Saturday, October 30, 2010

Pumpkin Carving

Today, we carved a pumpkin with Kyler. I do not actually love carving pumpkins, but I feel it's important to have these traditions with him. They talk a lot about pumpkins, and jack-o-lanterns in preschool so it was something he was really excited about doing.

As we scooped the insides out, I shared with Kyler how this is what God does in our lives. He scoops out the bad stuff on our insides and cleans it out so he can put his light in us to shine out for the world to see. It's a nice way to put God into this holiday.

Kyler wanted a “Lightning McQueen” pumpkin. So, Greg drew on a face with some lightning bolts on each side and began carving. Kyler enjoyed the experience and is happy with the end result. However, he seems to be more excited about putting the cut-out pieces back in the holes. Overall it was a fun time and nice spending time together as a family. Happy Halloween! :)








Duck

For those of you who may not remember, Caden received a Duck blanket in the NICU at Stanford. It quickly became his most beloved possession and the only thing that could calm him down. I realized I needed a backup so I could wash one while he used the other one. And, if something happened to one, I had to make sure I had another one. The hospital mailed me a second one free of charge when I called and asked them for one.

Well, back in August, right before Greg & I went to Mexico for our anniversary, Caden's backup Duck had a problem. When I got him out of the dryer, the thread that defined his nostrils had come out and was loose. I told my Mom I wasn't sure what he would think about that. While we were gone, she tried to switch them out so she could wash the one he had been using. But as soon as she gave him Duck, he looked at his face, saw the loose thread, touched it with his finger and promptly flung him across the room in disgust! He wanted NOTHING to do with that Duck.

So, for the last two months we've just had the one duck for him. I finally asked a friend of mine if she thought she could fix the thread. She said it would be no problem. Last week, we got Duck back and when I gave him to Caden, he looked at his face and carried on with life. He didn't know any different. :) The backup Duck passed the test! I love having two Ducks again.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Neuro

On Monday, Caden had a follow-up appointment with his neurologist. Nothing particular to be concerned about. But he was so encouraging and positive. He told me that Caden has “far exceeded” his expectations of how he would do. And, this is with him being very optimistic to begin with. He said it was obvious that he was getting the necessary therapy and care that he needed to thrive.

It was such a wonderful thing to hear. I do everything I possibly can for Caden. He requires so much additional attention and support. It can be exhausting and draining physically and emotionally, to be completely honest. But, hearing things like that make it all worth it. To have someone tell me that my son is doing incredible and so much better than expected is like music to my ears. Things like that give me the strength to keep fighting and doing everything I can to help him. Thank you all for your continued prayers. God is good!


Tuesday, October 19, 2010

First Steps!

On Sunday, October, 10, Caden took his first two independent steps! He had been standing up in open spaces for several days prior to this and on Sunday, Greg encouraged him to come toward him. Caden took two steps to Greg and then grabbed on to him. Unfortunately I was not here to see it. :( I was out of town. But I am so incredibly excited that he did it!!!

Then, on Monday, October 18, during a PT session, Caden stood up on his own, and took two steps, both with his right foot. So he kind of turned in a circle! :) But a few minutes later, with a little encouragement, he took four steps to me (using both feet this time)!!! I have never been so proud as I was at that moment. Caden works so hard in all his therapies, but especially PT. He complains sometimes, but he still continues to work. He is such an amazing inspiration and I am proud to be his Mom.

Treadmill Study Ends :(

Last Friday, Caden's treadmill study came to an end. :( From the very beginning, Caden loved walking on the it. He was always happy to get on and walk two times/day, 6 days/week. And the more he did it the more relaxed and comfortable he was on it.

Before he started the study, he was pulling up on furniture, but he wasn't cruising around it (walking around furniture while holding on with both hands). Within 3-4 days of using the treadmill, he was cruising back and forth on everything.

During week 5 of the study, he started standing up in the middle of the room without holding on to anything. After a few days of this, he took his first two tentative steps on October 10 with Greg. I missed it. :(

A few days before the study ended, Caden started using a walker. I posted a video of this on the blog for those who might have missed it. We had it for a couple weeks before he finally was willing to use it. Once he started he hasn't looked back. It is on loan to us by the person doing the treadmill study. We thought we were going to have to give it back when she came to pick up the treadmill, but we were very fortunate to be able to keep it a little while longer. She won't need it until after the first of the year so we should be able to have it through the holidays. In the meantime we are working on getting our own. Hopefully by the time we jump through all the hoops Caden won't need it anymore!

Every day he has progressed more and more. It is absolutely incredible how much the treadmill helped him! If you want to compare this video to the first video I posted of him on the treadmill 6 weeks ago, click here. It's amazing! We are so incredibly grateful for the opportunity to participate in this study. What a blessing!

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

A Walking Machine!

