oh christmas trees

We've been crazy busy the last few weeks with Christmas tree sales and it's been really hard for Matt to see everyone running around and not being able to help. He makes an appearance each day and handles his inability to work with amazing grace as always, but it's much easier for him to stay in the house and not be confronted by it all. He keeps saying 'next year, next year' and I know he's motivated enough to get there.

Recently Matt got a new glove that he's using to get muscle control back in his fingers and wrist. He's been able to squeeze his fingers together, but releasing them again is very difficult due to the tone in his arm muscles. The glove has metal stays that fit over each finger and help him straighten the fingers again. He's been working on grasping small objects on one side, moving his arm across his body, and releasing the object on the other side. It's pretty amazing to watch.

He's also still horseback riding since they have an indoor arena and it seems to be the highlight of his week. I don't know if I've written this before, but when he first started, they made reigns for him with a single bar in the middle that he could control with one hand. Now they have the reigns separated with a handle on the right side that he can grip and he's controlling the horse with both arms. All the trainers comment on how great Matt and Norfie are matched - they work really well together.