John Smith arrived at Natalie's home in Cohoes with a stuffed dog for her from Sergeant Larry Warner of the Albany County Correctional Facility. She immediately took comfort from her new found friend, hugging and holding him on her lap. Natalie was bandage around her upper body to keep her right arm from moving, there were visable scars on the backs of both of her legs from the surgery. She occasionally wiggled in discomfort and mom told me that she is hopeful the bandages will be removed soon. Natalie sometimes wears a neck brace, which she did not have on during my visit.
The best news reported by mom was that there was a 70% chance that Natalie will have use of her right arm someday. Natalie continues healing and doctors reported that her surgery was much more difficult than they had originally thought. Natalie will eventually go through extensive physical therapy to teach her how to use her right arm because she was never able to use it before. Mom (Jessica) and dad (Shawn) said thank you to ACCFCB and the Elise Donlon Foundation, the money that they were given for their trip to Boston Children's Hospital was a big help.
Hi Jessica,
We Thank you so much for Natalie's update! You are very welcome for the past assistance and we figured back then that she would sadly have some physical limitations. I would love to put some recent photos of Natalie up on our website. You could e-mail some digital photos to me and I'll gladly put them up along with your update. Thank you, John
Posted by: John R Smith, President | November 11, 2010 at 03:49 PM
Natalie is now seven years old and very strong. She has gone through nine surgeries and still continues to strive. She is bright and can move her arm at the elbow, she still struggles with everyday stuff like getting dressed and brushing hair. she's so special and is the best gift I ever recieved along with brother and sister. thanks john smith and everyone else for helping us in our journeys we have had. If any question please call me (518) 867-1141. Thanks and hope that next year is as wonderful as this one
Posted by: jessica welch | November 10, 2010 at 08:52 PM