Now, on to the important stuff...........Quinton and Dee, this video is for you. You guys have tried to help Chance do this......This is something that he has NEVER been able to do, even with help. Check it out!!!!
Beth would be so proud!!! (that is one of his previous PTs)
The next huge thing to tell you all.......Chance received his expected release date...are you ready for this????? 8/29/08!!!!!! That is 23 days from having major brain surgery. Chance gets to come home next Friday!!!! How awesome is that??
His swelling is going down, drastically. I can't wait to see him on Sunday when I go back down. That is the only thing that Chance is worried about, his friends seeing his 'wave' as he calls it. He is proud of his scar though.
We had a family meeting today at KKI. This is where all of the people working with Chance get together and tell us how he is doing and also where we were told about the release date. They all had very nice and encouraging things to say about him.
Physical Therapy is where Chance got to ride the bike. He rode that thing for 15 to 20 minutes and then the therapist wanted him to walk. He started down the hall and headed for the door. The therapist told him, 'No, that's the stairs' and he said, 'I want to do the stairs'. She said ok, but that is very agressive for him considering he spent all that time on the bike just riding and riding in circles. He went up one flight of stairs and back down again with no problems!!! Needless to say, she was very impressed with him.
The speech therapist said that she just can't believe that Chance is talking like he is. He talks the same as he did before surgery, it is just a bit higher in pitch. The left side of the brain controls speech and that is the side that was removed. She said that she has never had a kid that has had the left side removed talking as soon and as well as him. Amazing!!
They all feel that he is a hard worker and very determined. (note to teachers.....remember this)
Before surgery, Chance couldn't follow 3 step directions and sometimes, he had problems with 2 step directions. Well, now he can do 2 and 3 steps!! I don't know if all of this has to do with the surgery, but something definitely clicked.
They had told us before surgery, that with the left side gone, his right side would be able to concentrate more and be able to relax a little bit. Well, they were once again, telling us something that we just weren't sure was true. I'm the type that has to see to believe and I'm a true believer now.
Chance also is a very early riser. He is up no later than 6:30 and wants a snack because breakfast doesn't come until 7:30. I think he is eating more now that he did before. Maybe that's because it is more spread out. It seems like every two hours he's telling us that his belly is hungry. Those snack packs that everyone sent down have come in handy. I now keep a supply in his nightstand so that he has them any time he wants. I have also been known to take them to therapy to help him get through the session (we wouldn't want him to be famished!!).
His emotions are coming back too. He is extremely happy in the morning, every morning. Bryan had him giggling and snorting this morning. The two of them together are a handful. They aggitate each other and it is kinda funny to see.
Chance had the last of his staples removed today. I will also have a picture of this, if I can get it to work tomorrow.
Our friends that Quinton is staying with told me that he has been excellent for them. Imagine that!! I'm really proud of him too.
Well, I have an early morning and a long day ahead of me so I'm going to go. I hope everyone has had a good week and hope you all have a wonderful weekend. There won't be an update tomorrow but I'll try to put one out on Sunday.
On Chance's last day at JHH, he got to play a PS2 game with the therapists, Matt and Francesca. Here is a video and picture of them. I didn't know that PS2 made interactive games. It was funny to see, if you didn't know that he was interacting with the tv, it looked like he was swatting at flies.
(For some reason, when I put a video out here, it shows up twice. I don't know why. Sorry about that)
Hanging out in his new room with all the necessary comforts(for him) - Steeler's jersey, Steeler's pajama pants, Steeler's blanket and a few animals. Man, what I wouldn't give to just hang out like that!!! Although, I do believe that he deserves it more.
This is the PT Heather. She is fitting him for a new temporary orthotic on his right leg.
They have us taking Chance everywhere we go in the wheelchair so that he doesn't get tired out before they get him to do some actual work. We're also hoping that it will cut down on the incidents of his headaches. When he has a headache, he can't stand to have any kind of lights on. Right now, his pupils are really dilated. We don't know if that will change or not, but I sure hope so. This doesn't help with the headaches.A few of my coworkers came down to visit. With them, they brought lots of goodies for Chance. Thank you everyone, he loved everything that he got. The activity stuff will help to fill some of the hours that we don't know what else to do. From the looks of things, Chance has very busy days through the week with lots of hard work. Let's hope he can keep up and get stronger quick.
