tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38621101128552908262024-03-14T03:58:15.539-07:00The Skinner SistersMy Life Raising Two Sweet Sisters!kmskinnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03801112911213041989noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862110112855290826.post-19161650508305430052011-12-18T14:59:00.000-08:002011-12-18T14:59:36.281-08:00Hello...Anyone there?<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We’re still here!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can hardly believe I remembered my password to logon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would love to say that my lack of updates is because I’ve been sitting around being lazy and taking long naps but that is hardly the case.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ve been enjoying life and busy as usual.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Obviously, I have a lot to cover and if I tried to touch on everything that has happened I would miss Christmas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, I decided to make a list about Madie and I will elaborate on a few important accomplishments Madie has achieved. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Madie…</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Is sitting up REALLY well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We still can’t just sit her down wherever whenever but she can sit unsupported for longer amounts of time and if we put a Boppy pillow behind her she is good to go for a while.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Has a new ball pit, which helps her work on sitting up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thanks pinterest for the idea!</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicjq_c54Bz0ax5LkIqnomxaw5U1CwClW9b7Lg9Q5eBGdIx0zRyvTneYZJuw9XdM3FDdQsghGVAEvToCYbtJab4lz_8CAbLLZ1u4k03Bzsgp8R-FUDDf4gxke6Uvi7SKUNGj9ZZFNhZ5EI/s1600/ball+pit.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicjq_c54Bz0ax5LkIqnomxaw5U1CwClW9b7Lg9Q5eBGdIx0zRyvTneYZJuw9XdM3FDdQsghGVAEvToCYbtJab4lz_8CAbLLZ1u4k03Bzsgp8R-FUDDf4gxke6Uvi7SKUNGj9ZZFNhZ5EI/s1600/ball+pit.JPG" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Is eating 3 meals a day but still gets some of her daily nutrition through her g-tube. </span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Loves to eat cheerios and yogurt melts AND can pick them up all by herself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She also likes to share her cheerios with those she loves the most, including our dog Milly who will whine if Madie isn’t dropping what she deems an appropriate amount.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Likes to brush her hair all by herself, although she only really gets the front part.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She also thinks its grand if you let her brush your hair!</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Enjoys wiping her own face and will do so for 15 minutes but still would rather no one else do it.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Gives the best hugs and they sometimes include sweet little pats on the back.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Gives a lot of sweet kisses.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Has started helping us get her dressed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She will push her arm in and will pull it out when putting on or taking off her shirt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She will try to pull her jacket off when she doesn’t want it on and if she doesn’t want to wear a hat believe me when I say she won’t even give you an opportunity to put it on!</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Loves music and dancing.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Has a ridiculous amount of love for The Fresh Beat Band and Yo Gabba Gabba.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Enjoys her standing frame a lot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the beginning getting her in for 30 minutes at a time was tough and now she’ll stay in there for over an hour.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It helps strengthen her legs and allows her to do fun things with Molly Michael, like play-doh!</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8VLCKMfQolc4h_ZYcixV0WUYCI2QC9DAcL9AijJxjVDDViU6xBZa38wJYlvENglrjjJ8q_RpfTzw3TNtNLtH0EtMLne6q2TYw45aKybM6NutfK2MIiSAWbok1sHhmO-KwWFHsMMi-OuA/s1600/photo1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8VLCKMfQolc4h_ZYcixV0WUYCI2QC9DAcL9AijJxjVDDViU6xBZa38wJYlvENglrjjJ8q_RpfTzw3TNtNLtH0EtMLne6q2TYw45aKybM6NutfK2MIiSAWbok1sHhmO-KwWFHsMMi-OuA/s1600/photo1.JPG" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Since her legs have gotten stronger she seems to be enjoying her gait trainer more. </span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Has learned to “put in”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In OT one of the goals her therapist has worked on for some time is to put toys, balls, blocks etc. in a bucket or shape sorter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Madie has always been a big fan of taking out but never wanted to put in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>FINALLY she enjoys putting in.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Can clean up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since she has learned to “put in” she will also put her toys away when you ask her to…sometimes, after all, she is still very much a two year old.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Loves reading books.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m pretty sure she would have no problem sitting in anyone’s lap reading books all day, every day.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Doesn’t want Molly Michael touching a toy or book if she is playing with it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It cracks me<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>up to see Madie act like any other toddler.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we are reading a book together and Molly Michael tries to even turn the page, Madie will scream and grab the book and try her hardest to close the book enough that Molly Michael can’t see the pages.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Silly girl.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Got a new Tricycle thanks to the </span><a href="http://www.longviewambucs.com/amtryke.html"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Longview Ambucs</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Click on the link and read more about this amazing organization.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Madie is so very proud of herself every time she gets on her tricycle and the smile on her face lets you know how happy she is!</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyvEJjdOtKSM1fRraxSSz2QXoPqRArKwo0b1Yd9URiDbCg81235eGCN0-usiXxClQ-NNkLCcIhkklz3XsTR9Zc9lnIEE70pnXERPhs2rFJbXLYRPevq7lktygUYD9FDzMZbluyXZrDdW0/s1600/bike.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyvEJjdOtKSM1fRraxSSz2QXoPqRArKwo0b1Yd9URiDbCg81235eGCN0-usiXxClQ-NNkLCcIhkklz3XsTR9Zc9lnIEE70pnXERPhs2rFJbXLYRPevq7lktygUYD9FDzMZbluyXZrDdW0/s1600/bike.PNG" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Started going to Hippotherapy at </span><a href="http://www.windridgetexas.org/index.php?page_id=18&osCsid=ebd6b4d667cfed7b82d1f8e1fce030ef"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Windridge Therapeutic Equestrian Center</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and it has been INCREDIBLE!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please follow the link and read all about this facility and all of the remarkable things they do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have noticed some very big changes in Madie since she started in October, specifically the improvements in her sitting up and her head control has also greatly improved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Is 100% boy crazy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She loves boys and that is the truth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Feel free to test this theory next time you see her, she’s smitten.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Was the cutest Wonder Woman ever for Halloween and Molly Michael was the most beautiful Alice in Wonderland ever!</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Most importantly, still improving and amazing us every day!</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Madie has also become quite the actress. Here she is doing her best cough. </span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxm_Z4KYt9XNdzWgLtq_pALIxGJnHgYfv85i7XtCKcSCFhvs8gA_vT7xaqH4z2vxE0gTpYVqLrMGG3w93Z82w' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So much has happened in the past 4 months since my last post and I am sure that I am leaving off many an important detail.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hopefully this will teach me an important lesson about procrastination and I will make more frequent posts!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thanks so much for continuing to check in on Madie and our family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are, as always, very thankful for your prayers and encouraging words.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and enjoy time spent with family and friends. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Matt, Kristin, Molly Michael and Miracle Madie</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>kmskinnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03801112911213041989noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862110112855290826.post-77840067233252217132011-08-25T20:23:00.000-07:002011-08-25T20:23:04.382-07:00Happy Birthday Madie!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmClEqe5mWqqa1HEU1Tqgpox0N8fUxqrreu90YGcW8yrV5o9u4PXEwQd6IG1ytKKRh8KE6aeM-hpGs08g83BNSESTOpafNzmeGf7kzcpHYvPjt0S5VC_I-WES8bjmHyemY9abvTuGqzl0/s1600/IMG_1768.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmClEqe5mWqqa1HEU1Tqgpox0N8fUxqrreu90YGcW8yrV5o9u4PXEwQd6IG1ytKKRh8KE6aeM-hpGs08g83BNSESTOpafNzmeGf7kzcpHYvPjt0S5VC_I-WES8bjmHyemY9abvTuGqzl0/s320/IMG_1768.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";">Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Isiah 40:31 </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";">My phone has gone off all day long with messages telling me how much they love Madie and what a miracle she is and my inbox is full of emails with the same message.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It truly reminds me how blessed my family has been this past year with an overwhelming amount of support and love from so many people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each message and phone call has made today a tad easier and although I tried to reply with at least a “thank you” if you didn’t get a reply please that we are genuinely grateful!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For months I’ve thought about what I would write when today came and I thought it would pages long but as I sit here in front of my computer I find myself at a loss for words.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then I decided I would share my thoughts for Madie with you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Molly Michael was a year old I wrote her a letter and tucked it away in her baby book for her to read one day when she is older.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Madie, being my second child, got no such letter in her baby book so I’ll print this off and tuck it away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";">Dear Madie</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";">One year later, what a bittersweet day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Your brilliant smile is so contagious that I have hard time being sad around you today but there is no way to ignore the fact that this is hardly the life I imagined for you or any of us for that matter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The fact that you are doing so well makes it tremendously easier to be happy today but my mind is flooded with memories and thoughts from the day of your accident.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can vividly remember August 25, 2010.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You had waffles and a banana for breakfast, I can remember the clothes you wore, I remember the clothes I wore, I remember kissing you goodbye and I remember them telling me at the dentist office that I needed to go across the street to ER immediately.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I walked across I can remember thinking, PLEASE let this be anyone but my girls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I looked at my phone and saw several missed calls from the sitter and I knew immediately that it was you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I walked past an ambulance I overheard a man say, “There was a one year old found in a pool” but I was still hopeful that it wasn’t MY one year old.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I could probably name every person that was there lining the hall outside your ER room and there were a lot of people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I could tell you all about the plane ride to Dallas, walking in the PICU waiting room at Children’s and everyone that was there waiting on us. I had your nurse bring in a tall chair so I could sit beside your bed and lay my head next to you so you could hear me begging you to keep fighting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I could write a novel with the details I have stored in my mind from this day one year ago. BUT, here we are, one year later and we have so much to be thankful for and I could write 10 novels on how amazing it has been to watch God heal your body and reveal your beautiful personality once again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You have progressed more to date than most doctors felt you would in your lifetime.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You have amazed those closest to you and, judging by the number of Caring Bridge page views, thousands of people you have never met.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Your story is incredibly inspirational and has strengthened many people’s relationship with God. I am so proud of you and so happy that God picked me to be your mom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At only two years old you have worked harder at life that some people will in a lifetime.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve watched your brain go from a state of almost nothing to understanding everything of what we say to you and I know it won’t be long until your brain has the capability to tell the rest of your body what to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One day I know you’ll be walking, talking, running and telling everyone your miraculous story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am so sorry that you have to fight this battle but I know God picked you and our family for a reason and I thank Him daily for allowing us to keep you here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
Love, Mommy</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";">We ended today with a trip to the Marshall Police Department to visit and eat dinner with the officers that were there with Madie one year ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was absolutely perfect and Madie even let them hold her while they took a picture. It was great to spend a little bit of this special day with them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Saturday morning we’ll be getting to go have breakfast at the Marshall Fire Department with the rest of the first responders. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";">Thank again to each of you for continuing to pray for Madie!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";">With greatest gratitude,</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";">Kristin, Matt, Molly Michael, Miracle Madie</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div>kmskinnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03801112911213041989noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862110112855290826.post-89777981084985103452011-08-21T14:01:00.000-07:002011-08-21T14:01:43.078-07:00Four Days<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiHfOSHLWY8J-o8KzdE9E_q8lNGoiilFCVXD5jz_uECxLy9dY5GJSS6K27yWwYpwM0pAXbMGOlYzg8cXKF82Q6gDEzIDJwFURm3HWCFTlwd5jCTMFlQyWeS21eKt2YWtK4gFnfAXmgbnU/s1600/iphone+pics+102.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiHfOSHLWY8J-o8KzdE9E_q8lNGoiilFCVXD5jz_uECxLy9dY5GJSS6K27yWwYpwM0pAXbMGOlYzg8cXKF82Q6gDEzIDJwFURm3HWCFTlwd5jCTMFlQyWeS21eKt2YWtK4gFnfAXmgbnU/s320/iphone+pics+102.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Here is Madie STANDING UP, with a little assistance, in her SPIO suit that I mentioned in my previous post. Check out those leg muscles! And pardon the mess!</span></td></tr>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Four days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Four days until it has been a year since our lives were shaken and completely turned upside down. Four days until it has been a year that Matt and I came too close to losing our youngest daughter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Four days until Molly Michael’s best friend and little sister was almost taken away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Four days until someone else’s terrible mistake forever changed our lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Four days until our only hope was to strengthen our relationship with God and have faith that He was in control and would take care of all of us. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am having a hard time deciding what I think Thursday will be like at our house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes when I think about it I feel like it will be a wonderful and joyous day because Madie is such a miracle and she doing so well, other times I start to cry just thinking about it and I tell her how sorry I am that this happened to her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even though Matt and I decided to stay positive on this journey I know that Thursday will not only be full of blessings and happiness but also a little sadness because there are few things that we want more than for August 25 to be just another boring day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My plan is to make Thursday more a day of celebration than a day of heartache.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I have a few specific prayer requests as we approach August 25<sup>th:</sup></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 45.75pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Please pray for our family and our friends that have faithfully stood by us and offered their support. Pray that we will be reminded of all of the good that has come from this accident instead of the bad memories that I know are embedded in our minds from the days and weeks following 8/25/10.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 45.75pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Please pray for the Marshall Fire Department, Marshall Police Department and all of the hospital staff at Good Shepherd-Marshall and Children’s Medical Center in Dallas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Without them we wouldn’t have much to celebrate on Thursday.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 45.75pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Please pray for the babysitter as I assume that Thursday will probably be heavy on her heart.