Update - 3/1/06

Blessed Ash Wednesday to all of you! I appreciate the words of thanks for providing these updates. I'm glad to do it and it's nice to know that it is appreciated by so many people connected to the Kurz family.

Erich was with Matthew on Tuesday and had more encouraging information to share with us. Matthew is continuing to do alot with his left hand. He's been grabbing hold of the sheets and as I mentioned before, he fiddles with the tubes and tries to get them out. (The mitt still comes in handy at times.)

While the speech therapist worked with Matthew yesterday he wasn't very responsive with the hand signals for yes and no. The therapist thinks that he's getting tired of answering with his hands. Both the therapist and Erich could see that Matthew was making efforts to move his mouth and makes some sounds.

The therapist also asked him to open his mouth a little and she put a small ice chip in his mouth. They could see him moving the chip around in his mouth and then he make a good, strong swallow to get it down. The therapist said that was really good.

Several days ago Matthew was put on a table that inclines. The first time he couldn't handle more than a 50 degree angle of incline. Yesterday he was able to go up to a 60 degree angle and handled it pretty well. His heart rate increased, but then stabilized (his heart rate is their indicator for if he's handling something well or not). Matthew was also sitting up for several hours in the afternoon. Each time it gets easier for him to handle.

Regarding the influenza - Matthew went another day without a fever. Yeah!!! The staff still hasn't okayed any visitors other than his mom and dad.

For those of you who are wondering about the name "Richard", I'll try to remember how that came about. As I recall, when Matthew started high school someone mistakenly called him Richard. Others heard him being called Richard and thought that was his name. For a while there were some people that had no idea his real name is Matthew, but the name Richard stuck and now many (most?) of the students at the high school call him Richard. Matthew didn't seem to mind when it first happened and he didn't bother correcting them. If I've incorrectly told the story, be sure to share the correction in a comment.

There have been a variety of comments about the Kurz' housing situation. Rev. Kurz and Brenda will undoubtedly be meeting with the church leadership soon to discuss the situation. We pray it can be resolved soon to the satisfaction of everyone involved, but most importantly considering what is best for Matthew when he returns home.

"Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love." Joel 2:13

Rachel Asburry
Matthew's godmother