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Taylor has devised her own therapy method. All the help is there to ensure that she is standing correctly but she is still doing the work.
![mit brass rat 2016 lost ring replacement mit brass rat 2016 lost ring replacement](https://i.imgur.com/Tjzl2lB.jpg)
This is better than just pulling her up as it works all the right muscles. The machine is made to mimic the motion of standing from a seated position. Today Taylor stood up in physical therapy with the help of a standing machine and two helpers. Later she had a phone call with her brother Nathan where she gave some secret pre-prom advice. Taylor was so happy singing and tapping to the tune of “Primadonna Girl”, that I could not help myself to move and sing along with her. Other than that, we spent the day catching up on Reddit news posts and listening to some of her favorite songs she used to play in the shower at MIT. She was very interested in learning more about the procedure and we watched / listened to a video together that explains it in great detail. This episode is making us more seriously consider getting the defibrillator procedure done sooner rather than later since it will allow her more freedom while in in-patient care and the ability to lead a normal life without constantly having to worry about the possibility of another cardiac arrest. Taylor, John and I had been looking forward to spending time outside, enjoying the blooming tulips in the beautiful garden and perhaps exploring the immediate neighborhood around Craig Hospital.
![mit brass rat 2016 lost ring replacement mit brass rat 2016 lost ring replacement](https://i.imgur.com/5q3ikrQ.jpg)
It was enough however, to prompt the nursing staff to restrict our movements to inside the hospital walls. Taylor had an elevated heart rate on Friday night, slightly over 100, but nowhere near where she was in Boston. On the other hand it is great gift in life to have a clear goal and graduating from MIT and being able to turn that ring around is hers. In some ways it seems cruel that after working so hard to get there in the first place she now has to work ten times harder just to get back. Returning to school is her primary motivation. “How about in spring 2015?” I told her that it is impossible to tell when she will return, only that she will return someday. She then asked me if she could return to MIT in the fall and I said it’s hard to tell but that it had a low probability. I kept thinking she was not being clear enough when saying lyrics like “du dx.” She then taught me what must be the nerdiest fight song in the history of fight songs, the Beaver Call which she knew by heart. We then got to talking about MIT and she taught me why the beaver was chosen as the school mascot, beavers are hard working nocturnal engineers. She lamented that she wasn’t at the ring delivery ceremony in person, but was glad some of her friends called when they were there so she could hear the excitement of the event in their voices. After placing the ring on her hand, being careful to have the rat facing her, we took a picture: Taylor explained all the references that only MIT students would understand (like what “IHTFP” means.) Ordering the ring was one of the last things Taylor did before her health challenges started. Taylor and I went to a website so I could read all about this year’s design. Like many things at MIT there is a lot of thought and design packed into it. Brass Rat is the name of the MIT class ring.
![mit brass rat 2016 lost ring replacement mit brass rat 2016 lost ring replacement](https://i.imgur.com/Tg7T6Ak.jpg)
Today Taylor got her “Brass Rat” in the mail from her roommate (thanks Kyra) at MIT.