So here's a little taste (about 5 minutes worth) of my favourite time of day (the first few seconds are a little dark, but then I remember to switch the lights on!).
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Friday, July 28, 2006
My Favourite Time of Day
My favourite time of the day is after dinner when we all go upstairs for playtime, baths and bed. No matter how cranky the boys have been they always brighten up when we go upstairs. Kieran practically runs up the stairs, every few steps proclaiming "blankie" or "sassie", when he reaches the top he runs straight into his room and claims his blanket and pacifier from his bed. Callum meanwhile follows his brother up the stairs and with his little naughty giggle announces that it's time for "steal the blankie". What follows is just a wealth of giggles and chasing and shouts of "brother, where are you?" while they tear all over the upstairs of the house and Mark and I sit and smile.
So here's a little taste (about 5 minutes worth) of my favourite time of day (the first few seconds are a little dark, but then I remember to switch the lights on!).
So here's a little taste (about 5 minutes worth) of my favourite time of day (the first few seconds are a little dark, but then I remember to switch the lights on!).
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Today is the Day (Hopefully)
I had my follow up MRI on Monday morning and today I go to see the neurologist and get the results. At this moment in time I really don't think I have MS, one of the biggest symptoms of MS is heat sensitivity and I don't have that.
Talking of heat, it's been HOT here recently. We had family photos taken last weekend and we managed to choose the hottest day EVER at our location. Now we get a lot of hot days but these last few days have just been unbearable because of the humidity. I hate humidity, you walk out the door and are dripping with sweat within 5 minutes, not the greatest conditions for family photos so we'll see how they come out.
At the end of the photo session we were walking back to the car and the photographer said "we have one of those in our group of friends as well" (talking about Callum) and then continued to say how alert he was and how he must be high functioning. I was a bit floored by the comment and didn't know what to say, I don't think she meant it in a bad way and English isn't her mother tongue but I still think I should have educated her. What should I have said?
UPDATE: Well the answer is... still unknown!!! I still have some little spots (leisons) on the MRI but they're tiny and not in the usual places for MS. I maybe have 1 more than I did last time but they're so small that it's hard to tell. For a leison to count towards the MS diagnostic criteria then it needs to be at least 6mm, the largest of mine was 4mm. I have to go back for another MRI in a year and go back sooner if I notice any symptoms. For now everything looks good and I don't have any symptoms so there's no point in stressing over future "what ifs".
Talking of heat, it's been HOT here recently. We had family photos taken last weekend and we managed to choose the hottest day EVER at our location. Now we get a lot of hot days but these last few days have just been unbearable because of the humidity. I hate humidity, you walk out the door and are dripping with sweat within 5 minutes, not the greatest conditions for family photos so we'll see how they come out.
At the end of the photo session we were walking back to the car and the photographer said "we have one of those in our group of friends as well" (talking about Callum) and then continued to say how alert he was and how he must be high functioning. I was a bit floored by the comment and didn't know what to say, I don't think she meant it in a bad way and English isn't her mother tongue but I still think I should have educated her. What should I have said?
UPDATE: Well the answer is... still unknown!!! I still have some little spots (leisons) on the MRI but they're tiny and not in the usual places for MS. I maybe have 1 more than I did last time but they're so small that it's hard to tell. For a leison to count towards the MS diagnostic criteria then it needs to be at least 6mm, the largest of mine was 4mm. I have to go back for another MRI in a year and go back sooner if I notice any symptoms. For now everything looks good and I don't have any symptoms so there's no point in stressing over future "what ifs".
Friday, July 21, 2006
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Gym Class
Callum had his 4th gym class yesterday and boy can I see a difference in his confidence!
The class is 1 hour long and there's a nice group of about 12 kids ranging in age from 2 to 3. The start with a few minutes free play, Callum usually spends this bouncing on the trampoline (at PT we were lucky to keep him on the trampoline for 2 minutes) his balance is improving and he manages to stay upright even when the other kids are boinging about. He's actually managing to jump by himself as well (2 feet off the floor). He'll climb the stairs to the slide, climb up ramps and run and play.
