Update~

Well, Wednesday marked three years since the day Izzy had her near drowning accident. It was an ordinary day, I had a couple of caring friends call to see if I was handling the anniversary okay. I was. Izzy went to school this week and had the usual therapies, along with playing in lots of sand Wednesday... so much so that when Jane came over to help with her afternoon therapy, we couldn't figure out what was on the therapy table. It was sand. She had a bath after therapy! I think I heard on of her teacher assistants named Kathy mention they built a sandcastle. When I picked her up that day she had been outside swinging for a while and was really enjoying the nice weather. It has been beyond beautiful this week. Perfect for swinging outside! Thursday Camilla had planned to put Izzy on the tricycle. I told Iz all morning that she was going to ride the bike Thursday and she did! Niecie and Camilla both said that she helped push the little pedals and that she smiled and seemed to enjoy it even though they spent much of the time trying to keep her properly aligned on the bike. She is very tolerant of all the positioning we do with her. She is actually very tolerant of everything from positioning to accidental hair pulling. She does let us know when we have done something wrong though. She saw Heath Tuesday and Thursday, but was unable to see Bear on Monday. When we arrived in Edmond, Bear had been called away to work on someone who was hospitalized. So we ran a few errands and called to find out he was not back so we will go back this coming Monday. Izzy has been very vocal this week and really interactive with us. We know she is just getting better by the day. I hope to have pics to post eventually of her riding the bike, they did take pictures and I think they will email them to me when they can.

1 Peter 1: 6-7
In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Izzy's Story

Izzy was 21 months old. It was May 16, 2004, a Sunday evening. We had been to church (morning and evening) stopped at the store for a few things, came home to read the Sunday paper and watch Extreme Home Makeover... My son Bailey who was 10 at the time was going outside (the side deck which is away from the pool) to lift weights for fun. Izzy was his constant shadow and he called to tell me Izzy was with him... to which I replied, "okay, but watch her!" I have to pause here to say that Isabelle was terrified of the pool. She even hated taking baths. I had just put her in the pool with Matt a few days before this and she screamed so I took her out immediately. I guess my point is she was afraid of the water and I felt like she would never get into it alone. I was wrong. Isabelle wondered away in a blink and got into the pool. I have replayed this a million times in my mind, the what if's ... what if I had said, "no, she needs to stay in the house." what if I would have glanced outside and noticed she was headed in the direction of the pool... etc. What did happen was I had a weird thought, "isabelle... pool" came into my mind which was odd for the reasons I stated. Amanda was walking by and I asked her to make sure Izzy was still with Bailey (just to be sure), she came right back and said, "Bailey is still on the deck." What about Isabelle? She went back out and before I could get there I heard screaming. Bailey pulled Izzy out of the pool and held her upside down. Matt came second and started giving her breaths. What seemed like hours was only a few seconds and the image I saw was a lifeless blue baby. It was the worst thing I have ever seen in my life and I prayed for a year for God to take that image out of my mind. I still get shaky thinking about it. I called 911, and took over cpr while Matt talked to the person on the phone until the ambulance arrived. I did cpr until a emt took her from my arms. After that I laid on the ground begging God to spare my baby. They worked on her for about 20 minutes in the ambulance. I wasn't allowed near. I sat with the kids and we prayed for her ... We were finally told they were heading to the ER. When we followed, we didn't know walking in whether or not she was alive. We went into the family room and were told they had gotten a pulse but were still working on her. Before five minutes passed there were so many people there we had filled the family room and the hall of the er. They then took her to the Children's Hospital by medivac. We followed again and were told that Izzy would probably not survive the night. The rest of the story would take a week to write, but she is alive... it will be three years in May! She is healthy and making progress and we have learned so much about our faith and about God. We believe that she will be completely restored.

