I have to share a quick story while it's fresh in my mind. I'm absolutely beyond excitement at this moment...
When Luke was born, my one request of God was to have a child that can verbally communicate with us. Thus far Luke has shown every sign that this is a real possibility. With the amount of brain damage he suffered, all professionals have been amazed by his intelligence and willingness to engage and increasing ability to do so with words. His pediatrician was taken aback on Tuesday when I confirmed that Luke does say many words and uses them regularly. But up until a few minutes ago, the words have been things that have been hammered into his mind ("mama," "dada," "Lola") and his true understanding of most words is unknown. Luke has become a master mimic.
Moments ago, Luke was playing on the family room floor with his Little People school bus that was filled with Little People, Tonka cars and blocks. He likes to take them all out and throw them all over the family room. Lots of fun for Luke and lots of clean-up for mommy. Such the little boy.
As I walked by him on my way out to the laundry room, he stopped, looked up at me and said "hi." I stopped and asked Luke- "What do you have?" Luke looked down at the Tonka car in his hand, said "car" and- to really drive the point home- put the car on the carpet and rolled it back and forth.
Our son, who suffered brain damage categorized as "massive" and "very severe," is 1 1/2 years old and knows what I asked him and how to respond. I don't think I could be more proud and amazed at this very moment. I wish I would have captured that exchange on film to show the world but, knowing Luke, this relatively isolated incident will become a regular occurrence.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!
Matt and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary this past Sunday. We started the day taking formal family pictures (to commemorate Luke turning 18 months on Saturday as well) did a little lunch at Firestones (jealous?!) and then had dinner at McClintocks in Pismo Beach. Our big day got us a free giant brownie sundae which Luke found just the thing to wash down his halibut dinner.
This weekend Matt and I are off to Las Vegas to attend the wedding of my high school friend, Isthar. We're using it as a post-anniversary celebration so we're going out to dinner and seeing "Love" on Friday night. We're very excited and I'm sure Grandpa Jim and Grandma Stephanie will have a lovely weekend back in SLO with Luke, Lola and Rocco. I'm most excited about getting to carry a purse smaller then a suitcase for a whole weekend!
Friday, September 19, 2008
Off to "Cool"
Parent Participation classes started today and Luke was very excited about "cool." Actually, he had no idea where we were going but he liked trying to say "school." Anyway, class was from 9-11:30am and will be every Friday until mid-December. Today's attendance was Luke, five little girls, their moms, teacher Julie and me. Luke was the only boy in the room. Lucky man.
We sang songs, had snack, played in the yard and had grown-up circle time while the kids played. Luke rolled around the circle of moms while the girls ran/crawled all over the room. Last Saturday, Luke started sitting up on his own so today he would roll to his desired location and then sit up and throw whatever toys were nearby (typical boy.) We had a great time and I think this is a perfect environment for Luke to start socializing his with peers (albeit only female ones!) I would even venture to say that although he was not the oldest he may have been the most verbal kid in class today? Who needs to move when you can just TELL people where you want go!
We sang songs, had snack, played in the yard and had grown-up circle time while the kids played. Luke rolled around the circle of moms while the girls ran/crawled all over the room. Last Saturday, Luke started sitting up on his own so today he would roll to his desired location and then sit up and throw whatever toys were nearby (typical boy.) We had a great time and I think this is a perfect environment for Luke to start socializing his with peers (albeit only female ones!) I would even venture to say that although he was not the oldest he may have been the most verbal kid in class today? Who needs to move when you can just TELL people where you want go!
First day of school picture- a requirement.
I called ahead to make sure the furniture matched Luke's glasses (aka "ga gas")
Snack time.
View from the playground. We love SLO.
Luke swingin' with the ladies.
"Holy Cow!"
Luke's glasses arrived yesterday. I guess the moment had been subconsciously built up in my mind to the point I honestly expected newly bespecled Luke to promptly turn to me and say:
"Thank you Mother, for your love and support. Because of that I can now see. You are the best mother ever and I love you."
The actual version of the scenario turned out slightly different:
I placed the glasses on his head at the eye doctor office.
Luke promptly ripped them off, threw them onto the floor and slapped me across the face.
So that pretty much sums up Luke's feelings regarding his glasses most of yesterday. I think I put them back on his face 100 times before Matt got home. Thankfully, Daddy proved to be a wonderful distraction and I think Luke really loved just to looking at his face (clearly!) Luke kept his glasses on from when Matt got home (about 6:30pm) until bedtime.
The 5 seconds he kept them on in the eye doctor parking lot.
