Thursday, March 31, 2011 4:00pm

Another good day for Garren. He played football trivia again. This time they added defensive players, making it a little harder. But Garren once again blew them away with his football knowledge. It is so awesome to be able to communicate, though it can be frustrating trying to guess which yes/no question to ask next.

Garren is getting better and better at holding his head up. Today with Wren he held it up for 11 seconds. His muscles are getting stronger each day. His cough is improving as well. Swallowing is so important. He is getting close, and Wren works with him every day. So close.

Garren has been impressing the school teacher as well with his knowledge of vocabulary. Today she would tell him a word, then hold up two cards with two other words. One of the cards had the opposite word of then one she had just said. Garren was asked to look at the opposite. He did this very well. In fact there were a couple of words that I didn't even know, and Garren got them right! Cool stuff!

We are continuing to see slow but steady progress from Garren. He is intent. I ask him before we start therapy if he is ready to get to work. His eyes go up every single time. During therapy he tries, really hard. We can see the effort he is putting into it. He's determined.

Here are some very specific things to pray for - Garren's left side is the stronger side. The right side is not responding nearly as much. Pray that the right side of Garren's body will wake up. Pray that he will gain control of his right side. The same goes for the left side of his face. This is why he is having trouble blinking his left eye.

Also, continue to pray for Garren's ability to swallow. As he gains more head and shoulder control, the swallowing should become easier. Pray that he will learn to swallow soon.

And then, pray for Garren - for peace, for comfort, for understanding. Last thing he remembers he was playing around in P.E. class at school. Now he has trouble moving. Garren has become much more aware in the last several days. This has to be a frustrating reality to wake up to. Pray for his peace and comfort.

P.S. Don't forget to vote for Mike's grandson in the Cutest Baby contest! He went from #38 on Wednesday to #16 today. It won't take much to push him up to #1! Click here to vote!