Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Katie- 17 months old

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS!!!!


Katie is doing great!! She is drinking better, she started crawling, she started standing independently, and she is talking a lot. Katie sings "Row, Row Your Boat," well, at least the first line. She will cover her face (using two hands more often) and will say, "Where's Katie?" I thank God because with each update the prayers are sent up with renewed strength and almost immediately after the update Katie is doing a new trick!! Katie is called a "Super Star" by her therapists, they are amazed by her communication skills and her strong personality! I find it amusing that Katie seems to be revisiting all her missed milestones, she started crawling and rolling and laying on the ground and kicking her feet.

Katie's therapists says that her first steps are coming soon! Her physical therapist works on developing strength in her hips and left leg. Katie cries and screams through most of her physical therapy appts, but this is when she works the hardest! Pray for strength for her little legs and that she walks when the time is right!
Pray for Katie's vision and qualifying for continued vision therapies and God Willing some additional vision therapies! Pray for her brain and continued rewiring and repair! Pray for continuing speech development and our ability to work with her very strong personality!!

Thank you!! I look forward to her new "tricks"!!

Monday, June 6, 2011

Thank you for your Prayers !!

Today Katie drank 2 ounces consecutively from a cup!!!! She hasn't done it again yet, but at least we know it is possible!!!! She can drink!! Katie just needs to get the rhythm of consecutive swallows and stick with it!! Keep praying!!!!
Katie has also started to stand alone!!! She will do a bear crawl position, on hands and feet, then just stand up!!! It is only for a split second, but it is huge progress!!! Her neurologist goal was to be standing independently by 18 months, and there is no doubt she can do it!!! Just pray for continued health, continuing function of the shunt and continued absence of seizures!!!!
Katie has also cut two molars, which helps explain her explosive attitude moments this past week!
I researched to understand more of Katie's vision. The optometrist believes her vision was around 20/60. This means that her vision impairment is on the mild side, but that mild vision impairment means she can only see about 20-30 feet away. The prognosis is unknown because her brain is still has great plasticity (or ability to rewire and reconnect itself). We need to continue to greatly encourage her to use her vision to promote the rewiring process, and to not use her other senses to overcompensate. We have to encourage her to notice the details of life with her eyes as much as possible. Glasses will not help Katie's current vision impairment, since the vision impairment is located in her brain, it is more of a neurological vision impairment. The stroke and the bleed damaged a lot of the brain tissue between the eyes and the location in the brain that processes the images taken in by the eyes. This is also why she has the nystagmus.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! KEEP THEM COMING!!!!!!
MAY GOD BLESS YOU AS HE CONTINUES THE MIRACLES IN OUR DEAR KATIE!!!!!!!