Been A While

This blog entry is somewhat haphazard in the order. Please bear with me!




We're settling into the house, and Olivia has definitely taken to the hot tub. She has been fussy over the last few weeks, without much luck pinpointing why. One thing that is pretty certain to help is a little bubbly (from the hot tub jets)!







The youth group helped us build a ramp in the garage in order to raise money for a mission trip to Tennessee. It was a good experience for us all. Olivia enjoyed watching them, but I only took a picture of Liv & Dave.



I am taking Olivia to see Dr. Todd Monday morning for what could be the final follow-up to the April surgery. I hope he is pleased with her progress, but I suspect it will be of some concern to him that she is not able to bear much weight. She has lost so much strength in her legs, she has developed tremors. Her physical therapist said she thinks it's from muscle weakness. I will definitely ask Dr. Todd if he concurs. Also she is getting quite a few muscle cramps in her lower legs and feet. I can relate to how painful they are, and man, can she scream when they cramp up!

Thankfully, Olivia is smiling and laughing more and more these days. It may be because she isn't getting too much sleep at night, and she's delirious, or she's just feeling better. She did sleep through the night last night, which was quite a blessing! Dave asked me when the last time she had slept through the night was, and I told him it's hard to remember because I didn't sleep right along with her! It's been a couple weeks, though.

Her new pediatrician is working out well. I took Olivia in to see her because she looked to have a white spot on her tonsil. They sent a strep test to the lab, but the rapid test result was negative.

Thursday Olivia will see the neurologist at Walter Reed for the first time since the fall. We bumped into him when I took Liv for a prior visit, and told him we'd come in soon. I look forward to catching up with him.

The Boost Essentials for kids 1.5 is working out for Liv too! She has gained back about 1.5 pounds. I wish it was more, but it's a start. She really didn't take to it very well at first, but I think she really likes it now.

A little over a week ago, Olivia's case manager (from the insurance company) and I decided it was time to move out of case management. This will allow another family to have Cindy as a great resource, and will keep me motivated to moving forward on things that Olivia needs. Cindy has been such a great person to have working with us. Thankfully we're going to stay in touch, and she'll be available if we get into a jam. That, my friends, is peace of mind. Thanks, Cindy!! :)



I gave Olivia a hair cut on Father's Day this year. It is much easier to take care of. I think she thinks it's fun too!



Olivia, Jack, Robin & I went to VBS at the church week before last. It was so much fun! The music was great, and it was really cool how many kids went out of their way to say hello to Olivia this year. She's been on the prayer list since before her surgery in January. What a great community of believers we are part of!



I'll try to update after the doctors' visits this week. Thanks for continuing to read this blog.