Sometimes when you're not looking forward to an event the time leading up to it is really rather unpleasant. I have experienced some of that over the last several days. I have feared the unknown; what should I expect; would this time be successful; are we chasing after outcomes that are unrealistic? I have been facing down this particular spirit of doubt for the last several weeks. The thing is that I know that this is a particular attack aimed at bringing me down and directing the focus away from the miraculous.
I realized as we entered the center yesterday for our evaluation and the beginning of this new session that I have no control over any of this. It is not my situation. I can try to control the therapy, the child, the outcome (the traffic, the way my dad makes coffee.....) to no avail. It is a "Christa's hands off" program. I am not in control.
I have a hard time letting go. In much of my life things feel very out of control so I hold on to what little I can to find a sense of purpose; to have a focus. (I find it really funny that I have been trying to control the outcomes of Aiden's therapy when Aiden himself is what makes much of my life seem out of control.) I can no more control the sun rise or the rain fall than my life. If I accept that then I would be able to truly rest in the Lord. Oh to learn to rest in the Lord.
These personal issues aside, Aiden tolerated the eval yesterday and his first session today very well. We are six hours down on the 45 that we will ultimately complete by the 12th of June. I am encouraged by the eval. Aiden has definitely come so far in such a short time. Shannon says that she thinks that he's done amazingly well in the time since his 1st intensive. I am excited by his attention to tasks today. He seems more able to pay attention to what he's doing. As well, he was not combative or fussy during therapy. I was concerned that this would be a problem.
Please pray that I am able to rest in the Lord as He works in Aiden through therapy. Currently, I am taking a graduate class on line; pray that I am able to keep up. Finally, pray that Aiden responds well to therapy; that he is willing to work even when the work is hard.
You are all such a blessing to me; knowing that there are people faithfully remembering us as we embark on this leg of our journey is such an encouragement.
Blessings to all,
Christa
PS. I have left my card reader at home so pics will come soon.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
We start back to intensive on Tuesday May 26!
Hi Friends,
This is just a quick message to let you know that we will be heading back to Hope therapy for our 2nd intensive. We will complete another 45 hours of PT in 15 days in hope that Aiden will respond to the work positively.
I am a little nervous about the process. I believe that there was less stress with our first intensive because there was not any expectation for success. This time I have ideas of what could be, and am afraid that perhaps this will not be as significant for Aiden. Also, as a family, we pretty much put our lives on hold. I don't want to feel like we have "wasted" the time. There is always something riding on an experience like this; I just don't want to feel like everything is!!
Please pray that all of us make the transition from our regular schedule to the "camp Grandma" schedule. Pray that Aiden is strong and willing to be directed in his PT activities. Finally, pray that I find encouragement and hope in this process.
Thank you all and blessings,
Christa
This is just a quick message to let you know that we will be heading back to Hope therapy for our 2nd intensive. We will complete another 45 hours of PT in 15 days in hope that Aiden will respond to the work positively.
I am a little nervous about the process. I believe that there was less stress with our first intensive because there was not any expectation for success. This time I have ideas of what could be, and am afraid that perhaps this will not be as significant for Aiden. Also, as a family, we pretty much put our lives on hold. I don't want to feel like we have "wasted" the time. There is always something riding on an experience like this; I just don't want to feel like everything is!!
Please pray that all of us make the transition from our regular schedule to the "camp Grandma" schedule. Pray that Aiden is strong and willing to be directed in his PT activities. Finally, pray that I find encouragement and hope in this process.
Thank you all and blessings,
Christa
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Please forgive me!!!
Dear Friends,
I am so sorry that I have been so unfaithful to keep up this blog. I have let life and busyness keep me from taking the time to put my thoughts and feelings, as well as Aiden's on-going progress, down in print. Keeping this journal has been so very helpful in allowing me to plot Aiden's progress and my own personal growth.
To catch everyone up to speed I'll let you know where we are today! (By the way, it is Mother's Day :) Currently, Aiden is walking with great ease and with relative fluidity. He is not using his arms to turn/rotate his trunk as much as we were seeing several months ago. As well, Aiden is successfully able to push himself up from the floor to a standing position. When we left RHTC in November he was only able to get himself up if he had the assistance of a 3-4 inch platform. So being able to "Dog,Frog and Up" is quite an accomplishment!
Communicatively speaking (is that an oxymoron or is it redundant?), Aiden is still not speaking at all. It has become very obvious to both Dave and me that Aiden is very frustrated with his inability to successfully and easily communicate with us. This having been said, Aiden had an assistive technology evaluation done at Children's Hospital in Richmond last month. I thought that this would provide access to some of the voice recordable switches (like the easy buttons but different) like we tried in November. In reality, it was assessing the plausibility for Aiden to learn to use a computer. Guess what.....he can!!!!!
The assessment gave me the opportunity to see Aiden's little brain at work. I have wondered (and perhaps all of you have) whether or not Aiden had cognitive issues along with his physical limitations. When given the opportunity to identify pictures of objects with a touch screen computer, Aiden was able to successfully choose 8 of 10. In the world of education (especially special ed), 80% is great!!
To say that I was surprised is an understatement. We will be looking forward to getting a touch screen monitor and software to support Aiden's cognitive growth.
We are continuing to encourage Aiden to use hand over hand signing, PECs (picture exchange communication), allowing him to take us to what he wants, and we will try not to anticipate his needs so that he is forced to communicate.
