But a brief overview of our recent achievements and trials:
Broad Street Run
I'll pick back up where I left off. I made it!! 10 miles in what was almost a personal record: 1:30:19. I ran a 5k a few weeks before with a sub-9 minute mile, which was AWESOME, but, I thought I was going to die. Could never have sustained that pace for an entire 10 miles. So, it was actually a good lesson to learn before Broad St. I didn't start to get tired until half way though mile 7. And the best part? Thanks to some very generous donations and a connected super-Uncle, I was able to raise $1800 for Fred's Footsteps.
I'm still in training for the Odyssey Half Marathon in June. I'm hoping for a running buddy but might be doing it alone. I'm still nervous, but running Broad St. boosted my confidence a lot. My interest in running had waned, and I was much more into our new P90X3 (it's always something with me and Tim), but I'm back on the run again!
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| my post-race treat |
Oli
While there is plenty of other stuff going on, Oli has had the lion's share of my time and attention lately. Although we are always conscious of the spina bifida, we can go for a good stretch of time without it becoming acute. However, we've recently hit a series of events that remind me just how much he has to deal with.
He has certainly experienced an increased awareness that he is "different,"especially with Miles walking now. He seems a bit sadder lately, a bit moodier. He can still be uplifted by super hero anything, but he isn't always himself. In some ways, he is regressing. Maybe becoming a bit less focused, acting and talking more like a "baby." I had his IEP meeting last week, and his teachers (main and support) said that while he is on par academically (YAY! HUGE!), he is not proactive or engaged enough. On the plus side, they said he is capable of more, on the negative side, he isn't trying. I know what they are saying. Sometimes, he just doesn't want to do anything, and other times, he seems to forget what I've said. For example, all day on a Saturday, I can talk about going to meet daddy out after work, but then when we get in the car, he asks where we are going. He doesn't seem to track everything that is going on. I'm not sure if he isn't engaged b/c he isn't tracking, or he isn't tracking b/c he isn't engaged. We have a clinic appointment on Wednesday, and we are going to look into getting him registered for a neuropsych evaluation that will give us more insight into his memory and focus issues.
He has also been out of braces for months, shortly after we went rogue and stopped serial casting him. It hadn't been working, and he was missing a day of school a week. Plus, it was really hard to coordinate with our work schedules. We are going to address this in clinic, too. I brought it up via email, and our clinic coordinator said to think about our/Oli's long term mobility goals. As much as I hate to say it, I think the wheelchair is it. The HKFOs he has to wear just to use his walker are so heavy that he wouldn't be able to lift his body weight onto furniture or in the car. And I can't lift him anymore even without the braces, so I can't imagine how we could go back to them (even if they fit). He flies around in the wheelchair, and I think it gives him more autonomy, so it seems to be the way to go. But at this point, he can't even wear shoes. We'll see what Wednesday brings.
Finally, my poor guy had a horrible reaction to disposable training pants this week. He has all but outgrown size 6 diapers, so I went out and bought him disposable training pants. Within hours, he was broken out from thighs to neck. He is doing better, but I'm afraid to try anything new. Add this to the list for Wednesday.
| either he is hiding from it all, or he is just a straight up goofball |
Mac
Growing up so quickly. Don't even...
Miles
Really couldn't be cuter...my happy little snausage
Tim
Looking to open up a martial arts school in the neighborhood, but sort of getting the run around on the location he wants. We looked for possible alternates today -- we'll see what happens. Hopefully, it will all work out. It would be so nice to have him closer to home, as well as home more often. We'll keep praying...
Overall
Happy, tired, and crazed. Looking forward to the summer. Can't wait to see what happens next!
