Memorial Day fun!

So, we went on the first backpacking/hiking/camping trip of the year. VERY VERY fun! Sharon absolutely loved it and it was so fun to have here there really having fun. Pop-Pop and Namom and Rose and Anna (and Dina of course!) joined us.
Since we take kids along these days, the backpacking has become more minimal. Well, actually, the backpacks have severely increased in weight but we don't take them as far because of little legs, so i think it evens out? (Of course, RJ and my dad may have different opinions on the matter since they wound up carrying "everything but the kitchen sink" in their packs). Sharon is a bit too big for the pack we carried her in so that didn't last long. We'll have to figure something else out for the next trip so that we can walk farther. She did LOVE hiking by herself and galloping on RJ's shoulders up and down the trails.
We camped by a little stream which was so much fun! There were tons of crawfish to catch (my parents got into the hunt too as you can see!), and a really neat tree that Sharon loved sitting in over the water.
Sleeping was a bit rough, we have to work out the kinks there. Sharon has a pretty tough time sleeping anywhere but on her special mattress at home because of soreness in her hips and joints, so being on the hard ground was painful for her. In case you think my mom is a wimp for bringing her pillow, she actually was carrying it for Sharon...it helped but not enough. She was so happy and having so much fun the rest of the time that we just have to figure out a better sleeping situation for her...
I've posted more pix below too...

lots of pix

So, here are yet more pix. Sharon had such a ball and LOVED all the time with her cousins! One of her favorite things while out there was going for hikes, and Rose obliged many times with her!
When we came home, we had a picnic here at the house (the first of the summer! yay!! It felt good to be back in action after winter!). We actually got to visit with Neil and Sara and Pat Dutilly! yay!

Uncle Fred

It's been 4 years today since Uncle Fred got hurt. Such a hard day for our little family and we can only imagine how much harder it is for Lorrie, Fred and the kids.
But Fred and Sharon remain huge living testaments to the power of the brain!!! Fred's age is a huge factor in his recovery, but he still has made such tremendous gains in 4 years (long past the time period when the doctors said that he "should" be able to recover). And Sharon, well, she just continues to blow traditional neuro-science out of the water as her brain learns how to make new pathways and adapt to its functional parts.
And for those who don't remember this part: RJ and I were in the process of becoming foster parents so that we could bring non-biological children into our home and hopefully adopt...but Fred's accident and the ensuing weeks of chaos resulted in the surprise of Sharon!!!
So, i have to post a picture of Sharon and Fred, soul mates :) And we send our love, thoughts, and prayers to the Fred Pierce clan...the "new normal" is now a way of life for both of our families!

WHEW!

Hello!
Well, our household is breathing a little easier....I am officially done with full time work and RJ made it through his crazy semester (and has just started his very last one! yay!!!). I will do some part time work, but mostly will be able to just focus on Sharon and managing the life that she and i keep of therapies and doctor's appointments! She adapted to being my only focus immediately and has no intentions of letting it change anytime soon! (when the phone rings now she does NOT want me to answer it...when i was working the phone would ring and she would bring it to me, not happily, but she knew i needed to answer it). We are enjoying not answering the phone and not being interrupted 30 times a day by work...yay!

Tonight Anna came over to play for a bit (and i had a chance to take a shower! yay!). When i got out, Anna had a big surprise for me: Sharon was dressed up!!! There is no way i can do justice to the accomplishment that this is (Anna can attest to it though...she said "that took a long time!!"). Getting Sharon dressed in regular clothes is always a feat. She's prety good about it, but isn't able to do it herself yet and her tight arm, hand, and leg do make it difficult. Of course, i'm used to it but i know that others are not so Anna must have been quite determined! The other amazing part of this is that i have never been able to get Sharon even remotely interested in playing dress-up. She doesn't like to have "extras" on (no bows, hats, jewelry, sunglasses, etc etc.). Her OTs have always wanted me to get her to play dress up, but it's not something that she had any interest in and i refuse to force something that is supposed to be imaginary and fun! But Anna had her all excited to be dressed up as the witch from the Wizard of Oz, hat and all!!! (she has no idea who that is either, which is cool too!) And the coolest thing is that she wore the clothes until bed time! (except the hat). I am not doing a good job conveying how neat this is...you just have to trust me that this is a big deal for Sharon!!!
So, i can't wait for Rose and Anna to get out of school so they can do all kinds of stuff with Sharon....they accomplish more with her than therapy!

weather and strawberries

Hello all! We have been out of communication for a couple of days and i know people have heard about the weather we've had. It's hard to believe, but our tiny little town (maybe 8 square miles!) got hit really hard by the tornado. We were so fortunate to not even have a branch down, but neighbors weren't so lucky (see the last two pix. The one with the crane is our gas station...half of it was flattened and happened to be where i was driving to when all of the weather happened! I was out at rehearsal until late that night and that is where some friends meet up with me, leave their cars and then we carpool together. Amazingly, the cars were all fine!!). We really are fine and just feel for our poor neighbors who have lost so much.

Sharon went strawberry picking for the first time yesterday with her cousins and aunt (and me!). She LOVED eating them! She would take a bite out of one, put it in a basket, then take a bite out of another, etc! She was covered in berry juice! It was very fun!
Thanks for checking in!!!

National Childhood Stroke Awareness Day!

Today was National Childhood Stroke Awareness Day, a fairly new awareness day created by mom's from my online support group for kids with hemiplegia (almost always the result of a stroke). We're just trying to get the word out that kids and babies have strokes and hope that more money and attention will be paid to it because many of them can be prevented.