A progress report…

Anne is continuing to make great progress toward recovery.

Since she started school in January, her attention has increased and her impulsivity has decreased dramatically. One example…

When Anne was released from the hospital, they gave us a five-point harness car seat for Anne. They taught me how to switch the seat to a booster (using the regular seat belt) when Anne’s sitting balance improved. So last fall, I tried using the regular seat belt with Anne, but she could not stop from unbuckling herself. I decided to try again this spring, and Anne is able to keep herself from unbuckling. She even asks, “Mommy, can I unbuckle?” as we are pulling into the driveway!

Another milestone for Anne is that just in the last few weeks, she no longer uses a bed railing when she sleeps. Her awareness of where she is in her bed has improved so that she is not in danger of falling out of her bed!

Anne hasn’t stuttered in over a week AND she hasn’t seemed as tired, so maybe her body is adjusting to her seizure medication (which completely controls her seizures. We haven’t seen a seizure since she started this med.)

Lastly, Anne is beginning to read!!! I wrote about this last week, so if you missed that post, click here: Testing a theory…

Thank you for your prayers!!! -kathryn

Squirrel’s Birthday Sleepover

Here’s Canon’s 6th Rabbit & Squirrel story. This story refers back to Rabbit Finally Wins (where both rabbit & squirrel build a robot) and Squirrel’s Wonderful Tail (where we learn that the tail is THE pride of a squirrel!) You can read all of Canon’s stories at the following links:

Squirrel’s Birthday Sleepover

It’s November 8, Squirrel’s birthday.

Squirrel: Yahoo! It’s my birthday! Rabbit and I are having a sleepover!
Squirrel calls rabbit…
Squirrel: Let’s have a birthday sleepover!
Rabbit: Okay, let’s do it. When can I come over to your tree?
Squirrel: 5pm. I’ll serve dinner. And I’ll remember to put the ladder out for you.
Rabbit: Okay, it’s settled. I’ll bring a birthday present. Do you want me to bring cake too?
Squirrel: Sure, but you know I love cake, so DON’T FORGET IT!
Continue reading →

Testing a theory…

I realized during Spring Break that I might be pushing Anne too much.  Yes, her seizure medicine makes her tired, but I also think her packed schedule is a factor.  SO…  I’m keeping Anne home every Friday from both school and therapy to give her a long weekend to recover.  I’ve loved having her home this morning.

We listened to music and sang together. We even waltzed to Third Day’s, Born Again.  Anne said, “Hee Hee, this is fun!”   But since I got to spend time with her during her best time of day (right when she wakes up), I wanted to test a theory…

I believe Anne can read…  She knows all of her letters and sounds.  And she has the ability to blend sounds together.  For example, if I said to her, “Anne – what is this word…  ssss    uh   nnnnn,”   (and I put lots of space between the sounds…) she’ll answer, “sun.”  So I’ve been thinking that it might be her visual perception that’s preventing her from reading.  Anne CAN see, but sometimes she has a hard time interpreting what she sees or focusing on small details on a busy page – like letters…

So, mixing a few ideas from both her OT and SLP, I got a cookie sheet and placed three chunky magnet letters on the sheet.  Holding it vertically, so the cookie sheet was right in front of her face, I asked her to touch, and name the sound of each letter.  Then I put them in order, and Anne said, “buh…   ah…    teh  ….  bat!”  YES!!!  She went on to read: sat, mat, fat, jug, tab, bam….  well you get the idea. 

Anne's first word

Anne is so proud of herself.  As I put her down for a nap, she looked up to the butterfly painting above her bed and said, “Guess what butterfly?  I can read!”

I can read, butterfly!

Tonight’s service for Anne…

What a difference a year makes! This time last year, people were gathering at church pleading for God to spare Anne’s life. Tonight’s celebration service was a stark contrast!

Anne climbed the stairs to the platform at the front of our sanctuary (with the help of her former PT) and said into the microphone, “I made it!” She went on to answer questions from both Pastor Paul and Pastor Pete. She stayed on topic and seemed to really enjoy being on stage in front of everyone. She asked at one point, “Wow, can they hear me all the way in the back!”

A year and a day ago, if you would have told us that Anne would be on stage – talking into a microphone – and enjoying it…. Well, we wouldn’t have believed it. This is the girl that refused to sing in children’s choir because she was too afraid to stand up in front of everybody – and who cried in Sunday School because she had to go to the bathroom, but was too shy to tell her teacher… Wow!

The church staff did an amazing job putting together this service. The music was awesome, and the words shared were extremely meaningful.

Thank you to everyone who came. We had friends and family come from hours away to celebrate Anne. The Sanctuary was full of people we love and who love Anne. It was a glorious time.

