"The real problem of blindness is not the loss of eyesight; it is the misunderstanding and lack of information that exist." NFB Welcome to our exciting journey with Ellie Grace. Ellie was diagnosed with Septo Optic Dysplasia (SOD) and Optic Nerve Hypoplasia (ONH). These diagnoses mean her optic nerves/discs are under developed causing significant vision impairment (what degree is not known yet). Her pituitary gland is under developed too which creates hormone inbalances.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Starting the year off right!
Over the holidays we got to spend extra time with the lil
miss which was absolutely GREAT! She liked it too because when I did have to
take her back to daycare she cried when I gave her to the provider. (Hurts my
heart but it’s good to know she’s going to miss us too.) Anyway, extra time
with her meant extra activities and in-home therapy sessions with mommy and
daddy. She got to relax and lounge with us and then we played (therapy
activities) too. Man, what a great time!... Anyway...
She’s starting to get bursts of energy, I can imagine
that these little spazes (that’s what I like to call them) would normally
result in a toddler running around or being rambunctious, but she has mobility
limitations so she just tenses up and screams with excitement.* We’re engaging
her more at home so I can really tell a difference in how she’s acting and
exploring more and doing more things and so last night this little girl pushed
up on her legs supporting all of her weight by herself! Super proud but thought
it was one of those things like the first time she rolled over... she rolled
but didn’t know what she did; it took her another 3-4 or months to do it again.
Well tonight when Dusty was working with her not only did she stand ALL BY
HERSELF! (with daddy behind her) she did it multiple times and at one point it
lasted about 10 seconds.
There’s woman “the mom” from Uncommon Sense Blog who
basically explained this time is when hope moves to reality. That we are moving
from hoping that she’ll stand to knowing that she will one day and it’s not too
far off. We hoped that she would stand and walk but quite frankly, I was
preparing myself for wheel chairs.
Then, just when I thought I just witnessed the best thing
of my day, week, and possibly month Dusty came up with an idea to try whip
cream when feeding her.** So, he tried the whip cream and what an excellent
idea! It has texture, solid without being too thick to make her sick, and she
should gag that bad because it will water down quickly. She did GREAT! It was
awesome and amazing and was eating it up! She didn’t gag or fuss! She ate a lot
and did great.
Proud doesn’t even cover tonight!
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As for daycare and therapy... well I sent the therapists and email with alternate therapy methods and told them hand-over-hand isn't effective and it's time to try something else.... and daycare, well it's time for me to get out of the military. We talked and made a list and decided it's time for Ellie. It's scary to 1/2 our income but it's Ellie, she's need people who know her needs. Now it's just a matter of finding a reserve position open for me (I don't want to completely throw away 10 years in the military).
*Yes it’s really excitement; she’s not over stimulated or
any of that stuff.
** Yeah, I know what you’re thinking, “But you’ve got to
be worried about her teeth and you’re giving her sugar?” The answer is yes and
we will continue because if we don’t move past the feeding issue then she’ll
have teeth for no reason that will rot out anyway.
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