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.