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 45.75pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most importantly, please pray for our sweet Madie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That her brain will continue to heal and she will continue to prove to everyone who knows her story that God hears these prayers and he is taking care of all of us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also, while you’re all at it, go ahead and pray for her to poop more because we’re having some constipation issues.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sorry, I thought I might lighten the mood a little.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I’ll be sure to write a post on Thursday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have A LOT to say and I’ll probably need to start typing it now!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thank you so much for sticking with us and continuing to follow Madie’s journey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Your messages have provided us with an unimaginable amount of strength this past year and we are so thankful for all of you.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">With greatest gratitude,</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Kristin, Matt, Molly Michael and Miracle Madie<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>kmskinnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03801112911213041989noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862110112855290826.post-17878508152437103572011-08-02T21:32:00.001-07:002011-08-02T21:32:09.606-07:00Finally...an update!<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Well I totally dropped the ball on promising to update with Madie’s latest progress.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I swear if I had more time I would update daily.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can’t believe that we have been home from OCH for over a month!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Madie’s therapists here all agree that she definitely benefited from her two week stay there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have implemented all of the ideas we got during out stay there and are starting to see some results.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Madie is eating more and more by mouth every day so that means smaller and shorter tube feeds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She needs to eat 240 calories 4 times a day and we haven’t been able to get an entire 240 in her during one sitting but we are seeing major improvements.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is also doing really well with her sippy cup and can pick it up and drink all by herself!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have started giving her some of her formula in the sippy cup as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Keeping up with Madie’s fluid and calorie intake is almost a fine science and there is a lot of measuring taking place in our kitchen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A very sweet friend of mine bought Madie an amazing assortment of tasty ready to eat pureed foods.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve tried almost all of them myself and they are really good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Madie definitely has her mind made up which ones she likes and which she doesn’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m also learning how to puree what the rest of us are eating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some things are proving to be trickier than others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
We are also starting to see Madie “talk” more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She can say Dada, Mama, Da(dog), Bye-bye(sometimes) and sometimes I think she is saying “that”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She definitely has her own language and she knows what she is saying…if only the rest of us could figure it out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are times when it sounds like she says something so clear and then we try to get her to repeat it but she doesn’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is very evident that Madie understands almost everything that is going on and what you are saying to her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She really wants to talk so bad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her babbles are different when you are making eye contact with her versus when she is playing with a toy or sitting alone in her seat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She will also often mimic your lip movements when you try to get her to repeat words.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Madie’s PT and OT are both going really well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is getting much better at sitting up but still needs support most of the time. Madie’s therapists at OCH felt that Madie’s brain is aware of what her limbs need to do to walk, crawl, sit, etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But maybe, her body isn’t quite aware of where her limbs are, the brain is a tricky thing!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So we ordered Madie a compression suit (Spio Suit) with the hope that the deep pressure she receives when wearing it will help her brain realize where her arms and legs are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So far it really seems to be working.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her therapists agree that her ataxia seems much better when she has her Spio suit on and her movements are noticeably much more controlled. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
Madie has also started some aquatic therapy with her physical therapist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A friend of mine has amazing pool and offered to let us use it for Madie’s therapy and it is going really well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am fairly certain that Madie would have no problem at all swimming every day!<br />
Before we left OCH Madie’s therapist suggested that we try Madie in a piece of equipment called a lite gait.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The lite gait is designed to help patients walk on a treadmill.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I called our equipment company, Madie’s rep let me know that we couldn’t order one until October but in the meantime we could try Madie’s gait trainer on a treadmill.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only problem was that the treadmill would have to be wider than the gait trainer and it would need to have a slowest speed of .01 MPH.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well wouldn’t you know that the old treadmill that I have been hanging clothes on in bedroom for years was the perfect fit and speed!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So the idea behind all of this is that we will put Madie in her gait trainer, lock the wheels, turn the treadmill on its lowest speed and we will move her feet for her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She knows to pick her feet up and take steps if you hold her up but when she is done she is done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Plus she weighs 32 pounds so it is tough to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So this new way allows us to pick Madie’s feet up for her and help her take steps.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In theory, the repetitive nature of walking on the treadmill will help Madie’s brain reroute the message that this is how to walk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m sure this sounds crazy and I really need to get a video of her doing it and hopefully it will make better sense.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We tried this for this first time Saturday and she did great and was taking beautiful steps with little to no initiative from us after just a few minutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I can’t believe summer is almost over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Molly Michael will be starting her last year of pre-k(snif snif) in just a few weeks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She has had a busy summer but is ready to be back with all her peeps at school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m ready to have the routine back too!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think I forgot to mention in my last update that Molly Michael broke her arm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had a brilliant idea to take all of the cushions off the couch and THEN jump on the it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, she fell and broke her left arm but trust me when I say it did not slow her down one bit!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was supposed to wear the cast for 3 weeks but after 2 weeks and the 100+ degree temps here, the cast started smelling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once I could smell it in the front seat when she was in the back, I felt like it was time for a change.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They x-rayed her arm and there was already a good amount of new bone growth so she got to go cast free a little early.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thank goodness!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">As we get closer and closer to the one year mark since Madie’s accident, I want to sincerely thank each of you for continuing to follow our story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God has absolutely blessed our family!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">With greatest gratitude,</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Kristin, Matt, Molly Michael and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Miracle Madie</span></div>kmskinnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03801112911213041989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862110112855290826.post-7110440765469111032011-07-14T22:52:00.000-07:002011-07-14T22:52:56.866-07:00A few of our heroes<span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Matthew 18:20</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have mentioned several times how blessed we are to live in Marshall and tonight was yet another outstanding reminder. At 7:30 this evening at the City Park there was a beautiful candlelight prayer vigil organized by Cindy Duncan to honor all of the precious kids from the community that have been treated at different children’s hospitals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cindy is </span><a href="http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/charleyraefurrh1010"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Charley Rae’s</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> grandmother.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were so many wonderful moments but one that was really extraordinary for our family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had the opportunity to visit with some of the first responders from Madie’s accident.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Matt’s mom was sitting in a chair holding Madie and I looked over and she had a group of Marshall Fire Department employees crowded around, all of them wearing HUGE smiles on their faces. When I finally had the opportunity to talk with them I could only say thank you and hug them because I wasn’t wearing waterproof mascara, not to mention I was afraid that if I started crying I might never stop and it was still very early in the evening. I’m sure you are all wondering why we haven’t made a trip to visit with our heroes yet but I promise we have been planning a visit to the fire department and police department since we got home in November but just haven’t got ourselves organized yet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now that we are so close to the one year anniversary of Madie’s accident Matt and I feel like it would be really incredible to share that special occasion with all of them. Look for that update sometime in August! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In an accident like Madie’s every second her little heart wasn’t beating and every second she was without oxygen is devastating. The CPR and the care she received from all of the first responders was vital to her survival and we will never be able to repay them for what they have done for our family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have had a huge impact on our lives and I have no doubt in my mind that Madie has done the same for them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here are a couple of links that I have been meaning to post for almost a month now.</span></span><br />
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</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixjDrA241wU5Btg-zZR_TR2T_CxLa94UXsmVjq9H4gdQrpiE9zzOEAvGRMGAvRasqocV2qX2wG1VOdPkhSqHpRwFe4IAKb3L_ZEQnIUAoGwwRnMITppbqFLzQBjn-aaZg-b2-esn4IgBM/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" m$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixjDrA241wU5Btg-zZR_TR2T_CxLa94UXsmVjq9H4gdQrpiE9zzOEAvGRMGAvRasqocV2qX2wG1VOdPkhSqHpRwFe4IAKb3L_ZEQnIUAoGwwRnMITppbqFLzQBjn-aaZg-b2-esn4IgBM/s400/photo.JPG" width="300" /></a></div> <br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";"><a href="http://marshallnewsmessenger.com/news/article_a941e3f4-9a2e-11e0-b46a-001cc4c03286.html#user-comment-area"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> is story from the Marshall News Messenger about a few great dads from Marshall, but I don’t think you’ll have any trouble figuring out which one I think is the BEST!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";"><a href="http://www.dallasnews.com/news/community-news/dallas/headlines/20110624-dog-brings-smiles-to-young-patients-at-baylor-medical-center.ece"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> is a story from the Dallas Morning News and there is also </span><a href="http://www.dallasnews.com/video/?bcid=1021202826001"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">this</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> little video.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Funny little tidbit, after doing this interview I realized that my pants had been unzipped the entire time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I told myself that there couldn’t be THAT many people that read the Dallas Morning News, but alas, it didn’t make the paper. There are few things in the story that are quite correct, but I’m pretty sure that all of you reading this know Madie’s story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In other Skinner family news, sweet Molly Michael decided she would remove all of the cushions from our couch and then proceed to jump on said couch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After roughly 10 seconds of jumping she fell and fractured both bones in her arm. Poor girl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She just learned to swim with her floaties and that is all she wants to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Good news is that she only has to wear her cast for 3 weeks!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hopefully July 26<sup>th</sup> will be her last day with the cast and then she get back in the pool.</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2HlxNKxWR0mNgZ1EwiBgytx-r3wRlps7H5qy86sPHtzbeH9ilxfxZza4p_KTtHRelLVAJM0uTTx-Tx-itFUz0U3TG3oZXgGs_j46Ws7xzkF-RURd9HMxhcA2Rk5rqsojctMCwSQ9q6GQ/s1600/photo1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" m$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2HlxNKxWR0mNgZ1EwiBgytx-r3wRlps7H5qy86sPHtzbeH9ilxfxZza4p_KTtHRelLVAJM0uTTx-Tx-itFUz0U3TG3oZXgGs_j46Ws7xzkF-RURd9HMxhcA2Rk5rqsojctMCwSQ9q6GQ/s400/photo1.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I promise, promise, promise I will update in the next couple of days with an update on Madie’s progress.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have so much to tell but it is already after midnight and I am worn out!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If any of you are in Marshall and you have kids ages 6-12, please contact the Boys and Girls Club at 903-935-2030.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There will a fundraiser for </span><a href="http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/anthonyherman"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Anthony Herman</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> this Saturday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From 8:00-12:00 they will host a cheer camp and from 1:00-5:00 they will host a basketball camp.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you would like to help but do not have kids I am sure that there are children would love to attend but may not have the funds to do so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finally, please remember to pray for </span><a href="http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/jacimitchell"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Jaci Mitchell</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She has had a rough couple of weeks but has still managed to work hard and amaze everyone around her.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thank you all for continuing to keep up with Madie’s journey and thank you for continue to pray for our family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">With greatest gratitude,</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Kristin, Matt, Molly Michael and Madie</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span>kmskinnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03801112911213041989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862110112855290826.post-36072599350105526482011-06-22T21:46:00.000-07:002011-06-22T21:46:31.101-07:00Two weeks down...already??<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Our two weeks is almost over!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can’t believe it is almost time to go home but we have learned lots of new things to try when we get home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These two weeks have been absolutely wonderful for Madie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has been so beneficial to have all three therapists, her rehab doctor, dietician, a pediatrician and all kinds of equipment all in one place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It gives everyone who comes in contact with Madie an opportunity to brainstorm on what is best for her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What works for one patient may not work for Madie and what works for Madie may not work for another patient so it has been great to have the chance to try equipment here that we don’t have at home before buying it only to find out it will be of no use.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her therapies are only 30 minutes each but she is exhausted by the time she is done with all three and I can tell she has been working hard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I feel like once we are back at home we will be able to better manage Madie’s day and make it much more productive for her, and maybe a little less boring for her nurse Jenny.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not that Madie gives any of us the opportunity to get bored, she is pretty demanding of your attention!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Madie’s eating is going well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are transitioning her from 5 feeds a day to 4 feeds and she has been getting a food tray all three meals of the day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, she isn’t actually scarfing it down but she is taking baby steps towards eating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I tried ordering her “regular diet” trays with the hope that I could mash it into a Madie suitable texture but she thought it was HILARIOUS to spit foods all over my face.