First 90 Days

On July 1st Tommy will have been with us for 90 days.  In that relatively short time our family has changed quite a bit.  It's been nearly 11 years since we've had a new family member, and my memories of the time right after Morgan was born are a bit hazy.  But I imagine it was much like this.  Tommy and the rest of us are getting used to each other; our moods and personalities; our likes and dislikes; our habits and schedules.  It's a process, but overall it's going very well.  Since he joined us, we've watched Tommy adapt from an un-trusting stranger to an indispensable--and and mostly happy--part of our family.

We've settled in to a routine of sorts.  It's been fortunate for us that summer arrived not long after Tommy did.  So, the kids are all home from school and there's lots of together time throughout the day.  Tommy still wakes up very early, usually by 6:00; a hold-over from his schedule at the Care Center.  We have breakfast together most mornings; he likes Cheerios (what kid doesn't) and pancakes.  Fortunately, (as some of you know) we make pancakes from scratch every morning at our house.  Before the other kids get up, we usually have a chance to watch/listen to some of his favorite Ethiopian kids songs on Youtube.  He dances and sings, which is quite amazing since the neurologists told us he's missing the part of his brain that's typically associated with tempo and music appreciation.

He usually goes with Momma to the YMCA early in the day, and spends some time in child watch or in the gym, playing on the equipment.

We have therapy, both physical and occupational, a couple days a week with other doctor visits sprinkled in throughout the month. We're three weeks into a serial casting plan to help improve the function of Tommy's right leg and foot.  Each week, a new cast is put on in a way that stretches his tendons and muscles and moves his ankle and foot closer to the correct position for better balance and mobility. So far, it's worked great.  His first cast improved his range of motion by 30 degrees.  They told us an improvement of 7 or 8 degrees would have been good, so 30 is super!  The whole process is expected to take about 6 to 10 weeks.

We've begun the process of registering Tommy for school in the fall.  Our school district has an excellent program for kids who need PT, OT and speech therapy.  In our visits with the neurologist and therapists, they've diagnosed Tommy as having Cerebral Palsy, a result of an in utero stroke.  The CP diagnosis helps the hospital, doctors, insurance companies and school district to recognize that his condition requires some pretty extensive "work".  It helps distinguish him from other kids who may just need a little extra help in speech or mobility.  They tell us it will really matter when our insurance company reaches the limits they typically apply for therapy, then other resources become available to him via local organizations and the State.  In any case, the school is evaluating him for placement into this special program in the fall.  Preschool will be two or three days a week, and he can go to one of two close-by schools.  They'll provide his therapies there, so we won't have to take him all the way to the hospital.  That'll be a big help for Jen.  We've got appointments in August for a final determination, but it seems very likely they'll take him.

He's very smart.  We've watched in wonder as he figures things out; especially technology.  He knows how to turn on the TV, VCR and DVD players.  He's got taking pictures down to a science, whether it's with a cell phone, mobile game system, or a digital camera.  He understands the phone and skype, which we use a lot when I'm on the road, or to call Gramom and Grampop.  He knows what a computer is for, at least conceptually.  And he likes listening to the radio, or at least browsing the stations.  We've been practicing drawing circles and lines, and he's getting good at saying, although not yet distinguishing, colors.

We've been to the bus stop and back about a hundred times,

we've gone hiking and swimming, clothes shopping, rock collecting, ball playing and had a bunch of picnics.  It's been a great 3 months!