Today we had some dear friends over. They are VERY good friends, and the two kids are so sweet to E. They all play together well, and know not to pull or push E b/c she can lose her balance easily. Overall, it's just *easy* b/c everyone knows the situation, and it's just not a big deal.
And then, something happened.
The friends had to leave, so E went to the front door to open it for them (it's her new "trick"). Everyone was saying goodbyes, giving hugs as they were working their way out the door. And then little Vivian joined in, pushing her way to the door--and like dominoes, everyone shifted. E was the one closest to the door, and she tumbled out.
Out the door, down the one step, right onto the cobblestone, hitting her head.
I'm pretty sure she put her hand down, at least a little, to brace herself. It's one of those situations that you can see coming--and that you're *always* worried about, as a parent of a child that is prone to head injuries. But I just wasn't fast enough.
Everyone felt bad, especially Elena--I'm sure it HURT.
It makes for a tough ending to an otherwise great evening. One ice pack and 10 minutes later, E is smiling and laughing again. I wish it wasn't so rough on her. Sometimes, anyway--I don't spend too much time dwelling on it, b/c hey--this is the way it is. And truthfully, E is one tough cookie. She takes a lot of bumps and bruises. I know kids in general do, but it's just different. Accidents happen to everyone. Just more often to E.
I guess it's getting to me tonight.
UPDATE: Elena has fallen 5 times badly--head/neck injuries, this past week. She falls often, yes, but normally has the ability to protect her head/not fall too badly. One of these falls gave her a gash on her ear, and the other she impaled her neck on a bench. Obviously I am concerned. I have spoken to her docs/professionals about this...my first guess was the her shoes were too small (that is NOT the case, yet anyway); the second, was she was ill (her sister had some bug, but E never really manifested much); the third, and most likely case, is that at the end of the day, her endurance is shot and she's just too physically tired to keep up with what she wants to do. I am encouraging her to use her crutches, or take a shoe break, do a puzzle, something that does not involve walking around...
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
Coming Up: Elena's 5th Birthday (REPOST)
**REPOST--If you already responded, I sent you address information today!
This is just a temporary post.
Elena's 5th birthday is April 30th, 2010. She has been adamant that "when you are 5, you can do everything by yourself". Well, of course, we're all for that--but we are realistically hoping that The Turning Of Five will bring E some new independence.
One thing E LOVES is mail. She doesn't know how to read yet, but it is emerging. She does recognize that some mail has her name on it, and appreciates pictures and notes from kids her age (or from parents of kids her age). We also send mail, although it can be a long wait time, and for that I apologize. We have to start VERY early to get lots of letters out on time.
Would you like to send E a birthday message? If so, contact me at cpmom2009 AT yahoo DOT com (also a link through the About Me portion of the blog). Once we have your address, we tend to send mail at semi-regular intervals (major holidays, etc). I do NOT share addresses with anyone else.
Getting mail from other places also helps us with geography--she knows G lives in Tasmania, W lives in Texas, R lives in Hawaii, for instance (and can find them on a map). If English isn't your best language, don't worry, we'll love it anyway!
For sure...when E is 5, one thing she WILL do by herself is...GET THE MAIL!
This is just a temporary post.
Elena's 5th birthday is April 30th, 2010. She has been adamant that "when you are 5, you can do everything by yourself". Well, of course, we're all for that--but we are realistically hoping that The Turning Of Five will bring E some new independence.
One thing E LOVES is mail. She doesn't know how to read yet, but it is emerging. She does recognize that some mail has her name on it, and appreciates pictures and notes from kids her age (or from parents of kids her age). We also send mail, although it can be a long wait time, and for that I apologize. We have to start VERY early to get lots of letters out on time.
Would you like to send E a birthday message? If so, contact me at cpmom2009 AT yahoo DOT com (also a link through the About Me portion of the blog). Once we have your address, we tend to send mail at semi-regular intervals (major holidays, etc). I do NOT share addresses with anyone else.
Getting mail from other places also helps us with geography--she knows G lives in Tasmania, W lives in Texas, R lives in Hawaii, for instance (and can find them on a map). If English isn't your best language, don't worry, we'll love it anyway!
For sure...when E is 5, one thing she WILL do by herself is...GET THE MAIL!
PT Recap: Obstacle Courses and Stuff
Just the usual stuff. E is doing well at PT. We need to do more of this at home--finding the time can be a real challenge, though.