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So Patti, her ST, decided to try a pureed meal tray.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is doing much, much better the pureed foods.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tonight she probably ate the most I have seen since the accident.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was so proud of her, mostly because it was a pork chop pureed to the consistency of buttercream icing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m going to have to figure out how to puree foods to the same consistency that they are here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No matter how hard I try my purees are still lumpy and she wants nothing to do with store bought baby food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Looks like I’ll be spending some time in the kitchen making baked potato soup and whipped pork chops when I get home!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Another reason we are so happy to be going home Friday is that Saturday is Madie’s 2<sup>nd</sup> birthday!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can barely think about it without my eyes filling with tears.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is so hard to believe that we came so close to losing her 10 months ago and now here we are with a beautiful, sweet, happy, laughing and loving miracle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am overjoyed that we will be able to celebrate with our whole family in our home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was able to sing happy birthday without crying at her party but something tells me I won’t have the same luck at home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ha!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I am so excited to get home and get back in our routine and start working with Madie on all the new things we have learned here at OCH.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has been so encouraging to see the smiles and shock on everyone’s face when they see Madie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are several people here that will stop by the room because they say they just love to see Madie smile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I totally agree with them and it makes my heart so happy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God has truly blessed my family beyond measure.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I have a new prayer request for all of you who have been so faithful with your prayers for our family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here is </span><a href="http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/jacimitchell"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Jaci’s story</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She has been our neighbor here at OCH and is an inspiration.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is going through a traumatic life changing event and EVERY time I see her she has a beautiful, genuine smile on her face. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is facing incredible medical odds but her family has faith that God is leading them on this journey and that Jaci will be one of those great miracle stories you here about all the time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is already showing progress that most patients don’t achieve for months and her accident was a little over two weeks ago. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please keep Jaci, her family, doctors and friends in your prayers as they are much needed and well deserved!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m off to bed because I have lots of packing to do tomorrow!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please also pray that Madie and I have a safe trip back to Marshall on Friday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thank you all for your support and love while we have been here.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">With greatest gratitude,</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Kristin, Matt, Molly Michael and Miracle Madie</span></div>kmskinnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03801112911213041989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862110112855290826.post-69566809426112782962011-06-17T20:14:00.000-07:002011-06-17T20:14:17.176-07:00My Grouchy Diva<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhihZY_LK0JFmRgYRsvPlpaTWwY1AwHQa-KC0qGmDAysM6uabhzk1VBCFX8CG6nP_PDmVsfErJ73I-2YB2-tt5MXgBtC7JSAaF84-Te-YcSO-eb8RoePiILIiHo0HgU8RV7EoM8e9IxcfA/s1600/Sleepy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhihZY_LK0JFmRgYRsvPlpaTWwY1AwHQa-KC0qGmDAysM6uabhzk1VBCFX8CG6nP_PDmVsfErJ73I-2YB2-tt5MXgBtC7JSAaF84-Te-YcSO-eb8RoePiILIiHo0HgU8RV7EoM8e9IxcfA/s320/Sleepy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">I've been sharing a bed with this snuggle bunny this week. She doesn't stay this compact though, TRUST ME. Sometimes it feels like she might be trying to see how much room she can take up.</span> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We made it through the first week!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, almost Madie has OT and PT tomorrow morning and then she is off until Monday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have probably seen the biggest improvements in speech.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is really interested in eating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The dietician has changed her feeds to every 4 hours instead of every 3.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This gives her more time in between to actually feel hungry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Soon we will start ordering her food trays and depending on how much she will eat, we can take away some of her formula for the next feed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The trick is going to be finding something Madie will eat a lot of…besides ice cream and Cheetos.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She loves the loaded baked potato soup from the cafeteria and I’m with her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It taste like delicious cheese, potato, bacon and cream all blended together with a dash of Heaven thrown in for an added bonus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Definitely not something I would feed my children 5 nights in a row, but I’ve done just that for Madie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I might have to drop my healthy food values a little until she really gets better at eating and then reintroduce them later but for right now she will still be getting 100% of her nutrition from her tube feeds at least for a few more days.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Madie’s occupational therapist, Megan, stated that her goal is to get Madie to a one year old level.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Megan has been using blocks and getting Madie to reach for and attempt to stack them as well as working on her fine motor skills with her hands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Madie’s ataxia makes her movements very jerky especially when she is excited so simple tasks, like picking up a block, are much harder to accomplish. It is very clear that Madie’s brain understands what she WANTS to but lacks the capability to make a plan, which is referred to as motor planning. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her OT also wanted to get a vision screen for Madie which we had done today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We know that Madie can see and she tracks objects side to side and up and down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since some of Madie’s brain damage was to the area that controls vision we wanted to make sure she didn’t have any double vision or need glasses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The eye doctor said she for sure does NOT need glasses but she wanted us to follow up with a pediatric ophthalmologist when we leave because she might have an intermittent strabismus in her left eye.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So basically, her eye muscles are not as strong on the left side as the right and when she tracks to the left her eye doesn’t move like the right side and she tends to want to turn her head.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The doctor didn’t notice it every time and more often than not Madie’s eye did what it was supposed to but early intervention is best to avoid a potential surgery in the future.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This all makes sense because Madie’s muscle tone has always been more intense on her left side since she had swelling on the right side of her brain and your eye movement is controlled by muscles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So chances are this could require no action or maybe we’ll get Madie the cutest eye patch the world has ever seen to wear for a little bit to help strengthen the left eye.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">My days of going to PT with Madie are over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the past I am a major distraction and she acts like a grouchy diva if I try to sit in or participate in her therapies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since we have been here she has been all smiles while she works away and I cheer her on…until yesterday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She screamed like someone was hurting her until I pick her up and then she smiles and lets out a big sigh!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, starting tomorrow I’ll watch from the hallway so she will once again be a productive participant, and not a screaming distraction, in the therapy gym.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Dr. Raji decided to try to go back up just a smidge on Madie’s muscle relaxer since she has grown so much recently.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her hope is that with just a tiny bit more baclofen, Madie can better control some of her ataxia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We should see beginning results from this by Monday and if it is too much then we can go back down on dose and try something else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tomorrow Matt and Molly Michael are coming to visit and Madie and I are so happy to get to see them!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Matt will be staying with Madie here at OCH and Molly Michael and I will be going to stay with one of my college roommates.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then Sunday we will come back to OCH and celebrate father’s day with one of the world’s greatest dads!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thank you for continue prayers for Madie and our family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are, as always, so thankful for all of the support and encouragement we receive from all of you.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">With greatest gratitude,</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Kristin, Matt, Molly Michael and Miracle Madie<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>kmskinnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03801112911213041989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862110112855290826.post-14857910434251893772011-06-14T20:44:00.000-07:002011-06-14T20:44:54.718-07:00we're baaaaaaaackkkk<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";">WE’RE BACK!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We made it back to Our Children’s House at Baylor yesterday around 10:00 and when we got here were told we would be sharing a room with another patient.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>EEEEEK.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I politely let them know that I didn’t think that would work and they assured us that we would have our own room by today, and thank goodness, they kept their word.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So we are getting all settled into our new, private, comfy room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";">Everyone is, understandably, shocked when they see Madie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is a completely different little girl than she was when we left here in November.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She has also gained 6 pounds and probably grown just as many inches.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have met with all of Madie’s therapists and she seems to really like all of them. Her OT and ST are new (to her) but her PT, Mary, is the same one we had when we were here the first time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of Madie’s therapies since we left OCH in November have taken place in our living room with very little distractions so I was a little concerned about how she would do in room full of kids all doing their own therapies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, she LOVED it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It made me so happy that she didn’t have a complete melt down. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will do my best to get a list of goals that we are trying to achieve while we are here so that I can keep everyone better updated on her progress.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So far it has been mostly evaluations so I don’t have too much to report.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";">Speaking of things to report, I know I am horrible and never filled everyone in on Madie’s EEG.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am not exaggerating when I say I have been busier than ever before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here is an excerpt from an update I posted on September 9, 2010….</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Then came the neurologist with the EEG results. The good news is that there are no seizures. Then they let us know that her brain activity is still slow and that she has most likely has lost some brain tissue. She said that Madie will probably always be at risks for seizures and will also be developmentally and cognitively delayed. There is no way to tell right now how minor or major these impairments may be, especially only 2 weeks after her accident. They mentioned that her brain really took a hit since it was without oxygen for an estimated 25 minutes. We, of course, knew that these terrible things were possibilities but to hear someone tell them to you so bluntly is hard to swallow. I asked the doctor what she thought Madie might be like compared to other kids her age, 5-6 years from now. This was such a strange question coming from me because I am so focused on the now but I kind of just blurted it out. The neurologist then said that there is no way of telling that and I just left it at that. Matt and I gave our same speech about how we are going to stay positive and focused on Madie’s healing and we have faith that she will still be one of those miracle kids you hear about all the time. Then about 30 minutes after she left I just broke down. I thought about Madie and that strawberry shortcake ball and everything else that she and our family has been robbed of in the midst of this accident. Then all of a sudden I realized I’m listening to what SCIENCE says. We have had numerous doctors tell us that brain is a crazy thing and there is NO WAY to predict what it will do. I reminded myself that God is in control and then I read Psalm 139:13-16. Everything that will happen in Madie’s life story was written before it takes place. It isn’t like the neurologist said this is as good as it will get for Madie. They are just telling us where we are now and I am pretty sure they will be shocked when we come back in a few years and they see Miracle Madie and how far she has come. It seems that most people I have talked to agree with me.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";">So, the EEG…it was completely normal, perfect and beautiful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Long story short, what that means is that Madie’s brain activity is normal and she is no longer at risk for seizures. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After Dr Castro gave us the results, she then brought in the doctor who said that Madie would ALWAYS be at risk for seizures and would ALWAYS be on seizure medicine as long as she was alive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She told us she was so very happy that she was wrong. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If only all of those doctors would have listened to Matt and I from the beginning when we said that we had faith that God was going to take care of Madie….</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";">I have so much more that I want to talk about but I am so very sleepy and we have a busy morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe, just maybe, Madie will take a long afternoon nap so I can tell you all about Madie’s 2<sup>nd</sup> birthday party.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";">Please pray that Madie’s time spent here at OCH is productive and please also pray for all of the other children here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";">With greatest gratitude,</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";">Kristin, Matt, Molly Michael and Madie</span></div>kmskinnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03801112911213041989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862110112855290826.post-58876495556147629362011-05-16T21:17:00.000-07:002011-05-16T21:17:41.101-07:00Here we go again...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji4dn-OYu-P2SeAYXV1N93lro-9B_bfvBCHzx0S_PAopc_xgYUZbnKUCAqYp5BMZAsux-TSZVGPyI9D6jZbGJjaUhvDzPm-M-ZpROJWPgL6_qhICBKWEDSCxc1rIWGd-gZNe8tIBHq_GY/s1600/bosu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji4dn-OYu-P2SeAYXV1N93lro-9B_bfvBCHzx0S_PAopc_xgYUZbnKUCAqYp5BMZAsux-TSZVGPyI9D6jZbGJjaUhvDzPm-M-ZpROJWPgL6_qhICBKWEDSCxc1rIWGd-gZNe8tIBHq_GY/s320/bosu.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">BIG NEWS!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we last saw Madie’s rehab doctor about a month ago I mentioned that we were interested and researching a chair for Madie to sit in on the floor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have been using an infant to toddler rocking chair and not only is she quickly outgrowing it, but it doesn’t really meet her needs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dr. Raji asked if we would be interested in coming back to Our Children’s House to meet with a therapist who could evaluate Madie and suggest a few products that would work best for her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We, of course, were very interested coming back because a lot of equipment is not considered “medically necessary” and is not covered by insurance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since we will be paying out of pocket we wanted to make sure we picked the best product for Madie’s needs as well as something that will grow with her as she recovers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So on May 3<sup>rd</sup> we took Madie back to OCH to meet with the therapist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We picked out a chair that can be mounted in a standard chair but also has a base so she can sit on the floor with the rest of us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As with most of the equipment she needs, it is a lengthy process to get it ordered and delivered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So hopefully we will have it a month or two. