Speech and Occupational Therapy at Work!!

I am so happy with Logan's progress since he started the new ECI program at the beginning of the year.  I have seen great improvements in his understanding and fine motor skills.  Though it is still a work in progress, I am encouraged to see how he is improving on a daily basis.  This is just an example of what he is learning.  A week ago he could not do any interactive activity without help.  He actually understands what I am telling him now and that is SO encouraging!

I Love Being Home With My Sweet Boys!!

Things are going great for us!  I am so blessed to be home with my boys.  God knows exactly where I should be at this time in my life, and I truly believe this is the place he has prepared for me in the past 5 years!  It is so great to be able to look back over the years and see how he worked in certain circumstances to place me where I am at this particular time in my life. 

Corbin was diagnosed with Dyslexia this month.  Though it will be a challenge for him through the years, we consider it a blessing that we discovered this so early in his education.  So many people never catch it and struggle for years without any assistance.  His teacher is a true blessing….she is the one that finally noticed the Dyslexia and helped us decide to test him.  I prayed for the perfect teacher for him this year and God provided exactly what he needed.  I can see how much she loves Corbin and it warms my heart that she takes such a personal interest in my son. 

Corbin took the news well…..I am so proud of him and how he handles things like a little man.  I don’t think that he understands exactly what dyslexia is, but he understands that he “learns differently” than the other kids in his class.  I think he is just relieved to know that he is going to get the help he needs.  He has a special dyslexia teacher that is working with him on his reading and writing every day. 

Logan continues to improve daily as he learns to walk.  He is still a little off balance and walks up on his left toe, but he is walking none the less, without any assistance from braces or a walker.  All Logan’s therapists (speech, physical, occupational, nurse, and dietician) come to the house to work with him, which is incredibly convenient.  I am so blessed to be able to work with him at home on a daily basis. 

I never imagined I would have two children with special needs, but I would not change a thing.  They are both so special and have blessed our family in so many ways!  God is so good.  My prayer is that I can be the best mom possible to my boys and that I enjoy every moment I have with them.  They grow up so FAST!!! 

Christmas FUN 2010

We had a great Christmas!  I would say it was busy, but that would be an understatement....I think chaotic is more the word I am looking for. :)  I still need to go through the pictures I did take, but they won't be anything like Becca and Sara's fancy pictures. ;)

We drove to San Antonio on Tuesday, December 21^st.  The trip went surprisingly well.  Logan did fabulous and Corbin always does great in the car on long trips……other than the 35 times he asked “are we almost there?”  We arrived in the evening, dropped off the kids and the dog, and we were off to Alamo Café!  I think I was more excited about going to Alamo Café and Bill Millers than any present I got for Christmas.  I still have dreams about those Alamo Café tortillas and Bill Miller’s hash browns and brisket with BBQ sauce!  Yumo!

Wednesday, we took the boys to visit Nana (Mary) at work and she showed them off to all the office ladies.  Then it was back home for a long nap.  Logan did not sleep well in his pack and play the first night.  After naptime, I think he realized that was his new bed and he slept great the rest of the time.  We decided to stay with Mary and Lou the whole time we were in San Antonio so that Logan did not have to adjust to a new place all over again.  That night we went to Incredible Pizza Co. and Corbin was in heaven.  This place was like Chuck E Cheese on steroids…..ha-ha!  Thank you Nana and Papaw!

Thursday, we woke up early and took the boys to breakfast at our favorite breakfast restaurant, Las Palapas.  We all ate for $13.95.  You just can’t do that in Dallas!  We loved the chilaquiles and Corbin loved his bean and cheese taco with his pancakes…..ha-ha……only in SA!  Logan came home and took a nap while Cliff and Lou took Corbin to the indoor shooting range.  Dad took his three girls to lunch and shopping while Uncle Justin watched Logan and Brian and Joey watched the other three kiddos.  We had a lot of fun and great laughs with dad.  It was so fun to be with just dad and my sisters.  That night Grandma Cose joined us at dad’s house for a slide show that dad prepared for us.  We watched slides of our childhood and some of mom and dad when they first got married.  What a special time.

Friday, Christmas Eve, we went to The Dominion Country Club for family pictures!  EVERYONE was there (Dad’s kids and grand kids and Jean’s kids and grand kids).  It was smooth sailing and not as bad as we had imagined it would be with all the little ones running around!  Then back to the Duncan’s house for a nap and some last minute shopping for me.  We all met Grandma Cose’s house for a Bill Miller’s Christmas Eve dinner!  The best choice for a Christmas Eve dinner by far……and topped off with Brian’s homemade tamales.....Delicious!  We opened all our gifts and the kiddos played their little hearts out. Then back to the Duncan’s for the night…….wow that was a busy day!