For me personally, I have felt a lot like a desert recently. I have had to continue with graduate classes on line. I successfully completed on in April and began another one the same day. My new class will also focus on the processes the brain goes through while learning. (I am hopeful that maybe I will learn one or two things that will help me understand Aiden's learning process, or will help us to make more neural connections.) The classes, although not terribly taxing, still require time and thought, both things that I feel lacking at this time.
I was diagnosed with a thyroid disorder recently. Hashimoto's thyroiditis is the leading cause of hypothyroidism and is linked to a gluten sensitivity. The thought of taking on living gluten free is overwhelming, so I am attempting to work through this with supplements, and if that is unsuccessful, I will take some form of thyroxin. I mention this because it does help to explain my overwhelming exhaustion, foggy brain feelings and weight gain. (I would love to blame all of my weight issues on Hashimoto's, but I am sure that the 1/2 lb of chocolate yesterday didn't help!!) :)
I thank you all for your continued prayers. I believe that there are probably days when you think of us and pray without knowing why. Bless you for those. We will be embarking on a second intensive therapy session beginning the 25th of May. This will continue through the 12th of June followed by a dental procedure (requiring general anesthesia) on the 16th of June at MCV hospital. I will do my best to keep you all informed and up to speed.
As in other posts I have asked for your prayers for others. Our friend Shannon (Aiden's therapist in Richmond) is having some serious health concerns. She was diagnosed with Celiacs disease about 4 weeks ago. Shannon is feeling terrible with joint pain, brain fog, insomnia and nausea; she needs significant prayer support. Please pray that she will begin to find relief from this illness.
Blessings and peace to you all,
~Christa
PS. For all of the people who bless children (moms or ladies who are like moms--have a great day!!)
I am so sorry that I have been so unfaithful to keep up this blog. I have let life and busyness keep me from taking the time to put my thoughts and feelings, as well as Aiden's on-going progress, down in print. Keeping this journal has been so very helpful in allowing me to plot Aiden's progress and my own personal growth.
To catch everyone up to speed I'll let you know where we are today! (By the way, it is Mother's Day :) Currently, Aiden is walking with great ease and with relative fluidity. He is not using his arms to turn/rotate his trunk as much as we were seeing several months ago. As well, Aiden is successfully able to push himself up from the floor to a standing position. When we left RHTC in November he was only able to get himself up if he had the assistance of a 3-4 inch platform. So being able to "Dog,Frog and Up" is quite an accomplishment!
Communicatively speaking (is that an oxymoron or is it redundant?), Aiden is still not speaking at all. It has become very obvious to both Dave and me that Aiden is very frustrated with his inability to successfully and easily communicate with us. This having been said, Aiden had an assistive technology evaluation done at Children's Hospital in Richmond last month. I thought that this would provide access to some of the voice recordable switches (like the easy buttons but different) like we tried in November. In reality, it was assessing the plausibility for Aiden to learn to use a computer. Guess what.....he can!!!!!
The assessment gave me the opportunity to see Aiden's little brain at work. I have wondered (and perhaps all of you have) whether or not Aiden had cognitive issues along with his physical limitations. When given the opportunity to identify pictures of objects with a touch screen computer, Aiden was able to successfully choose 8 of 10. In the world of education (especially special ed), 80% is great!!
To say that I was surprised is an understatement. We will be looking forward to getting a touch screen monitor and software to support Aiden's cognitive growth.
We are continuing to encourage Aiden to use hand over hand signing, PECs (picture exchange communication), allowing him to take us to what he wants, and we will try not to anticipate his needs so that he is forced to communicate.
For me personally, I have felt a lot like a desert recently. I have had to continue with graduate classes on line. I successfully completed on in April and began another one the same day. My new class will also focus on the processes the brain goes through while learning. (I am hopeful that maybe I will learn one or two things that will help me understand Aiden's learning process, or will help us to make more neural connections.) The classes, although not terribly taxing, still require time and thought, both things that I feel lacking at this time.
I was diagnosed with a thyroid disorder recently. Hashimoto's thyroiditis is the leading cause of hypothyroidism and is linked to a gluten sensitivity. The thought of taking on living gluten free is overwhelming, so I am attempting to work through this with supplements, and if that is unsuccessful, I will take some form of thyroxin. I mention this because it does help to explain my overwhelming exhaustion, foggy brain feelings and weight gain. (I would love to blame all of my weight issues on Hashimoto's, but I am sure that the 1/2 lb of chocolate yesterday didn't help!!) :)
I thank you all for your continued prayers. I believe that there are probably days when you think of us and pray without knowing why. Bless you for those. We will be embarking on a second intensive therapy session beginning the 25th of May. This will continue through the 12th of June followed by a dental procedure (requiring general anesthesia) on the 16th of June at MCV hospital. I will do my best to keep you all informed and up to speed.
As in other posts I have asked for your prayers for others. Our friend Shannon (Aiden's therapist in Richmond) is having some serious health concerns. She was diagnosed with Celiacs disease about 4 weeks ago. Shannon is feeling terrible with joint pain, brain fog, insomnia and nausea; she needs significant prayer support. Please pray that she will begin to find relief from this illness.
Blessings and peace to you all,
~Christa
PS. For all of the people who bless children (moms or ladies who are like moms--have a great day!!)
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