An email and I cried.

I can't remember if I mentioned it here or not and I can't be bothered to look for it right now.

At the end of August we said goodbye to the boy's Physiotherapist. She had been our therapist for a little over a year, probably one the the longest terms we have had with a physio as we have experienced alot of turn over due to maternity leaves, leaving for husbands, jobs, transitioning to a school age program and worse lay-offs and service cuts.

She was with us this year as were prepared for and experienced a new school year and a major surgery. She was there for us as we rehabbed from this surgery and helped the boy get to a place where he could see that he had more ability than before the surgery. Not easy for a kid who was in full leg casts and a wheelchair for 8 weeks.

She is from the east coast and came here to go to school and ended up getting a job here so she stayed a few more years.

This year however, as she traveled home for several family events and a wedding, she became a little withdrawn. Never with the children, but as an observer I could tell something was off. Without being nosey I assumed maybe a break up with a boyfriend or other relationship or work matters. I never asked.

But by the end of the summer she sat in a annual review meeting and told us that she would be done at the end of August and she was moving back home. I was very upset to say the least. She has been a total blessing to us, she is able to get the best work from my son, he adores her, she is straightforward with me and provides me with any and all information I request from her.

On the other hand I put myself in her shoes and realized how lonely she must be here and how if I live on the coast by the ocean, I'm sure I would only yearn to be back there. Hell I have lived in my region(never more than 15 mins from where I was born) my WHOLE life. I can only imagine her homesickness. So with a brave face for my son and for her I smiled and said how happy I was for her. When on the inside I was grieving.

Fast forward to today when I received an email from her where I could literally feel her happiness with each word she wrote. I won't lie I cried like a baby because I still miss her so much. I think I am fearful that the boy won't do as well or that I will do something wrong without her guidance. Probably because she helped us through an emotional decision (major surgery) and the surgery and rehab was also such an emotional and exhausting time for our family. Maybe that's why I get so emotional. Can you tell I'm emotional? (over use of the word)

We still have no replacement Physio and have been on our own for the last 4 weeks trying to muddle through and create our own treatment program and workout schedule and trying not to FUCK up all the progress that she/we made this summer.

I feel overwhelmed and exhausted that this is my problem but then I shouldn't because hey he is my kid and his success is in direct proportion to what I put into raising him. So with that I suck it up and smile.

I sent her back a great update email with all that the boy is doing and being and accomplishing.

And then I cried again. I miss her so much!

Perhaps, it is the strong fear that brings up the emotions

Freedom... Coming Soon

Well it seems like most of my blogging friends are taking a break, which means I should pick up the ball because I have been on a blogging break for a week or two already.

One Friend is anxiously awaiting the end of school so she can get on with her life and move to a new city!

Another is taking a step back and looking at her life with new eyes so she can get revved up about her awesome life again.

And me well I am just hanging out here with a boy in two casts who is about to burst at the seems with excitement that they are coming off on Tuesday and he will be able to move his ankles again.

We have been marking off the days on a calendar since he has been in casts for basically 7 weeks. The other night he said the cutest most innocent thing. "Mom, Will I be able to stand when I get my casts off? How will that work??"

The truth of it is that it will be really hard for awhile but with hard work and time he will be able to stand pretty well I imagine.

I never realized how tight his tendons were and how they were effecting his posture until he stood up straight for the first time. The kid had grown almost 3 inches if not a bit more. Amazing.

I'll try to keep up the posting in the next little while so my other entertaining friends can tend to their families and themselves and take a bloggie break.

Till tomorrow.

Post Op Update

I should be cooking dinner...

Well we are at 14 days post op and tomorrow we can get him on his feet and see if he can stand in the casts. This should make the whole toileting arrangement go smoother. Not a moment too soon. My chest muscles and lower back muscles are protesting big time! Everytime I breathe it hurts. I was at the doctor last week because I thought I was have heart or lung problems, Not so much...just stop lifting heavy things. Easy for her to say she doesn't have to try to get a 5 year old in and out of bed everyday.

