is enjoying teasing her mom and doing what ever her dad asks. We are so amazed with her progress. Please keep praying McKennlie needs it and so do we! We love you and are so grateful for your love, support, and faith.

July 8, 2012

Today was McKennlie's day of rest and she needed it. She went to church services down at PCMC with her family. She also learned how to blow! How great since her birthday is less than a month away! She is ready to blow out some candles! Her dad said her favorite word of the day is no;). We are just so glad she has started to find her voice.

July 7, 2012

McKennlie has decided to talk! She just started and it made her and everyone around her so happy. She is so much fun to be around and beat her cousins and her mom at UNO today! She has started eating food which is interesting because they have to purée everything!?! She had tacos for lunch that looked like sweet potatoes, but smelled and tasted like tacos. She has learned to identify an itch and scratch it awwwwww. She is giving high fives with both hands and her fine motor skills are getting even better with her right. Who would have thought that four weeks later she would be back to here. She is amazing now and always has been. Keep praying for our girl we have high hopes that she can be doing really awesome by the time Caleb gets here.

July 6, 2012

McKennlie is going to get to eat some food! Woooo hooooo! She passed part of her swallow test which means she can have thicker foods like pudding, but not liquids yet. She did great in her therapies. She and Grandma Provost are reading Harry Potter and they both enjoy their time reading. Mel and Chris have become professionals at caring for McKennlie and do most everything she needs help with. Yesterday McKennlie, Bella, and Ashlyn were all in McKennlie's bed together! Talk about 3 little monkeys! Her left hand has improved a lot in the last two days. We are always so impressed how fast the new things come. McKennlie is extremely dedicated and works her hardest every time. It is an absolute inspiration to never give up and that we take so much for granted. She teaches us new life lessons everyday. Tomorrow it will be one month from her accident and it boggles the mind to think of all the ups and downs, but mostly the amount of miracles we have witnessed.

July 5, 2012

McKennlie was an absolute rock star today! She did awesome in all her therapies today! She was able to do 3 sets of ten pushups on an exercise ball! She is doing awesome with her walking and gets stronger each day. She is doing so good swallowing and is doing it on command that they are going to do another swallow test to see if she is ready for some food tomorrow. I forgot to mention that they did another CT scan this week and everything looks the same so that means no shunt and no more CT's. She was able to have a jam session with music therapy and was trying to sing along to Justin Beibers " Baby". Her right hand is doing so great she has about 15 different signs she does with her right and lefty is starting to move too! We can not wait until she can tease us out loud! Her voice is coming I can feel it!

Donations and fundraising

Here is a link to someone that is helping this family out! Thanks to everyone for all you are doing. www.rubyblueinc.blogspot.com

July 3, 2012

McKennlie continues to impress and progress! She was able to walk to the bathroom (with help) and went potty twice today! We are so excited and so was she. In each of her therapies today they reviewed things she has learned previously and was able to improve in each thing. She LOVES to tease and it is hard to not laugh at it because she is really good at it. Bella has done so great and has been so sweet to her sister. McKennlie loves to have her right in the bed with her and they laugh and play so great together. Chris and Mel are still hanging strong and continue to support their girl. Please continue to pray for McKennlie and the doctors and therapists working with her that they will know how to best help our girl. Happy 4th of July to everyone tomorrow! Enjoy your families and be safe. We love all of you.

July 2, 2012

McKennlie rocked it again today! She is still getting better each day and impressing the therapists and doctors. Wally one of the neuro surgeons said the only word for her recovery to this point is AMAZING! We agree we think it is amazing in fact we think it is a miracle. McKennlie is starting to find her voice and make more sounds she has said mom and hi. We can not wait until she is telling all of us what she wants. Her little personality has come to the surface and we love it! She was hitting her Uncle Tyler with a pillow and laughing each time! ( he so deserved it!) McKennlie's strength increases everyday and her determination never wavers. She is an amazing example of enduring trials with a smile!

July 1, 2012

Today McKennlie had a nice rest. She was able to enjoy her break from therapy. She continues to be a joy to everyone around her. Chris, Mel, and Bella were able to go to Chelsea's baby Chloe's blessing today. McKennlie was able to hang out with Grandma and Grandpa Provost. She has learned to close her lips and is moving forward each day. It is amazing to see Heavenly Fathers plan for each of us. We are so blessed to have the knowledge of a Savior who knows each of our pain, hurt, sorrow and also knows how to help us feel of His love and comfort. Each day we feel the comfort of the Holy Ghost and have great hope in the Savior Jesus Christ.

June 30, 2012

McKennlie is tired today. She did not sleep well last night and is exhausted from therapy all week. She is still remembering new things everyday! She remembered how to stick her tongue out, cross her fingers, and to do the sign for bird. She and Bella have watched Punky Brewster together and today they played together! Bella had McKennlie laughing out loud. Her core and neck continue to get stronger and she is having an easier time turning her head and her head nods(yes,no) are becoming very distinguishable. She loves having her family around her and we may have snuck a couple tastes of frosting ;). Which she loved by the way! She is doing math 9x5 and she shows us with her fingers the answer! We are so aware of all that is being done in our behalf by amazing family, friends, and a loving Father in Heaven. Thank you, we can not begin to express our gratitude. We are grateful for the miracles that have been performed in our lives.