Fighting Joey

I know it has been a few months since I have updated about Joey, so I am going to try and catch up now.


Joey has been doing fabulous in school. He has many friends and loves riding the school bus.  During his most recent IEP meeting, I have found out that he has met most of his goals, Whoo HOO! Next year he will begin 2nd grade,  he will have a new teacher, but same school. He just got a larger gait trainer and is getting another chair so he can sit with the kids at the desks in school. He has out grown his other ones.


Then most recently, Joey has lost his upper left tooth. That makes 3 teeth now. His bottom left permanent tooth is already growing in. My daughter says he looks like Shmolie from the movie "The Boy with the Stripped Pajamas". Guess I need to see the movie now.


Back in March Joey did another round of Botox and serial casting on his legs. Well the concern this time is that it didn't really work. He got new braces that don't have any, whatsoever, bend/give. He also got special night time braces to wear. So he is in his braces approximately 23 hrs a day. This seems to be working well. We are going to do another round of botox and casting in September with a higher dosage of botox and cross our fingers that it works, otherwise we discuss surgery. Yes, surgery the last resort. We will have the surgery discussion in January. So again, cross your fingers everyone that the braces and botox work.


Alright, that brings us to present time. We are having a change in Joey's therapy. His PT is moving on to bigger things, not better, just bigger. ha ha ha So with that, Joey gets put on a waiting list for a new PT. Who knows how long this will take. This also means no more Hippotherapy (horse riding), his PT was the one that did that with him and they do not have another PT that is qualified to do it with him. Good news is though that I have a friend that has 3 horses and she said we can put Joey on her Blue whenever we want. Also Joey begins speech therapy. We have been on the waiting list for speech therapy for 1 yr. He begins in June. We also head back to Arizona in June for more Movement Lessons with Michelle Turner. This therapy works amazingly with Joey. I just wish we could go more often. Then in August we go to San Diego area for 3 weeks for some intensive therapy session. He gets to work with one of his original occupational therapist, the best around. He will also attend summer school for 4 weeks. Yes, he is very busy.


And on to some every exciting news. I have signed Joey up for summer camp. The camp is for special needs kids only. It is run through a Jewish Foundation, so you have to be Jewish, yes we are Jewish. The camp cost us nothing. The kids go on a few field trips. Joey will get to go on a special helicopter ride. He also gets to go to Disneyland. Actually our whole family gets to go to Disneyland. The camp pays for a room for us and everything at Disneyland. The best part is this trip falls on Joey's Birthday. Yeahhhhhhh for Joey.

Heading out on a camping trip over Mother's Day weekend

Well that pretty much sums up Joey over the last couple months and his future plans.