Even scooching him up in his chair or on the couch pulls those pecs and not in a good way.

Now that I have gained some perspective I'm hoping to be able to write a little about this experience for other families who NEED to know what they are getting into.

It sounds all wonderful when the surgeon describes the positive outcomes and that many children are able to walk really well after surgery and rehab.

But they do not do a very good job of describing just how you are going to get through 2 weeks of sheer HELL and then 3 months of rehab to get to the glorious moment of easier movement for the child. Damn Surgeons, such pricks( and ours is a female)(kinda like lady cops, take themselves very seriously)


Suffice it to say it has been an experience, pain, poop, crying and laughing.

If I ever get two minutes to myself again I will tell you about it.

Pediatric Surgery Checklist

Here are a few things that we found very helpful to pack for when we took our 5 year old with Cerebral Palsy in for surgery.

Favorite sleep toy
mini juice boxes (sometimes they don't trust what the nurses are bringing them)
own blanket
own pillow
Extra pillows to prop up parts that have been put in Casts
pull ups (they don't always have enough control)
Children's tylenol or motrin incase they refuse to take the stuff the nurse has in the syringe to squirt in their mouth
Extra towels
Cloths
Wipes
A bucket
Barf Bags

We took him in, in his clothes but we brought his jammies to take him home in

Do a test run on how the child will fit in the car/carseat - Very important! we had to make a last minute call to borrow my parents truck when we realized that the boy and the wheelchair would not fit in the car at the same time. Doh!

Get your rental a week ahead of time so you can test it out, the kids get used to it and you can do the dry run mentioned above. It is worth the extra money.

Take said wheelchair with you. You'll appreciate knowing how everything works and the kid will not throw a fit at yet another new thing.

Read all paperwork very carefully at the hospital - If I would not have gone through our stuff they would have only done the surgery on one side and we would have to go back again. (boo hiss)

Feel free to have the surgeon explain the procedure to you AGAIN so that you know what is going to happen.

if I think of more i will add them.

Gotta go! Patient is calling.

Tendon Legthening surgery

So we are day 6 post op on the tendon legthening surgery for the boy's hamstrings and heel cords. He is pissed. he is mad he has lost mobility around the house.

Couple that with the fact that he cannot sit at a 90 degree angle yet, so we had to get creative with the toilet arrangements. Which involve a "pull up" vs a "diaper" the first time he had to do his business in the "pull up" he was so horrified. I feel sooooo bad for the little guy.

He is complaining less and less everyday which is giving me a little more time to catch up on all things internet, so I should be able to clear the back log of emails and post a little longer commentary on the surgery for those who are searching out these things.

Be back tomorrow. I still have lots of running around to do this afternoon just waiting for my Mom to come over to sit with the kids while I run out to get more pain meds, a small body pillow, cucumbers, and a well deserved massage for mummy.

Till tomorrow!

Botox, flu shot and Casts for AFOs

What a week we are having. And our week started on Friday. Friday we travelled to our Orthopedic Surgeon's hospital so that she could do Botox injections on the Bugaloo legs. (If your new here you can read about his CP in the CP posts)

This time our appointment was at 2:30pm which meant the Bug could each jello and drink until 10am and we did not have to leave for the hospital until 10:30am. (I'm not sure if this was better than leaving at 8:30 and trying to cram jello into him in the car until 9am). We get to the hospital (1hr 15 mins drive from our home)get registered, pick up our prescription at the pharmacy and then check in at the pedatric day surgery unit. There we (i mean the bug) is weighed, measured, blood pressured, heart and lungs checked out, we answer amillion questions and then...we WAIT. and wait some more and just when you start to get antsy, we wait some more.