I thought E did a particularly good job here--this is her longest sliding session! She seems to stop when she's bored and wants to move on, instead of being tired or unbalanced.
I thought E did a particularly good job here--this is her longest sliding session! She seems to stop when she's bored and wants to move on, instead of being tired or unbalanced.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Easter--including an Indoor/Outdoor Egg Hunt!
Happy Easter!
E and Viv had a great time up at Grandma and Grandpa's house. As usual, E got to play "kitchen" and made food for everyone.
We dyed eggs--or as E says it, "dived eggs", late Saturday evening.
After church, we had an Easter Egg hunt! E has done this before--inside the house. She is very good at it now, and loves the hunt. We try to stress that it isn't a race, and that works well. This year she carried her basket for the first time. She didn't have any problems inside the house (relatively flat, lots of handholds). Vivian joined the hunt, too. She liked the eggs when she found one, but didn't know what to do with it besides shake it.
We also had an outdoor egg hunt!
E did pretty well on the pavement and surrounding areas. There were some eggs through the grass, and that proved too difficult. Granted, the grass was long...but I think even if it were freshly mowed, it would have been too difficult this year. The hardest parts were the edging by the mulch (little "dips" prove troublesome) and the fact that she was carrying a large object. Vivian, on the other hand, loved it--she ADORES being outside, and especially loves tumbling in the grass. Elena likes grass, but not the falling part. :)
Great job, girls!
E and Viv had a great time up at Grandma and Grandpa's house. As usual, E got to play "kitchen" and made food for everyone.
We dyed eggs--or as E says it, "dived eggs", late Saturday evening.
After church, we had an Easter Egg hunt! E has done this before--inside the house. She is very good at it now, and loves the hunt. We try to stress that it isn't a race, and that works well. This year she carried her basket for the first time. She didn't have any problems inside the house (relatively flat, lots of handholds). Vivian joined the hunt, too. She liked the eggs when she found one, but didn't know what to do with it besides shake it.
We also had an outdoor egg hunt!
E did pretty well on the pavement and surrounding areas. There were some eggs through the grass, and that proved too difficult. Granted, the grass was long...but I think even if it were freshly mowed, it would have been too difficult this year. The hardest parts were the edging by the mulch (little "dips" prove troublesome) and the fact that she was carrying a large object. Vivian, on the other hand, loved it--she ADORES being outside, and especially loves tumbling in the grass. Elena likes grass, but not the falling part. :)
Great job, girls!
Lots of Walking!
Here are some highlights from the past week. Elena has been walking up a storm!
Here is E on the playground. There's another, longer clip later in the evening where she falls, gets up, and makes it to her destination (all by herself) on The Doodle YouTube channel.
E walked to her PT appointment. From the car to the door of the therapy center, over (pretty flat) gravel.
And my favorite, E and Mommy at Mommy's work. We're testing out props for her Science Birthday Party. She named herself "Dr. Elena Handy Star Candy". And she walked over 300 feet (not in one stretch), stopping to rest (without holding on to the wall), and occasionally using the wall for support.
Here is E on the playground. There's another, longer clip later in the evening where she falls, gets up, and makes it to her destination (all by herself) on The Doodle YouTube channel.
E walked to her PT appointment. From the car to the door of the therapy center, over (pretty flat) gravel.
And my favorite, E and Mommy at Mommy's work. We're testing out props for her Science Birthday Party. She named herself "Dr. Elena Handy Star Candy". And she walked over 300 feet (not in one stretch), stopping to rest (without holding on to the wall), and occasionally using the wall for support.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Soccer: E's first day
E had her first day of what we call "soccer camp" last Saturday. I WAS NOT THERE. I was out of town.
The program is for 4-5 year olds, and put on by our local YMCA. Every time I enroll E in a class, I prepare the teachers/instructors well in advance for having someone like Elena. After all, most teachers have not experienced having a disabled child in their classroom. Hopefully, she and the other students will treat each other well and benefit from the exposure. This has been true for most of our experiences.
But, honestly...there are always moments of sadness. You see how different your child is from others. As E has gotten older and more able, we've had a better time dealing with this. The sad times are few, and normally the feelings are over quickly. E is doing so much more these days, it's hard not to be proud of her--even if she is the last one, or the one that needs a lot of help. I think other parents are proud of her too, even though they just met her!
