Alessa's Germany Experience, Day 37 - Standing

Alessa's getting stronger every day. She is now able to stand by herself for about a minute without holding onto Steve's arm. She started trying that yesterday. She still needs to hold onto Steve to walk. It's going to be quite a while before she can walk on her own. The doctor thinks it will take a good six months. She has to build up all her leg muscles. However, she's already doing much better than expected. We just want her to take her time and go at her own pace. There's no rush.

She's so excited, though. She smiles all day long. In fact, today she told me that when she gets home, she's looking forward to wearing jeans. She hasn't been able to wear jeans in four years because they hurt her skin too much.

In the meantime, we're enjoying every minute here in Saarbruecken. It was winter when we arrived here in March. Now it's spring and the flowers are blooming everywhere. It's been a real treat being here for the change in seasons.