Then finally one of us (this time me) gets to carry him in to the procedure room and try to calm a child that is freaking out because they are going to put a mask over his face that is going to make him go to sleep. (that's the hard part) I try telling him a story about the time I broke my arm when I was his age and had to have it fixed and they had to put a mask on my face and ..... he's not buying it. So I hold him while he crys and in seconds he falls asleep and I have to leave my little man there on the table. (It does get easy, not better, but easier)

15 mins later the doctor comes to tell us that she gave him 16 injections, he's waking up and asking for us and a pink popsicle.

We go to see him in recovery and he starts to cry. (this happens every time) We calm him and let him know he is safe. He finishes his popsicle and asks when can we go home. Soon buddy soon. About this time the hunger and thirst kick in. Apple juice, no problem. After an hour, the last set of checks, blood pressure, temp, and circulation, we are given the go ahead to leave. It is now 4:15pm and we are all starving, hubster and I had breakfast but no lunch and split a bag of chips and bottle of water in the waiting room. East Side Marios is right across from the hospital so we decide to go for it. They tell us to take it easy that heave food will make him sick after the anesthetic, but we decide to go for it!

We eat our fill and head home. What a day!

Tuesday I had to take the kids for flu shots and the Bug needed an immunization for school. The kids were soooo good. I can forgive the 3 minutes of full on chaos that ensued when the needles came out. The BUG looked right at the doctor and said,"that was horrible, just horrible". the doc tried to supress a giggle, but the bug caught her and gave her a dirty look. the peanut screamed bloody murder but who can blame her, she was second and already new what was coming.

Whoppee we're having fun now!

Today, we are going to orthotics clinic to get casted for new AFOs since the Bug had Botox and is also growing like a weed.

Today will be alot of waiting, we hope they are on time but will pack lots of snacks and activities since our appointment time is close to lunch and will probably span over the lunch hour.

thankfully this ends our medical appointments until the new year and we can look forward to celebrating the bug's birthday (24th) and Christmas.

Hoping your week is going better than mine. hang in there it's almost over.

Therapy day

Running a tight schedule today. I have to get all the presentations merged today, get all the handouts copies and ready to go into the packages all by noon.

The Bug has therapy today so that means I'm only a 1/2 day at work. Nothing like cramming a full day into a half day.

I have to tell I am just so darn pround of that kid of mine. I can probably count on one hand how many times he has been a pill during his therapy sessions. He works and workds HARD every single session.

The ladder


The Gait Walker


And practicing at home.


So proud! Let me know if you have any questions.

Friday Post - I'm ill'in - But I have good news!

After the oh so fun bout with Tonsillitis. I am happy to announce that I have a wonderful sinus cold and I'm lubbin it! Work is so busy I can't really take any time off. I am looking forward to a quiet weekend to recoup.

So. Grab a cup oh joe and catch up with me.

My sister went into labour on Monday (my brief day of wellness, thanks fate)and had her baby on Monday night (two weeks early) 1/2 hour of hard labour and 3 pushes (what a bitch)she knows it she owns it and she flips the rest of us off.

So I have a beautiful, no handsome new nephew who was 6lbs, 10oz and he is positively adorable. I wish I could tell you his name but I don't have permission so I will call him Baby B. Not to be confused with my niece Baby Button.

My grandfather is doing extremely well recovering from his triple by-pass surgery, he has experienced a few panic attacks which where scary for him but not life threatening. I would panic too if a doc was holding my heart in his hands and picking and poking at it.

I found these beauties that have solved my problem of Labeling all of the things BugaLoo has to take to school, equipment, lunch containers, hats, sweaters and stuff. I love them! Canadian company to boot.

Held a scrapbooking intro class for a group of parents at my children's treatment centre. It was so fulfilling to be able to introduce these parents to memory keeping and documenting their child's lives and their own thoughts as they work through parenting a child with special needs. Loved IT!

Gearing up for a workshop in October and teaching a session on Christmas cards and tags! Sweet.

Both hubby and I have this cold so far the kids are doing well. The thing I hate the most is no kissing my hubby. We have declared abstinence for a week period to see if we can stop passing this back and forth and clear our house. But I miss him! Sigh!