Special Day

We’ve had a great day as a family today. We took a trip to Fernbank with some other families. Anne enjoyed being with all her friends! Afterward, Anne had a great OT session and then we went to a friend’s house for a play date. Anne was able to rest a bit, and now she’s watching her favorite video, Letter Factory.

Anne enjoying Fernbank

We’re very excited about the service tonight and very thankful that our church would go to so much trouble for our family.

I’ve prayed that today would be a good day. I’ve felt surrounded by God’s presence and pleasure. We serve a great God!

April 13th…

Today is a good day.

This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it (Psalm 118:24)!

The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord (Job 1:21b).

And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left (Isaiah 30:21).

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11).

These are the verses that came to mind this morning. We are grateful for what God has done, and we will trust Him for the future. I’m looking forward to celebrating His goodness toward Anne with our church and family tonight!

Celebration Service

The one year anniversary of our accident is this Wednesday, April 13th.

The past year has been extremely difficult, but Eric and I agree that it has also been a year marked by profound blessings and joy!

Our church is holding a short celebration service for Anne and our family this Wednesday evening at 5:30pm in the sanctuary. The purpose of this service is to thank God for preserving Anne’s life and for her current recovery. We hope it will be an encouragement to everyone who has prayed for our family as we celebrate God’s goodness in our midst.

If you are able, we would love for you to join us on Wednesday night. Thank you all for your faithful prayers for our family!

ChristChurch Presbyterian
81 Peachtree Park Dr. NE
Atlanta GA 30309

Squirrel’s Wonderful Tail

Canon’s written another one… and it’s pretty funny :-) If you’re bored and like reading stories written by 8-year-old boys, then check out his other rabbit and squirrel stories:

Squirrel’s Wonderful Tail

Rabbit wants to play a trick on squirrel.

Rabbit (thinking): Oh, I am going to get squirrel …so bad!
Squirrel: Hi Rab-

Rabbit whips a paint ball out from behind his back and throws it right at squirrel’s tail.

Continue reading →

I’m doing better…

This week has been a good week for all of us. The more relaxed pace of spring break has been rejuvenating. Thank you for praying for me. I’ve been more aware of God’s mercy and faithfulness, and I’ve been encouraged by several friends this week. I’ve received uplifting text messages, fresh tulips delivered to my door, and one friend even came over to clean my toilets and fold my laundry. That’s love!

I think most encouraging is that lots of people are remembering April 13th. From close friends to casual acquaintances, I’ve had several encounters this week of people telling me that they are praying as the 13th approaches.

God has lifted the weight of grief (at least for now) and given me a single focus for the good He’s accomplished in Anne this year. We have so much to be thankful for! So when our pastor asked how they could best minister to us on the one year mark of the accident, I decided I wanted a celebration service to thank God for the blessing of Anne’s life and miraculous recovery. The details are still being worked out, but my prayer is that the service will be an encouragement to Anne and to those who have prayed so faithfully for Anne. I pray God is glorified as we acknowledge the work He has done in our midst!

Miss Debbie was over tonight watching our kids. Anne loves Miss Debbie! She made me a care package for wednesday… Lots of chocolate, diet cokes, candles, etc. But the coolest thing is a cd she made for me. On it is Laura Story’s new song Blessings. Miss Debbie says that every word reminds her of Anne. I agree. Listen to it if you have a chance:-)  And here’s the story behind the song if you’re interested…

I’ll post more about Anne’s service when I know details. It will be this Wednesday evening at our church, ChristChurch Presbyterian. Anne will be there, and I hope it will be a blessing for everyone :-)

One week and counting…

April 13th is one week away. I’m not doing very well as I approach that day… Basically, I’m going into mole-mode – where I just want to bury myself in a tunnel and pretend like the rest of the world doesn’t exist. My poor children – it’s all I can do just to keep the house running these days.

But that’s grief. It’s very familiar to me, so I’m not panicking. The laundry is in piles now, but I’ll come out of it eventually and catch up :-) And somehow (by God’s grace) I look back at the end of each day and see that dinner got fixed, the house is semi-neat and the kids have clean clothes. There’s even a little energy left for tickles and crafts – that’s all God.

April 13th represents two very different realities for me. 1st – it’s the day that God saved Anne’s life! After reading through all the medical records from that day – it’s a miracle she survived. But 2nd – that day represents the end of the “old” Anne. Brain injury patients are never the same after their injuries… Some might think that she is like her old self – just with a disabled body. No, her entire personality is different – wonderful – just different.

So, that day represents death and life to me. And right now, I just don’t want to think about any of it. You could pray for me. That would be nice :-)