Christmas morning with Mary and Lou was wonderful.   We had a big pancake breakfast/brunch and the boys played while we listened to music and watched movies.  It was so peaceful and quiet and we got some much needed rest and relaxation until about 4:30, then it was off to the Axtell house for a Christmas dinner.  Jean did a fabulous job!  The whole clan was there and we ate, drank, and were merry!  The kids played and many visitors passed through as the night went on…..about 7:00 Cliff decided he was ready to drive back to Dallas.  To make a long story short, we finally decided to leave Sunday morning instead. 

Sunday, we got up at 5:00am and did not get out the door until about 6:00am.  We were pleased not to hit any traffic on the drive home.  Logan and Corbin did great and we were home by 10:15am.  I took a power nap and then started cleaning for company and round two.

Monday morning, Cliff’s mom (Brenda), brother (Bob), his wife (Connie), their son (Marshall), and Marshall’s son (Saben- 4) and daughter (Jazmine-10) all came to visit.  Cobin had a blast playing with the kids and meeting his grandma Brenda for the first time.  It was so nice to visit with the family.  The kids played during the day and watched movies at night.  Connie and Bob took them skating one day and one night Corbin slept over at the hotel with the kids.   That was fun for him!  They tried to swim in the heated pool, but froze their little booties off!  On New Year’s Eve, Brenda went back to South Carolina and Bob and Connie watched the boys while Cliff and I went out for a nice dinner.  Bob, Connie, and Marshall took the kids back to Abilene on Saturday and flew out Sunday morning. 

I feel like I need a vacation to recover from my vacation!  What a special time it was with all my family.  I am so excited to be home with my baby and back to our routine!  I love that I can stay home with them and I am so happy to be blessed with a wonderful husband and these beautiful boys!

Still a work in progress!

About a week ago we went to my friend Bethany's house.  Her little boy is about the same age as Logan (adjusted age) and he started walking last month.  I think Logan was taking notes and watching him because when we got home, he stood up and took his first steps.  Since then he has been practicing and can take about 6 or 7 steps at a time now. 

Here is a video....I am so excited that he is even able to do this because his physical therapist said that she did not think he would be able to walk without ankle braces.  Praise God from whom all blessings flow!!!  Logan is such a fighter and a blessing to all those around him!

"I prayed for him 18 times last night."

Corbin is so sweet!  I am so proud of him and I can't believe he is growing up so fast.  I enjoy his company so much and I love that he still enjoys my company.

Every day when he gets home from school he says..."So mom how was your day?", and he really is interested as he listens to everything I did that day.  I love it.  And you know how when you ask a kid what they did at a friend's house, they usually just say nothing and shrug you off.  Not Corbin.  He gives details of every war game, video game, trampoline jump, or hide and go seek game he played.  I love that he likes to talk to me. I'm pretty sure that will end soon though as he enters his teenage years. So, I will just enjoy it while it lasts.

He has such a sweet heart that is filled with so much compassion.  I love that he sits on the couch next to me and pats my shoulder or rubs my back.  He tells me he loves me at least three times a day!  He always tells me I look beautiful, even when I know I don't look my best.  He loves to buy me jewelry (even if it is out of the gumball machine sometimes) and he likes to go through my jewelry box and pick out the "diamond" I should wear.  I'm not sure why he is obsessed with digging for gold and searching for diamonds, but he is. :)

He is such a great kid!  I know that he always strives to do his best and the right thing.  He is so honest too.  When he does something wrong or gets in trouble at school, I think he punishes himself more than we do.  I am so thankful that God gave me such special boys!

When Logan was rushed to the hospital by ambulance for his breathing difficulties in October, Corbin was so scared.  I asked the doctor at the clinic if Logan would be okay in front of Corbin on purpose.  The doctor explained that it was serious and Logan needed to get on oxygen because he might have pneumonia, but that he would recover just fine.  Cliff took Corbin to Sara's and I followed the ambulance to the hospital.  That night I think I talked to my dad and Cliff talked to his dad, but we were so busy I never really called anyone else.  I did not give it a second thought and called the girls in the morning and Logan was released.

When we picked up Corbin the next day, this was our conversation: (sweet, but broke my heart)

Me: "So, how did you sleep?"

Corbin: "I slept terrible."

Me: "Terrible?  Were you uncomfortable?"

Corbin: "No, I was worried about my brother.  I did not want to have a funeral for him."

Me:  "Honey, you heard the doctor say he would be fine.  He just needed some help breathing.  He is doing just fine...see he missed you."

Corbin:  "I know, but sometimes doctors don't tell you everything because they may not want you to know." (Ugh....I guess I need to watch what I say in front of him)

Me: "Oh honey, I think in this case he told us everything and Logan is just fine.  I am so sorry I did not call you and reassure you that Logan was okay."

Corbin:  "That's okay.  I knew he would be okay because I prayed for him 18 times last night."