Free time is followed by circle time, a greeting song is sung, then stretching, a tumbling skill, a interactive song (like head, shoulders, knees and toes) and then an action song (like the Hokey Kokey). The first week Callum was pretty oblivious to the whole thing and really didn't want to join in. Now he's one of the first to take his place in the circle and takes part in every thing. He points to himself when they call his name during the greeting song, does all his stretches with great enthusiasm and is the 1st to volunteer for tumbling skills.
The pace never stops and while two teachers set up the obstacle course the third teacher (Tina) takes all the kids to the far end of the room where they have to traverse the "hot dog". This is a soft foam roll that is reached by squishy stairs and has a nice soft ramp at the other end, perfect for rolling down. The first week the only way Callum would go across it was by crawling verrrrry sloowly, by week 2 he took teeny tiny steps while clinging tightly to my hand, yesterday he flew across it and didn't need any cajoling to take his turn.
The obstacle courses vary week by week (they do 2 different ones each session) but at least one usually involves balance beams. These are flat pieces of wood about 10 inches across that are laid across foam mats to make a little path, usually followed by something fun at the end like a tunnel to climb through. Weeks one and two required lots of motivation from me to get him to cross the beams and it was teeny tiny steps with him clinging very hard to my hand. Last week he let go for a short while and yesterday even though the beams were quite far off the ground he did most of it by himself and did it multiple times! We'd tried to get him to walk on a beam at PT but he wasn't having anything to do with it, it's amazing the difference that fun and other kids can make.
Hanging skills are next which Callum is very enthusiastic about, each teacher mans a couple of ropes hanging from the ceiling which have handles, or rings attached and the kids can twirl or swing. Callum lasts a grand total of 1 second as he just can not hold his body weight, but the teachers give him another go with more support and he just beams. I get a momentary flicker of sadness when I see the other kids holding on for so much longer but it's a fleeting thought and doesn't linger. Callum's favourite teacher is Polo - a young black ex-American football player, the kids look so tiny next to him but they all seem to gravitate towards him. Polo does these great little karate moves with the kids when they've had their turn on the hanging skill, complete with great sound effects - the kids love it.
Another activity, then bubbles and circle time again for the goodbye song. By the end of it Callum is exhausted but happy, he asks for Polo every couple of days and yesterday when we got in the car to come home I'm sure he told me that he'd been flying.
I'm exceptionally proud of how far Callum has come in just a few weeks. It's encouraging him on so many levels and the best bit is that he's doing all these great exercises but to him it's just fun.
The class is 1 hour long and there's a nice group of about 12 kids ranging in age from 2 to 3. The start with a few minutes free play, Callum usually spends this bouncing on the trampoline (at PT we were lucky to keep him on the trampoline for 2 minutes) his balance is improving and he manages to stay upright even when the other kids are boinging about. He's actually managing to jump by himself as well (2 feet off the floor). He'll climb the stairs to the slide, climb up ramps and run and play.
Free time is followed by circle time, a greeting song is sung, then stretching, a tumbling skill, a interactive song (like head, shoulders, knees and toes) and then an action song (like the Hokey Kokey). The first week Callum was pretty oblivious to the whole thing and really didn't want to join in. Now he's one of the first to take his place in the circle and takes part in every thing. He points to himself when they call his name during the greeting song, does all his stretches with great enthusiasm and is the 1st to volunteer for tumbling skills.
The pace never stops and while two teachers set up the obstacle course the third teacher (Tina) takes all the kids to the far end of the room where they have to traverse the "hot dog". This is a soft foam roll that is reached by squishy stairs and has a nice soft ramp at the other end, perfect for rolling down. The first week the only way Callum would go across it was by crawling verrrrry sloowly, by week 2 he took teeny tiny steps while clinging tightly to my hand, yesterday he flew across it and didn't need any cajoling to take his turn.
The obstacle courses vary week by week (they do 2 different ones each session) but at least one usually involves balance beams. These are flat pieces of wood about 10 inches across that are laid across foam mats to make a little path, usually followed by something fun at the end like a tunnel to climb through. Weeks one and two required lots of motivation from me to get him to cross the beams and it was teeny tiny steps with him clinging very hard to my hand. Last week he let go for a short while and yesterday even though the beams were quite far off the ground he did most of it by himself and did it multiple times! We'd tried to get him to walk on a beam at PT but he wasn't having anything to do with it, it's amazing the difference that fun and other kids can make.
