So Sad....Pretty Disappointed

Ms. Kristin and Zach in the beginning when all Zach could say was "da" and yes that was literally the only sound he had at 18 months old

Yesterday we had a bit of sad news Zach SLP will not be his SLP anymore, yesterday was her last day with Zachary....

This came out of the blue and left me so sad and disappointed. The reason is simple she will no longer be working because she does not have child care for her own children - I totally get it BUT I'm still sad and still disappointed. She will be missed more then she knows!

I admit it I cried like a baby as she was telling me, she cried to. We have been with her for close to 2 years now and what she has done for our family is priceless. She is family to us and I can't thank her enough for all she has done!!!! I truly feel without her in our lives Zach would be a much different child.

We started Zach's last session with her doing some testing for an evaluation. As we were working in OT Ms. Kristin came back and had already scored his tests. They were okay - not great but okay. We had an issue with his receptive/comprehension score (this has always been very high) it was where she expected it to be - but she is hoping it was because someone else was in the room he did not know. I will know more this week when I pick up her written report.

We were able to meet his new SLP that is replacing her - she seemed nice, but Zach would not talk to her (at all). It will be a struggle for him and a process getting him used to another new person in his life. Something I'm not really looking forward to.

Kristin if you ever read this you.......Please know you are a WONDERFUL person who does GREAT things for many families. I will never have the perfect words to tell you how much you are loved, how much you will be missed, and how thankful I am for all you have done!

Thank you for all your hard work with Zachary and knowing him inside and out (at times I believe you know him just as well as I do - sometimes better).

Without you he wouldn't have gotten as far as he has - you've never given up on him! From day one knowing what was wrong and that he needed more help. Because of you he received so much more ST, he got into OT, he got into PT -- because of you he has progressed so very much and we have learned so much about him. Because of you, I believe you help my son be able to find his voice - sometimes more then I'd like to hear now ;-) but none the less, he only said "da" in the beginning and now he talks -- truly amazing -- I am so very thankful to you!!!!

I am so thankful to have had you in our lives! You will be missed so very much!!

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

ER Visit

Zach with his Orange Bandage
Last night we had to take a car ride to the ER for Zachary. He was taking a bath and decided it was time to get out. Instead of wanting help he thought he could do it by himself, NOPE he fell and hit his chin on the side of the tub.

Cries, Screams, Blood, Pain

Poor Zach was not a happy camper and was giving Mommy the go around as I was trying to look to see how bad it was. He wouldn't let me get at it to clean it either. As soon as Daddy showed up he put on a brave face and allowed him to do what Mommy had been trying to do for over an hour. Zach even giggled while Daddy was checking it.

We made it to the ER about an hour and a half after Zach's fall - with him still bleeding BUT he was in good spirits playing while we waited.

After all was done he ended up with 4 stitches, a cool orange bandage, and a grape Popsicle (one for Zoe too).
I will take him on Monday morning to the doctor to have them removed.

Poor Zach...it sure has been a busy week for him. I'm so very proud of how well he handled it all though!

Quote

Around here, however, we don’t look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things… and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths. Keep moving forward!
~Walt Disney

Well We Have....

Yet another issue on our plate, and as simple as it is....I'm just having a rough time.

Zach's appointment with the ophthalmologist was yesterday and it went okay. We went in he looked him over briefly and said "Everything looks good from here but it is best I get a better look" so the nurse came in and gave him the drops to dilate his eyes. Zach handled it like a champ.....no tears, no fussing....he was just Zach. I really need to start getting pictures, the surprised look in the nurses eyes are always priceless followed by "WOW I've never seen a kid react this way!"

We waited the 30 minutes+ to be seen again.

Zach went back and they stopped at a machine to look in his eyes.....he was good and did what he was told.

Then when they took us back into the exam room he sat in the big chair all by himself. They put silly looking glasses on his face. I've been to this same doctor 2x a year for the past 5 years with Zoe and have never seen these. That was when I knew something was going on.