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While we were at OCH I questioned the therapist as to whether or not Madie might benefit from another inpatient stay since she has progressed so much in the six months that we have been home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She agreed and said she would mention it to Dr. Raji.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I assumed that when we went for our next follow up appointment in July we would discuss it more then but I got a phone call last week from OCH wanting to set up a time to bring Madie in!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So here we go again!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our scheduled admit date is June 13<sup>th</sup> and we plan to stay for a couple of weeks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We haven’t discussed it with Molly Michael yet because we want to have the ENTIRE two weeks planned for her so she doesn’t feel like we are going to leave for months again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While we are nervous about our family being separated again, we are all VERY excited about this opportunity for Madie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It will probably help a little if I shed a little light on Madie’s previous stay at OCH as to why we are so optimistic about her second shot at inpatient rehab.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I try not to overshare when it comes to difficult times in Madie’s recovery because I have faith that one day Madie will read all of these updates and I don’t want her to ever feel like she was a burden on any of us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While I would have never picked this journey, God picked it for our family for a reason and we are happy to walk it with him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That being said, our time at OCH following Madie’s discharge from Children’s was difficult.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She cried, a lot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We held her, a lot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most days consisted of Matt or myself holding her from around 6:00 a.m. until she fell asleep around 8:00 p.m., with the exception of when she was in therapy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When she was in therapy sometimes she cried (a lot) and sometimes we would spend her entire 30 minute session trying to get her hands open or get her arms pulled down away from her chest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had to keep her room very quiet and we had very little light in her room in order to keep stimulation at a minimum as her brain was slowly awaking from its coma.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Almost the entire time Madie was at OCH she was in a coma or near coma state.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She wasn’t smiling, she wasn’t really focusing and it was really hard to bear at times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, we remained positive and faithful that we would see improvements and we did, they were slow and small but they were there and we rejoiced each one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then about a week before we left, the crying slowed and we started to see small smiles, she started to focus on faces and then…it was time to go home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But we were ready and I truly believe Madie was ready and needed to home with her family, together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have remained positive and as involved as we possibly can in Madie’s recovery since coming home in November.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She has made such amazing progress thanks in great part to her current therapist and I am so glad that they agree that this will be a tremendous benefit to her recovery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We will put our current home health agencies on hold while we are gone and once she is back in inpatient therapy she will get ST, OT, PT at least once a day, five days a week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will be taking off work and spending most of the time in Dallas with Madie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Matt will stay in Marshall and help keep Molly Michael busy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have had several friends offer to keep Molly Michael and we have one of her favorite babysitters that will be helping us all summer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Matt will also bring her to Dallas on the weekends because I know Madie and I will miss them both so much.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please pray that this next step in our journey is productive and positive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
Look for lots of upcoming updates.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have Madie’s follow up EEG (which I have a good feeling about) and a neurology appointment on June 2-3, Madie’s 2<sup>nd</sup> birthday party on June 11<sup>th</sup> (although her actual birthday isn’t until june 25<sup>th</sup>) and then OCH on the 13<sup>th</sup>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are so very thankful for each of you that continue to reads these updates, pray for Madie and our family and leave us encouraging messages.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We couldn’t do this without your love and support.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">With greatest gratitude,</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Kristin, Matt, Molly Michael and Miracle Madie <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
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</div>kmskinnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03801112911213041989noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862110112855290826.post-52633954650655351172011-04-24T16:23:00.000-07:002011-04-24T16:31:54.376-07:00Happy Easter!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT6YAsJRmkBJpHzLDfJacNmLHaGhvqHE94ROQ5nK_G5jXhrsjFt_q9uj6GJgb8hFJUPdMCpVjhgJ2oCgBhBWKxMOVbx-si4RhGvbJc9l9sBk9W1eQ8FkNa03SOwkFQmazva7uSbw7Ncsk/s1600/Jeep.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT6YAsJRmkBJpHzLDfJacNmLHaGhvqHE94ROQ5nK_G5jXhrsjFt_q9uj6GJgb8hFJUPdMCpVjhgJ2oCgBhBWKxMOVbx-si4RhGvbJc9l9sBk9W1eQ8FkNa03SOwkFQmazva7uSbw7Ncsk/s400/Jeep.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Madie LOVED riding with her big sister in her jeep before her accident.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In my September 4th caring bridge post I posted the following statement </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“What we knew as “normal” on the morning of August 25th is of no concern to us now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is our new normal and we are determined to make it miraculous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God has had a plan for Madie long before she was born.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are confident that she will continue to make progress and we are so excited to help her learn how to do all the things God has in store for her.” </i>So here we are, 8 months post-accident, embracing our new normal which is starting to include small bits and pieces of our old normal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God’s plan for my children is a beautiful one!</span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I honestly don’t mean to go so long between updates and I feel horrible because I really do want everyone to know just how much Madie is progressing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have been attempting to type this particular update for TWO weeks and I have now decided to skip my post Easter nap and fill you in on the past month.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Madie FINALLY got her gait trainer and new stroller two weeks ago!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He stroller is so big but so light and Madie seems very comfortable in it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is so nice to be able to load and unload by myself. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will try to remember to get a picture of her in so you can all see her new ride.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is doing really well with her gait trainer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We thought that she would be getting a set of guides that would keep her ankles and thighs aligned but for one reason or another they didn’t arrive with the gait trainer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have called the company we order her equipment from and they are supposed to seeing about getting us a set.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Madie knows to take steps in order to move but her coordination isn’t very strong so she tends to “scissor” her legs, meaning one crosses over the other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The guides would still allow her to take steps but would keep her legs properly aligned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She also needs a new pair of AFO’s (braces for her feet/ankles).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was fitted for her current pair months ago and right after her casting was done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not sure how many of you have actually seen Madie lately but she has grown…A LOT!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We made an appointment at Custom Care Orthopedic Bracing in Longview and met with Steve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He seems like he is going to be perfect for Madie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He showed us an example of what he is thinking about doing for Madie and we are really looking forward to working with him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We will be going back soon to get her fitted for new set.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We went to see Madie’s rehab doctor at Our Children’s House on the 14<sup>th</sup>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She hadn’t seen Madie since the beginning of January so she was impressed with how much improvement there has been.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Before the appointment we had noticed that Madie’s muscle tone was really low.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had become a big noodle and we weren’t really able to get her to put any pressure on legs if you tried to get her to stand up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dr Raji decided to cut Madie’s baclofen (muscle relaxer) dose in HALF and we have noticed a BIG difference. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is almost sitting up all by herself and is back to standing up, with lots of assistance of course!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We also saw all of Madie’s old therapist while we were there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We hadn’t seen her PT or her ST since we left so they were really SHOCKED! When we left OCH in November Madie wasn’t really moving, she was barely smiling, her vision was still questionable and the list goes on and on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So to see her now and all that she can is pretty amazing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although I suppose I am a little biased.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
Madie’s eating is getting much better as well!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is really wants to pick up everything herself and she prefers that if you are going to put something on spoon that she be the one to put it in her mouth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is still getting 100% of her nutrition from her tube feeds but I am confident that we are VERY close to replacing at least a small portion with actual food!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We give her what we eat every night and seems to enjoy almost everything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Madie has a serious dislike for baby food and it doesn’t seem that she cares much for pureed table food either.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She watches your every move when you are eating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her eyes will follow my fork from the plate to mouth with each bite I take.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can tell she WANTS to eat so very badly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have just recently seen huge improvements with her sippy cup drinking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She loves it and she will even hold the cup on her own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Makes Matt and I so proud!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I have so much more that I want to share and since I haven’t updated in a month I could seriously write 4 pages.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I had the time I would do it in a heartbeat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hope everyone had a Happy Easter spent with all of the special people in your lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have had several moments today that I have had to take a deep breath and blink quickly to keep the tears in my eyes from overflowing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not because I am sad but because I am so happy, lucky, blessed, loved and I could go on and on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Madie’s accident has brought us so much closer to God and while I have always understood the meaning of Easter I almost feel like this is the first time I have felt the meaning of Easter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">As usual I will promise that I will try to update more often, seriously!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It would be so much easier and less time consuming if I would do it a couple of times a week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have a feeling that I am not far away from being someone who has every waking hour of each day planned out and honestly I think I would love it!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thank you for keeping up with Madie and continuing to pray for her and our family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please remember to check out </span><a href="http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/anthonyherman"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Anthony’</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">s page and </span><a href="http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/charleyraefurrh1010"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Charlie Rae’s</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> page.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also please forgive any typos and grammatical errors because we are heading to Matt’s mom’s house for a quick visit and I have no time proof read.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">With greatest gratitude,</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Kristin, Matt, Molly Michael and Miracle Madie<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>kmskinnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03801112911213041989noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862110112855290826.post-71371522332606800562011-03-18T21:37:00.001-07:002011-03-18T21:37:53.071-07:00Proud to be puke free<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I have so much exciting Madie news to report I’m not sure where to start.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First, we got a call last week that we had finally gotten approval for Madie’s stroller/wheel chair and her gait trainer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are so excited to see how she does with both.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have been using a chair that OCH let us borrow and we are so very grateful to have had it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Madie loves to be outside and since she weighs 27 pounds carrying her around the entire time isn’t really an option.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only problem is that it weighs a ton!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Madie’s new chair is very lightweight and it will give us the freedom to load and unload it easily so we can start taking Madie to a lot of new and exciting places.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pretty sure a trip to the zoo is in our very near future!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are hoping that the gait trainer and chair will both be delivered with a couple of weeks.<br />
Madie is doing GREAT on her new formula.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She hasn’t been throwing up at all, PRAISE THE LORD.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have gotten the length of her feed down to an hour and fifteen minutes, and our hope is that starting this week we can get her feed down to one hour.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a goal we have been trying to reach since Madie had her G-Tube surgery at the beginning of October and it feels amazing to be so close to meeting it!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once we meet that goal I suppose we will shoot for an even shorter feed with longer time in between.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now that we are getting Madie closer and closer to an hour feed she is also making BIG improvements accepting things by mouth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This week Madie has taken drinks from a sippy cup, eaten animal crackers and ritz crackers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She still isn’t ready to have a tube feed replaced with an oral feed but we are moving in the right direction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Matt and I continue to be amazed by her progress and we are so thankful that God continues to show us that hears all of our prayers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ashley, M’s speech therapist also got her to take a couple of sucks on a pacifier. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ashley said we are going to have to have a big party when we finally get to remove Madie’s G-tube.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think big party would be a pretty large understatement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
We hear Madie make new sounds and noises everyday but she is still not using words besides an occasional Mama or Dada, which she doesn’t repeat consistantly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is very much aware of what you are asking her though.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you ask Madie where Mommy, Daddy, Molly Michael, Jenny, MomMom, Pop, etc. are, she will immediately turn her head, find you and give the biggest grin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we are sitting in the living room when Matt gets home from work and I say “Daddy is Home!” she will sit up, smile and look at the front door.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have started trying to teach her some sign language and if you say “eat” she will sign “eat”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is so smart and you can see the wheels turning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We know that big things are in store for her. <br />
