FOR TERRY

YOU WERE SENT FROM ABOVE

YOU WERE SENT HERE TO LOVE

YOU ARE MOMMY'S SHINING STAR

NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE

YOUR SMILES LIGHT UP THE DAYS

IN SO MANY DIFFERENT WAYS

EVERY DAY YOU SHINE BRIGHTER

BECAUSE YOU ARE OUR LITTLE FIGHTER

DOING SO MUCH

It has been a long time since my last post, but that is because Terry keeps me real busy, He will be 3 years old in 57 days and it seem like he is making up for "lost time" he is really making some good advances. he is using the gait trainer a lot more now and handling it well. His vocabulary is expanding every day. He is feeding himself more, though he wont hold finger foods in his hands yet, I think it is because he don't like how they feel. BABY FOOD: a thing of the past, he wants what we eat...can you blame him? Have you ever tasted baby food? YUCK!!!! He is learning how to get around in the house in his little blue rocking chair, it is the cutest thing in the world to watch him do. We are so proud of him and all that he is doing. He will be starting school in September, I am not sure how I feel about this at this point. I know it will be good for him, but it is the whole separation thing for me. I know it is only for a few hours 3 to 4 days a week, but I have not been away from him at all since he came home from the NICU. What will I do with the time???? Terry is learning how to ride his tricycle and doing well I might say! He still can not stand up by himself. but he will stand and play at the couch or at his table. The horse back riding is helping him strengthen the muscles he needs to be able to stand independently and I know he will get there one day. He is trying to crawl but gets angry when he can't get his left hand to do what he wants it to do. Terry has done some amazing things since he had his eye surgery in February...I still say that his vision problem is what held him back partly....

ADVANCING IN MY RIDING LESSONS

Well terry had his first Spring Session riding lesson today and has done very well. His daddy took him, which was a good thing because it gives them a chance to be together...just the two of them! I just got off the phone with David and he said Terry was doing some new and wonderful things..he is using stirrups now and he just started kicking off of them. which shows that he is beginning to bare weight more on his legs. He was much more aware of his surroundings and very opinionated today. Knew what he wanted and he was gonna get it!!!! just wanted to do a quick update of Terry's riding!!

It has been a long time...we have been so busy with the move and all. Terry is doing well! Getting stronger every day! Still just as happy as he always is! February was a bad month for our family....Terry's Great Grandmother was diagnosed with Lung Cancer and was in the hospital from 2/27/10 until 3/12/10. Grandma has been with us here beginning 3/12/10. Terry loves having a room mate!!! It is so cute sometimes to listen to them through the monitor talking to each other, or hearing grandma singing to him when he wakes up during the night. Terry has his corrective surgery on his eyes on 2/11/10... oh lord that was an experience! Yes, I cried when they took him from me to take him to the operating room...I do it every time!!!! He did well! We did have a hard time getting him to wake up and stay awake! But Terry never does any thing by the "book" he had to have elbow restraints on him arms for the first few days, and let me tell you he HATED them!!! his eyes look wonderful....not that they didn't before the surgery. So i guess the right way to phrase it is...Terry's eyes no longer cross! Dr. Lal-Trail thought there would have to be more surgeries, but I am VERY HAPPY TO REPORT THAT TERRY DOES NOT NEED ANY MORE SURGERIES ON HIS EYES!!!!! He will have to go back in to the hospital for10 days for a "anal repair" his booty "hole" is hanging out more than the doc would like it too, but we are not going to be able to do anything about that right now, there is other things going on, and the doc said we could wait on it as long as it is not causing problems for Terry, and it is not for the most part. Some times he has a little bleeding and that is from his little "berry" ( as we like to call it) rubbing on the diaper, so I keep his butt covered in desitin..... that way there is nothing rubbing on the diaper. Terry is doing so may new things now he is trying to walk holding on to the couch..."side walking" he is still not able to stand on his own but he is getting there. Terry is such an inspiration to me because no matter what he has gone through or will be going through he still finds a reason to smile and keep on going. he has had some bad days lately and with him having therapy 4 times a week, sometimes 2 therapies on the same day, he keeps going bad mood or not! I think us adults should take some lessons from our little guys with special needs or disabilities.....always find the good in a bad day and smile and keep on going!!!!

today was pretty uneventful, Terry has been playing all day, goodness where does he get the energy? I wish I had it right now! We are moving in 7 days and thereis still so much to do here! I need a time stretcher!!!! Terry did well in his therapy this morning, however he was not really in to the walking thing this morning, but I got him to do it later. He is really getting strong, and that is a good..no great thing! He will be walking before we know it! His doctors all say by the time he is four, but judging by what I see I say he will be walking before he is "3"!!! Wouldn't that be a great birthday present for both of us, because our birthdays are 9 days apart, mine is 9 days before his! Well with a little prayer and a lot of hard work on his part and mine we should be at the walking thing by July! One of the things that AMAZES me is his willingness to do things, even when he is tired he still does what he has too, most adults would just give up, but not my 'lil man, he just keeps on getting it! Nothing stops him, not even being sick! There are some days when I feel bad because I will be having a bad day, and I know there are things that I have to do with him but I am just not able too. Those days a few and far between, but I still feel bad when I can not do what needs to be done! He is gos gift to us, and we love him for who he is, even though people don't understand what we are all dealing with, most of all TERRY! I know people talk about him because he can not walk yet, and he don't talk too much but it don't bother us because TERRY IS PERFECT IN EVERY WAY TO US AND THAT IS ALL THAT MATTERS! Every one that knows him loves him and he loves anyone who just plays with him or smiles at him or just holds him. There are not too many people that are lucky enough to know Terry's love but those that do cherish it!!!!