A while after her accident I joined an online support group for parent's of near drownings. I have come to learn that this happens far too often especially to children around 2 years old. I feel compelled to plead you to treat any open water as if it were a loaded gun. It is so dangerous for toddlers because they don't have the rational to know the danger involved and it happens so quickly. I have read parents stories of babysitters, grandparents, birthday parties, koi ponds, retention ponds, it happens everywhere in every way! You cannot be too careful.


Here are a few statistics...

• In 2000, there were 3,482 unintentional drownings inthe United States, an average of nine people per day.(U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)



• It is estimated that for each drowning death, there are 1 to 4 nonfatal submersions serious enough to result in hospitalization. Children who still require cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) at the time they arrive at the emergency department have a poor prognosis, with at least half of survivors suffering significant neurologic impairment. (American Academy of Pediatrics)



• Drowning is the second-leading cause of injury-related death among children under the age of 15. (U.S.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)



• 19% of drowning deaths involving children occur in public pools with
  certified lifeguards present.(Drowning Prevention Foundation)

• A swimming pool is 14 times more likely than a motor vehicle to be involved
  in the death of a child age 4 and under. (Orange County California Fire
  Authority)



• Children under five and adolescents between the ages of 15-24 have the highest drowning rates. (U.S.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
  


• An estimated 5,000 children ages 14 and under are hospitalized due to
  unintentional drowning-related incidents each year; 15 percent die in the hospital and as many as 20 percent suffer severe, permanent neurological disability. (National Safety Council)Of all preschoolers who drown, 70 percent are in the care of one or both parents at the time of the drowning and 75 percent are missing from sight for five minutes or less. (Orange County, CA, Fire Authority)

• The majority of children who survive (92 percent) are discovered within two minutes following submersion,and most children who die (86 percent) are found after10 minutes. Nearly all who require cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) die or are left with severe braininjury. (National Safe Kids Campaign)
  

little update...

Izzy had a great day at school today. When we were driving to school I said to her, "Izzy, you will be walking with Camilla today, I want to hear that you inititiated steps when I pick you up. And by initiating steps I mean you move your own feet when Camilla says to take a step." She vocalized something back.
When I went to pick her up Camilla met me in the hall and said that she initiated more steps today than ever before and did very well in the walkable. She even stayed in extra time because she was smiling and enjoying the walk.
Isn't God good?

Izzy update~

I haven't updated in a while, things continue to move along at a pretty fast pace.
We took Izzy to Bear again this Monday. He is really getting attached to her quickly. He told her she was his favorite client and that he looks forward to seeing her all week. He then offered to babysit with his wife anytime, he had me until he mentioned they had a really big dog (220 pounds!). He is sweet and I think the techniques he uses on her are really helping to relax her muscles.
She fell asleep Wednesday in school while standing in the stander with her foot splints on! They said they heard her snoring... so they took her out. She came home and slept for an hour after lunch too. Today she had a really busy day at school, OT, PT, and ST. After school she had her appointment with Heath (chiropractor).
Therapy continues to go well, she is tolerating the new program better and better. The assisted crawl is also going really well. She pushes along the 20 ft. each time and is beginning to use her arms to pull herself as well.
I think I mentioned that we had her IEP at school, planning for next year. They have decided that she understands so much that they want her to have more input. They are going to start her day in the normal pre-k class each day. She will go in the afternoons. I'm pretty excited about this! The group that works with her are truly a God send. I know that they all love her very much and want to see her do well. I appreciate their love and care so much.
Amanda, Bailey, and Emelia are great helpers with Izzy's therapy. Any of the three can step in to take a spot in her program and do it as well as any adult.
Amanda was inducted into the national honor society Tuesday evening. She will now begin to clock in community volunteer hours. The mission trip she is taking to Montreal will count and so will her hours she helps doing therapy. We're very proud of her!
Isabelle continues to be so healthy and strong. We're very thankful for that and for everyone who prays for her!

Pictures of the kids~

CranioSacral Therapy, Myofascial therapy, Rolfing... OH MY!

