We are down to 4 volunteers this week, which may require more zone defense vs man to man. We have a new child, Emma, who I am so happy to meet after seeing pictures and hearing about her. Unfortunately, she has a virus and is in isolation for a few days. We've gone in to visit her but can't pick her up or get too close. Her legs are paralyzed and she has a shunt in her head. She is such a cutie and seems pretty sharp. When you hold Delia up to the window in the door, Emma calls out her name and Delia responds. It is sweet and sad at the same time.
The physical therapist showed me how to exercise Luciana's legs. Luciana did fine at the beginning but didn't like it when the therapist was bending her over to strengthen her core. She started to cry. I'm not going to do that exercise. Don't tell.
We had a shaving cream party again. We even put some in a small bowl for Delia so she could participate. The kids loved it although I'm not sure that Coca was too happy about having to change their clothes for the umpteenth time. We did clean up the room and the children and Cathy even vacuumed the rug so hopefully we didn't cause her too much extra work.
Ionut commandeered us to push him up and down the hall in his machina. That is the Romanian word for car and the stroller is his car. My Italian grandmother used to call the car the machine so I always smile when I hear the word. Ionut is the king of the hallway and knows all of the nurses and aides names. When he gets a little too wound up, it is a good way to calm him down.
Before lunch time, we noticed that it had started to snow and held a few of the kids up to the window to see it. There were just a few snow flakes and it wasn't sticking but it has definitely turned a bit colder.
This afternoon, Cathy pulled out the wigs and tiaras that she and Sarah found over the weekend. It was so much fun. Delia preened in her pink wig and tiara. Even Ionut put on a wig.
We also got a peek into the conference room that got turned into a playroom for the other children on the floor. One of the aides was in there and they let Ionut and Ionella in. Neither were happy about leaving the room. The door to the room is kept locked so it isn't a space that we can use regularly.
I've been thinking about how much it helps that Delia, Ionut, Ionella and even Luciana to some extent can use their words to tell us what they want. Up, down, out, water, I can't. My Romanian vocabulary has expanded a bit this trip!
I ate a snack for dinner in my room so can't speak to what I'm sure was scintillating conversation over dinner. I was so tired I couldn't even remember what day it is was on the way home from the hospital. I suspect the rest of the week will go by very quickly.
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