ANOTHER DAY...MORE MILESTONES!

MY LITTLE MAN WALKED TODAY.... I am so proud of him! he did it with out his braces! He took about 12 steps! boy I know it was hard for him to do, but the whole time he was smiling from ear to ear! Hopefully before too long he will be doing this on his own without help from mommy or daddy! I am amazed by what he does every day! He works so hard for the things he can do! His sisters help him a lot! They make it seem like a game, and it gets him to do what he needs to and he enjoys what he is doing while he is doing it! Soon we will be in our new house and we are all excited about it, Terry is too I can see it in his eyes when we go to the house to do some work, he knows he has his own room there. Don't know how I will take it because he has been in our room since he came home from the hospital... well we will see! Off to new and better things.. our family that is!

Not a lot going on here...well except for moving, boy will that tire you out!!! Terry is doing well, still has bleeding from his bottom, but he goes to see the surgeon on Thursday, I have a feeling it will result in surgery...but if that is what it takes to get him better then so be it! Not like he has not been through it before! Terry had Occupational Therapy today and he did really well! He is starting to use his left hand more and more! I knew he would! Some days he uses it more than others, I still think that he will cone out of this left handed, wouldn't that be nice! Maybe one of my children will be a south paw like me!!!! He is getting to be suck a BIG BOY!!! his vocabulary is growing more and more every day! He is now taking steps, assisted, but step! He wears his DAFO's everyday, but in spaced out periods because if i were to leave them on all day he would just take them off after an hour or so! He is so smart!!! He is capable of taking steps without them, however it does sometimes hurt his ankles, but he will do it anyway!!!! Tomorrow he has Speech Therapy at 230 in the afternoon, and I know he will do well there too! not much more to say tonight, except :I thank god every day for Terry and I cherish everything he does! I know it is hard for him to do things so when he does them I just hug him and tell him "i knew you could do it baby!" So many people take everything for granted, not me! because even the small things are something big in my eyes!!!!

LITTLE BOY.....

Well Terry is doing so many new things these days! We are so proud of him! He is sitting up on his own more and more, he just loves to stand {even though he needs our help}, he is saying more, one of his favorite things to do is play with his sisters and our pets, in the photo, is Chester, a friend of Amanda's brought him over to see Terry and it took us forever to get Chester away from him! Terry is doing great in his horse back riding lessons he has gone from needing total support to only needing ankle support...in a matter of a few lessons, he is now able to feed "Lark" her treat after the lesson, next he will be working on grooming her. He just loves his time out at the ranch! He was out of session for a few weeks for the holiday break but boy was he glad to get back to it this last Friday! Our little boy is growing so fast, and making those memorable mile stones faster and faster! I always said he was going to prove all the doctors "WRONG" and by god he is! Terry is having eye surgery in just under a month and I am worried about it because there is an increased risk of bleeding, But the doctor said that there is nothing to worry about, ha, easy for him to say, it is not his son going under the knife!!!!! Terry has been through so much I only hope he will do fine with this surgery! He is a STRONG little guy! I can't believe he will be turning 3 in just 6 months and 1 week, gosh where did the time go??? Seems like just yesterday he was in the NICU at Childrens hospital and having the first of many surgeries, now he is almost 3, colostomy free and making great progress! I am amazed at the pace he is doing things now! but I know he still has a lot up his sleeve!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

So things are off to a good start! Terry is doing some wonderful things! I know it has been a long time since I posted last but we have been busy, busy, busy. Terry is still doing therapy 4 times a week. He is doing so many new things like: standing unassisted, standing with our help, he is used to his gait trainer now. He is trying to talk more now. He is doing something new every day! He is just an AWESOME little boy! he is going to prove all the doctors wrong, which we knew he would! He has a wonderful attitude, he is just as happy as he can be! He was sick over the holidays, but you would have never know! he smiled all the time! There are really no words to describe how Terry makes me feel. There are no word good enough to explain it. I just can say that I am a blessed person, because I am here with Terry and I get to see all of his "firsts" and it is an amazing feeling! We have had a bit of a set back though, Terry has been seeing an eye doctor since he was very young, and this eye doctor told us terry needed eye surgery on his left eye to align it, she said we could wait until he was about 5 or so... well I went for a second opinion because being a nurse I just felt there was something not right, so we went for the appointment, and the first thing this doctor said was "wow he is big for 18 months" I said he is 29 months old, why? that's when he told me terry should have had the surgery done before he was 18 months..."WHAT" I told him what theother doc said and he was quite disturbed by this. He also told me that if terry would have had it done, there is a possibility he would be walking by now! I was so upset by this I left the office in tears, a surgery that only involved his left eye now involves both, and it would have only been one surgery, but now it could take anywhere from 3 to 5 different surgeries on both eyes. But I can't dwell on the fact that the other doc told us wrong, i have to focus on getting him taken care of so he is going to have the first surgery done on Feb. 11, 2010. So please say a prayer for our little guy that everything goes well! I will write again soon!