Well, I thought I would write a quick post about Izzy's appointment today. We met Michael the therapist (aka Bear?)... he was very nice, gentle, kind ... He had an interesting approach. I was sitting in his waiting area on the sofa and he came out and sat beside me. He asked if Izzy would mind if he held her? I told him I didn't think she would mind. He began rubbing her neck and head (I guess this was the craniosacral part of the therapy.) He talked to us (Matt met us there too) while he worked on her at least an hour. He worked on her hips, her spine, her feet... all the time telling us where and how to do these same things. He showed me with his hands pressure points and how to apply firm but gentle pressure. I liked him. About half way through the session I could tell he had caught the Izzy bug. It doesn't take long for anyone who spends any time with her to fall for her - completely :) and he did. He said he would work with her weekly. Before we left I asked him about the fees for his services to which he replied, "I will not accept payment for working with Izzy. This is the reason I love what I do and I love working with her." He teared up, Matt teared up, of course I teared up ... Anyway, he said I could bake him a pie or something but he could not accept payment for his sessions with Izzy. What a blessing! Everything we do is thousands of dollars so I was more surprised than anything at first. I left feeling very peaceful about our experience and know that "bear" will be great for Izzy! Tonight Matt did some of the techniques for relaxation on Izzy after her supper, she fell asleep in his lap (very unusual). It worked... She doesn't seem to be sick, just a little sniffly. Thanks for your prayers today, I know they blessed our socks off.

Izzy update...

The botox injections went fine. The doctor gave us his opinion about Izzy's hip x-ray. He would like to refer us to a orthopedic surgeon for a tendon release procedure. After a family meeting that ended with a chain prayer, we have decided to wait. We will do exercises with Iz for the next couple of months and ask everyone to join us in prayer specifically for Izzy's hips. After a couple of months we will have x-rays taken again to decide if we should take more drastic measures. We only want the best for our sweet Isabelle. She is a precious child and we all love her more than words can describe.

I took Iz to the dds for a follow up and he was very pleased! HE gave her a thumbs up A+ on her mouth healing. We will go back in 6 months.

Izzy went to school today and did two rounds of therapy yesterday. She did a great job! I can already see the beginning of the botox results. She will begin serial casting on her feet in a week or so. This will last about 4 weeks. We will all need prayers during these four weeks.

We depend on the Lord alone to save us. Only he can help us, protecting us like a shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we are trusting in his holy name. Let your unfailing love surround us Lord, for our hope is in you alone. Psalms 33:20-22

~Some pics from this weekend~

We went to the make a wish Easter egg hunt Saturday...
Izzy is holding onto her basket with 5 eggs. She didn't hold on to it until I helped her find and put 5 pink and purple eggs inside. All of the sudden she really wanted it close to her!
Here is Emelia & Izzy posing with the Easter bunny.

Izzy & me.

Izzy & Emelia with the big eggs (they were just decorations).

If you get a chance, say a little prayer for Izzy. She will be having botox injections Monday morning.

Izzy's New Smile~

Thanks...

Your prayers meant a lot and Isabelle is recovering very well from her dental procedures. I don't know that I would bounce back as quickly as she appears to be after 3 removals and 16 root canals ...

Yesterday she seemed almost completely back to normal. We are planning to bump up her program this week so hopefully her time off gave her enough rest for the week to come.

I plan to get a toothless pic of her asap, when I do I will post it.

Matt and I were talking this morning again about how healthy Isabelle is. She is just such a little fighter, strong & healthy! We are blessed.

"Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you. He will never let the righteous fall." Psalm 55:22

It's Over...

Whew... what a day. I am so glad that is behind us, particularly Iz.

We arrived at Deaconess Hospital early this morning and they took Izzy in the room to prepare her for the surgery about 9:00 a.m. They were so sweet to her, they put a warmed blanket on her and gave her a pink bunny puppet. She acted very calm and relaxed as they wheeled her to the surgery room. The dentist was very sweet and let us know as soon as he was finished.

