1st session of Therapy in the Bootheel

Carissa working with little C.

For those of you who are unsure of what I mean by the bootheel-Sikeston is my hometown and is in the "bootheel" of Missouri.-southeast missouri.

We have the Kenny Rogers Child Center. It provides therapy for children with disabilities. I came to visit back in April and signed up to bring Christian to participate in therapy. The center is training therapist in a specific type of training called NDT/Bobath (Neuro-Developmental Treatment). Basically they practice the correct movement patterns with the child to do functional everyday tasks. I know it's a lot more involved than that but that's the best way for me to describe it. The therapists come from all over to get this training. They are here for 8 weeks.

Christian has 2 Occupational Therapist that are working with him. One is from California and the other from Missouri. They are doing new stretches and therapy with his upper body. I'm so pleased with how knowledgeable they are and accommodating to Christian's strengths and weaknesses. He's been working really hard. I will get pics and video on when I can. I don't have my camera cord. We will come back in July and August for 2 more sessions.

We are enjoying being with my parents and seeing old friends. Tonite we are going to a Kenny Rogers concert. It is to benefit the center and it's expansion. Christian's first concert!

Take care everyone!

Last Post from Kansas City

Megan was being bad in this pic and giving me bunny ears. we are no longer on speaking terms:) i forgive you megan. THis is the hyperbaric chamber we were in for about 1 and half hours a day.

Man 4 weeks seemed to fly by this time while we were up here for hyperbaric oxygen therapy. This time it was much different for us for several reasons. The main reason is of course the fact that Christian has been seizure free (except for a couple of seizures) for 5 weeks. Before coming up here his "big seizures" stopped and he was still having his little bouncy seizures (as we call them) and last saturday he stopped having those.
Since Christian was 7 months old I always wondered what it would be like to hold my son and have him not bounce and jerk and eventually curl in to a tight rigid ball and have a seizure. Now I know! Everyday I thank God for this gift. I wish that I could convey to all of you just how much of a miracle and gift this is to Eric and I.

It's like we are no longer walking under the black cloud of seizures everyday. I never realized how much of a stress it was until now because I realize how stress free our days are not having seizures. Eric and I would constantly look in on Christian if he was out of sight or look in the rearview mirror-in case he would have one. We planned everything-public outings, therapy, appointments, eating,- around his seizures. We knew just by his sounds he would make or lack there of if he were having one -even without seeing him. It became second nature to us. Our life is so different now without him having seizures.

We hope to bring Christian here at least once a year. We will be having our Dodging to Make a Difference Dodgeball Tournament again in September or October to raise money for the next round of treatments. Look for more dates and info later.

Changes I've noticed since the past 2 treatments of hyperbarics:
-no seizures
-left arm has loosened up and is moving more
-more verbal
-more responsive to talking
-taking more steps in his walker
-stays on all 4's longer
-head and trunk control is way better
-looking and turning to the left side
-chewing better
-balance while standing is better

THANK YOU HYPERBARIC HEALING INSTITUTE
I just wanted to say thanks to the owners and staff at HHI and Beyond Therapy. Owners David and Lisa Deister, staff Megan M. and PT Tiffany--you guys are the best!!! Thanks for giving us a place to bring Christian to get this kind of treatment. You are all 1 in a million.

Be a Bridge

Your probably wondering about the title of this post. The other day in the chamber 2 moms were talking about how good their siblings are for their child who has autism. She commented on how her son has trouble socializing with other kids like at parties or parks. However, when his brother is with him he is able to play with the other kids because his brother is like the bridge between him (son with autism) and the other kids. The son with autism trusts and knows his brother and therefore feels comfortable being with him and the other kids. I thought that was such a profound way of putting it--"he's like a bridge for him".

I think we could all be bridges for other people. Whether we are siblings, playmates, adults, teachers, strangers. . . it's easy to be a bridge to help another person. It makes me think about how one day Christian will need a bridge, perhaps a lot of bridges in his lifetime-ones that are trusting and strong. And I hope that they are there for him. So i just want to encourage you to teach your kids how to be bridges.

I'm also including a video of Christian and I just chit chatting. It was kind of awkward to sit in front of the camera and talk but I wanted to show how "verbal" he has become. Also notice how he is turning to the left. This has just started about 3 weeks ago. Before he would only turn to the right. We would try to bribe him to turn to the left with different things but now we don't have to do that.

these boots are made for walkin. . .

I wanted to get these videos of Christian on here because this is some of the best walking he has done. I'm mostly using my hands to keep his feet from "scissoring" when he walks. His inner thigh muscles are very tight and this is just part of his brain damage problem (if i may put it so bluntly). I think they described it as his brain not sending the message to tell his muscle to relax. They like to just contract all the time which makes his legs criss cross when he walks. This is also known as having "high tone" in the cerebral palsy world.

More great news is that Christian's small "bouncy" seizures that he usually has in the morning and after nap time have pretty much gone away. It's truly amazing! I always wondered what the day might feel like that he had no seizures meaning no big ones or bouncies. I pray that we never see any of those again. Although after meeting 2 other parents in the chamber who have no diagnosis for why their children are disabled, I find it a relief to at least have an answer to that question.

Thank you

I just want to thank all of you again who have had any part in our fundraising and praying to get us here to this point in our lives. Just know that you are a part of Christian's progress and every step he takes on his own or day of no seizures. The Best is Yet to Come~

chewin my oranges

This video may not be very impressive to most people but we were very excited about this little video. The reason we were excited was because I could put an orange in the middle of his mouth and he was just chewing it up. Most of his food is blended. He also sometimes has issues with "slimy" foods.
This is exciting and new because:
1. I don't have to put the food in the side of the mouth to insure chewing happens.
2. He is moving the food to the side with his tongue.
3. He is chewing it up and not trying to swallow it whole.

Yeah!!! I also wanted to show his speech therapist-Miss Adriane (hope i spelled that right?)

*Please note that a finger (mine)was not lost in the making of this video.

take me out to the ballgame

Christian went to his first baseball game on Sunday. We went to watch the kansas city T-Bones play. I know it's not the Royals but it was cheaper and actually a lot of fun. The minor league games always have fun things going on in between innings. Christian also traveled to his first state---Kansas:)

We are on our 3rd week of hyperbarics. I can't believe how fast it seems to go up here. He is doing great!

The video on here is of Eric running the bases with Christian. They let the kids do this after the game.