What's the deal?!?

It happened again...Davis was pushed down at school today. Now, I'm starting to get concerned. I thought I was sending my child to preschool, not combat.

Davis watching his Dad and Uncle Evan play softball last night...

Also...

I spoke to Davis' Neurosurgeon this morning and she gave me the number to a doctor at the Medical College of Georgia. He is in the middle of a research where cord blood is used on adult stroke victims AND children with Cerebral Palsy. I left him a message and will keep you posted.

Coincidence or Meant To Be?!?

So, I haven't heard back from Davis' doctor yet about the cord blood procedure, but I have been in contact with another mother whose son is going to be traveling to China (after raising the necessary $45,000) for it. I just so happened to find her story in the TowneLaker today. And guess what her son's name is...Yep, that's right...It's Davis! How crazy is that?!?

Because President Bush vetoed a bill for embryonic stem-cell research, this isn't something offered in America. That little boy that I referred to in my previous blog was able to receive treatment here because his own cord blood was used and it was 'study' related. So, if Davis was fortunate enough to undergo this procedure, cells would be extracted from a full-term baby's umbilical cord...not embryos...just so we're clear.

We need your prayers because this could be a live changing thing for our Davis! I feel it in my heart!

My Little Aquatic Prodigy

Davis amazes me when he's in the pool. Today, at therapy, he learned how to kick his legs to keep his head above the water! Incredible!! And he knows that he's supposed to hold his breath when he goes under water! I'm searching his body for gills as we speak.

Now for my newest research obsession...Evan and I watched a story on the news this morning about a breakthrough treatment for Cerebral Palsy. It's a procedure in which cord blood is intravenously circulated through the body and reverses signs of CP. I'm waiting to hear back from his Neurosurgeon to find out if he knows anything about it.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23572206/
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,392061,00.html

Preschool Fall Party

Thursday was Davis' Fall Party at school. Two other Moms and myself were chosen to host this event. First on the party agenda...CRAFT TIME! We glued leaves and twigs onto paper.

The kid in the flannel is trying to sabotage our artwork! Alright, alright...he was 'helping'. SNACK TIME! Of course, Davis sticks to his liquid diet even around his pals. But honestly, what 2 year old eats pumpkin muffins anyway!?! Group shot!

His awesome teachers!

Great News!!!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Davis stayed with my Dad, Pa, last night and they painted pumpkins together! Justin and I took him to a Halloween store this afternoon to get his costume and he was so scared of the masks and monsters everywhere! That-a boy! Be scared of scary things!!!

Now for the main event...This is BIG...No, it's HUGE...Hugely Huge!!! You ready for it?!?! DAVIS TOOK HIS FIRST REAL, LIVE STEPS TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHH!!! He was going back and forth between Justin and the Ottoman and taking 2-3 steps each time. It was so exciting AND the best birthday gift ever!!!. We had our mouths wide open in shock the whole time. I started crying and wanted to call everyone I know, but didn't want to take my eyes off of this miracle!! Talk about answered prayers! I took video of it and will post it soon!

Farm Animals = Scary Mickey Mouse Eaters!!!

It's official. My little city slicker hates farm life. We began our fun-filled morning visiting with VERY SMALL, FRIENDLY cows...

Needless to say, he wasn't a big fan. Then we learned how a cow is milked...

Ok, Davis and I didn't really pay attention. We just stood in the back and made silly faces the whole time (This is our Pee-You face). Next, was the hay ride...

Hay rides would be so much cooler without the hay...making it, simply, a ride. Alright, our last 'to-do'...a picture with the pumpkins. Surely, this won't be traumatizing. WRONG...

You would think he was at his first dentist appointment.

Completely switching gears here...Ya'll have heard of the naked cowboy in Times Square, right? Well, I found the naked fireman!! He lives right here in Acworth!!!

You heard me...PIGS!

I was in the basement working the other night so Justin took Davis to feed the pigs...Yes, that's right...We have pigs. Two of them to be exact. Well, Davis loooooves animals so this should have been very fun for him...Or not. He got so scared. I'm talking 'I think someone's trying to break in' scared. He started screaming and crying and clawing at Justin's neck. So, what does Justin do? He comes back to the house and yells, "Andrea! Come down to the pigs with me and watch what Davis does!" Wow...we're terrible. And if you wanna turn us in for child abuse, I completely understand. In Davis' defense, they are pretty scary. I'm not a good judge of weight, but I'd compare them to a small automobile. We'll see how he reacts tomorrow morning when we take him to Cagle's Dairy Farm to see the baby calves and goats.