The worst part of the day was coming into the recovery area to see her afterwards. She was crying so much it was heartbreaking. Her little mouth was so swollen and her eyes were as well. She was scared and coming out of the anesthesia. I finally maneuvered around the IV and monitors to hold her and after an hour of crying she was finally ready to head home. We put her Dora DVD on for the ride home and she was pretty calm.

I waited about an hour to try to feed her anything and she was hungry. Her little mouth looks so odd to me now, without her front teeth. She looks like a snaggletooth, it will be cuter when the swelling goes down. Of course she is always precious and beautiful to me... with or without swelling :) .

This is the pic Matt took on the way home with my

phone camera.

Kind of blurry but you get the idea...

Thanks to everyone who prayed for her. One comment the dentist said was how amazingly she did with the whole thing and that he could tell she was incredibly healthy. She is. I praise God daily for her good health. She is on a very nutritional diet too, along with JuicePlus nutritional products. She is the healthiest of all our children.

Izzy Update ~

Just thought I would write a quick update on Isabelle tonight...

This is Spring break and I think Izzy is really glad to get the break. She did really good last week in the walkable with Camilla. Kathy said she initiated some steps and that she held her head up nicely. She also spent circle time with "her boys" in the stander. Barbara commented that she seemed to really enjoy being able to see everything going on.

Isabelle shows us interesting things every day. She is quite a girl!

Thursday Izzy will be having her dental procedure. She will be having three teeth pulled in the front, and then all of her teeth will have baby root canals and caps. The front two will have white, the others will be silver. We have been waiting so long to get this done and I am just ready to have it behind us. She will be anesthetized. We are supposed to arrive at Deaconess Hospital at 6:30 a.m., they will prep her and probably begin by 10 a.m., The dentist, Jerome Miller, said it would take him a little more than an hour. They will keep her for observation for a couple of hours afterwards also, that will probably be until 2 p.m. Please pray that everything goes really well for Izzy and for her comfort and safety. It is difficult to imagine taking her to a hospital. We had so many sad times at hospitals in the beginning of this journey, but we now know that our sad days are over and it's time for many happy days. Thanks for your prayers (in advance!)

"If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you." John 15:7

March 13, 2007

Isabelle is doing really great. She continues to do better and better with the assisted crawl. I think there is some confusion about what exactly that is so I thought I would describe this exercise. We begin with cross patterning which takes three people. One person at each side moving the arms and legs alternately and then a person turning her head. After 5 minutes of cross patterning she does about 20 ft. of assisted crawling in which she is put on her tummy and we raise one arm above her head and bend the opposite leg, we then instruct her to push with her leg. Each push we alternate sides. She pushes every time we tell her too. Me and Bailey were doing this last night and telling her that soon she would be crawling into his room getting into his stuff (neither of them can wait!). We got her stroller fitting finished and I don't know how long it will take but I am very excited to have a lighter weight stroller.

This is the stroller we have chosen (with Camilla, p.t.'s help :) ...

Izzy's will be raspberry colored.

Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive [them], and ye shall have [them]. Mark 11:24

Izzy's Tuesday...

Just thought I would write a quick update on Izzy's day at school...

Niecie was very excited today when I picked Isabelle up today. She was doing her vision and instructing her to look at the right side but the object was on the left side. Isabelle kept looking at the right side and Niecie finally said, "Isabelle, you have to do this!" and then realized she was telling her the wrong side. She apologized and then told her to look at the left side and Izzy did and then looked to the right when asked. Niecie said that she gave her a "finally you get it" look! Niecie was excited and sees too the ability and intelligence of Izzy!

She just keeps on showing us how smart she is which is so exciting.

She did great again last night on the assisted crawl. I think she gets better every day at it.

