Hi all,

Maddie been home for two weeks now and it’s been just as hectic.  Here are some of the updates from the past week.

Maddie has had feeding therapies twice now at Inova and they are going well.  We’re working on drinking liquids, but it’s hard for her to control the transition from the front of the mouth (sucking) to the back of the mouth (swallowing).  She gets a little bit each day to practice and some days it’s good while others she coughs.  The volume will increase as she gets better.  She still gets purees orally and we’ve increased to 3 ozs per feeding and these feeding sessions are still her favorite time of day.  She used to just open her mouth in between mouthfuls to say she wants more, but now she’ll even vocalize and say “ah” sometimes.

One of the biggest developments is a hint of a smile when we squeak her Sophie the Giraffe toy!  Her head and neck still curve toward the right, but head control seems to be getting better; she’s lifting her head a little higher during PT time each day.  She will start occupational therapy sessions at Inova next week.  We had Infants and Toddlers Early Intervention come do an evaluation this past Weds and they will start in-home physical therapy next week.  For now, we’ve decided to do it weekly and will scale back if Maddie’s not progressing as fast.

Maddie still doesn’t have any vision that we can tell but her eyes are moving less erratically.  The right eye still doesn’t always track with the left though.  Her left arm and leg are still much more active than her right side, contrary to what the neurologists predicted since the damage is mostly on the right side of her brain.  She’s able to turn over on her right side and actually prefers to lay on her side most of the time.

Abby is advancing to pre-K at the pre-school and we are moving her to a closer daycare.  She has a lot of friends at the old daycare and we hope she will transition well a week from now.

We were blessed with many visitors this week.  Below are a few pictures of all the fun times.

Jing and Justin came over with Lexie, who thought Abby was hilarious.  She shows her excitement here with a hearty laugh/scream.

Sarah and Julia from our church came over with Hope and Joshua.  They spent the morning playing in the backyard.  They all wanted to collect acorns, so Joshua ended up with a bucketful of green acorns.

Hope tried the zipline and Abby wanted to help pull her back.

Bill even had time to do some woodworking during the evenings after the kids are down (one of his favorite indoor pastimes).  It’s a coffee table for the basement.

We are also so grateful for all the food deliveries from our church family this past week and for all those scheduled to arrive in the coming weeks.  It helps so much and frees up a lot of time for us to focus on the kids during the hectic 6-8pm dinner/bedtime hours.  Jen’s mom continues to be a blessing for us, picking up Abby in the evenings when Bill’s meetings run long and bringing fruits and other delicious food.

For your prayers, please ask for continued wisdom and patience as Maddie continues to recover and for Abby’s smooth transition to a new school with new teachers and friends.  We’re back to a more normal schedule but Jen still hasn’t recovered from 2 months at the hospital/rehab.  Please also pray for her health and peace of mind.

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers.