Into The Wild

Friday night, we went to this beautiful wedding at the Glendalough Manor in Tyrone.



This weekend I was a 4-wheeling, gun shooting, fishing, s'mores eating 'neck. Justin, Brother, some other boys, and myself all went camping this weekend at Justin's dad's land. It was fun, although I was yearning for some estrogen around me. Justin's dad and stepmom watched Davis, but Steve brought him out there for a little while.

The biggest hornets' nest I've ever seen...

Oh, and we decided that we hate Davis' new leg braces. His new PT (who I LOVE, by the way) thinks he needs a brace that just covers the heel and ankle. She also wants to try something called a SWASH. The SWASH will hopefully help with his weak hip muscles and decrease some of his internal rotation. I love how, after just 2 weeks of working with Davis, she's so eager to try new things and REALLY wants to help fix his problems.

The SWASH. It'll wrap around his waist and just above his knees.

The brace. The blue part is the only thing he'll have to wear. And it's so flimsy that you can crumble it in your hands.

Davis' first day of Wildwood Preschool was this morning. He was so excited to see Max and Elijah again!

News Worthy

Davis made an appearance on one of the Conductive Ed's Newsletter pages. Bottom left.

Justin and I spent our anniversary dinner at Kani Steakhouse...Mmmm, Mmmm. We had the entire place to ourselves. (I wish I could say that was planned...realty tv style, but no.) So Justin was forced into chatting with the hibachi cook about concrete...the whole time we were there. "Sooo, how much it cost to build basement?" "Sooo, how much it cost to build...what that called you walk on? Oh yeah, sidewalk." "How thick concrete?" "Can I marry concrete?" Seriously, guy? Between I Love Concrete Knowledge Guy and us stuffing our faces with too much MSG, Justin and I didn't say a word to each other almost the entire time. It was still nice, though. Ignoring our sleepy eyes and way too stretched out stomachs, we met up with Brother for a beer afterwards.

Pur-dee flowers from the Husband

I took some video of Davis at aquatics yesterday. His therapist is moving Davis further and further up the ramp to really encourage walking. It's not graceful, but I'm sure he'll catch on before too long.

What Is Kentucky's State Animal?

The Gray Squirrel...Geez...

We spent the weekend visiting my family in Kentucky. My cousin's daughter, Roxy, and Davis had lots of fun together...crushing grandma's tomatoes, playing Baby Kitty and Daddy Kitty, coloring, etc...all the leisure activities that Kentucky has to offer. :)

Davis and I slept in a bed together, giving Justin the comfy couch! Davis would sneak out of bed early in the mornings and join my grandmother in the kitchen where she'd be preparing breakfast. I'd hear him shout, "Hey Gamma!" They'd chat back and forth, but it was so funny to listen to my grandma try and translate the Davis Language.

My Dad grew up in that house and I've been visiting everyone there my whole life and now that I'm grown and have my own child, it's so neat to watch him and my cousin's kids spend time there. And I really love catching up with my aunts and the few of my cousins that still come around! Love you guys!

The main reason for our impromptu trip was to visit my Pepaw. He's been sick and we felt like we needed to get up there and spend time with him. He's the strongest man I know. And he just loooooves Mr. Davis!
Davis got his new braces last week. They're different from the ones he's been using for the past couple years. His old PT, the Orthotist, and myself thought these new ones might help correct his internal rotation better. They don't bend as much at the ankle, so he's having a hard time walking in them. I'm going to try them out for a couple weeks and if they don't work out, the Orthotist said she'd toss them and start all over.

HAPPY 2ND ANNIVERSARY TO US!!!

I Am The Child

I found this poem on the wall at Davis' new therapy clinic and, while not all of it relates to him, a lot of it reminds me why I'm so lucky to have him in my life...We all are...

Davis, nor Justin and I, ever want anyone to pity him or the challenges he'll face throughout life. He's the blessed one. He's the lucky one. He'll grow up to truly understand life in a way that none of us will ever slow down long enough to experience. And he'll certainly live a happy, healthy life that'll be FULL of the same opportunities we've all been awarded. And I'll spend everyday of my life making sure he remembers that. No matter what anyone thinks or says.

I am the child who cannot talk.

You often pity me, I see it in your eyes.

You wonder how much I am aware of -- I see that as well.

I am aware of much, whether you are happy or sad or fearful,

patient or impatient, full of love and desire,

or if you are just doing your duty by me.

I marvel at your frustration, knowing mine to be far greater,

for I cannot express myself or my needs as you do.

You cannot conceive my isolation, so complete it is at times.

I do not gift you with clever conversation, cute remarks to be laughed over and repeated.

I do not give you answers to your everyday questions,

responses over my well-being, sharing my needs,

or comments about the world about me.

I do not give you rewards as defined by the world's standards -- great strides in

development that you can credit yourself;

I do not give you understanding as you know it.

What I give you is so much more valuable -- I give you instead opportunities.

Opportunities to discover the depth of your character, not mine;

the depth of your love, your commitment, your patience, your abilities;

the opportunity to explore your spirit more deeply than you imagined possible.

I drive you further than you would ever go on your own, working harder,

seeking answers to your many questions with no answers.

I am the child who cannot talk.

.

I am the child who cannot walk.

The world seems to pass me by.

You see the longing in my eyes to get out of this chair, to run and play like other children. There is much you take for granted.

I want the toys on the shelf, I need to go to the bathroom, oh I've dropped my fork again.

I am dependent on you in these ways.