I still have people search for Buggy info so I am going to post THIS again since it kinda got lost at the bottom of a previous post.

If you are looking for some art inspiration HERE at KAL's is my favorite place to go.

Also planning a book review for Monday or Tuesday. check back to find out who.

Friday Post - Life Balance

This post is a perfect example of Life Balance. I realized that my blog was lacking some intellectual content. I mean I'm sure my family and a few of my friends appreciated the updates but I kept getting emails asking if I was okay because the tone, and wit of my usual communication was not coming through. I do not have time to come up with a witty intelligent post everyday. I also can't rely on photos to entertain you as previously posted I have computer issues. So I sat down to decide what I could manage, and now I am trying to make that work for me. Hence the polls that have started and the topical Friday posts. Yeah for me!

That in a nutshell is Life Balance. Decide what you want to do and then figure what part of that is manageable. ACCEPT that under perfect circumstances you would do it all and do it perfectly, but because the circumstances are less then perfect you will do what you can manage and KNOW in your heart that you have contributed in a way that makes you happy. Do I sound like Pollyanna?

Life Balance is about managing your expectations. Not lowering them! Hear me very clearly! Managing them. We all want to make contributions. Many of us have been raised with the notion that we can have it all! What "they" forgot to tell us is that we will require lots of help, have to make LOTS of sacrifices and generally question ourselves on a daily basis. Great! Where does that leave us?

For me personally what does this look like I will give you a glimpse.
-I HAVE to work (I have the heath and dental benefits)
-I stay up late on Tuesdays because that is the only creative time I have
-I run almost everyday at lunch because I only have 3-4 hours with my kids after work and that is more important than my waist line.
-I run because I need to be healthy to take care of my family
-I communicate with my friends via email because its the only way for me to maintain some type of communication on a regular basis right now (this hurts me and I'm working on it)
-Local friends I try to see once every 6 weeks (this is what I can manage right now)
-Out of town friends not.so.much! (I even missed my god daughters birthdays this year and that really really SUCKS)

-My husband and I don't have date nights but we do have dinner together almost ever night and we spend a 1/2 hour together almost everynight after we get the kids to bed. This is what we do for us and yes there are some nights that I give up my creative time or Grey's Anatomy so that I can make love with my husband, because hey he's HOT and after all this time he still makes me tingly.

-I volunteer with KIDSABILITY (where the bug has therapy)
-We give one donation a year to Kidsability and turn everyone else away although I have supported other organizations who are selling something I would have purchased otherwise (ie christmas cards)

I have found that life balance for me has been about focusing on what I wanted when I started out in my twenties, (which was being a mom and having a happy marriage and being a successful person) and what that means to me each year. Trying to make that work and not get too lost in all the other images and expectations that I am bombarded with on a daily basis. There are so many things that I get interested in and want to do or participate in, but I have to ask myself if it will help our hurt my original goals of "happy family". Somethings I can make room for, somethings will only cause a temporary imbalance and will be beneficial in the long run. Somethings I just have to pass on and say no. I would have to say that these are the hardest decisions.

I don't claim to have all the answers this is what helps me. I was planning on linking a bunch of information but I am running out of time. Ahh the delicate balance. Maybe I will put this on the poll for next week.

Right now I have to go because if I don't get to work we are going to have an "IMBALANCE" if I get fired.

Have a great day! Let me know what you think?

Shannon :)

Cerebral Palsy Part 4

At a year old, BugaLoo was in regular therapy at KidsAbility Children’s Treatment Centre. He had a team that consisted of a Physiotherapist, Occupational Therapist and a Speech Language Pathologist.

We also had regular appointments with our family doctor and the Pediatrician. Every time I turned around I was loading him in the car, the worst part was, no one had any answers of any kind. “wait and see” was the general approach. “We have no way of knowing” was another ambiguous answer we received.