Daddy is home so OF COURSE we are a little angel!
Checking everyone out. And the dogs hard at work.
Wrestling with Daddy. Luke always wins.
Have we met?
SIDE NOTE: The blog title is a little shout-out to the legendary baseball announcer Harry Caray whose amazing sense of style in eye wear Luke is now copying. Thank you Harry, for paving the way in plastic, over sized frames.
Maybe If We Dangle a Cookie?
Luke's Tuesday physical therapist, Linda, decided to have Luke try out the treadmill/harness walking device. He was totally cool with it and kept his legs down (not tucked under him) when the treadmill was off most of the time. He even stomped his left leg a few times after Linda showed him how. Turning it on didn't go very well but this was the first time and Luke's first steps are still a way off (right now we just need him to consistently put weight on his legs.) You would think a mechanical device like that would scare him but he was far more interested in investigating the harness and tasting every strap. Whatever keeps him happy.
Today the treadmill, tomorrow bungee jumping.
He's probably trying to kiss Linda in this picture. Luke is currently working on becoming the Kissing Bandit of San Luis Obispo.
Today the treadmill, tomorrow bungee jumping. 
He's probably trying to kiss Linda in this picture. Luke is currently working on becoming the Kissing Bandit of San Luis Obispo.
Friday, September 12, 2008
GIANT Vision Update.
On August 12th, Luke, Grammers and I went up to Stanford and met with Dr. Deborah Alcorn, the pediatric ophthalmologist who we were referred to for a second opinion by Dr. Stathocopolous (our local pediatric ophthalmologist.) She is a very nice woman who Luke warmed to immediately and overall we had a very productive visit. After speaking with myself and observing Luke, she didn’t have much to add to Dr. S.’s previous findings but it was extremely comforting to have another highly respected doctor weight in on Luke’s unusual vision issues.
As I have mentioned (and pictures sometime show) Luke’s eye muscle control is all over the place but it slowly seems to be getting more stable as he matures. Surgery cannot be performed until progression stops and they can get good measurements to actually shorten the eye muscles. Dr. Alcorn said this could be not until he’s 4 years old (or older) if at all. It is purely a matter of Luke being on his very own schedule (as he has been since Day 1!)
Luke definitely prefers his left eye but we’re going to continue patching it daily to try to strengthen the right. 2-3 hours a day has blissfully been shortened to 1 – 1 ½ hours which is a lot more realistic with a toddler. Luke will either completely ignore the patch and be fine OR within minutes of having it put on, rip it off, look guilty and try to re-stick the crumpled band-aid-type patch before I notice (very cute but frustrating.) Needless to say, it’s not the most fun time of the day.
The absolute best thing that came out of the visit with Dr. Alcorn was the successful dilatation of Luke’s eyes. Back when Dr. S. did it in June, Luke screamed and refused to let her have a peek inside his eyeballs (he shot his eyes downward.) Because of this, Dr. S. was unable to get any type of reading whether or not Luke had a vision correction that would require glasses.
As I mentioned, Luke seemed quite enamored with Dr. Alcorn (and the feeling was adorably mutual- she couldn’t stop gushing over our handsome little guy) and therefore was more open to her handling him. But what I believe made the biggest difference is that I kept out of the room and had Grammers (my mom) take him in. Without “mama” around, Luke did much better.
Turns out Luke is farsighted (can’t see well close-up) and glasses are currently on order. With a rather hefty prescription, we’re hoping by being able to see better, Luke’s gross motor skills will improve. He’s currently on the verge of commando crawling (using his left hand/arm, he moves himself in counter clockwise circles while on his belly and rolls around everywhere) but it has to be scary for him to venture forward if he literally can’t see what is in front of him. At the least, it should help with his frequently crossed eyes.
So to answer our two most frequently asked questions regarding Luke’s new acquired eyeglass prescription:
Q: “How do they know what his prescription is without him being able to talk or read?”
A: The doctor has an apparatus that will look into the dilated eyeballs and give the correct reading. I’m guessing it’s pretty common since there seem to be a lot of little ones with glasses and being that I had trouble getting my own prescription figured out as an adult, I doubt they would rely strictly on any young child’s feedback (even if they can talk and read.)
Q: “How do they keep the glasses on his head?”
A: The glasses are made of a silicon material and have no hinges or screws. There’s a soft strap that holds it secure on his head and it doesn’t seem to interfere with Luke’s shunt tubing that runs behind his ear (I’m still paranoid about that so I’m going to have to get 100% confirmation from his neurosurgeon.) I call them Luke’s “Mr. Potato Head Glasses” but in blue instead of green.
