September - School, Hippotherapy, & Ohio Visit

In September, Lucas went back to school, he wanted to give his teacher a hug and kiss upon arrival (we also did the extended school year, so Lucas also saw her during a month during the summer). He keeps asking for Oscar, Joselle, and Lucy... his favorite kids in the class from last year, but they have moved on to kindergarten. I miss seeing them when I drop him off! They brightened my day so much.

We started Hippotherapy with one of our PT's. Although he doesn't quite yet have the proper balance, he did great on the horse. Hippotherapy is supposed to be great for kids with CP, using the horse's movement to learn pelvic movements. She slowly introduced him to "Peppermint", and let him pet her. When she asked if he wanted to sit on her, he immediately answered, "yes." It brought tears to my eyes watching him sit up there like such a big boy.

We also traveled to Ohio to visit my family for a few days.

First day of school!

Giving Miss Christopher a kiss on the first day

Day two...check out his leg propped on the back of the seat

this is how he rides most of the time.Nicholas wanted to make sure he didn't fall over while playing

Meeting Peppermint

Catherine apologized that he had to wear a pink Dora helmet,

it was the only one small enough to fit him... still cute.In physical therapy with Carla
...how I pray he could stand like this on his own
Lucas got a new playmate, Keiran
We are sharing our nanny with a new family and he comes over a couple days a week
They are so cute and play really well together!

Nick getting Lucas situated in his car - he's always so patient with him

Playing together

Can you tell it was Alabama game day?

Taking a walk with the kids

New swing!

Visiting Grandma Barb & Grandpa Blain in OhioAnd cousin, JakeUncle Bryan, Aunt Lori, & Jake
...sneaking in for a picture while Lucas was crashed out

August

August was pretty uneventful, but here are some fun pics...

One of my all time favorites

Well... one "event" was that Lucas decided to start taking his diaper off in the night. Now duct tape is a part of our nightly routine. As you can see he's quite proud.

Visiting Gran and GranDan's poolLucas discovers powdered donuts

Picnic at the park

Lunch with Gran and GranDan

One morning I had to work from home - notice the laptop on the sofa... and what it took to keep him occupied!

Playing with ParkerGetting fitted for ankle stabilizers to use while standing

At the pool with the kids

July - Alabama & The ER

In July, we spent a week in Alabama visiting Bran’s family.

Halfway through the trip Lucas started having seizures again and we ended up in the ER at Huntsville Hospital. It was pretty awful, it happened in the middle of the night. He remained conscious the whole time… but we knew something was very off. After he got through the shock waves and crying, his eye continued twitching and he was delirious. He talked about things that made no sense, and asked for “knuckles” when no one was standing on that side. I can’t even describe how scary it is to see your child like this.

Bran and I, and his mom drove him to the hospital 45 minutes away… we went through all the tests… CT scan on the shunt, xrays of the shunt in his belly, blood tests, etc., and were admitted that night. He had another one in the morning, which was even scarier that the night before, and they did an EEG that afternoon. Luckily they captured a seizure on the EEG, which told them the part of the brain the seizures were coming from. It is where the tubing from the shunt goes through the healthy brain on the left. The neurologist said that this is very typical…. she tells all her shunt patients that they will most likely have seizures at some point because the brain is trying to make connections. With this foreign object in the way, it causes abnormal firing. It is mostly contained on one side of the brain, but the firing can ricochet through the brain and cause convulsing on both sides, which we saw happen with Lucas. So—long story short, we are back on seizure meds for a very long time.

We spent two days there during our vacation. I hated being away from our home hospital, but the staff were absolutely fabulous. We loved the neurologist, and the southern hospitality... we felt like we were in a hotel at some points…such as, I asked where the cafeteria was… the nurse told me, but then said “why?” ... I told her I want to get coffee… she says “no, let me get it for you” and brings me a hot cup. They constantly came in the room to ask if Bran and I needed anything…blankets, a beverage, etc. There were clowns that visited Lucas in our room, volunteers came and brought coloring books, toys, blankets, and a smiley face pillow for him to take home. We had a revolving door with all the hospital visitors! You just don’t get that extra level of hospitality at Children’s in downtown DC!

Lucas was well known after the two days. Every single person that walked into our room, he'd sit up and yell for "knuckles"... every nurse, volunteer, even the people collecting trash got knuckles. The day we were leaving, Bran overheard the neurologist on the phone getting his EEG CD from the lab. She said "Lucas Stisher"... then there was a pause and a laugh.. "yes, that's right... Knuckles." You can't keep this boy down for long!

With Anna - boat ride with Gran and GranDan

Relaxing with G
What are you looking at?

Aunt Joanne showed him where to find the horn

Cousin - Landon and LucasUncle Seth with all the kids
Getting some sugar from Mima
Everyone with Aunt Jackie
In the hospital :-( Reading a book with DadGiving knuckles to the clown

Out of the hospital and very sleepy with the new seizure meds