It was also at this time I had to return to work. Now many Moms of children with disabilities struggle with whether or not to go back to work. I didn’t not have this decision to struggle over…I HAD TO go back to work. There was no choice. Hubby was in the middle of an apprenticeship and had 2 more sessions of school to complete. At the time I was making more money than him AND I had full benefits through my company. There was NO choice! We never would have made it financially if I didn’t go back to work. I had already extended my leave from 6

The first day back to work I was fine until I walked through the front door. I started to cry. I was totally overwhelmed. It was 8:30 am and I already felt like I had put in a full day, getting the baby ready and over to my M-I-L’s. I had to detour to the washroom to collect myself. The next hour was casual chit chat with co-workers and showing the requisite photos. 10:30 am was my first meeting with my boss the then VP of Operations. “How are you doing?” he asked. POOF! I burst into tears. Trust me I didn’t want to but I did. “Are you okay?” Again POOF more tears. “I am fine”, I resolved. “Should we explore a more gradual return to work?, do you need some more time?” he patronized me. “No, I am just a little overwhelmed with my schedule… There might be something wrong with Bug they think it might be Cerebral Palsy” I meeked out. This was the first time I had spoken the sentence out loud and the words haunted me… I said this partly because I knew it would buy me some time to collect my thoughts (while my boss weighed the gravity of my remark) and partly to make him feel bad for patronizing me. We then were able to move forward with a discussion about using my vacation time to take 1 day a week off for appointments for the rest of the year (I returned to work in November) and then we would re-evaluate the situation in January with hopefully more information.

Even those this boss was not my favorite and I did not want to share my personal struggles with him. This was the key to keeping my sanity, working full time and taking care of things for my baby. In retrospect I wish I would have realized what a challenge returning to work would be and spoken with my HR department a month or two before returning so that I could have worked out a plan and returned to work with more confidence instead of all the anxiety and trying to keep my emotions in check.

Ah the bog calls to me.

I can't believe it has been 4 days, honestly.

So, reflexology treatment on Monday - AWESOME Thanks Jenn

Quick stop at two of my favorite scrapbooking stores 2 Scrapbook Friends and The Scrapping Turtle to look for some elusive paper I need for a project. No Luck Pooh!

Spent the rest of the days with the kiddos making crafty shit around the house. They were pushing my patience by the end of the day I was pretty happy to see them sleeping that night.

Tuesday, back to work and start training my summer student. Yes the irony is not lost on me that it was JULY 22nd when my summer student started to help me out. Double Pooh!

Some quick training a 20th anniversary celebration for a co-worker and then I was off to pick up the Bugaloo for his therapy session.

We met out new Physiotherapist this week since we are losing our PT and our Therapy Aide due to Government funding cuts to Childrens Treatment Centres. Don't get me started whole new post. The Bug seemed to take it well and gave our new therapist a hug at the end of the session so I would say it went well.

Wednesday, more training and working on a scrapping project that I am really excited about. Can't tell you about it for another week or so. It's a SURPRISE.

And now today, the pressure to post was eating at me, so here I am. Sorry it is sooooo lame but I have a few irons in the fire and will have some more posts coming up. Including some scrapbook page designs, another instalment of my thought on disability and some work life balance stuff. Well assuming I have enough to actually write a post about that.

Running is going well although I am not losing any weight my body continues to change shape and my pants are looser, can't complain about that.

Wow

Geez, I finally had more than a few minutes to look at my blog today and realized how out dated it is so I hope I can spend more than a few minutes here to update a few things.

I took the Bug to Vacation Bible School. So updating photos will have to wait but maybe I can get at a few other things. I am on vacation today but I had my niece come to babysit anyways so I would have time to catch up on a few things. IE the blog, laundry (pooh), and some business stuff because some people owe me money.

I totally missed a crop opportunity last night and I forgot all about it until I climbed into bed. I am so pissed. Sorry L.