Occupational Therapy and Physical therapy are also going really well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She gets a little stronger every week and is becoming more tolerant of her tummy time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She still is not a huge fan but we are seeing improvements and that is all that matters. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While Madie was doing some exercises on a therapy ball and Molly Michael was “assisting”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I mentioned that we used to spend an entire 30 minute therapy session just trying to get Madie to stretch her arms and legs out and lay on a therapy ball.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To remember times like that and see her know is incredible to say the least. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We firmly believe that Stephanie(OT) and Phil(PT) are such blessings to Madie and the results we are seeing back up that belief.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are also BEYOND blessed to have Madie’s nurse Jenny.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She takes such wonderful care of Madie and Matt and I are so grateful to know that she loves Madie and wants to be part of her getting better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
This past week has been Molly Michael’s spring break.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She got to spend one day at the office with Daddy, which from what I hear was filled with many tiny candy bars courtesy of all the sweet ladies that work with Matt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She and I spent one day together in Longview.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had donuts for breakfast and then went to The Mud Hut and painted a few ceramic masterpieces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then Wednesday we spent the day at home because Molly Michael told me that if we didn’t leave the house she didn’t have to brush her teeth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>EVERY day we argue about her brushing her teeth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I tell her every day that she has to brush at least morning and night EVERY DAY, but for some reason it isn’t sinking in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am sure I am not the only mother having this problem but man oh man it is frustrating!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
Yesterday, Matt and Molly Michael went camping with our friends the Ellis’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Madie and I stayed home because they CAMPING, like camping with no electricity, in a tent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I took one for the team and stayed back in the AC with my bed, laptop, cell phone, iPad, DirecTv and other fantastic amenities that they are without.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have been gone less than 48 hours and I am beyond ready for them to come home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Madie and I have enjoyed our one on one time but we want Daddy and Molly Michael home because we are lonely without them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has been way too quiet around here!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
I have a new prayer request for all of you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A family that we go to church with and that were a source of strength for us after Madie’s accident needs your prayers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their son Anthony has been transferred to Children’s in Dallas for the second time in two days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can read his complete story and get updates </span><a href="http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/anthonyherman"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">here</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please continue to pray for and follow </span><a href="http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/charleyraefurrh1010"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Charley Rae</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">’s story as well.<br />
Also I sit here typing this update and watching our local news, they just did a story that a 2 ½ year old drowned tonight in his family pool.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even though I have no clue who these people are, PLEASE say a prayer for his family that they will seek and find comfort through God during this horrible time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The news mentioned that he was playing outside with his 4 year brother and his mom went inside for just a moment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My heart hurts for this family and I am reminded once again what a true miracle I have sleeping in the room next to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps, I’ll sneak in one more kiss and quick thank you prayer to the Big Guy upstairs <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>when I go in to give her her midnight meds…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">With greatest gratitude, <br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Kristin, Matt, Molly Michael and Miracle Madie<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>kmskinnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03801112911213041989noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862110112855290826.post-67882233573530222162011-03-03T22:13:00.000-08:002011-03-03T22:13:24.299-08:00We are family, hang up on the ceiling Sheree<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I started a post on the way to Dallas this morning but Madie decided that she thought that wasn’t a very good idea and demanded my attention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I will start over… </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">We headed to Dallas this morning because Madie had a follow up with her GI doctor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her vomiting has really improved so Dr. Semrin decided to try her on a new formula.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So we are back to a “normal” formula.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not even one that is concentrated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hopefully we will have a smooth transition and won’t have to take any steps back in her feeding schedule. Please pray that we don’t see an increase in her vomiting!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is doing REALLY well with her “eating”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is becoming much more accepting of different textures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have been giving her Mum Mums.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you aren’t familiar with the Mum Mum, it is a flavored rice biscuit that kind melts in your mouth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She prefers the strawberry ones and I must admit I tried one and they aren’t too shabby.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve had a few myself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is opening her mouth for and taking bites from a spoon as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are still working on drinking from a cup but she still hasn’t quite figured out how to suck just yet, but she is getting close!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We see small advancements in Madie almost daily. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her coordination is getting better and she reaches, grabs for and picks up everything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She laughs more and recognizes familiar friends and family immediately.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She will even let other people hold her…if she knows you really well. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are patiently, but anxiously, awaiting all of the necessary approvals for Madie’s new equipment that will really help her learn a few new tricks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">We have been taking Madie to Kindermusik and she LOVES IT!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I honestly feel like it is just as important as her PT, OT and ST.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She smiles in amazement for 45 minutes every Wednesday morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She laughs and gets so excited when everyone sings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At one point last week while the entire class was singing shoo-fly , she got so excited that I seriously thought she might bounce right of my arms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I really need to get her on video so you can see what I mean.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you have small children, you should REALLY consider signing up for Kindermusik, you can thank me later.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Now a funny story about Molly Michael.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is in her second year of dance and God Bless, Kristi, her dance teacher.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Molly Michael is FULL of energy as are the other little girls in her class.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their recital is in April and they have been practicing their little part in the finale.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Molly Michael is showing me her moves and tells me that they will be dancing to “We are family, Hang up on the ceiling Sheree”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I crack up every time I think of her singing it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is such a funny, smart, spunky little girl and we are so lucky to have her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Finally, we made a little detour on the way to Plano today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We stopped in Dallas at the Ronald McDonald House to see <a href="http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/charleyraefurrh1010">Charley Rae</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She looked great!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Charley was just discharged from Children’s yesterday but she will have to stay in Dallas because she needs dialysis 4 times a week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It brought me such joy to see two wonderful examples of God’s work and the power of prayer sitting side by side.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please pray for this family and follow their story on her caring bridge page. Here is a picture of Marshall's Miracles. Madie was very excited to see Charley and kept trying to grab her face. This is the only picture Matt got where they were both looking and Madie wasn't trying to caress her cheek. </span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWUghc9WfuMCpydApqfMrSHq2R8q_7ScMgPiFej2ofyie7c87LWsHDJKAfR5d8tWPE3grZgdEkjLR-cbzQl6Xlunj7Rm-uIKUyJVu8rSQJi2Ul6gTkp8rVBCwUbhqKujvbp9t82pSITwg/s1600/Madie+and+Charley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWUghc9WfuMCpydApqfMrSHq2R8q_7ScMgPiFej2ofyie7c87LWsHDJKAfR5d8tWPE3grZgdEkjLR-cbzQl6Xlunj7Rm-uIKUyJVu8rSQJi2Ul6gTkp8rVBCwUbhqKujvbp9t82pSITwg/s320/Madie+and+Charley.jpg" width="294" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Please pray for Madie’s continued healing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am still amazed at the number of people who ask how Madie is doing and let us know that they are still praying for us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are so grateful for each and every one of you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God lets us know every day that he is still listening! </span></div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyoL-CgV89Np-bQA7wZ2adPFR1Q5lNMZ1wDVAf8fYcMzRaLOZDiWicdE-okUHZ9RlsXfxBNnPwX3i9qoEf-8sRKhD89uEyfMLhuAlr6YpnHeCzFgnXsGBN-QVxH1Xkie1ubVO5Wunt2Ng/s1600/IMG_0963.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyoL-CgV89Np-bQA7wZ2adPFR1Q5lNMZ1wDVAf8fYcMzRaLOZDiWicdE-okUHZ9RlsXfxBNnPwX3i9qoEf-8sRKhD89uEyfMLhuAlr6YpnHeCzFgnXsGBN-QVxH1Xkie1ubVO5Wunt2Ng/s320/IMG_0963.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here is a funny little picture of MM. This happy girl is having the time of her life playing in a mud puddle in our yard. This same sweet girl playing in the mud is so girly that, with the exception of an occasional blue jean day, she has not work a pair of pants to school all year. Only skirts! LOVE LOVE LOVE her! </td></tr>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">With greatest gratitude,</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Kristin, Matt, Molly Michael and Miracle Madie<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>kmskinnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03801112911213041989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862110112855290826.post-14849517477978784182011-02-20T20:22:00.001-08:002011-02-20T20:22:58.705-08:00Happy days are here again<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Colossians 2:16</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I know I have missed a couple of weeks and I am sorry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I really mean to update more often and I know that I would update a few times a week it would so much easier and probably take far less time than trying to stuff two weeks of Skinner family excitement into one post!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I will do my best.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I actually am sitting all alone in my living room right now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We went to church this morning and then Madie decided to skip her afternoon nap so she is already asleep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Molly Michael and Matt are having dinner at Matt’s mom’s house tonight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, for a brief moment, it is just me, my laptop and a little Extreme Home Makeover on the TV in the background.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has been on for approximately 4 minutes and I have cried 38 times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Madie has had a great couple of weeks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had a great visit with Dr. Semrin, our GI doctor at Children’s in Plano.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We explain to him Madie problems with vomiting over the past few weeks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He listened intently to everything we have tried and all the problems we had encountered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had just changed her formula back to a completely broken down one just a few days before our appointment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had seen some improvements since the change but we weren’t sure if it was because Madie’s respiratory issues had started to clear up or if it was because of the formula change.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We all agree that Madie probably doesn’t need to be on this particular formula.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is designed for children that have a severe milk protein allergy and other issues.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Madie had no issues with milk prior to her accident but this formula is definitely the easiest on her tummy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So Dr. Semrin suggested we leave everything as is for now and return in a month.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Madie had a rough time on the ride back from Plano and got sick a couple of times and then seemed like she just didn’t feel well the next day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think that sitting in car seat to and from Dallas just isn’t the best thing for Madie’s muscles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hopefully we can take some time on our next trip to allow her a little time to stretch out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have seen big improvements with Madie’s tolerance of her tube feeds over the past few weeks so we are hopeful that we can get her a more concentrated formula after her next visit on March 3<sup>rd</sup>.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Last time I updated we were waiting on Madie’s follow up swallow study.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thanks to all the snow and ice we had in Texas at the beginning of February, we JUST had the swallow study last Wednesday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am pleased to report that Madie did great!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had just finished her feed, she was sleepy and the speech therapist who helps with the swallow study tried to hold her and all those things made for one grumpy Madie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Madie doesn’t care for people in scrubs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So if you are planning to try and be friends with her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wear something besides scrubs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, I managed to get a few bites in Madie’s mouth and while she wasn’t really cooperating, we were able to tell that there were definite improvements.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was no aspiration.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So the speech therapist and the radiologist told us to give Madie whatever she would eat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, now comes the tricky part.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now we have to overcome Madie’s sensory aversions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She doesn’t really like the way most things feel in her mouth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everything she picks up, she immediately brings it to her mouth and then makes an awful face.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She has gotten MUCH better though.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She will put her fingers in her mouth and seems ok with liquids and purees.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So now we will focus on getting Madie to eat things with texture and also using a sippy cup.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She seems very interested in the cup but does not have the coordination to suck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know that just like everything else, Madie will prove to us that she is a fighter and that she WILL eat and drink again!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hopefully these things will happen sooner than later so we can get her off of this tube feed!!!!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In other Skinner family news, we are thinking of getting a puppy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have decided on a tiny toy poodle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After all my research, we feel that will be the best match for our family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I really think that Madie and Molly Michael will both benefit greatly from having a pet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Matt, while not completely against getting a puppy, is the most nervous about our newest addition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I feel like that means the puppy will be most attached to him!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The breeder we have decided to go with has a litter of puppies due sometime around the beginning of March.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Due to their small size these sweet puppies usually don’t go to their new homes until around 10-12 weeks old.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So that means that we probably won’t have our new little girl until maybe the beginning of June.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I kind of feel like an expecting mom with all this time I have to prepare.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are VERY excited, well I should probably say that Molly Michael and I are very excited.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I told Matt I couldn’t believe we would be hearing the pitter patter of puppy paws soon at our house, I pray that we’ll also hopefully be hearing the pitter patter of Madie’s feet as well. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">We pray daily that God will continue to heal Madie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We also thank God daily for all the improvements we see.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We know that God’s plan for Madie and our family is a great one and we trust that He will continue to support us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please remember to keep up with <a href="http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/charleyraefurrh1010">Charley Rae’s</a> story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are so grateful for all of you who still pray for Madie and cheer for her on her road to recovery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As always, please pray for her continued healing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">With Greatest Gratitude,</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Kristin, Matt, Molly Michael and Miracle Madie</span></div>kmskinnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03801112911213041989noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862110112855290826.post-62038572314581771782011-02-03T13:05:00.000-08:002011-02-03T13:05:19.040-08:00Enough already!<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">As soon as I pray, You answer me; You encourage me by giving me strength.<br />