My gift to you is to make you more aware of your great fortune,

your healthy back and legs, your ability to do for yourself.

Sometimes people appear not to notice me; I always notice them.

I feel not so much envy as desire, desire to stand upright,

to put one foot in front of the other, to be independent.

I give you awareness.

I am the child who cannot walk.

.

I am the child who is mentally impaired.

I don't learn easily, if you judge me by the world's measuring stick,

what I do know is infinite joy in simple things.

I am not burdened as you are with the strife's and conflicts of a more complicated life.

My gift to you is to grant you the freedom to enjoy things as a child,

to teach you how much your arms around me mean, to give you love.

I give you the gift of simplicity.

I am the child who is mentally impaired.

I am the disabled child.

I am your teacher. If you allow me,

I will teach you what is really important in life.

I will give you and teach you unconditional love.

I gift you with my innocent trust, my dependency upon you.

I teach you about how precious this life is and about not taking things for granted.

I teach you about forgetting your own needs and desires and dreams.

I teach you giving.

Most of all I teach you hope and faith.

I am the disabled child.

Another ER Visit Under His Belt

How was everyone's Tuesday evening? Mine was splendid. We spent it in Kennestone's Emergency Room.

Now, let's back up...

Davis developed this nasty cough, snotty nose thing on Monday. I wanted to let it run its course and avoid antibiotics. Bad move, Momma. Late yesterday afternoon, I noticed that Davis was feeling warm so I removed his clothes. He was acting fine, but his breathing was labored and he was retracting. Then, the breathing turned into a low wheezing sound. Since we went through this last year and this time seemed much less severe, I took him to Kennestone instead of Scottish Rite. BAD MOVE, MOMMA. I knew better, too. First of all, at Scottish Rite, labored breathing and retracting coupled with Davis' history equals IMPORTANT. It equals GET HIM A ROOM NOW. It equals I CARE ABOUT YOUR SON'S WELL BEING. At Kennestone, it equals GET IN LINE. So, an hour and a half later, we get a room. The respiratory therapist was seriously fresh out of high school and didn't really know what he was doing. And I think I'm just Mrs. Expert since we've been through all this before. Due to his lack of experience, we had to pin my Davis down TWICE for breathing treatments.

I took him to the pediatrician this morning for a follow-up and he has an infection that's made its way into his chest area. The doctor put him on antibiotics to avoid pneumonia from the breathing treatments that we'll have to give Davis every 6 hours for the next 4 days. Nightmare. He'll sit still for shots, but not this! Oh! And he's expected to take 6 steroid pills tomorrow.

School is going great! Davis enjoys it so much. His teachers say that he loves to walk from station to station and LOVES the playground. He started school physical therapy yesterday and I think that's going to be pretty successful. They have changed the schedule around some and the little preschoolers have lunch in their rooms now, instead of the cafeteria...great news!

His new forearm crutches came in today and he grabbed those things and took off through the house! I was worried that he would have forgotten how to use them, but not Mr. Davis! Just like riding a bike!

He also started Occupational Therapy at his new clinic this morning. I'm a little apprehensive about how this place is going to turn out, but I'm going to give it a shot.

New AFO's

Since Davis has grown out of his current AFO's, we had a fitting this morning for new, bigger ones. The whole process is pretty neat. They create a 'negative' casting by rolling plaster bandages around each leg and foot. Once they've harden, the Orthotist cuts them off with an X-Acto knife. Which sounds scary, but they insert a rubber tube underneath the plaster and cut on top of that. No blood involved. And thanks to a blue sucker, Davis sat through the whole thing like a champ!

Survived the First Day

Davis' first day of school went really well. For him. Not so much for me. Start time is 11:45, where all the parents take their preschoolers to the cafeteria for lunch. (I, of course, fed him beforehand, knowing he probably wouldn't eat with all the excitement around him.) I was told that the little kids would eat their lunch before the rest of the elementary school, but that definitely wasn't the case today. Fifth graders started pouring in as I'm watching Davis through the entrance doors, fighting back tears. This is seriously 'real deal' elementary school. And my kid is 3 years old. I can't wrap my head around it.


Pick up time is 2:45 and I think I'm being Mom of The Century by getting there at 2:10. Nope. The carpool line was already a mile long. What the Friday?!?! ;) So, I act like I run sh*t and pull into the oncoming traffic line and head straight for the parking lot! Suckers! Oh! And let me just tell you something about carpool moms...they're lunatics! They were honking horns left and right, shouting out of their windows if someone tried to pull out in front of them. What a mad house!

His teachers said he did so good. I couldn't believe he was still awake! I fully expected him to have his head down on his desk, passed out.

Already, he has this 'don't even think about messing with me' stance!

He felt like such a big boy with his Spiderman backpack!

Open House

Davis' Open House went well. His teacher seems really nice. There's also an assistant teacher in the classroom, as well. So, 5 kids with 2 adults...pretty good ratio, but still may not be enough after hearing some of the other parents explain their child's 'special needs' and 'quirks'. I was also worried about the fact that the floors are mostly tile. If Davis is standing and gets knocked down by someone, he's really going to get hurt. One of his classmates is HUGE! As soon as I saw him I thought, "He could do some damage to my kid." We met the physical therapist and she already knew everything about Davis since she also works with his current PT. They have all the latest and greatest ammenities in their therapy rooms, so that was comforting. I'm going to keep an open mind about all of this and give it a shot. It may or may not end up being a good fit for Davis. We'll see!