So today the peanut was up at.....wait for it.....5:30 AM crazy kid. Then her darling father put her in our room at 6AM ASSHAT! So she messed around in our bed for a 1/2 hour and then I couldn't take it anymore so I got and drank alot of coffee.

So now I have three loads of laundry out of the way - check
Cleaned out some small clothes out of kids room and boxes up - check
Started putting laundry away - check
Posting on blog - check
update a few things on blog - check

Soon I have to go pick up the Bug, then lunch and then this afternoon, we have our meeting with the social worker to discuss promoting self confidence and self esteem and how to help him answers questions that he gets from other kids, adults, teachers and family members.

After that I get to take a quick detour and see my sister for a badly needed haircut!

Whew busy day.

Riding the Good Times

I guess late spring was a little depressing in our house. I just couldn't seem to get it together and I had, zero motivation to do anything. Even the blog posts were crappy.

I guess I just needed to get in to the swing of summer because things have picked up in my brain. Obviously the 30 min commute to work on a beautiful day helps.

Today is another beautiful day! So I am committed to running at lunch today even though my legs are a little sore from yesterdays run.

We really need a new bed! I guess that is the main obstacle we face right now. Every morning the two of us wake up with sore backs. Now this wouldn't be so bad if we just had to get a new mattress and box spring but it is never that easy is it? We actually need bedroom furniture, or atleast a real bed. For Christ's sake we are in our late 30's this is our second marriage for both of us... you would think one of us would have a real bed. Not so much!

So we are stuck between a romantic wrought iron style and a darling wood and fabric headboard style that is totally functional because it has drawers underneath and we only need to purchase a new mattress. I am definately sold on the functional piece, but hubby is still on the fence. I gave him 24 hours to decide because damn! a girl needs her beauty sleep.

Next week we have an appointment with a social worker at our Children's treatment centre to discuss the best way to communicate with Bugaloo about his cerebral palsy. He has started to point out differences in people and has asked why certain people walk funny or talk funny or use different equipment. I don't think he has really equated himself as different yet, but I want to be prepared for this discussion when it happens. I guess I am so afraid of saying something that will scar him for life. I suppose I should be satisfied that anything said in love will not scar him for life but the hyper paranoia in me wants professional confirmation of that.

Hope everyone enjoys their day!

Heard in Orthopedic Clinic Appointment

Doctor: Well "Bugaloo" you are really doing well, since I saw you last"

Bugaloo: Ya I know.

Doctor: It looks like you have been doing some crawling cause you knees are kinda rough.

Bugaloo: Yeah sometimes

Doctor: You know, now that you are getting the hang of this walking thing, you need to start walking everywhere.

Bugaloo: Well...sometimes things are sooo far away (holds hands far apart) it goes alot faster if I crawl.

Doctor: Well the more you practice the easier and faster walking will get.

Bugaloo: But crawling is faster.

Doctor: Well I'm the doctor and I'm telling you that you need to do more walking.

Bugaloo: I guess.

Doctor leaves shaking her head and giggling

Mom and Physiotherapist are huddled in the corner trying not to laugh.

Bugaloo: Can we go now?

Monday Madness

Good day all. I would have blogged this weekend but is was too damn spectacular around here. The sun was shining it wasn't too hot. I got all the laundry done and hung on the wash line. the kids played in the sandbox, then waterballoons, then baths. We made strawberry jam. I mean seriously it was a great weekend.

The Bug had T-ball this weekend and I made it there without any travel induced vomiting from the princess. Sweet!

Darling DH when for a motorcycle run with our friend Heather in a fundraiser for her son who also has CP. He had a great day and travelled over 300kms. He was tired when he got home.

This week we have clinic with the orthopedic surgeon from U of WO and then Tuesday we have our 2nd last therapy session with our Therapy Aide before she gets laid off due to budget cuts (that's another post).

