New Year, New Stuff!

Why is it that as you get older, time goes by faster? I just can't believe another year is gone. January 16th is going to be 3 yrs since Joey's accident and the beginning our our journey.

Here is a recap of our journey:

January 16th, 2007 - Joey decided to go swimming without any help. Well that didn't work out to well for him. He suffered an anoxic brain injury.

Feb-April. 2007 - Joey was just trying to recover from the accident himself. He was going to therapy and HBOT. Yet was still trying to wake from his brain damaged state he was in.

May-Dec. 2007 - Joey was now awake and aware of his surroundings. A lot of changes in his body happened this year. He also began to eat and drink orally. Therapy continued 6 days a week. Special needs equipment began showing up in our house.

By the end of 2007, Joey could hold his head up fairly well, get on hands and knees and hold that position for a few seconds, eat orally, smile and laugh hysterically.

2007 was a year of understanding, learning patience, and just trying to recover and find the path to move on.

Here is the video I made after the first year of our journey.

Then 2008 began. By this time it was all about research. Research this therapy and that therapy and learning what works best for Joey. He also turned 3 yrs old this year and a lot of changes happened in our lives.

Jan.-May 2008 - Therapy, therapy, therapy. Joey was also weened from all his medications and by April I was no longer using the feeding tube for food. He crawled for the first time in February and really began using his body a lot.

June 2008 - We moved to a new house (to hard to live in the house where the accident occurred). Also the therapy that Joey received 6 days a week ended. He now belonged to the school district.

July 2008 - Time to relax. We stopped most therapies this month and went on vacations. We were all drained from life.

Aug-Dec. 2008 - Pre-school starts, new therapies start and a lot more changes began. Joey was now drinking all liquids through mouth and has finally gained weight. He also began to talk. Really talk. He could say "I go", "I love You", "I'm good", "I'm cute", "Hi", and "Hello", and every once in awhile throw in a new word. His speech however was very difficult to understand, but those around Joey all the time understood.

2008 was year of therapies and major changes in Joey.

Make a Smilebox slideshow OK that brings us to 2009. 2009 was also another year of new therapies and wonderful changes. Jan.-July 2009 - Joey got very familiar with school. Made a lot of friends and a lot of art projects. He continued his PT, OT, ST, Vision therapy. He also did his Neuro Suit therapy and walked a lot in his gait trainer. He began Behavioral therapy and gained a lot of new skills from this. Joey also felt that in Jan. it was time for his feeding tube to come out. So he pulled it out. He began to eat much more and better ever since. Aug. 2009 - Joey traveled to China. We spent the whole month there and had a fantastic time. We met great people and had yummy food. Joey and I got to really bond with Grandma Marleen who went with us on the trip. Oh yeah and the stem cell therapy went great also. Right away we noticed his vision improving. He also gained 3 lbs in China. Sept.- Oct. 2009- Joey did another round of suit therapy and tomatis. He really began using his arms during this session. Nov. 2009 - Joey spent most of the month in Oceanside doing Sensory Learning therapy. This really improved his vision. Dec. 2009 - Joey had all his dr. appt's. Neurologist thought joey was doing great, Orthopedic says no scoliosis and hips are not dislocated, and Neuro Optometrist says Joey can see (however not perfect and uses his peripheral vision and right eye to do most of the seeing). We then spent the rest of the month with family celebrating the holidays.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Now onto 2010, twenty ten. WHOO HOO!

Joey is continuing with his therapy. We will do more Neuro Suit therapy and tomatis and Stem Cells (in Costa Rica this time), Sensory learning and new therapies I am researching. He will also start kindergarten this year.

I am hoping and praying for more improvements in 2010. My fingers are crossed.

May everyone have a very blessed, happy, healthy and safe 2010.