Yes we are still here!

Well, I thought I would be able to keep up on this blog, but I am not doing a very good job. Alicia and I have both talked to many families that are going to be trying stem cells for their children. I am passing along a website for a friend of mine, if you are interested in another family's story. Their son's name is Micah and his website is http://www.milesformicah.com/. Please visit and share their story.

On the Dominic front, we are going to pick him up in a little over an hour. He has been away on his first overnight trip. The 5th grade class went to High Trails in Florissant, CO. They spend 2 nights and 3 days there. We have not had any calls, so we are assuming all is well. I can't wait to see how he liked it. I know I can line up some week long camps, if he is up for it.

He is keeping up his core strength and this is really helping him drive his wheelchair. He is going at a faster speed now and can cruise through doorways like nobody's business. He amazes me everyday. The reading piece is coming along nicely. He is so excited about it that the motivation makes him want to did it all the time. It is sooooo exciting!!!

Dominic will be transitioning to middle school in the fall. We can't wait. This has been a rough school year for him and we are not sure exactly what has gone wrong, but we are very happy with the team that will be greeting him at Campus Middle School.

We have joined the pool and swimming season will be starting shortly. So, if you like to swim, come along and have some fun.

THINGS ARE GOING WELL!

It has been awhile since I have posted and I apologize. Things are going well for Dominic at school and on the progress fronts. Dominic's school Physical Therapist ran tests before we left for Germany and when we got back. She said that he has improved in strength and in muscle tone. The muscle tone improvements are important since his tone is so strong that it prohibits him from doing things. So, if we can get it to start relaxing, things could start to happen for him in the small motor groups (fingers, hands, etc).

We are going to see an eye specialist in a couple of weeks and maybe start some eye therapy. Dominic is reading words off of his computer when his aid puts them up. Previously, the letters would jumble up on him and he could not see them.

So, it is small things that are huge to us. His birthday is coming up on the 29th and I need to plan a party. Always something. Hope everyone is doing well and I will try to stay a little more up to date on this blog.

Two weeks of school down

Dominic has finished two weeks of school and things have gone well. We have not seen any new developments. He says he feels more relaxed and better. We are continuing to work on strengthening exercises and he likes to "walk" within the house. We hold him under his arms and he takes steps. He has always done this, but his steps are much better and he can go a lot longer. We are still trying to figure out the vision piece, but he says it is easier to focus. I guess time will tell.

Off to school

Dominic returned to school today and was very excited to be there. It will be interesting to see if people notice any differences in him. We have been told that he seems more relaxed, that he is following things better and that they can understand him better. We are hopeful that things might be changing, but it has been less than 2 weeks and we are watching and waiting.

We have been to meetings and social outings at the school and pool since we have been home. It is nice to be back and having fun. Dominic is fully back on Colorado time, but not so sure about school time. It will be interesting to see how he feels at 2:30 this afternoon when I pick him up.

We will try to keep up on posting his progress. Thank you to everyone for your interest and support.

Good to be home!

We made it home yesterday around 5:30 p.m. We had a wonderful crowd waiting for us at the airport -- the Spiers, the Freeds and Mrs. Johnson-Smith were there to greet us and the Ojemann family was recruited and they came in from somewhere. It feels great to be home, but we are all exhausted. Dominic woke up around 5:00 and asked "what time is it in Germany?" I told him that it was around 1:00 in the afternoon and he said that is probably why he couldn't sleep. (He started to wake up around 3:00 in the morning).

He has been feeling pretty good. He threw up when we landed both times yesterday. I was afraid that the side effects were kicking in, but he promised me it was just the landings. We had turbulence for over 2 hours before we landed in Dallas and I think the 1st officer was practicing his landings as well because it was a very rough one.

We took Grandpops (aka the dogsitter extraordinaire) to the airport today so he could return to his dogs and wife after 2 weeks. The dogs are sad to see him go since they know they won't get as many walks. We are extremely grateful to him for taking such good care of the girls and our home while we were gone. On a side note, his bag was delayed on his flight home and United gave him $150. Not bad.

Dominic is readjusting to being home. He says he feels good and that he thinks his eyes are working better. His hands seem much more relaxed. They are not fisted as much as they were. I am sure we are looking at every little thing, but we are hopeful we will see some changes soon. We will continue to keep everyone updated on the progress. He has his last week of summer to enjoy and then school starts on the 24th. Another busy time.

Chillin in Dusseldorf

We are spending a relaxing day around the hotel. We are going to venture out to the shopping area via train shortly. Dominic's back is very sore, but Motrin helps alot. He can have more within the hour and then we will leave the hotel. He is making a shopping list. Dunkin Donuts may be on it.

He slept well last night except for his father's snoring. He was laughing and telling him to roll over from about 4 to 6 a.m. Maybe we could get stem cells for daddy's nose.

Dominic woke up sore, but feeling good otherwise. Ben's family e-mailed this morning (he is from Wisconsin) and he started throwing up and feeling bad before bed last night. The clinic was sending more medication over for them as they had run out. We are hoping to avoid this all together.

It is almost 3 in the afternoon and won't be out long. Hope everyone has a great day. We'll let you know how he does after being out for awhile.

Oops

Due to user difficulty the last two posts are very similar. I'm still learning.