I have a few meetings at work this week one for our annual fundraising campaign and the other for a new software program for writing marketing proposals. Woop tee do. Also they should start interviewing for my assistant this week so PRAY they find someone quickly!

Well better get back and see how breakfast is going.

Have a great day! It's supposed to be hot and a little muggy here. Thanks Texas!

Independence - Co-existence - what is a marriage nowdays? Part 1

I have a crazy day today, so I thought I would try to squeeze in a post real quick.

I have to take the dog to the vet to have his wound dressing changed due to incident on the weekend where some FUCKTARD tossed a beer bottle into our fence line and the dog stepped on the broken glass and damn near bled to death in my kitchen, but I digress. Then it's off to therapy for the bug, today we are checking the results of his botox to see if he has gained any range of motion in his hamstring and heel cord muscles. Then we will play play play for a few hours since I think the kids have been missing some mommy time and then at 4pm I have a DATE with my massage therapist for an hour of sheer torture I'm sure since my shoulders are around my ears due to stress. She will make it better.

However, on to my topic. My fellow blogger Tracey had a great post about TV that she is watching (including the show WEEDS) for which she raised the topic of women relying on their husbands as sole providers for their families.

What would you do if your husband suddenly left or died???

I left a brief (ha) comment, but it got me thinking. Do we as women really expect to be taken care of anymore? Do we get married to be taken care of ?? Do we as women really believe that if we get married we have no reason to continue our education or pursue work outside of the home after we have started a family??

Yes having a family is the most rewarding thing I have ever done and yes more often then not I find myself wearily ploping down at the end of a day of work, laundry, dinner, banking and whatnot. I take comfort and a sense of pride knowing that if anything were to happen I could take care of myself and my family.

I am married and stay married because I choose to do so not because I have to-to survive or exist.

Too much for one post I have to get to the vet now.

Have a great day!

Mudpuppies

What a weekend. It was so cold but so very worth it.

The Bug made it 2 city blocks on his own. His whole therapy team was there to cheer him on. then we put him in a stroller and we made it the rest of the 3km.

We managed to raise just under $1,100.oo so exciting.

Not a lot of time to post today but I know some will be interested in our results.

the best part of the whole day was at the finish line when your done and you return your microchip. We received a participant medal and I thought the Bug was going to explode with pride. (so were we)

I let him wear it all day and that night when he got into bed he handed it to me and said, "Be careful, it is very special". .... Trust me buddy I know how special it is.

Love my life!

Fabulous Friday

Okay so it's time to get back on the blogging ride. so many thing swimming around that I have to get out!

New and exciting things that are going on that I may have mentioned, not sure since April was such a sporatic post month for me.

Looking forward to the weekend because we are doing a "Fun Run" The Mudpuppy Chase (read walk) to raise money for KidsAbility. I am so excited because our family managed to raise just over $900.00 Can you imagine! WOOT!

I am truly thankful to my co-workers and friends and family who supported us for this awesome cause. We truly can not pay nor thank our therapy team at KidsAbility enough for all they do for The Bugaloo.

Bugaloo had spring photos taken at school and they look awesome so we order some (suckers)

I have finally entered the running phase of my conditioning program. First set of running cycles was today and suprisingly my partner and I felt really good afterwards and are really please. it was touch and go about 10 minutes in, but we perservered.

I am still sitting at a 7lb weight loss for tops but that is because I have eased up on some of the food rules to accommodate for the increase in exercise. But if I maintain I'll be happy since muscle weighs more than FAT!

Finally got all the clothing ordered for the school spirit wear sale. Ugh! Remind me not to volunteer for that again. What a time and energy sucker.

Scrapbooking club has started at work and we are having a ball. I spent the firts few weeks completing a bunch of kits I had lying around and now I'm hoping to focus on creating and getting a few original designs out there.

Also I have to make all the dadgum thank you cards for everyone who donated to our fundraiser.

We emptied our composter to spread some of its lovely goodness in our flower beds so we can get everything ready for summer planting. I just love that we managed to make soooooo much compost this winter and reduced our garbage output significantly.