Thanks for keeping those prayers going up for Izzy! God is listening and answering with a "YES! and AMEN."

But as God is faithful, our word to you was not Yes and No. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us--by me, Silvanus, and Timothy--was not Yes and No, but in Him was Yes. For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us. II Corinthians 1:18-20

Wordless Wednesday...

Yes, there is pink in Amanda's hair!!!

Izzy Update...

Saturday...
Matt & dad worked on the swing. It is basically a piece of wood 3'X4' that hangs from the ceiling. She swings 4 minutes during each session of therapy. She seems to really relax so she has been swinging a lot this week. (Please remember when looking at this photo of the therapy room that we had been out of town several days and were working on all these new pieces of equipment :)

This is the inside of the hyperbaric chamber (hbot - hyperbaric oxygen therapy). We 'dive' at 1.5 atmospheres of pressure breathing 100% oxygen!

We also were trying to make "rolling" more fun so we basically

raised up one end of Izzy's queen sized mattress so that she can roll down the bed. We just put it down at bedtime...

Here is a picture of her after rolling down! She does actually enjoy it.

There have been several exciting things happen since we have been doing therapy so I wanted to update before I forget everything...

Sunday...

We were talking about Izzy doing so well identifying the cvs cards we use while masking for the Australians. (the cvs cards are basically 11X11 sheets of white paper with specific pictures of different things. When we do masking (60 sec.) we show her 10 cards 1 at a time and only say the name of the object. We rotate the 160 cards, using 10 per week. Matt was saying we should do cards to do colors and I thought she probably already knew colors... so we decided to find out. We got some toys that were bright colors and just held up two and said, "Izzy, look at the red toy." She got them all right! So, question answered... she knows her colors!

Later we did our first round of her new programme. She cried a lot but still did great on the assisted crawling.

Monday...

We went to hippo therapy. Izzy rode Doc. She did great and sat up well. She was so tired by the time we finished! It was fun for her and she enjoyed seeing the horses.

We did another round of the programme and she seemed so much happier about it this time. She did 20 ft. of assisted crawling so well. We were very impressed. She also did her new exercise called sit ups well and held her head good. She leaned for kisses when prompted.

Today...

Finally went to the dds to schedule her dental work ... YEAH!

The dentist was very nice and is making calls to get her procedure scheduled. It will probably be about two weeks from Thursday.

When we were in the waiting room I had her new baby Mozart toy that says colors in three languages...along with music. We kept pushing yellow and I would say, "say yellow." Matt says that she said yellow three times and then when we pushed red and I told her to say red she wouldn't...

Tonight we did her programme and she did well again, she was so tired tonight she kept trying to fall asleep. She did great again on the assisted crawling and even pulled her leg up herself this time which was new! She then put her little hiney in the air like babies do when they are trying to crawl... also new! This is all so encouraging!

Please keep praying! She is doing so great.

Love, Annie

"We wait in hope for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you." Psalms 33:20-22

AIAHP Re-assessment...

Well, we are home from Ponca City. We had a nice visit with the Morris family, with Chad & Tim, and also met the family from India.

Deepa and Sumatra brought their autistic son Rik to be reassessed by AIAHP also. They were very nice people and it was interesting to learn a little about their culture.

We got four hbot dives in while there, Matt learned to run the chamber so it was pretty convenient. I am hoping he will zip down with me more often to help out with the chamber.

Okay, on with the assessment. I am looking at the progress report we were given...

Under staff's opinion it reads: With 5 profile changes and 18 functional changes, it is our opinion that Izzy has made "very good" progress. A functional change is progress but doesn't move you up on the actual scale. A profile change is a move up the ladder on the sheet with what levels Izzy is at. There may be many functional changes before getting a profile change.