Me: "Wow, 18 times!  That's great.  I am so glad you talked to God about your concerns. You also could have told Sara or Brian that you were worried."
 
Corbin: "okay....but mom?"

Me: "Yes?"

Corbin: "I don't think Sara knew anything either.....next time you might want to call her too."

Me:  "Okay, I will keep that in mind, but hopefully there won't be a next time."

Bless his heart!  How selfish of me.....It just never occurred to me that he had become such a sweet young man.  He was a concerned big brother who cared more about what was going on with his baby brother than playing with his toys or watching cartoons.  That was such an eye opener for me!  He is not a baby anymore.  He understands!  He was worried and he prayed!  I love him so much....what a sweetheart!  He is growing up so fast and I am so thankful that he already has a love for the Lord!  What a blessing.

When we went around the Thanksgiving table to say what we were thankful for this year, he said, "I am thankful for my little brother and that he made it through this year and for his health!”  What a little grown-up.....with such a beautiful example in his life of what God is capable of doing!  He saved our little Logan over and over this year!  Thank you God for your blessings.  Here is a video of them together.

An Update on Logan

Finally, after days of back and forth with Logan's Neurologist's nurse, he agreed to work us in on Wednesday.  I have been praying all week that we would have a peace and know what to do once Logan was examined again by Dr. Marks. 

Our faith was restored!  He made us feel so comfortable, he was extremely apologetic for all the confusion and lack of communication with the therapists, and could not have been more sympathetic about our situation.  He was very patient , he answered all our questions, and he took his time examining Logan.  This time he did exercises with him, watched him crawl, and took more time to watch Logan's movements. 

Dr. Marks stands by his diagnosis of Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy.  While he does see some dystonic movements, he is not convinced that Logan has anything other than CP.  He feels that it may be that he has Bi-plegic CP rather than Hemiplegic CP, but it is too early to tell and there is not a "code" for a Bi-plegic diagnosis.  Logan does favor his right side slightly, but he also does have dystonic movements in all four extremities.  Logan's case is mild and this makes it hard to diagnose because the symptoms are not always apparent this young. 

The only other possible explanation for his symptoms might be what is called DRD (Dopa Responsive Dystonia).  However, Dr. Marks thinks it is highly unlikely and does not feel that Logan needs to be tested at this time.  DRD is caused by low dopamine levels and can be treated with medication.  The only way to test for this is to do a spinal tap and Logan would have to be put under anesthesia to do the procedure.  Even if Logan does have DRD, Dr. Marks would not put him on any medication at this young age.  He said he would do the spinal tap if we wanted him to, but Cliff and I decided against the test. 

I was very encouraged that Dr Marks feels Logan's symptoms are not interfering with his ability to function on a daily basis and there is no need to medicate him.  Some doctors are so quick to medicate even when it is not needed, but he feels it is important to let Logan do things naturally at his own pace. 

Dr. Marks thinks Logan will be walking in the next few months and does not feel it is necessary to brace him at this time.  He decided against both braces and encouraged us to just keep working with Logan at home every day.  This is where his opinion differs from Our Children's House (the therapists).  We have decided to go with his opinion and at least let Logan try to walk on his own and strengthen his ankles before putting braces on his feet.  If he struggles and we see that he needs them, then we will revisit the issue. 

I asked him about the ECI (early childhood intervention) and he highly recommends the program.  His opinion is that it will help Logan to have a therapist come to the house and work with him in his own environment.  I tend to agree with him and I am going to switch him from Our Children's House (Outpatient Program) to the ECI program next week. 

In 6 months, after Logan is walking, we will go to the Spasticity Clinic.  There the Neurologist, Speech Therapist, Occupational Therapist, and Physical Therapist will all examine Logan and review his progress to make a final diagnosis.  At that time, they will determine if it will be necessary to do a MRI or a spinal tap. 

We are extremely grateful that everyone will be on the same page and working together to help Logan!  God is good!  He knows exactly what Logan needs and exactly what we needed to hear.  We have an extreme peace about the future and we are so thankful that we went back to the same Neurologist. 

Thanksgiving

On the way home from the Neurologist, a guy ran into the back of us while we were stopped in traffic! 

LOVELY!  Just what we needed to start our Thanksgiving holiday, a WRECK!  We are all fine, except the truck, but it was not Cliff's fault....so that's fine too! 

Our best friends from San Antonio came up for Thanksgiving.  They finally got to meet little Logan!  It was great to see them and Corbin had a blast playing with their kids! 

We met in 1997 before either of us had kids and Cliff and Troy were both police officers.  We looked at old pictures and reminisced about  the good old days.  Wow, how things have changed!   Cliff and Troy have both moved on to new careers and our kids are growing up so fast. 

 It was a great Thanksgiving!  We have so much to be thankful for this year!