Psalm 138:3</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Before I even get to an update on my family, I want to encourage everyone in Marshall to bundle up and make your way to Cypress Valley Bible Church at 5:30 this evening to attend the prayer vigil for Charley Rae Furrh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those of you not in Marshall, take just a moment at 5:30 to say a prayer for this sweet girl and her family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pray that her tiny little body will tolerate the dialysis, pray for her parents and other family members and most importantly pray that she finds a kidney donor SOON!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Continue to follow her story </span><a href="http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/charleyraefurrh1010"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">here</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> and please leave a quick message for her and her parents.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I cannot explain how much it means to read encouraging words from so many people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I still love getting new messages and I even go back and reread old messages, especially when times are tough!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It renews my strength to read those messages from the first few days after Madie’s accident and realize just how FAR we have come.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know Ashley and Drew appreciate all of the support just as much as we do. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also PLEASE go </span><a href="http://marshallnewsmessenger.com/news/article_f76f673a-2e96-11e0-a5d9-001cc4c03286.html"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">here</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> to find out if you might be a potential match as a kidney donor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Madie is doing really well…for the most part.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She has had a tough couple of weeks with different illnesses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Last week she had an ear infection that came out of nowhere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only reason I even knew it was infected is because she has tubes and I saw the drainage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She didn’t even give us a warning fever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We started her on antibiotics and got that cleared up before Matt left to go quail hunting on Friday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then poor Madie had a pretty good battle with constipation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was awful and I didn’t get much sleep on Friday night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was lots of crying and throwing up involved for poor Madie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>GiGi(Matt’s mom) was sweet enough to take Molly Michael on Saturday so she could have lots of attention and I could get some sleep on Saturday night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thank the good Lord for Mandy, and her mom Peggy, who came out Saturday and helped me clean out closets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mandy’s dad even came over and helped take away five years’ worth of junk for us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She slept great Saturday night but was back to misery on Sunday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finally we got everything moving, HA, and all seemed well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Monday was OK and then Tuesday Madie woke up with a cough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Madie throws up a lot, she tends to aspirate some which leads to lung issues.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So we headed to town and got a chest x-ray.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No pneumonia but her pediatrician went ahead and started her on antibiotics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our electricity went out Tuesday night so we had to pack up in the dark and head to GiGi’s house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No fun with a sick baby, Molly Michael thought it was awesome to walk around with flash light though.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We came back home yesterday morning and Madie was obviously not feeling well but she slept really well last night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then just to keep us on our toes, she woke up with a fever and a lot more snot this morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So went back for another x-ray and another visit with our fantastic pediatrician, Dr. Turner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her lungs were still a little hazy but no pneumonia and not any worse than Tuesday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have added in a second antibiotic and hopefully we are now officially on the road to recovery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Madie’s nurse Jenny has been a great help and I know she is more than ready to not smell like Madie’s vanilla vomit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I really hope one day Madie gets furious with me for sharing her constipation issues with all of you!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>PLEASE pray that Madie gets better quickly because we are heading to Plano on Tuesday to see our original GI doctor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are hoping to get some answers on Madie’s reoccurring vomiting issues.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will update everyone after her appointment and let you know what we find out.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Now, time to brag on my sweet Molly Michael for just a minute.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is such an amazing little 4 year old…most of the time, ha!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She talks to Madie a lot and sometimes says the sweetest things to her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One night I was holding Madie and she had just fallen asleep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I asked Molly Michael if she wanted to give her a kiss goodnight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She did and then she said, “Madie, I wish you could walk again.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I, of course, started crying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Molly Michael wiped my tears and looked at my so sweetly and said, “dry up those tears Mommy.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was also home Monday night when a friend of ours came to the house to do a little speech therapy with Madie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Molly Michael went to Madie’s room and got all of her speech stuff and told Summer that she ALWAYS gets the speech therapy stuff out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That night Matt was lying down with her at bedtime she told him that when she grew up that she wanted to be a speech therapist like Ms. Summer so she could help Madie get better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>LOVE HER.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am so proud of both my girls. I am proud of Madie for being such a strong fighter and proud of Molly Michael for being so compassionate and loving of her sister.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are also about a million other reasons I am proud of them, but I am sure you all knew that!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Thanks for continue to pray for our family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are still amazed that so many people are still following Madie’s journey and we know that all of your prayers are still being answered because we see improvements in Madie every day. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also please pray that this weather doesn’t knock out our electricity again or that it at least gives us enough time to go get a generator before it knocks out our electricity again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">With Greatest Gratitude,</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Kristin, Matt, Molly Michael and Madie<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAmSL3GTofE-kLXO21As4ll3nsvjsHnK9vZ6MjE9DCseM6Pg6iKMV85lS_VBsMmqj9GC4GdSQ_-nVcBH0bPRU4fGVWZYIx-4OIeGhj2kFGFRRAdLwx8xdzs20ShH61Ozuuc70VrKzu1A4/s1600/IMG_0846.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAmSL3GTofE-kLXO21As4ll3nsvjsHnK9vZ6MjE9DCseM6Pg6iKMV85lS_VBsMmqj9GC4GdSQ_-nVcBH0bPRU4fGVWZYIx-4OIeGhj2kFGFRRAdLwx8xdzs20ShH61Ozuuc70VrKzu1A4/s320/IMG_0846.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here is sweet Madie Sunday morning. She is really sweet and happy even when she feels like poo because she can't poo. :)</span></div></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUzhe_G0wYjxZGT_jWasZy8NCUtaVo5mK9ogCcjhsiaz2Vt2GTIZrRk2yNMRaUEDOqEbRA25hcD0MKz0-kA9qnQWFvHZNwWa57vRIr7mPOpqXKx6lOVhE1Pkbqerjuvx5i6GfrVfwdTVs/s1600/The+Lip.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUzhe_G0wYjxZGT_jWasZy8NCUtaVo5mK9ogCcjhsiaz2Vt2GTIZrRk2yNMRaUEDOqEbRA25hcD0MKz0-kA9qnQWFvHZNwWa57vRIr7mPOpqXKx6lOVhE1Pkbqerjuvx5i6GfrVfwdTVs/s320/The+Lip.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And here is "The Lip". Madie gives "The Lip" to get anything she wants. She is actually sad in this picture as you you can se from her tears, but we see "the Lip" turn to a smile in seconds most of the time! It has taken months to get this on camera because usually as soon as you get the camera out she starts smiling.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span>kmskinnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03801112911213041989noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862110112855290826.post-86043354737893369762011-01-25T20:57:00.000-08:002011-01-26T09:43:01.241-08:00Oops, I did it again...<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A person who lives in faith must proceed on incomplete evidence, trusting in advance what will only make sense in reverse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>– Phillip Yancey</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I feel like it should be Friday but it is only Tuesday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yikes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I make a promise to myself what seems like every week that the following week will be my week that I get myself and my life organized.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It never fails that once “next week” gets here, I am just as unorganized as I was the week before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So maybe next week will be THE week…we’ll see about that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Matt is going quail hunting this weekend and I have enlisted the help of my wonderful friend Mandy to help me organize a couple of closets here at home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So at least if my life isn’t organized, my closets will be…for a little while at least.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>OK, enough about me, I’ll get to the good stuff.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Today is the January 25<sup>th</sup> which means it has been 5 months since the accident.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes it seems like it has been a year and other days it seems like it has been a few weeks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Madie is continuing to improve and live up to her nickname of Miracle Madie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is starting to show a little more interest in eating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She definitely lets us know if there is something that she doesn’t want to eat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are still trying to get her feeds worked out and she has been having some trouble tolerating her first feed every morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have rescheduled our follow up visit with the GI doctor for next Thursday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hopefully he can give us some answers or suggestions on what we might do to help keep that morning feed in her tummy. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are tired of smelling like vanilla pediasure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ashley, who is Madie’s speech therapist, has order another swallow study and we hope to schedule it for next week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please pray that Madie shows some improvements since her last SS which was about 2 months ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Madie is also showing improvements in both physical and occupational therapy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Phil, our physical therapist, has set new goals for Madie since she has already met her original 6 month goals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are now working on sitting, standing, walking and crawling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Madie is getting stronger and we are so excited to see her tackle her new goals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then there is Madie’s occupational therapy, which is getting much better, but Madie still puts up a big fight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She really makes poor Stephanie, the OT, work hard for her money!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We also got a new nurse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her name is Jenny and we think she is wonderful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can already tell she is going to play a big role in Madie’s healing and we feel so blessed that God has placed her in our lives. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Since I missed updating last week I didn’t get a chance to request prayers for our close friends Brooke and Lance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their youngest son has been in the hospital since last Wednesday but finally got to go home today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Please pray that Layton continues to heal and they can get back to a normal routine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We are also requesting prayers for some other friends in Marshall. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please pray for baby Charley and read her story on her caring bridge website. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can follow her </span><a href="http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/charleyraefurrh1010"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">here</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please pray for this family and their sweet little girl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are going through such a scary time and they need your prayers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please leave them a message because we still find so much strength and comfort knowing so people are praying for Madie and I know they would appreciate it as well.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m heading to bed because I am planning to take Madie back to Kindermusik tomorrow for the time since her accident.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We love Ms. Donnis and Molly Michael and Madie have both always loved KM.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Madie thinks it is hilarious when Molly Michael dances and sings around the house so I am hoping that a room full of kids dancing and singing will be equally as hilarious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jenny is going to come with me so if it turns out to be a disaster; at least I will have a little support.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wish us luck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wish I could bring Molly Michael with us, but she will be at school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ll see how the first few classes go and then maybe she can skip a day of Pre-k to join us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will try and remember to bring the camera so we can get a picture of all the fun!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Thank you, as always, for keeping up with Madie’s story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We know that Madie is a true miracle and proof that God hears our prayers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That being said we have faith that God will continue to take care of sweet Layton and Charley.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">With Greatest Gratitude,</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Kristin, Matt, Molly Michael and Miracle Madie</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> I tried for AT LEAST 15 minutes and this was the best picture I could get of two crazy little girls. The problem is that Madie follows Molly Michael everywhere she goes and Molly Michael is always on the go!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhITK6i5vDc0IHPffNbJ3NAHFcA5GU40uORD1_sxZ5v2VNMY_Yvmvgt8aAMkoQ8qBd-zFMkGuLJe-TtiyEJKCFdbfU1LbuUHCX5Pj79ku8j0lvQVDdyO3oNh4hpelPDYCf419jmp-Xv1_U/s1600/Sisters.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhITK6i5vDc0IHPffNbJ3NAHFcA5GU40uORD1_sxZ5v2VNMY_Yvmvgt8aAMkoQ8qBd-zFMkGuLJe-TtiyEJKCFdbfU1LbuUHCX5Pj79ku8j0lvQVDdyO3oNh4hpelPDYCf419jmp-Xv1_U/s1600/Sisters.JPG" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>kmskinnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03801112911213041989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862110112855290826.post-88890919246281785022011-01-09T22:24:00.000-08:002011-01-09T22:24:22.357-08:00Hey 2011, where did you come from???<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Oh my goodness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Where did December go and how are we already a full week in January?