Oh yeah! This guy brought Davis' new walker over this morning. Before he left, he wanted to watch Davis walk around with it. It looks exactly the same as his old one except the new model has cool red hand grips. Well, he completely refused to use it! Threw a fit! Then crawled right over to his old one and started walking all over the house! Such a silly boy. Who hates change and being controlled? Davis.

Brain Check!

Davis had his annual CAT Scan and Neurosurgery visit this afternoon. The doctor has to monitor his hydrocephalus once a year to make sure it's not getting worse. Everything looked good. No changes from last year.

For those of you that aren't familiar with this and would like to be, below is my Brainology 101...take notes...

Everyone has spinal fluid that circulates throughout their ventricles and drains into their spine. Well...Davis had an Intraventricular Hemorrhage, which is a bleed on his brain, right after he was born. Once it healed, like all bleeds, it formed scar tissue. That scar tissue wouldn't allow proper drainage of his spinal fluid (kind of like a clogged drain). The built-up fluid put pressure on his ventricles, caused his head to swell, and resulted in brain damage. Some people require permanent devices to drain the fluid, which is called a Shunt. It's basically a long tube that goes from the head to the stomach and releases fluid that way. Davis' Neurosurgeon didn't believe that he needed lifelong support for his hydrocephalus, so a temporary Shunt (VAD) was put in. A nurse would manually removed the fluid with a needle. Really strange to watch!

So, that tiny little bleed Davis suffered from after birth is what ultimately caused his life long battle with Cerebral Palsy.

This is pretty crazy...You can see how swollen his head is here. The day before his VAD surgery. He was one month old and being a shy boy!

And here he is just hours after the surgery. His head immediately got so much smaller!

Encouragement

Davis had Aquatic Therapy today and did very well. It's amazing how much more strength and balance he has under water. It's my favorite hour of the entire week because I get to see my Davis stand and WALK all by himself! The therapist assured me that Davis will be an independent walker someday. It's always great to hear a professional say something like that. And I completely believe her!

Gee, Thanks

I wasn't feeling very well last night, so Justin took care of Davis while I went to bed around 7:30. Very sweet, right??? I don't know what they did, but something tells me markers were involved.

Here's my first clue...

And my second...

It's all over the carpet too. Pick your battles, Andrea. Pick your battles.



Here's Davis cruising around the house....

Trying to escape...

...but changed his mind.

TURN!!

"Yay! I did it!!!"

Of course, Doc has to make an appearance!

It's Friday!!!!!!

Davis did very well in Physical Therapy this morning. He's getting so good with his walker! I'll take some pictures of it and post them soon.

Here's some pictures from dinner last night...

I guess he's praying!

Uncle Brother

We kept him out waaaaay too late!

Oh My God!

So, I just picked Davis up from school and the teacher informed me that he was attacked today!!! Ok, he wasn't 'attacked', exactly. But, he was 'pushed down' TWICE! He hit his head on the concrete wall first and then the floor. So, I did what any self respecting, protective mother would do...I marched over to that little terrorist and punched him right in the stomach! You're right, I didn't do that...for obvious reasons...the teacher wouldn't tell me who the punk was. I was like, "Ok. AT LEAST, tell me it wasn't a girl!" It took every ounce of me not to start crying right there in Davis' preschool class. As if I don't have enough to worry about...outrageous gas prices, 'you know who' possibly becoming President, remembering to unplug my flat iron... Now I've got to be concerned about 2 year old pusher-downers! Unbelievable.

Time Out

Ok...whoever coined the term "Terrible Twos" was putting the horrible phase mildly. All the fussing and whining and continuously doing things after we've told him not to about 6 times...I've HAD it! Anyone that knows me, can tell you that my patience is about as long as an eraser's...again...I've HAD it! People keep telling me that a toddler's lack of communication skills can be attributed to these outbursts. Ok, well Davis' vocabulary consists of about 15-20 words that only close family and friends can really understand. So, we cut him a little slack. But, 1,563 outbursts a day, really?? Where do we draw the line? Soooo...a while back, we introduced Time Out into our lives. I don't know how long it takes a normal developing child to understand that hanging out in Time Out is probably about as bad as the DMV, but for Davis it's been a long road. Just yesterday, Justin said to Davis, "Do you want to go to Time Out?" (That's the threat we use when he's in the middle of a fussing fit.) Davis' reply was, "Uh-huh." Seriously? You want to go to Time Out? It sucks in Time Out!!! This is just a small example of the challenges we face daily with Davis. I'm seriously considering hiring someone to potty train him.