We tried the sample frames (ordered especially for Luke) on last week and are currently just waiting (and trying to be patient!) for them to arrive. The following pictures are exactly what the glasses will look like just with lenses and minus the white “Sample” sticker on the left frame.
Just when we thought he couldn't get any cuter...
As I have mentioned (and pictures sometime show) Luke’s eye muscle control is all over the place but it slowly seems to be getting more stable as he matures. Surgery cannot be performed until progression stops and they can get good measurements to actually shorten the eye muscles. Dr. Alcorn said this could be not until he’s 4 years old (or older) if at all. It is purely a matter of Luke being on his very own schedule (as he has been since Day 1!)
Luke definitely prefers his left eye but we’re going to continue patching it daily to try to strengthen the right. 2-3 hours a day has blissfully been shortened to 1 – 1 ½ hours which is a lot more realistic with a toddler. Luke will either completely ignore the patch and be fine OR within minutes of having it put on, rip it off, look guilty and try to re-stick the crumpled band-aid-type patch before I notice (very cute but frustrating.) Needless to say, it’s not the most fun time of the day.
The absolute best thing that came out of the visit with Dr. Alcorn was the successful dilatation of Luke’s eyes. Back when Dr. S. did it in June, Luke screamed and refused to let her have a peek inside his eyeballs (he shot his eyes downward.) Because of this, Dr. S. was unable to get any type of reading whether or not Luke had a vision correction that would require glasses.
As I mentioned, Luke seemed quite enamored with Dr. Alcorn (and the feeling was adorably mutual- she couldn’t stop gushing over our handsome little guy) and therefore was more open to her handling him. But what I believe made the biggest difference is that I kept out of the room and had Grammers (my mom) take him in. Without “mama” around, Luke did much better.
Turns out Luke is farsighted (can’t see well close-up) and glasses are currently on order. With a rather hefty prescription, we’re hoping by being able to see better, Luke’s gross motor skills will improve. He’s currently on the verge of commando crawling (using his left hand/arm, he moves himself in counter clockwise circles while on his belly and rolls around everywhere) but it has to be scary for him to venture forward if he literally can’t see what is in front of him. At the least, it should help with his frequently crossed eyes.
So to answer our two most frequently asked questions regarding Luke’s new acquired eyeglass prescription:
Q: “How do they know what his prescription is without him being able to talk or read?”
A: The doctor has an apparatus that will look into the dilated eyeballs and give the correct reading. I’m guessing it’s pretty common since there seem to be a lot of little ones with glasses and being that I had trouble getting my own prescription figured out as an adult, I doubt they would rely strictly on any young child’s feedback (even if they can talk and read.)
Q: “How do they keep the glasses on his head?”
A: The glasses are made of a silicon material and have no hinges or screws. There’s a soft strap that holds it secure on his head and it doesn’t seem to interfere with Luke’s shunt tubing that runs behind his ear (I’m still paranoid about that so I’m going to have to get 100% confirmation from his neurosurgeon.) I call them Luke’s “Mr. Potato Head Glasses” but in blue instead of green.
We tried the sample frames (ordered especially for Luke) on last week and are currently just waiting (and trying to be patient!) for them to arrive. The following pictures are exactly what the glasses will look like just with lenses and minus the white “Sample” sticker on the left frame.
Just when we thought he couldn't get any cuter...
A strong profile with a soft strap.
If anyone has any questions regarding Luke's health/development/deep love of the TV remote, please feel free to ask me. We are so proud and I love nothing more then to discuss every little nuance of our amazing little man!
Labor Day Weekend '08
Labor Day Weekend '08 was spent in Fresno, visiting with Matt's family and hunting on Monday (first day of dove season) with some of my family who live nearby. It was great to get away for the weekend and NOT have to plan around a doctor appointment at Stanford. Luke's Papa and Grandma Chrissy have a pool so he was able to do a little swimming and visit with aunt, uncles and cousins. It was great seeing the Henard side of the family and we hope to do it again soon.
Luke's New Big Boy Booster Seat / High Chair
Cousin Ryder was kind enough to bring Luke back his duckie.
Luke's New Big Boy Booster Seat / High Chair Great Grandma Wanda, Luke and Luke's rubber duckie.
Papa and Luke.
Handsome Dad.
Looking for dinner.
Swimming at the Drakes.
Cousin Ryder was kind enough to bring Luke back his duckie.
Calamity Mom.
Matt has a cowboy-type pistol. Notice the can in mid-air. Nice shooting Dad.
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