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have been home two months now and it has really flown by.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am so excited to have the next few months with no major school holidays so I can finally get REALLY organized.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This week was supposed to be my first full week in a while to get things done and what happens…SNOW DAY.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh well, we will have a fantastic day playing in the snow and watching movies.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Christmas day marked 4 months since the accident and Madie is doing amazing!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She continues to improve every day and show everyone that God is listening to and answering our prayers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has been so long since I updated that I don’t even know where to start.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I promise I won’t go that long again!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Madie’s swallow is getting stronger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We feed her once or twice a day but only for therapeutic reasons not nutritional.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have definitely seen improvements though!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her speech therapist hasn’t mentioned when she will order a follow up swallow study but I am sure she will let us know when she thinks Madie is ready.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not sure if I mentioned this in my last post but we finally found a wonderful dietician.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She has been an absolute blessing to us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Madie is finally on a regular formula and getting 5 feeds a day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is at her goal for volume and now we just need to get the feeds down to an hour with two hours in between.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That will give us more freedom to take Madie places without having to bring her feed pump with us. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Madie’s occupational therapist is still working on strengthening her arms and head control.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can see large improvements just when Madie sits in your lap.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She holds her head up much better and uses her arms to try to hold herself up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her coordination is also really improving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If Madie sees something she wants, then she will reach for it…and most of the time she gets it! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She can roll to her tummy and we even found her sleeping on her stomach this morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">About a week ago, we got Madie’s standing frame.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She loves it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She hasn’t been in a stander since we left OCH so it is amazing to see her progress!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She also loves for us to stand her up without it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She puts pressure on her legs and will even attempt to take steps.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is still very much like a noodle but the fact that she knows what she is supposed to do speak volumes to all of us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We went to Dallas to see Madie's physical medicine and rehab doctor last Thursday and she was very impressed with Madie’s progress.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She lowered her dose of baclofen, which is a muscle relaxer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The doctor wants us to watch her for 2 weeks and then let her know how she is doing and at that point she may lower the dose again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Other than that, she said everything looked great and that she would see Madie again in three months.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While we were in Dallas we went to have Madie measured for and ordered a stroller.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We also started the process to order a gait trainer, which is a piece of equipment that will help Madie learn to start to walk again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We put her one in to make sure we had the right fit before ordering and she knew exactly what to do!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can’t wait until we have one at home so that she can get lots of practice.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I am sure that I am leaving off a long list of accomplishments that Madie has achieved since you heard from me last so you will just have to take my word that she is proving she is a fighter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Molly Michael is continuing to show us that she is the world’s greatest big sister.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although she has her moments when she doesn’t want to share the spotlight, she is usually very willing to help out when asked. We try very hard to make her feel included and she loves to be the therapy helper when she is home…especially for speech therapy because that usually involves candy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had a lot of fun playing in the snow today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will try my best to get a few pictures of us outside building “snow sand castles”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I tried to tell her that we could just call them snow castles since they were made of only snow but she was having none of that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am sure by tomorrow afternoon as the snow turns to slush we really will be making snow sand castles.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Again, I am so sorry that I haven’t updated in almost a month.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am going to try to post an update once a week now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are still so thankful for each of every one of you who still ask about Madie and let us know that you are still prayer for her and our family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wish you could all see her in person so that you could understand that God is listening and answering our prayers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We hope that everyone is having a wonderful new year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Keep the prayers coming!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are so grateful for them all.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">With greatest gratitude,</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Kristin, Matt, Molly Michael and Miracle Madie </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Here are pictures of Madie in a standing frame taken exactly 3 months apart. I think pictures show just what a HUGE miracle Madie is!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5G46qf4DrF0nyYbSxI1pbK7v3XtJizTyObPOcQESrB7O9moH4bpYUO1iat15KKEIiTDgK92ZMLM9Ech7KWfMSi-1ia8uTh8SDmEeHbymH0lp4nD7L8Ds8Cj3KD5xgasDEr9l22cNz_Lo/s1600/10-03+Stander.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5G46qf4DrF0nyYbSxI1pbK7v3XtJizTyObPOcQESrB7O9moH4bpYUO1iat15KKEIiTDgK92ZMLM9Ech7KWfMSi-1ia8uTh8SDmEeHbymH0lp4nD7L8Ds8Cj3KD5xgasDEr9l22cNz_Lo/s320/10-03+Stander.jpg" width="172" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicn5btOHeTbtjDAOXkPak_7c3Pdsy_sgb7N2Cz6bnxLgPtjndueqsec-6cIcuG2v_3YlmT0sY1iFy3tv0kLVXzpmIv2srIkAqwgbyFonlrYXtq7H51ug5ZiQFgheRZT8eh3rdFkflOzlE/s1600/12-10.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicn5btOHeTbtjDAOXkPak_7c3Pdsy_sgb7N2Cz6bnxLgPtjndueqsec-6cIcuG2v_3YlmT0sY1iFy3tv0kLVXzpmIv2srIkAqwgbyFonlrYXtq7H51ug5ZiQFgheRZT8eh3rdFkflOzlE/s320/12-10.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>kmskinnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03801112911213041989noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862110112855290826.post-82253691439998277572010-12-17T21:06:00.000-08:002010-12-17T21:06:58.408-08:00Ho Ho Ho...Merry Christmas!<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";">OH.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>MY.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>GOODNESS!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I really didn’t mean to go missing for two weeks!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Things have been so very busy around here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ve had the Christmas parade, birthday parties galore, school, work, Molly Michael’s Christmas program and more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am determined to spend the next week getting what I need to get done at work and the rest I will be spending time with Molly Michael, Madie and Matt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I will be completely honest and tell you that this will probably be the last you will hear from me until the 26thish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";">Madie’s swallow study went much better than I expected, but of course, I am no expert.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I honestly thought they would have a hard time getting her to swallow anything but I was wrong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She did really well especially with puree and liquids on a spoon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She did aspirate some liquids when they were given to her by syringe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The good news is that when she did aspirate, she would cough to protect her airway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If she didn’t cough, that would lead us to believe that she did feel that it was going down the wrong way and they call that a silent aspiration.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If she were to have a silent aspiration we would have no idea if she was aspirating or not when trying to reintroduce solids so thank the Lord for that cough!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our speech therapist Ashley suggested that we start trying to give her 8 or so small bites of baby food twice a day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can already see improvements in her “eating” from when we started two weeks ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Madie’s head control is getting much better and we are starting to see some improvements with coordination.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She loves her baby dolls and you can now lay one beside her and she will roll to pick it up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have taken her out and about to a few different places and she has done great.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She just takes it all in and looks around at everything and everyone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We took her to her Supper with Santa, which was great by the way, and we took her to the Molly Michael’s Christmas Program.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It brings me such joy that so many people that have been following Madie’s story have had a chance to see how wonderful she is doing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";">Now I will brag on Molly Michael and Trinity Pre School just a tiny bit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I thought I would talk to Molly Michael about what Christmas means and why we celebrate it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am pretty sure by the end of the conversation she had taught me a few things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Trinity has done a great job of teaching these precious. kids about Christmas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Molly Michael told me all about the Angel telling Mary she was going to have a “baby Jesus” and how they went to Bethlehem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She told me that they had to stay in a manger and there was no bed for baby Jesus so he slept on hay and Mary wrapped him in a cloth because there was no blankie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everything I asked she had an answer for.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was really impressed with her interpretation of Christmas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";">We are so excited about Christmas this year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Last Christmas Madie was only 6 months old and this time last year I expected to have two little girls running around, both of them unwrapping presents, playing with toys and fighting over toys.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While that isn’t exactly how things will be this year, I am confident that it will be the way things will be again soon enough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are so grateful for all of God’s gifts that he has given our family this year and we consider ourselves very lucky and blessed to still have TWO little girls this Christmas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have no doubt that our home will still be filled with lots of smiles and laughs on Christmas morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know that Molly Michael is looking forward to ONE more Christmas of getting to open gifts for her AND Madie!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";">Please pray for Madie’s continued healing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also please pray for safe travels for everyone who will be on the road for Christmas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We hope that everyone has a stress free, Merry Christmas!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";">With greatest gratitude,</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";">Kristin</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLJt-2P3TZlV-7BAkMx43WHGgMdUkyHIfjozQGQoewLXeVR1G9r-iuagYgRvTURGWRHZf9BtGHBRlVRMarV-5NIGcsJO2op-emCKSPZNCFCQ1vtJqPwCruQj1uLfsIgk8ZnqS2LTKcnhs/s1600/yummy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLJt-2P3TZlV-7BAkMx43WHGgMdUkyHIfjozQGQoewLXeVR1G9r-iuagYgRvTURGWRHZf9BtGHBRlVRMarV-5NIGcsJO2op-emCKSPZNCFCQ1vtJqPwCruQj1uLfsIgk8ZnqS2LTKcnhs/s320/yummy.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div>kmskinnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03801112911213041989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862110112855290826.post-59825463223893888612010-12-05T18:24:00.000-08:002010-12-05T18:24:09.302-08:00My future's so bright...<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Philippians 4:4</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";">Our doctor appointments last were wonderful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The GI doctor didn’t make the changes to Madie’s feedings that we were hoping for but only because he wants us to meet with a dietician.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hopefully we can get that done SOON but the one thing everyone agrees on is that we need to get Madie off of this 12 hour continuous feed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The speech therapist believes that if Madie were on several feeds a day it would allow her to have the feeling of hunger and hopefully that would assist in reintroducing things to her by mouth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The GI doctor also took Madie off several medicines that he felt she didn’t need which Matt and I were OK with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is now only getting Baclofen, which is a muscle relaxer, Keppra to prevent seizures and Prevacid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The best new we received at that appointment was the doctor saying that he thought Madie would recover from her accident.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He didn’t say how much but still he said “recover” so I will take it!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";">We started Thursday morning with Madie’s physical therapy before we headed to Dallas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Phil, Madie’s physical therapist, told me that she was very impressed with Madie and that she had met almost of her goals that she had originally set for Madie…for 6 months!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How incredible is that?! After PT we headed to Dallas a little early so we could stop by OCH to see one of Madie’s nurses that we still keep in touch with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We saw lots of familiar faces that had taken care of Madie during our stay at OCH and they were all impressed with her improvements in the month she has been home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of the therapists who helped worked with Madie were on an outing but we did get to see Liz, Madie’s OT.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was SHOCKED at how much Madie had improved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We will be back at OCH on January 6<sup>th </sup>for an appointment and I have no doubt that Madie will surprise them again. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";">After we left OCH we headed to Children’s to meet with Dr. Castro, Madie’s neurologist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She has been with Madie since day one but hadn’t seen her since we left Children’s and at that time Madie was still in a moderate coma.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She came in the room and Madie and I were playing peek-a-boo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Madie was laughing and Dr. Castro’s face lit up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She said she was so surprised because that is not was she was expecting at all!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dr. Castro had received the report from Madie’s EEG she had done at Baylor about a week and half before she was discharged from Baylor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the time of that EEG Madie had shown <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">some</i> improvements but nothing too major, however, a few days after the EEG she started to really progress in her recovery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dr. Castro stated that she had been so sad to see Madie because after reading the reports from OCH she didn’t feel like she was getting better but when she saw her smiling, laughing, holding her head up and moving her arms and legs so much, she was excited!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She examined Madie and kept commenting on how great she looked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She decided that she would leave Madie’s meds as they are right now, which is the lowest dose for her weight, and then do a repeat EEG in 6 months.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If things look good then she would see about getting her off her seizure meds at that time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then she told us that she thought Madie’s future looked GREAT!!!!!! Part of me wanted to scream, “THAT IS WHAT WE HAVE BEEN SAYING SINCE DAY ONE!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Matt and I have told every doctor that has talked to us about Madie that we understand that while things may not always look promising for her, we have faith that God is in control and that we hope Madie would be one of miracle stories you hear about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The fact that Madie survived her accident at was a miracle in itself and we have kept the faith that her story wouldn’t stop there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just about every doctor has looked at us like we are two crazy people who don’t understand what is going on with their child.