How Luke Spends His Thursday Mornings.

At 8:45am, Luke and I head out on our walk to visit with his new physical therapist, Danielle, at the local state-operated CCS center. It takes about 30-40 minutes to get there on foot/in stroller from home and it's just a stone throw away from the Cal Poly dorms where I first lived in 96-97.

Luke spends about an hour with Danielle, working on his core strength and balance. We just started there in February and thus far he seems to enjoy the new environment (versus home PT) and having new options in toys. The pictures above are of Danielle helping Luke roll by maneuvering him on the balance ball. He will be able to continue at this center for many years to come and I believe the state-run preschool for special needs children is located in the same complex.

P.S. Luke does miss his first/prior PT Megan! She came out to our house every Tuesday and we always enjoyed her company. She's due to have her first baby (a boy!) in April and Luke can't wait to meet a new friend.

Current Favorite Pastime

Sock removal. It doesn't matter where Luke is- nothing is more exciting then capturing that left sock and freeing those five little piggies. The sock must then be punished for its oppressive crime so vigorous chewing commences...

Our Blue-Eyed Boy

Dr. Stathacopoulos is Luke's pediatric opthomologist in SLO. She has been tracking Luke since June and is the primary decision maker for all things having to do with his vision. She is an excellent doctor and we are very fortunate to have a pediatric opthomologist in town (let alone one of her caliber) or we would have yet another reason to head bi-montly back up to Stanford. She was the one that regretfully informed me that Luke was essentially blind as well as who jubilantly declared him not to be!

Luke went in to see Dr. S. today for a regular follow-up. She was excited that Luke continues to show improvement and assured me that his vision is here to stay and will, hopefully, only get stronger. Her primary concern this time around is Luke's eyes' tendency to cross. If at times the right focus and the left crosses and vice versa, then nothing needs to be done immediately. However, if we (Matt and I) find that one eye is consistently turning in and not the other, then we have to move forward to correct it. If he relies on the left one, for example, and turns the right one in all the time then the right eye will actually become less effective. His brain will wire itself to permanently depend on the that left eye only. This is corrected by patching the dominent eye thus forcing the "crossed" eye to take control. The human brain never ceases to amaze...

Dr. S. saw both eyes each crossing and focusing while in her office and Matt and I, in the few hours since, have seen this as well. Our homework is still to watch him just to be sure. The picture below was taken as we left her office today. Notice the left eye "crossed" in.

And here's one that I took last week. Here the right eye is turned in.Due to the eyes crossing, it sounds like eye muscle surgery will be in Luke's future. It's a rather common surgery and even one that his Grandma Chrissy went through when she was cross-eyed as a young girl. Dr. S. didn't give any time frame for when this may be but I'm guessing not until he's bigger, stronger and his eyesite has somewhat stabilized.

As for the other odd things he does with his eyes (namely the looking down and to the sides,) the reasons are still unknown. Whether it is because of his eye muscles and the lack of control or because it's something his brain tells him to do because his field of vision is not "normal," we just have to wait until either Luke is old enough to be tested or he can verbally guide Dr. S. Regardless, Luke CAN SEE and continues to charm, entertain and amaze all he meets!

Revenge is sweet... or a fistful of dog hair.

After 9 months of being Rocco's unwilling object of affection...

...Luke finally loved back...
...and Rocco now knows he has been defeated.

New Toy & Tooth

Luke got a big package in the mail yesterday from Grammers Carole that was a late Valentine's Day gift. A little birdie told Grammers that Luke needed clothes (he seems to have grown out of his pants overnight!) so the gift replenished his quickly shrinking wardrobe. Also included was a fun new toy from Great Aunt Christine. Luke was very excited and general silliness ensued...While Luke giggled and tossed himself around in mom's lap (not the most calming behavior right before bedtime) mom finally got a snapshot of Luke's new "toothy" grin!

Honoring our presidents with a cookie.

After a full day of therapy, shopping and lunching with mom and dad, Luke got a special treat at dinner tonight- his first cookie! He very much enjoyed his dessert and was not pleased when, after 15 minutes of chewing, gumming, etc., mom finally called it a day.

Dinner with the folks

Luke accompanied mom and dad to sushi last night and sat in his first restaurant high chair. It was slightly awkward but he's definitely getting more steady and filling the chair out better. The hostess was even kind enough to give him his very own placemat. Luke didn't partake in the food but he enjoyed chewing on his toys and watching dad.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Luke- and his first tooth- would like to wish all his friends and family a very happy Valentine's Day! He received his very first valentines from Great Aunt Kathy & Uncle John Wilcox, Great Grandma Hersom and Grandpa & Grandma Hersom. Thank you for thinking of him! After morning physical therapy with his new therapist Danielle, Luke has been enjoying a day of running errands with mom and enjoying the beautiful weather. He can't wait until daddy gets home so he can share his Valentine's Day love with him too!

Luke's Visit with Dr. Bravo

Today Luke went to see his pediatrician, Dr. Bravo. The nurse weighed Luke in at 19 lbs. 2 oz., 29 1/2 in. long and his head circumference is 43 1/2 cm. The head size measurement is especially important because we want it to grow but not fast or that would signify a shunt malfunction (it has grown an acceptable 1/2cm since last month.) After consulting the height & weight chart for Luke's adjusted age of 9 months, he's in the 50th percentile in weight and the 95th percentile in height. He's a very tall little guy!

Dr. Bravo is extremely happy with his progress and is still delighted to see him respond visually. He wrote him a prescription for a splint for his right hand (a soft one during the day, a harder one at night) per occupational therapist Lori's request. Luke's CP keeps his right hand in a fist most of the time so we want to help him use it and not let the muscles be permanently effected by lack of use and it being in a constant little ball.

We also set up Luke's appointment for a head cat scan next month. Dr. Edwards, the Stanford neurosurgeon, wants to get a detailed update on how everything is going in Luke's little construction zone of a brain. So Luke will have this done at Sierra Vista hospital in SLO (where he was born!) and we will bring it up to Stanford so Dr. Edwards can review it at his April 7th follow-up appointment. I'm already feeling major anxiety about this appointment because it was difficult on the both of us back in September. Luke has to be secured tightly down to a board so he can't wiggle a lot during the scan and I have to wear a lead thyroid protector along with a thick lead vest. Distrubing to think that Luke is being exposed to so much radiation but the benefits of being able to see the details of his head out weigh the risk so we do what we need to do. Maybe Dad will be willing to be Luke's CT buddy this next time...

Because That's How He Rolls...

He starts on his back......gets momentum going to his left until he flips over and achieves...TUMMY TIME!
Then it's a head toss and a push to his right......and he's back where he started!
Luke has been working so hard on going from his tummy to his back. He just started showing interest in doing so last week but he's making fast work of it. His biggest obstacle is that darn right arm (the side that is most effected by the cerebral palsy) but we help him out by making sure it's tucked to his side. He then quickly rolls back over! If he isn't ending up against the dog pillow (see above) he's headed towards the recliner- won't be surprised if we turn our back for a moment and find him under it soon!

A Preview of Spring

The last few days it has been over 70 degrees here in SLO! To enjoy our fabulous February weather, Luke, Rocco and Lola decided to relax on the front porch for a little while (more Rocco relaxing, Luke trying to chew on his Bumbo chair and Lola guarding.)

Of course once Luke's socks came off, Rocco had work of his own to do...