"Image"ine that!

Sitting across from the neonatologist six years ago I remember thinking, what do I do with this information?  How do I decipher what he's trying to tell me about our future with my baby.  What lies ahead?

I see on the screen in front of us the MRI images.  I don't understand the explanation about the results that are staring back at us.  Hindsight,  I believe I was in shock and didn't want to believe that all of this was even happening.

The next question I asked would tell me what I needed to know.  As a nurse needing to place a numerical value on this, I asked him, "On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the worst case scenario, how bad is this?"

Reluctantly he told me...8

The massive stroke had damage two thirds of her right brain and some of her left.  Thousands of questions instantly flooded my mind, none of which could be answered.

Those images were supposed to tell us a story of what our future held.  But I am too stubborn to let pictures dictate the future of my child.  So the search was on to find a way to reroute the pathways of her brain. 

Traditional and non traditional approaches were used to attempt to accomplish an almost impossible task.  Everything from--infant massage, music therapy, early intervention, crossover exercises, visual tracking, light boxes, trampoline therapy, sensory integration, vestibular stimulation, and the list goes on.

There are so many different approaches that I could make this a full time job.  I am now looking for ways to teach her basic and beginning literacy skills.  She is doing well in school, but she needs time...Time with learning each new thing.   As her mom, I will give her all the time that he needs.  

...our adventure continues

Olivia's stubborn mom

Photo: Olivia brought this picture home from school today.  She did it all by herself and we are so proud!