Well 2013 started off with a BANG!

On January 25th Joey went in for tendon release surgery on several areas of is legs. The surgery went great. It took a little longer then originally stated (2hrs longer), but everything was great. The hard part was seeing this super happy boy laughing and smiling and talking up a storm before surgery to a little boy who is in pain and fussy after the surgery. Joey was casted from groin to toe.  He will be casted for 3 weeks in long casts then 3 more weeks in half casts. He has to lay flat and over a 3 week period slowly get him back to a sitting up position. We were then sent home on Sunday morning.

On our way home Sunday.

Chilling at home before the return to the hospital

Well the excitment then begins............we noticed a rash on Joey's body. We are aware that he has an allergy to meds, so we stop his meds. We were a bit to late. The rash got worse very very fast and the pain kicked in and we ended up in the emergency room and them addmitted back into the hospital. The rash progressively got worse in the hospital. They have him on a topical steriod cream and an oral antihistamine. So now we just wait it out. Still in the hospital, hopefully go home before Saturday.

First day of rash.

During Joey's adventure, back at home his great grandma was dying of cancer. Back in Novemeber she was diagnosed with cancer. Dr. gave her 6 months to a year, well she must have been in a hurry to see her hubby. Saturday morning she passed away. She was an amazing woman. Stronger then any other 90 year old I knew. Her memorial is this Saturday.

Joey and Buba

So between Joey and Grandma, Jeremy and I are working on little sleep. My nights have been spent in the hospital with Joey. We are both emotionally and physically drained. We are hoping that in the future we look back at this and laugh, ok probably NOT! However we know like everything else we encounter, we will conquer and over come.

We got a quick smile.

That is were we stand now. I will update once again in another week or so.

BYE BYE 2012.......HELLO 2013

And another year comes to and end.......we all became a year older. Joey turned 7 in June, Jessica is 15 and Jack is 12.

JOEY
Went from 1st grade to 2nd this year. He is working alot with switches in school and walks in his gait trainer all over the place. He loves the bus rides to and from school the best. He continues to improve in physical therapy. He also goes to Hippotherapy (horse back riding) and gets behavioral therapy. We took a few trips to Arizona for ABM therapy and started and stopped speech therapy.

Joey has decided that he DOES NOT like camping anymore. He rather stay home. So the dogs babysit while we go camping. He did however go to camp for the first time this year. He went all day and got to go on some great field trips. He also went surfing for the first time ever. He had a great time and ironically loves the water.

Joey has grown tremendously over this last year. He is approx. 50lbs now and 46in. He got new braces for his legs and new sporty glasses. We even had to expand his wheelchair. He also got a new gait trainer at school. He has been outgrowing his clothes before he has a chance to wear them all.

Like always, Joey is the happiest kid alive.

JACK
Had a great year with school. He started middle school this year and is in the 7th grade. He is doing very well in school. Jack had his best year of football yet. His team went to Las Vegas for the National Championships and won for the third year in a row. Talk about growing. Jack grew about 6 inches and is now just taller then me. He wears the same size shoe as his daddy now and he is only 12.

This summer Jack went to sleepaway camp for a week while the rest of us went to Lake Powel on a house boat (Joey stayed with babysitter). He had another incredible time. He also has been studying really hard for his upcoming Bar Mitzvah.

He is turning into such a young man, however I don't know that I'll survive the teenage years.

JESSICA
She started the 10th grade. Ended 9th grade with a 3.8gpa. She has a lot of AP, CP and Honors classes this year. In spring she played softball for her high school team, but injured her shoulder so didn't get to play more then a few games. After our summer lake trip she had surgery to repair her shoulder, no more softball for her.

She is growing up fast and started her first job at our Martial arts studio. She is a hard worker and doing great. Very typical teenage girl and loves to go shopping all the time and hangs out with her friends every chance she can get.

JEREMY and I
Just booking right along. During the summer we hosted a couple teenage girls from China and had a great time showing them around and learning about each other. We also took the kids to San Francisco to see the kids first NFL game. Had a great time. Trying to soak it all in before it passes us by to fast. We celebrated our 16 year anniversary and went on a few little trips. Like usual, we are working hard and enjoying life.

2013
As 2013 comes around, we already have a lot on our schedule.
On January 16, it will be 6 years post accident. Jack will ask many times what our life would be like if Joey didn't have his accident......I don't know. I can't even imagine it anymore. Our lives are very happy, just a bit more difficult to handle many days and takes more time to figure stuff out and yes there is a lot we can not do because of the limitations with Joey, BUT we do our best and have smiles on our faces. Everyone is HAPPY!
At the end of January, Joey will have surgery on his legs to realease his tendons. It will be rough going for a couple months. Joey will be casted from hip to toe for 6 weeks and will not be able to sit up in his wheelchair for awhile. He will regress slightly in his physical abilities, but with a lot of hard work he should bounce back fairly quickly.
Just as Joey's cast comes off, the family will be going on a cruise to relax from it all. Joey again will stay home with the babysitter, he prefers this.
Joey will be signed up for baseball and Jack will begin track and field again. Jack will also do some football conditioning to get him ready for the football season.
At the end of April Jack will have his Bar Mitzvah.........after 8 years of studying, he will be finished with religious school. We will have a big party to celebrate.
I am hoping that in June I will be able to take Joey for some intensive physical therapy to help recover from his surgery. Also head to Arizona for some more therapy.
Then in October Jessica turns 16 yrs old and will get her drivers licsense. OH MAN!

My hopes for 2013 is that Joey has a very sucessful surgery and recovers quickly. That he stays very healthy and happy. I hope the other kids continue to do well in school and have fun in their sports. I hope our business continues to grow and that Jeremy and I can not stress so much about life. I pray all my friends stay healthy and happy this year.