A few highlights of the assessment was when put on the floor to simulate a slide (to be done as assisted crawling after cross patterning) Izzy pushed off Chad's thumb with her leg each time. She also pulled with her arm. Chad was skeptical, thinking maybe she was using tone, until Izzy cried and stopped pushing. When we told her to push again, she did. I think she really surprised both Chad and Tim on that one. Later before we left, Chad was looking at our CVS cards. He said, "do you think Izzy knows the pictures?" We think so. So he showed her two and then held both up saying "Izzy, look at the plant (or elephant, or dice, or ...)." She did five of six times. The time she didn't she just looked irritated with their little game. She looked directly and instantly at the one called out and even appeared to almost point at it. They were really excited. Me & Matt were tired and ready to go home, I think the thought we should have shown more excitement (I was excited on the inside).

We were given a new programme to do. It will take a little bit of time to get things needed to do this new programme. Also we are going to have to somehow recruit new and more volunteers as the cross patterning takes three people & they would like it to be done many times a day. I think if you asked how I felt about it, I would say positive but a bit overwhelmed. I think it is awesome that she has even shown Chad and Tim her tenacity. She is definitely a fighter and they both said that is something about her that makes her such a good candidate for recovery. They said they loved that she is a little fighter.

We know that God is Isabelle's healer. We believe that God is healing Isabelle. We are simply preparing the field. We are ready for a big crop!!!!

Thanks for the prayers & love. If you happen to live close and want to devote 30-60 minutes a week to help exercise Izzy (very simple, no experience or talent in this area needed) please contact us!

Love you all.

Lots of things happing for Izzy ...

There are a lot of things going on this week for Izzy.

We have our assessment in Ponca with the guys from Australia. I'm excited to see how she does, I know she has made improvements so I look forward to seeing how the programme is changed up...

Izzy was approved for tefra so next week we see a new dentist to start getting her teeth issue resolved (yea).

Izzy recieved a letter from make a wish this last week.

Please keep Izzy in your prayers. I know that God is in control and I must simply be still... a little tough when there is so much to do :)

Love to all!

Annie

We built a wood stander that has an adjustable incline so that we can Izzy can stand on her hip joints and feet more. It seems to be working well and she is tolerating it well. When Dr. Wright wrote the Rx for hip x-rays I called Izzy's pediatrician's office and was surprised to be connected to Dr. Beard. She said she would make the appointments for the x-ray etc. They later said that the specific xray requested needed to be done at the hospital so we will go there to make the appointment. I don't think her hip is compromised, but will have the xray done before the botox appointment as requested. I talked to the chiropractor that Izzy's visits on Tuesdays & Thursdays about her back and posture. Just discussing it made me realize that her posture has weakened since we started AIAHP which is when we stopped working on sitting up because it is their belief that sitting up leads to sitting up and the child should be prone on the floor as much as possible. Heath suggested that by not sitting up and utilizing those large muscles in the back they could become weak, so we are doing more sitting exercises to strengthen those muscles. Izzy went to school this week, she is such a healthy girl. It is wonderful that she remains so well. Today was her Valentine's party. She has 9 boys in her class now... she's the only girl. I made little shovels for each boy. I posted a pic on the other blog. Anyway, they turned out cute and she seemed to enjoy the party. After lunch today I showed her each valentine and read them to her. I love Valentine's Day!

Last night Matt was surprised with a call from Thurman Scrivner himself... They talked for a while and then Thurman prayed with Matt. It was a lift.

I have mentioned the ongoing quest for tefra... I thought we were at the end of the approval process. We were told to expect a call from a nurse for a home visit. She called, and came... but I was told it was still part of the qualification process. Hopefully this will be done quickly so we can finally get Izzy's teeth fixed. I am having thoughts that I should have just had them fixed and dealt with it but the more time I invest in this tefra business, knowing she qualifies (it is based soley on her income, not ours) I am more determined to see this through.

I guess there is not really any BIG news to report for this week... I just wanted to let you know that Izzy is well and that she is continuing to improve. Please keep praying & believing!