Whew!

And Last but certainly not least we celebrated the 2nd birthday of the Peanut who was beautiful and full of energy and sass and enjoyed her cake very much. Hopefully I will get around to posting a photo soon.

Post at ya later!

Mudpuppies

Well with so many of my fellow bloggers doing great and inspiring things... an invitation came across my desk this week that I could not refuse.

Although my TOPS (aka FAT Club) is going well. I am down about 7lbs. I realize that in order to maintain and keep losing I actually do have to do some ACTIVITY (there I said it outloud) UGH!

As my company is sponsoring a run/walk for the Children's Treatment Centre that my son attends I thought this would be a great event to work towards and participate in.

It is something that is very important to me and so hopefully enough motivation for me to get off my ASS and participate.

So our family is participating in the 3km part of the Annual Mudpuppy Chase to raise money for KidsAbility. WOOT! (to borrow an exclamation from Kal)

Phase one of training:
Walking the dog 30 mins each night! We'll see how the weekend goes!

Happy Friday!

My thoughts are with my friend who is having a sad week and needs lots of energy sent her way! May you have the light that lifts your heart my friend.

Cerebral Palsy - Part 2

A little bundle of joy, so sweet, so precious. 10 fingers 10 toes. What more could we have asked for?

He had been squished sideways under my ribcage for quite some time, his left foot folded into himself, his left heel actually pushing so hard on his scrotum it left a bruise that was there for a few days. We were referred to the pediatric physiotherapist at the hospital right away for the foot and began therapy once a week.

During his second week alive he developed a pseudo tumor on the side of his neck. Torticollis, basically a bulge, and he had trouble even resting his head straight. His head would consently fall with his ear to his shoulder. Therefore, the hospital physiotherpaist also worked with us on that.

This was a rough period, all I can say is that you do it because you have to, really what wouldn't you do for this wonderful gift you have been given.

So, as I was recovering from an emergency C-section, my sister or mother and I would make weekly visits to the hospital for therapy. Every diaper change we had a series of exercises to perform. Most involved stretching and pulling on various body parts and muscle groups. We performed these stretches until he cried and then we did it for an additional count of 10. We also had a tiny foot brace made for him that I had to strap him into 23 hours a day. (This is another post, that will take some time to write).

We were referred to an Orthopedic surgeon, who off the hop had suggested surgery. Me not being an invasive medical procedure advocate, recoiled in horror at this suggestion and stated that I would like to give physio and the brace a try before we resorted to surgery to nick the heel cord to allow the foot to fall properly and stretch the hamstring out. (For the rest of my life I will question this decision, would that have made the difference in his progress had he had the surgery at this early stage.)

I'm not really sure if I can articulate what this has done to my pscyhe, but I'm sure it has made me more emotional and more vulernable on the inside and I'm sure that sometimes I appear more rough and jagged on the outside.

We continued monthly "well baby" checkups with our GP. Looking back now, each time she reviewed his progress there was furrow in her brow. But at the time, in denial, I kept saying he was just a little behind.

We continued monthly "well baby" checkups with the pediatrician at the hospital (not the same one that saw us on the morning after - thank god!) She continued to say his foot was doing well. At four months she discharged us, saying take my healthy baby home and that I may need to continue the therpay for his foot for about a year.

At seven months my GP had made a note for herself and at eight months she discussed it with me. She felt he was having a developmental delay. She couldn't put her finger on it but she thought we should see a pediatrician. I was incredulous, I asked , "you mean like the one that discharged us 4 months ago?"

So back to the PED we went, this time she ordered tests, blood test, creatine tests, liver enzyme and function tests. We were referred to a genetic specialist at our leading Ontario Univeristy Medical Centre.

Imagine if you will trying to take blood from a 2 month old baby, and then taking vials and vials of blood from a 8month old baby. My sister had to leave the room. I cried the whole way home.