Caden is literally a walking machine now! About three weeks ago, the researcher doing the treadmill study loaned us a walker/gait trainer for Caden to use when he wasn't on the treadmill. For some reason, he thought it was a form of evil torture and he REFUSED to use it. He cried and screamed and would not stand up.

On Monday afternoon, I tried again to get him to use the walker. And, for whatever reason, he decided it was the day to start. He started walking around and just kept going and going. I started him off with the front wheels locked so he could get the hang of it. After awhile I unlocked them so he could have more control of where he was going, instead of only going in a straight line. However, without the wheels locked, he ended up going in a lot of circles! :)

I am just excited that he is willing to use it. I think that will open up a lot more opportunities for him when it comes to walking. He is starting to realize the freedom it offers him. We are watching how the left foot turns out because that could be a sign of many things. So his PT is monitoring it closely and we might have an x-ray or MRI of the hip/joint area to see what's going on there.

On Sunday he even took two steps toward Greg after he stood up. He wasn't holding on to anything at the time! We are so proud of our amazing little boy! Thank you for your continued prayers.

Monday, October 11, 2010

Preschool Fun

On Friday, I got to help in Kyler's preschool classroom. This was my first opportunity to do so this school year. I really enjoyed it last year so have been looking forward to it. And, it's fun because Kyler looks forward to it also. :)

I enjoyed getting to know the new routine this year. The program and flow is different from last year so it was nice to see what they are learning. The letter of the day was “P” and they learned about things that start with P and enjoyed a snack of pumpkin muffins and pumpkin soup made by one of the teachers. They also practiced writing the letter P.

I had such a fun time and look forward to doing it again in a couple months. :)



Thursday, October 7, 2010

Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

On Wednesday, Kyler's class took a field trip to The Pumpkin Farm. It was a fun day for the kids. Kyler remembered going last year and was excited to go again. I brought Caden and his nurse along as well. We got to enjoy a hay ride, walk through a corn maze, climb around the stacked bales of hay, go down a big slide, walk through a haunted barn and of course, pick out the perfect pumpkin.

Kyler's favorite part was the “BIG SLIDE”. The whole time we were on the hay ride, he was asking when he got to go down the big slide. When that time finally came, he could hardly contain his joy. He was just disappointed he didn't get to do it more than once. This picture is of Kyler peeking through the window just before going down the big slide.


Caden's favorite part was the hay ride. He thought that was great fun. :) When it came time for picture-taking with the pumpkins, he had other opinions. He did not think this was a good idea at all. In fact, he was quite certain this was some sort of evil torture I designed just for him. I documented his feelings on the matter so we could always remember what he thought about sitting among the pumpkins. :)


We really love Kyler's preschool and had a lot of fun on the field trip.






No Hands, Really!

Since I posted the last video of Caden using the wall at the doctor's office to support himself into a standing position, he has been practicing his technique. Today, he got brave enough and took the plunge and stood up completely on his own out in the open with nothing to support himself on. I was completely blown away! He did it several times before I ran in to get the camera so I could video it. Thankfully I got it just in time because this was the last time he did it today. I couldn't be more proud of him right now! I credit his progress to his incredible PT, Julia, and to the treadmill research study he's participating in.

Check out my awesome little man!

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Look Mom, No Hands!

Ever since Caden started the treadmill research study (we just finished week 4 and have 2 weeks left) he has been cruising around furniture more and more and experimenting with his balance. He will let go of what he is holding on to and just stand there. The video here shows him practicing to stand from a flat surface (the exam table at the doctor's office) using the wall behind him for support. I am so proud of how far he has come in the last 4 weeks. It's truly amazing!

Crash

I guess things weren't busy enough or stressful enough at our house because now we've added another stressor on top of everything else. While Greg was riding his bicycle to work on Monday morning, he was hit by a car. Praise God he was not injured more seriously than he was. However, his right shoulder took the brunt of the impact and completely tore the AC joint, resulting in a “separated” shoulder. Basically the ligament that holds the collar bone in place and holds the shoulder up is torn. So Greg's collar bone can be pushed up and down (quite frankly it really creeps me out!) and there is a significant drop on his right shoulder.

We are so incredibly grateful his injuries were not worse. He did not hit his head. In fact when I looked at the helmet I couldn't even see any scratches on it. And, he didn't break any bones. But this particular injury might mean surgery for him. He has consultations with two different orthopedic surgeons next week so hopefully we will know better at that point. But we are very concerned about trying to get him back in as good a condition as possible. He is way too physically active to have something like this slow him down. We want to make sure we pursue all possible options to get him as healthy as we can.

In the meantime, things have definitely changed at our house. There are fewer things that Greg can do on his own. I need to help him with more and it means I have less hands to help with the kids also. So, not only am I a “parent down”, I have added one to the number of people I have to “care” for. God is good and I know we will get through this but I welcome your prayers!

Here are a couple pics of his road rash – it's actually not too bad considering what he went through! Although he was wearing his favorite jersey at the time and it got several holes in it. I think he was more upset about that than the shoulder injury! ;)