Possibilities Beyond the Light

Mint's housebreaking is far from over, so we still have accidents, but we are enjoying training him every day.

Please take a look at this! This stance!

Do you notice now he is standing with his foot resting on the fence wire?
I can't help but smile at this indescribable pose.
Hajime is not used to Mint yet...and it's not that we're trying to keep Mint off the bed, but I'm hoping that they will both get used to each other soon.

On Saturday, a doctor visited us. This gentleman is an ALS doctor who is very active in Japan. He had read my blog in Japan and contacted me to ask questions about Hajime's condition. He was very thorough. We finally met on Saturday. We do not know anything about ALS in Japan, so it was really good that we were able to ask him many questions.

The best thing was that he was able to give us hope for the future. Until now, I had been wondering about things like, "What should our goals be from here on?" and "How should I explain to Hajime about how wonderful it is to be alive every day?" But now I feel like the doctor has given us the key.

First of all, he said that people do not die from just ALS. He said that we do need to be careful about various infections, but having ALS does not necessarily mean you will die.
And, I had thought that the TV was Hajime's only pleasure, but the doctor said that it is also possible to manipulate a computer with the muscles he uses to blink. Hajime can still move the big toes on his feet a little bit, and so by using this mobility and the tobii function which he has, he can click the mouse with his feet. The doctor gave us a lot of information.

The important thing now is to be connected with the outside world! It is important for Hajime to not just be indoors but to "walk outside" using his computer. He shouldn't just wait for his friends to visit. He can initiate contact with them. I think that if he could do these things, his daily life will be much more enjoyable. I had been worrying about the future because he could not use his feet anymore, but I guess I did not need to worry.

I am grateful to Dr. Hirai for letting us know about all this.

Beyond the light, there are limitless possibilities. I cannot express to you how much lighter our hearts feel.

We are so thankful that God led this one visitor to us. We are very happy because we had never imagined that we would be able to meet a doctor like Dr. Hirai who is so active in ALS in Japan.

I am planning to look for simulation games and shooting games that can be done with "eye gaze". I checked around a little, and there are games that I think Hajime will like, so I will have fun looking for them.

But the games are quite expensive. I am planning to do more fundraisers for Hajime, so please support us!


(Translated by MS)