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The entire time we were at our appointment Dr. Castro, she look happy for Madie and not like she felt sorry for her and I will never be able to explain how absolutely amazing that felt!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We understand there may never be a 100% guarantee that Madie will make a full recovery but to hear a neurologist say that Madie’s future looks great is the next best thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God is so good.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";">Molly Michael had a wonderful time at Disney Princess on Ice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We sat on the front row and I was a little worried that my sweet princess would make a run for it and try to join the production, but she sat, waved and watched with amazement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We went with her friends Sloane and Julia (and their moms) and they were so cute and sweet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is so neat to watch their faces as REAL princesses skate and sing right in front of them. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";">Tomorrow Madie will FINALLY get her swallow study.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please pray that she does well enough that we can start to reintroduce things to her by mouth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As always please pray for Madie’s continued healing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are so thankful that all of you are still keeping up with Madie’s journey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our prayers are being answered so keep them coming.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";">With Greatest Gratitude,</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif";">Kristin, Matt, Molly Michael and Madie <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgImgOBf4f4APP8O7Huc9XoQhdXSAjDrSJWC6nClQcSfkSN1WTlXRrBeWoK0-eBPYbR_L3dJQXqWG444Mtmr2obkNXTLWuZwjP6WfQlzIDvhHujElrryCGjUfnJJROopaA4Y1QzLphGhDg/s1600/IMG_0512.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="274" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgImgOBf4f4APP8O7Huc9XoQhdXSAjDrSJWC6nClQcSfkSN1WTlXRrBeWoK0-eBPYbR_L3dJQXqWG444Mtmr2obkNXTLWuZwjP6WfQlzIDvhHujElrryCGjUfnJJROopaA4Y1QzLphGhDg/s320/IMG_0512.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I know I need a tan and you are probably wondering what this picture of Madie staring into space is, but this is Madie staring at herself in a mirror (that you can't see) AND she is sitting up ALL by herself!</span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEmtuClU93VGaCMm1pracUbe9EfunbXFd0TJazRcih4wlWRh9ljr74BMQ7RdIg_iq_6lDgHh-TMudF5x4U9YJve3CWn9ZuLRaFiIXWnQcNp_X-Q_Yutq4wRiJv3pw6HY9-x8TB4UqdnK8/s1600/IMG_0582.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEmtuClU93VGaCMm1pracUbe9EfunbXFd0TJazRcih4wlWRh9ljr74BMQ7RdIg_iq_6lDgHh-TMudF5x4U9YJve3CWn9ZuLRaFiIXWnQcNp_X-Q_Yutq4wRiJv3pw6HY9-x8TB4UqdnK8/s320/IMG_0582.JPG" width="199" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And here is Cinderella doing her thing at Princess on Ice...</span></div>kmskinnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03801112911213041989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862110112855290826.post-74106703459687569352010-11-30T21:36:00.000-08:002010-11-30T21:36:46.815-08:00The Amazing Madie...<div style="background: white;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“If you can?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div><div style="background: white;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Mark 9:23</span></div><div style="background: white;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Have I mentioned lately that Madie is AMAZING?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She has done really well the past week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had a GREAT Thanksgiving with the family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even with a crowded house full of people she was calm and happy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is hard to believe that a little over a month ago we could have never done that with Madie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is continuing to show improvements in all her therapies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She can roll to her tummy now but doesn’t have the upper body strength to hold her chest up although she can turn her head from side to side while on her tummy though.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Madie is also really moving her arms and legs now and we can no longer lie her down on her pallet, walk away and find her in the same place you left her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She will have scooted off the pillow and will be sideways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you put a toy beside her she knows to hit it to make the music and lights turn on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is also opening both hands and starting to grab things close to her…mostly her shirt, blanket and G-tube.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So we have to watch her close to make sure she doesn’t yank that out!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She still has to work hard at getting her arms and legs to do what she wants, but we can see the wheels turning and can tell that she is without a doubt heading in the right direction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Madie loves loves loves to have all the attention for herself and she watches my every move and would prefer that I am holding her or sitting next to her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I start to get up she will stick out the bottom lip and scream.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is either happy or extremely mad and doesn’t really seem to have an in between at the moment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is a smart little lady and definitely has all of us figured out! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Tomorrow Madie has her appointment with her new GI doctor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am hoping that we will also get to meet with the dietician.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The plan with the original GI was to get Madie back to bolus feeds and off of the amino acid based formula.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am hoping that if we can get her back to bolus feeds that we can start doing more things outside of our house without having to take her feed pump with us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So say a little prayer that since Madie’s throwing up seems to be under control that we can start moving back towards multiple feedings instead of one 12 hour feed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Madie should also have her swallow study early next week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We know she is swallowing but the study will tell us how weak or strong her swallow is and what she might be able to tolerate by mouth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hopefully we will get good results from that because I know a few speech therapists out there that are itching to get some goodies in Madie’s mouth!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thursday morning we will head to Dallas for Madie’s neurology appointment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am assuming this is just a follow-up because if I remember correctly our neurologist, Dr. Castro, stated that Madie would be on her seizure meds for 6 months and then they would perform a repeat EEG.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am very nervous about going because I prefer to only believe that Madie is going to keep getting better and make a full recovery and I feel like the neurologist is sometimes the one person that can crush those beliefs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The good news is that Dr. Castro has always been very nice and always seemed to genuinely care about Madie and the even better news is that Madie is a COMPLETELY different baby than she was when Dr. Castro saw her last.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am really quite excited to show her off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please pray that we also get positive results from this appointment. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Madie continues to amaze us a little more each day!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love to look at her from day to day and week to week and see her progress.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is crazy to think how great she looked a week ago and then look at how REALLY great she looks today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are so grateful that God continues to answer prayers and bless our precious Madie. I will do my best to update Friday and let everyone know how the appointments went.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Molly Michael and I have a busy weekend that includes a few birthday parties and a trip to see Disney Princesses on Ice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She has already asked MULTIPLE times if she can be a princess on ice and if she can wear her Cinderella costume.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I told her she can of course where her Cinderella costume but you have to know how to ice skate to be a princess on ice to which she replied, “I can, I know how to ice skate.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wish me luck because I am sure she will continue to try and figure out a way to get on the ice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please pray that Madie tolerates the ride to and from Dallas and as always pray for Madie’s continued healing.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">With Greatest Gratitude,</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Kristin, Matt, Molly Michael and Miracle Madie<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvcGDYwARuOPhRyRkrChGzuaM2wxITOYkAFSJIa4L0b19OjTJnl13vl_a2smDF9skpe5Zt9jCW7CBy37UjfC-Oa-gpFf1HZ03cc_bfA4agUcgpff8oa2rD02JF0IRMoC2mOTOjLpAVtIs/s1600/HI.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvcGDYwARuOPhRyRkrChGzuaM2wxITOYkAFSJIa4L0b19OjTJnl13vl_a2smDF9skpe5Zt9jCW7CBy37UjfC-Oa-gpFf1HZ03cc_bfA4agUcgpff8oa2rD02JF0IRMoC2mOTOjLpAVtIs/s320/HI.bmp" width="240" /></span></a></div>kmskinnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03801112911213041989noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862110112855290826.post-50289828466781159742010-11-25T21:26:00.000-08:002010-11-25T21:26:20.128-08:00Gobble Gobble<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in ALL circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18 </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Happy Thanksgiving!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had a great day spent with our wonderful family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I started writing a list of all that I am thankful for and it didn’t take me long to realize that it would go and on forever and I would inevitably leave someone or something important off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For that reason I decided to skip my list and I’ll just elaborate on a few of the obvious things we are thankful for.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">First and foremost, we are thankful for God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We couldn’t have made it through the first day without him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Being able to fully trust that God is in control has made every day manageable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our faith has been tested but it has only gotten stronger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We know without a doubt that God has big things in store for Madie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There have been several people who have asked me how we stay so positive through all of this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Matt and I decided from the start that we would do everything we could to be optimistic and rely on God to get our family through this heartbreaking moment in our lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I honestly can’t imagine how we could get through this any other way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t see how it would help any of us of if we focused on the things that MIGHT be wrong with Madie or that COULD go wrong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead of being sad about what has been taken from us we are most thankful for everything we still have and all that we have learned over the past three months.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve learned I am so much stronger that I could have ever imagined.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve learned that Matt is so much more than my husband, my best friend, and the world’s best dad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is my soul mate and I know that God put him on this Earth to be with me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve learned that Molly Michael is an incredible little girl as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She has consistently surprised me at how well she has handled everything that has happened. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And then there is Madie… I am so thankful for her and the fight she put up to survive and the fight she has since put up to get better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She amazes me every day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It hasn’t been that long since we thought it was amazing that her right arm was starting to relax and she would open her hand a little when she was asleep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Less than a month ago we thought it was great that we could get Madie to smile if we tickled her and now she smiles all the time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You don’t have to do anything besides wave to her from the across the room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She used to scream and cry anytime she was awake and was only quiet when she slept.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, she is happy all the time! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She can roll side to side and as soon as she realizes what to do with her arm she’ll roll all the way over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our nurse and all of our therapists talk about how much she changes from week to week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Proud doesn’t even begin to express how I feel about her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know I have every right to be sad and mad about all that has been taken from our family, and sometimes I have those feelings, but more often than not I am thankful and grateful for all that has been given back to our family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are blessed indeed.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">We are thankful for our family, friends and community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I won’t even begin to name everyone, mostly because there are so many people that have done things to help our family that we don’t even know about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Marshall, TX came together like I have never seen to help when we needed it most and we will never forget that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are thankful for everyone who has wanted to help not only Madie but our family as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is no way we could have done this alone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Madie is so lucky that are so many people out there that want so badly to be a small part in her recovery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We hope everyone knows that our family is so appreciative of everything everyone has done for us and that we plan to pay it forward and help others in need in any way we can. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I could go on and on and on because there are so many other things we are thankful for not only today but every day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am so happy that we got to spend today surrounded by family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hope that everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Ok, one last thing I am thankful for…an Aggie win. Way to go Ags!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Please continue to pray for Madie’s continued healing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She has an appointment with her new GI doctor in Shreveport on Wednesday and then we will be heading to Dallas on Thursday for her follow up Neurology appointment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please pray that we get positive results from both.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">With greatest gratitude,</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Kristin, Matt, Molly Michael and Miracle Madie</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>kmskinnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03801112911213041989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862110112855290826.post-46930757141376034002010-11-23T17:43:00.000-08:002010-11-23T17:43:12.756-08:00Drumroll Please...<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Well... I have decided to start a blog to keep everyone up to date on all things Madie and Molly Michael too. I know I mentioned this on Caring Bridge and I got lots of suggestions that the blog name should be Miracle Madie. While I agree that she is indeed a true miracle, my hope is that many, many years from now I will still be writing this blog and it will be filled with stories about my family and our everyday normal lives instead of only stories about how Madie is recovering from her accident. So for that reason, I went with The Skinner Sisters instead of Miracle Madie. My friend Brooke and I tried to come up with a far more creative name, but apparently we weren't creative enough because the 50 other names we tried first were already taken! I will post here AND on Caring Bridge for awhile and eventually just put the updates here. So here is today's CB <a href="http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/madieskinner/journal">update</a>. And since those of you reading this are my very first followers (should you decide to actually follow my blog) I will share a very exciting picture from today that happened after I posted my caring bridge update. Madie almost rolled all the way over and was really quite happy about it. Before today she had only made it to her side. She also learned that if she hits her new toy that it will light up and play music. She is one smart cookie! I hope both of you reading this enjoy it! </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiOrW-nMKwwNZWaRbrf22EWtrrIH4UuvipDA9CGa2eUNKUyc1a-ByNhgFwJ2Qnt91dSkY7GEThBHU1pFG2kqVEiFSqyO4vtiJ1awiy6vg4ojqpdVrSFNTWfxXbkuTpuohIwWuAmnZdyRA/s1600/Tummy+Time.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="cssfloat: left; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="245" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiOrW-nMKwwNZWaRbrf22EWtrrIH4UuvipDA9CGa2eUNKUyc1a-ByNhgFwJ2Qnt91dSkY7GEThBHU1pFG2kqVEiFSqyO4vtiJ1awiy6vg4ojqpdVrSFNTWfxXbkuTpuohIwWuAmnZdyRA/s400/Tummy+Time.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>kmskinnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03801112911213041989noreply@blogger.com9