Wednesday, February 09, 2011

Time for an Update, Perhaps?

Egads, life gets crazy and the blog gets super dusty. But, I figure I can update at least every six months or so, I hope!

Anyways.....Darsie started kindergarten and has been doing fairly well. She does great with math and patterns but reading has been more of a problem than I anticipated. The school finally started an extended kindergarten program which gives her an extra hour with a different teacher and only nine other students (the extra hour means that she has 4 hours instead of 3). They use a zoo phonics program and since Darsie LOVES animals, it has really clicked with her. She has made tons of progress.

In July, she had a round of Botox which has been hugely successful. We're in the process of getting another round scheduled for her though as her foot is starting to turn in and under again. It is such a bummer that it doesn't last longer but I am SO THRILLED with the six plus months that we got from the last round.

The other kids are doing great as well. Elise is in preschool and thriving. She loves lady bugs and princesses. Bert is now 15 months old and walking up a storm. He loves destroying things and terrorizing his sisters and ME! We are a traveling circus.

8 comments:

Sunday Koffron Taylor said...

Thank you for the update. I have been a long time lurker and was hoping that every thing was O.K. Three kids is no joke, no time for mommy me time.

jenny said...

its great to see an update i too have been keeping up with your blog and wondering how everything has been going
wow it doesnt seem like bert has been here for 15 months already. I remember seeing his pic on here when he was a peanut. I am glad that everything is going fairly smothly with Darsie and her botox and as for Elise cant believe shes a big preschool girl now wow you are one busy lady glad things are going well and it was great to hear it

Swistle said...

This is why I love Google Reader!

Mommy Daisy said...

I'm glad things are going well. And I can't believe your kids are growing up so quickly!

Nowheymama said...

Glad to hear how you all are doing!

Ellen Seidman said...

Hi! I was just thinking of you because a mom who's in a tough place emailed me. I won't get into details, but she is in need of income and is considering pursuing some sort of craft idea. I hope you don't mind, I told her to get in touch with you. You are inspiration central!

I LOVED hearing how well Darsie is doing. Max can do some sight words, math is just a slow but steady thing. He is 8! How crazy is that? I can't believe Bert is 15 months!!!

We are considering getting Max Botox again, too, for his hands (this thumbs are tight). It also lasts about six months, but it's worth it.

Amy Rhodes said...

I've only read a couple posts, but have you tried Hyperbaric Oxygenation Therapy (HBOT) with Darsie? My son, Aaron, has diplegia and uses a walker. We did two rounds of botox and hated how much it hurt him, how little it helped, and how quickly it wore off. I was initially very resistant to HBOT, but after talking with another mom with a son with CP who has had great success with HBOT we decided to try it. Prior to beginning HBOT last January he said about 5 words, refused to use the walker, was VERY tight (especially in his adductors), and didn't seem to "get it" cognitively. After the HBOT he began talking more and now speaks in 8-9 word sentences, uses a walker strickly for balance and not support, his tone had markedly decreased, and he "gets it" now. We were thrilled!

Now that he's 3 1/2 and so close to walking unassisted we decided to do another round. We are currently about 1/2 way through (there are 40 sessions/round). His language is exploding again and he's getting more stable and more daring on his feet.

Many people have to pay out of pocket for HBOT b/c not all insurance companies cover it, but the center we go to has been able to figure out the "codes" needed for filing and our insurance company covered about 1/2 of the treatments last time. We were thrilled!

Thanks for keeping your blog!

Unknown said...

glad to see everyone happy and healthy i am a young adult with cerebral palsy myself and blog about it at lifeofthedifferentlyabled.com
zoo phonics sounds cool