Thinking of everyone at home and missing you all. Hope to see you soon....Oh yeah, I will see some of you. As long as Chance is doing good, I'll be at Quinton's football game on Sunday. See you then.
Hi everyone. Chance moved to Kennedy Krieger Institute today so there aren't any updates to make. Most of the day was spent moving, unpacking and getting oriented to our new surroundings. From the looks of things, tomorrow brings lots of work. I'll let you all know how he makes out.
Thanks for all the thougths and prayers and well wishes. I truly believe they have a lot to do with how well Chance is doing.
I'll talk to you all later.
This is a video of Chance walking down the hall with his daddy today. Awesome!!! Less than two weeks after having half of his brain removed, this is what he can do!!
Today was an awesome day!!
Chance, Bryan and I got to go downstairs for breakfast this morning. It was so nice to get him out of the room for different scenery.
Half of his staples were removed. He had 92 staples total. Now there are 46. When they began, Chance said 'This is easy!' Till they got to the back of his head where the swelling is, he wasn't too happy. Hopefully, when the other ones come out, it won't hurt so bad in the back.
We had Chance walking several times today. He worked really hard for his therapists. They actually got him to walk the whole way down the steps to the playdeck, played some games, kicked some balls, and walked back up the steps and to his room. We also took him on 4 wheelchair rides all around the hospital.Dr. Jallo came in today and is happy with the way Chance is progressing. The swelling is to be expected. It should gradually move down and out of his body. Chance saw himself for the first time in the mirror. I think it kinda freaked him out. Now, he won't go into the bathroom because he doesn't want to see it. Bryan hung a towel over the mirror when I gave Chance a shower. Chance is going to Kennedy Krieger Institute tomorrow to start his rehab. The way things are going, we may not be there long!!! They think he may be the fastest in and out ever.
You know, back when we started talking about this surgery (three years ago) and up until a few days ago. We didn't know for sure whether we believed the doctors. They have continuously told us how kids like Chance that are already hemiplegics, bounce back after this surgery better than kids that aren't hemiplegic. As a parent, you want to believe that the doctor knows what they are talking about. You are putting your child's future in their hands. But, until you actually see that your child is doing even better than what the doctors expected, you truly, deep down aren't sure whether you believe them. The feeling that we have right now is unbelievable, words can't even describe it. I have nothing but the utmost respect for what these wonderful people have done for Chance. They have opened up a whole new world for him and I will forever be grateful. This gratitude goes for everyone that has had any interaction with Chance during his stay.
This is a picture of nurse Laura. She has had Chance for several days and is awesome. We won't go into detail of why she holds a special place for us, just know that she does.
I also want to thank Jane S. from the Hemispherectomy Foundation. She has been here several times to offer support, bring us goodies, sit with Chance so I could get some Motrin and more. Tonight, she brought me a birthday cake. Talk about good!! We were able to share it with another family down the hall. It was enjoyed by all. She pays attention to detail without you even realizing it. For anyone that has to go through this experience, she is a good person to have by your side and guide you through the process, offer assistance and just be there to listen when you need it. Thank you Jane!!! Here is the cake she brought....
And finally, my wonderful kids had these beautiful flowers delivered. Aren't they pretty??
Not too much to report today. We were going to go for breakfast this morning but before we left, Chance got one of his headaches and we had to stay in the room. This is a picture of him as we were getting ready to go. His hospital breakfast had come and there was a donut on the plate. He got really excited and wanted to eat it. Well, before when he was a big eater, he took big bites. In all of the excitement, I think he forgot that he can't take those big bites now and that is what caused the headache. He is posing in this picture with Quinton the bear and a new monkey friend he just got. Thank you Alex and Abby Shaffer, he LOVES it.
Nana and Dave came for a visit today. We had a nice visit. While they were here, the PT girl came and Chance did NOT want to walk. After she left, he wanted a chocolate milk and I told him if he wanted it, he had to go get it. Wouldn't you know, we had no problem getting him to walk down the hall to the fridge. 