On a positive note, he did very well in therapy today. He receives Occupational and Speech Therapy every Wednesday. His Occupational Therapist focuses on improving his fine motor skills...like feeding himself with a spoon, holding a crayon correctly, doing puzzles, etc. And Speech does the obvious. She also works on feeding therapy with him. I've been told that 'normal' two year olds don't eat much and their weight plateaus, well Davis takes the cake on that issue. He takes the cake, but he doesn't eat it. Since his first birthday (almost 16 months ago), Davis has gained a whopping 5 pounds. He has so many sensory issues with different food textures. It's very common with CP children. And his digestive system is slower than normal, so food sits in his stomach for a looooong time. Anyway...he fights with his Speech Therapist almost daily. I can hear him screaming from the waiting room about 100 yards away. All the other parents immediately look over at me as I hide my face behind my 'Good Housekeeping' Magazine. I feel so bad for her. BUT...today, he did very well!!! No fussing or whining!!! Wew hew!

P.S. I can't wait to have another one and do this all over again!!!!!

OH...Davis has a new talent...When you ask him how much he loves you, he spreads both of his arms out really wide! It pretty much melts me.

Twice in One Day! Who believes it!?!

I'm on a blogging high!!!!

I found this poem a while back in the waiting room of Davis' Neurologist's Office. It really touched me and I wanted to share it...

These Moms Share Special Gifts

by Erma Bombeck

Most women become mothers by accident, some by choice, a few by social pressures, and a couple by habit. This year, nearly 100,000 women will become mothers of handicapped children. Did you ever wonder how mothers of handicapped children are chosen?

Somehow I visualize God hovering over Earth selecting his instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation. As he observes, he instructs his angels to make notes in a giant ledger. 'Armstrong, Beth, son, patron saint Matthew. Forrest, Marjorie, daughter, patron saint Cecelia. Rudledge, Carrie, twins, patron saint...give her Gerard. He's used to profanity.' Finally he passes a name to an angel and smiles, 'Give her a handicapped child.'

The angel is curious, 'Why this one, God? She's so happy.'

'Exactly,' says God. 'Could I give a handicapped child a mother who does not know laughter? That would be cruel.'

'But has she patience?' asks the angel.

'I don't want her to have too much patience, or she will drown in a sea of self pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wear off, she'll handle it. She has that feeling of self and independence that is so rare and so necessary in a mother. You see, the child I'm going to give her has his own world. She has to make him live in her world, and that's not going to be easy.'

'This one is perfect. She has just enough selfishness.'

The angel gasps, 'Selfishness? Is that a virtue?'

God nods, 'If she can't separate herself from the child occasionally, she'll never survive. Yes, here is a woman whom I will bless with a child less than perfect. She doesn't realize it yet, but she is to be envied. She will never take for granted a spoken word. She will never consider a step ordinary. When her child says Momma for the first time, she will be present it as a miracle!

'I will permit her to see clearly the things I see...ignorance, cruelty, prejudice...and allow her to rise above them. She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life, because she is doing my work as surely as she is here by my side.'

'And what about her patron saint?' asks the angel, pen poised in midair.

God smiles, 'A mirror will suffice.'

On his 3rd day...

And on his 3rd Oreo!

Alright, already!

A friend of mine keeps encouraging me to start blogging. Why? I think it's because she gets bored at work and wants something to read. But, I guess this will also be a good way to keep family members 'in the loop' about Big D. I just dropped him off at preschool. Today is 'Favorite Sports Team' Day. Check out who he wanted to support...

We'll just pretend it's basketball season. Davis has been enjoying preschool so much! The interaction and structure he gets from it is so beneficial to his development. His teachers are so amazing and willing to accommodate his special needs. My favorite part about the whole thing (ok...aside from the free time I get!!!) is the artwork he brings home for us. This is my personal favorite...

This is Davis' interpretation of our family! Justin always says that me and Davis are on the same wavelength because he laughs at all the silly stuff I do. And Davis must feel the same way. Dad is the 'normal' one while we sit around goofing off with our heads in our 'you know whats'!!

Well, that's all I've got for this entry. Hopefully, I'll stick with this whole blogging thing...We'll see!