Since I couldn't be at this session, Jason went. Our Helping Hand Cara was there too. I wasn't sure how much help E would need--turns out, she didn't need ANY--she didn't fall ONCE!! E tried all her "soccer moves" with her crutches. I am hoping by the end of "soccer camp" we might be able to do some of the drills without them--maybe. Coach M didn't spend a lot of time catering to Elena. I think that was good. After all, he had 19 other ~4 year olds to try to keep busy and attentive. I know he was watching her, though, and wondering how she would follow along.
Here is E warming up. The other kids were running around, jumping, doing runs as a group. Not only would that be exceedingly hard, E wasn't interested--instead she wanted to just kick the ball. Everyone seemed fine with that.
One of the other kids in the class is Julian; we met him in yoga class! He remembered E. How cute!
Here is Elena trying to keep up with the group. They are supposed to run across the field, get to their ball, and put their foot on it. Then dribble and stop repeatedly. Obviously E is slow, but she sort of kept up. She goes fast by taking large steps with her left leg, and smaller with her right. She does lean on her crutches A LOT on the field. Still, she never fell, and was out there for 45 minutes!! I think she will actually like this drill once she realizes she doesn't have to try to kick the ball as hard as she can EVERY time she kicks it.
Here's another drill, where the kids herd their ball into a net (facing the opposite direction). So, let me get this straight: there's running, dribbling, ball control, turning, and then going back to the group. A pretty tall order. Kids her age can do this, no sweat. Sure, she's slow. And she got frustrated when the ball didn't go the way she wanted. This clip highlights her differences. But...hey, it's not going away. It's REAL LIFE.
I'm not going to lie; I was out of town, worried to death this soccer experience would be a disaster. That E would be falling everywhere, upset, wanting to be like everyone else, crying her face off. She didn't. Jason said it was awesome. She LOVED IT.
That's all I could have hoped for. We can't wait for the next session!
The program is for 4-5 year olds, and put on by our local YMCA. Every time I enroll E in a class, I prepare the teachers/instructors well in advance for having someone like Elena. After all, most teachers have not experienced having a disabled child in their classroom. Hopefully, she and the other students will treat each other well and benefit from the exposure. This has been true for most of our experiences.
But, honestly...there are always moments of sadness. You see how different your child is from others. As E has gotten older and more able, we've had a better time dealing with this. The sad times are few, and normally the feelings are over quickly. E is doing so much more these days, it's hard not to be proud of her--even if she is the last one, or the one that needs a lot of help. I think other parents are proud of her too, even though they just met her!
Since I couldn't be at this session, Jason went. Our Helping Hand Cara was there too. I wasn't sure how much help E would need--turns out, she didn't need ANY--she didn't fall ONCE!! E tried all her "soccer moves" with her crutches. I am hoping by the end of "soccer camp" we might be able to do some of the drills without them--maybe. Coach M didn't spend a lot of time catering to Elena. I think that was good. After all, he had 19 other ~4 year olds to try to keep busy and attentive. I know he was watching her, though, and wondering how she would follow along.
Here is E warming up. The other kids were running around, jumping, doing runs as a group. Not only would that be exceedingly hard, E wasn't interested--instead she wanted to just kick the ball. Everyone seemed fine with that.
One of the other kids in the class is Julian; we met him in yoga class! He remembered E. How cute!
Here is Elena trying to keep up with the group. They are supposed to run across the field, get to their ball, and put their foot on it. Then dribble and stop repeatedly. Obviously E is slow, but she sort of kept up. She goes fast by taking large steps with her left leg, and smaller with her right. She does lean on her crutches A LOT on the field. Still, she never fell, and was out there for 45 minutes!! I think she will actually like this drill once she realizes she doesn't have to try to kick the ball as hard as she can EVERY time she kicks it.
Here's another drill, where the kids herd their ball into a net (facing the opposite direction). So, let me get this straight: there's running, dribbling, ball control, turning, and then going back to the group. A pretty tall order. Kids her age can do this, no sweat. Sure, she's slow. And she got frustrated when the ball didn't go the way she wanted. This clip highlights her differences. But...hey, it's not going away. It's REAL LIFE.
I'm not going to lie; I was out of town, worried to death this soccer experience would be a disaster. That E would be falling everywhere, upset, wanting to be like everyone else, crying her face off. She didn't. Jason said it was awesome. She LOVED IT.
That's all I could have hoped for. We can't wait for the next session!
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