Hanging skills are next which Callum is very enthusiastic about, each teacher mans a couple of ropes hanging from the ceiling which have handles, or rings attached and the kids can twirl or swing. Callum lasts a grand total of 1 second as he just can not hold his body weight, but the teachers give him another go with more support and he just beams. I get a momentary flicker of sadness when I see the other kids holding on for so much longer but it's a fleeting thought and doesn't linger. Callum's favourite teacher is Polo - a young black ex-American football player, the kids look so tiny next to him but they all seem to gravitate towards him. Polo does these great little karate moves with the kids when they've had their turn on the hanging skill, complete with great sound effects - the kids love it.
Another activity, then bubbles and circle time again for the goodbye song. By the end of it Callum is exhausted but happy, he asks for Polo every couple of days and yesterday when we got in the car to come home I'm sure he told me that he'd been flying.
I'm exceptionally proud of how far Callum has come in just a few weeks. It's encouraging him on so many levels and the best bit is that he's doing all these great exercises but to him it's just fun.
Thursday, July 13, 2006
More Good News
Mark has been on medication for high blood pressure for about 6 years. It was only discovered because he had to go for a medical to get his green card and the doctor was shocked by how high it was. Over the years the dosage has slowly decreased and he's been on the lowest possible dose for at least a year.
Well today he had his usual 6 monthly checkup and the doctor has taken him off the meds completely!!
Maybe all that running around after the boys and trying to eat a little bit healthier has finally paid off.
Well today he had his usual 6 monthly checkup and the doctor has taken him off the meds completely!!
Maybe all that running around after the boys and trying to eat a little bit healthier has finally paid off.
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Trains
We took the boys on a mad dash to Griffith Park on Sunday afternoon. Traffic was bad and we almost didn't make it in time, but after finding a lucky parking spot and doing a sprint to the ticket counter we managed to get on the little train that does a 1 mile round trip in Griffith Park.
Callum's face was a wonder to behold as he realised that we were going through a tunnel, I'll make sure to have my camera at the ready next time. Kieran was more somber, just taking in the new experience.
Callum has twice come up to me and started a conversation about trains, he says "mama choo-choo" and does the sign for train. This is unusual because usually all conversations are initiated by us or are about things he can see in his immediate vicinity.
On the subject of speech, Callum has started to say goodbye to everything! So this morning it was:
"Bye, 'errio" (cheerios)
"Bye TT" (TV)
"Bye Milk"
"Bye lulu" (Blue's Clue's - The TV program they were watching)
When I pick him up from day care he has to go round saying bye to all his friends and teachers, it takes a while but it's very cute ;-)
Callum's face was a wonder to behold as he realised that we were going through a tunnel, I'll make sure to have my camera at the ready next time. Kieran was more somber, just taking in the new experience.
Callum has twice come up to me and started a conversation about trains, he says "mama choo-choo" and does the sign for train. This is unusual because usually all conversations are initiated by us or are about things he can see in his immediate vicinity.
On the subject of speech, Callum has started to say goodbye to everything! So this morning it was:
"Bye, 'errio" (cheerios)
"Bye TT" (TV)
"Bye Milk"
"Bye lulu" (Blue's Clue's - The TV program they were watching)
When I pick him up from day care he has to go round saying bye to all his friends and teachers, it takes a while but it's very cute ;-)
20/20
I had my follow up with the opthamologist today and suprised everyone by having 20/20 visison (with my contact lenses of course)!! The opthamologist had been warning me that I might have some permanent damage after this many episodes.
This is very good news and has given me a real buzz :-)
This is very good news and has given me a real buzz :-)
Monday, July 03, 2006
Kieran
Quick bit of good news before I get to the real post, my eyesight is almost back to normal!!! yippeee :-) So it's been about 4 weeks this time rather than the 6 or 7 weeks each for my last 2 episodes, so maybe those steroids really did work.
Kieran has become such a poser whenever he sees the camera so I thought I'd share a few photos of him
Caught Purple Handed
Future Rock Star?
Mum made Cake!
Just Swinging
Kieran has become such a poser whenever he sees the camera so I thought I'd share a few photos of him
Caught Purple Handed
Future Rock Star?
Mum made Cake!
Just Swinging
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