Thursday, December 27, 2012

Quick recap

So I know it's been far too long since I have updated. It's mostly due to lack of time. So I am forcing myself to sit here and do it!

The last update was just before we went on our second trip to Philadelphia. 

So now that was almost a month ago now. Realizing that I feel pretty bad for not updating. 

It went really good! It was just me and Anabelle for this trip. We also used Hosts for Hospitals (H4H) for the first time too. All in all, it was a good trip. The family we stayed with was sweet beyond words. They opened their entire house to us. The casts were removed. And legs and ankles look amazing. 


The top picture is before, then after is on bottom! Oh, and see how chunky her lil thighs are now too! 

So casts came off, then we went to make sure her braces still fit. We tried out the AFO's and KAFO's. The AFO's just needed to be made a little wider for her new chunk. The KAFO's needed a lot of reworking. She grew about an inch on one leg, and almost an inch on the other leg. And they also needed to be made a bit wider. They had to mail them to us since their metal worker already left and it was the weekend. Below is a picture of what a KAFO looks like. Ana's looks pretty similar, and even has a butterfly pattern!




So our appointment was December 7th. It's the 27th now. And still no KAFO's. Thanks to lovely UPS. They said we refused the package. Right... So they are on their way back to Philly, then back to us. As long as we get them eventually...

We are going to go back in March for a week. A week of intensive therapy. That means daily therapy geared to help her focus on ... wait for it ... WALKING! So our goal until then is to get her to sit unassisted. Over the past few weeks she is getting a lot better at holding her head by herself. I think it is do-able! 

The flight back Anabelle must have caught another bug. She has been sick on and off since then. We started her on Albuterol for the congestion, coughing, and ickyness. We also did another sleep study. We will get the results on the 7th. Really hoping for good results. We also saw her pulmonologist. He recommended doing a bronchoscopy when she is fully over all this ickyness. 


She is getting use to her AFO's. They are keeping her ankles straight. 

Another awesome note. Her GI said that she is getting too big! Well, to quickly at least. So we get to cut down from continuous 24 hours feedings to 18 hours a day. Last weigh in she weighed 15 pounds 10 oz!! CHUNKY! That's almost 11 pounds since she was born. Amazing. 


And she is talking up a storm. She says 'Da da da da da', and 'Ya ya ya ya'. She's become a lot more social too. As long as she has sleep in her. And she is sleeping better most nights, as long as she is feeling good. 

It seems like the appointments are slowly dwindling. I remember when we had 20+ appointments a month, and AMC families told me that it gets easier after a year, and appointments will slow down. I didn't believe it when they said it, but it's slowly starting to! 


Oh, and we had a wonderful Christmas! Ana didn't cry when she meet Santa! 


I can't believe we are creeping up on a year already. Just a few more months. I know time flies with kids, but it seems like this last year has gone by much quicker than normal. Luckily even though it is going fast, it is getting better and better. 

Just so thankful for my beautiful family. And everyone for the support. We couldn't have made it this far without it. 

Thank you!!

With love, 
The Polks