The doctor came in and I felt bad for him......he seemed like he was having a hard time telling me something was a miss with Zach's eyes because of all the rest of what we deal with, he didn't want to add stress.

The good news....his eyes look fine.

The bad news......in the past year (Zach saw him Aug 2008) his right eye has developed a pretty bad astigmatism. Zach now must wear glasses so he doesn't get lazy eye.

Glasses are truly no big deal. We went and picked out his frames, they'll be ready in a week to two.

I know this is no biggie and so many people have this and wear glasses (heck I had glasses for years before I had Lasik) I just feel like so much is happening all these things just feel like they are piling on me.

Forgot About Tomorrow....

I've been going threw so much with the kids I just about forgot what tomorrow is....

Tomorrow is the day I've been waiting over a month for....the day I take Zach to the ophthalmologist.

He has seen this doctor one time before, close to a year ago when he was going threw all his genetic testing they wanted him seen. His appointment was good then, all clear, his eyes were okay except for bear tracks which the doctor said wouldn't hurt him.

Tomorrow is a really big deal for me. I've been so worried about his eyes....he is having issues that seem painful but since he can't tell us that we don't know. He can not focus on things and when asked to do so he rubs his eyes, blinks a lot, or looks away. After a session of OT where he is working on visual tracking he will sleep for hours (upwards of 5 hours). It makes it really hard when you have a child who is unable to tell you how they are feeling or what they are seeing.

We need to make sure if this is his eye sight or visual issues with his SPD.
I'll blog tomorrow when we know more.

A Little Dose of Happy

I'm thinking I need a little pick me up today....a little reminder of all the good things.

I'll start with Zoe....

Zoe is doing GREAT in school - although she likes to tell me it is boring, she is excelling in all areas. She was put in the highest reading and math groups in her classroom.

She received her interim this past week and it was all positive -- this is what Zoe's teacher had to say.... "Zoe has had a great start to First Grade! She continues to progress in reading, math, writing, and social studies. Zoe puts in a lot of effort to her work and completes all of her assignments on time. She is a delight to have in class. Zoe always has a smile on her face. I can hardly wait to see how well she does during the remainder of the school year."

This week in her Tuesday folder were tests from the week before and no surprise there she had 2 math tests both with 100% and another spelling test with 100%. So far she has had 6 tests and all six have had the same grade 100%. I know it is first grade but I sure hope she keeps it up and enjoys learning. The smile on her face when she shows me the tests is priceless - she beams with pride.

Also this week Zoe was Soaring Student of the week. This was the first week of the school year for student of the week. Every week the school will recognize Soaring Students. Today she gets her certificate and is happy to be on the school news for all to see.

ONTO Zachary....

He LOVES school! I'm always hearing about his teachers these days :)

Health seems to finally be on track and I couldn't be happier. There is little worry these days, his g-tube is helping him far beyond where I thought it would!

ST, I'm not to sure how it is going in school BUT private therapy is going GREAT. He has so many more words and sounds. He struggles at times where his SPD kicks in and he is becoming much more of an articulation kid but to think of where he started this journey -- it is just amazing to me his progress!!!!

OT, of course this is going well. Zach still has a very long way to go but again to think of where he started to where he is now --- it is like I'm living in a dream!!!

There it is my little dose of happy for the day :)

New News....Again A Wait.....

Just a quick little bit to let some steam out.....I really should think first but I just need to write (just a little)

I received a call from Zoe's pediatrician today.....the blood tests are back. She said she thought they looked okay but really wants to hear from the endocrinologist because levels very so much and based on age and all. She told me to keep trying to get in sooner to the endo - I called and so far that isn't looking like it is going to happen.

The bad news is that Zoe's WBC is low.....again! It isn't fearful at this point BUT is is NOT where it should be. My very first question was "Could WBC being low have anything to do with all the other things going on....having signs of puberty?" She told me "no" BUT I can not shake this feeling the WBC count has something to do with something that isn't good that is going on.

For now I wait more and watch Zoe a bit more closely.