January 12, 2007

January 12, 2007 at 03:28 PM CST

Don't worry, Abby is ok!

Her brain is still holding up despite her broken shunt. Yea!

We're really updating the page for those of you who have asked to be kept up to speed on other aspects of Abby's life other than her immediate health. If you aren't one of these people, just click 'do not wish to receive email updates' when you sign into care pages. This way you won't get emails every time we update.

Abby is back in pre-K and attending 4 days a week now. This is an adjustment for me! I've actually been able to spend more than 10 minutes on a task with out being interrupted. I've been to Kroger twice this week with Josiah in the buggy (fun and easy!), and didn't come dragging home wondering what in the world I was thinking taking them both to the store! But all this said; I miss my girl.

Being at school 4 days instead of 2 will give her more opportunities to interact with her peers, for therapy sessions and for more consistency in her schedule. I can tell she is well stimulated b/c she comes home exhausted! She will also be starting feeding sessions at school soon. Hopefully practice makes perfect. She goes to feeding therapy at Huntsville Hospital every Monday which has been great. We finally have help with this after what seems like a long time of "winging it." Her therapist 'Melissa' consistently sees improvement with tongue movements and controlled swallows. I like to go just to hear "Abby is doing so good compared to some kids."

We have another IEP meeting with her teachers, principle and therapists on the 25th. To help us know how to advocate for her special needs we will also meet with Dr. Sanspree and the parent coordinator from AL Deafblind Project through UAB. They have met with us once before to discuss Abby's communication needs and our lack of knowledge about it! They are wonderful, caring, loving people who want to help maximize Abby's potential. We will be having what they call a "Future Planning" meeting to talk about Abby's past, her strengths, her weaknesses, her various needs and our goals for her future... short term and long term. Because they have extensive experience with Deafblind children their input is like Gold to us! They will help us tailor her education program to fit her needs like a glove. These people will also attend Abby's IEP meeting at school to help all of Abby's teachers and therapists understand how to work with a Deafblind child and how to encourage her to excel. Abby is the only Deafblind child in the school system right now.

The Future Planning meeting will take place at our house on Jan 16. Please pray for our family as we strive to help our little girl and learn about her world. We desperately want to be able to communicate with her better and understand her wants and fears.

We know God's plan for Abby is so much bigger than what we can grasp from where we stand. We are praying for a broader point of view... something close to what our Father sees. I'm sure that if He did let us look at the big picture we would be blown away and probably become wrought with fear and doubts. I guess it's best for our feeble brains if we just Trust Him and Obey.

Thanks for caring and for praying. We'll let you know how the meetings go.

TGIF!