2012

Looking back, this year has been packed full of so many changes for both Emma and me. It's hard to believe that so many changes could happen in one calendar year, but here we are at the end of 2012 looking back at how far we've come.

After all the presents, the birthday girl enjoyed some yummy milk!

I think back to January when Emma was unable to see her surroundings and I am astonished at how much her vision has improved. She was moved into her third and final helmet. At that time, she was seeing her Occupational Therapist (OT) six times a month and her Vision Impairment Therapist (VI) twice a month. At that time, she was working to gain the strength to hold her head upright when held in a supported sitting position. In February, we celebrated her first birthday. The best birthday gift was she began showing signs of sight. March was filled with doctor's appointments and therapy. Emma also had her most recent MRI on 3/14/12 so we are looking forward to the next one to see her progress over this last year. Her cardiologist also stated her ventricular septal defect (VSD) was healing well and he removed her 30 minute time limit for meals.

My little Easter bunny.

April was an important month for both of us - for Emma because she received her feeding chair which made it possible for her to sit unassisted during meal time so that she could start working on learning how to eat like a big girl. It was also the month my divorce finalized in court - something I had been looking forward to ever since Emma's father told me he wanted the divorce on 12/1/10. In May, we went to her first Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) Reunion which was an incredible experience. Seeing all of those amazing children and their families gave me so much hope and encouragement that Emma and I were doing everything right. June was a normal month of therapy and growth. She began to show signs of tolerance as her therapist and I began working with her on assisted standing. She has always been a good sport about everything we help her with, but Emma did sneak out to see her first movie in theaters as a nice stress reliever.

 

July was busier as she got in the pool for the first time to prepare for the beaches in Hawaii later that month. It was our first vacation together and one I will never forget! The best part was when she laughed for the first time. Emma also really started doing well sitting unassisted for longer periods of time. In August, Emma had her picture taken to be a part of the Gallery of Hope. Visually she showed improvement with a decrease in her nystagmus (tendency for her eyes to shift side-to-side constantly which impeeds her vision). At the end of August, Emma switched VI therapists. She took some time to warm to her new therapist, but she has been doing well with her every since. Orally, she began eating a new brand of baby food with chunks in it that she would tollerate. In September, the best thing that happened in Emma's world was she was phased out of her last helmet! Baby Stig would be but a faint memory only proven by the many pictures that I have of her in them. She had also worked up her endurance for sitting unassisted to over 15 minutes.

October was one of the best months for me for many reasons. Emma began Physical Therapy (PT), which would allow her OT to work primarily on her oral challenges and give her more support on both her motor and oral skills. This meant Emma's schedule went from eight sessions a month to ten - OT four times a month, PT four times a month, and VI twice a month. Emma also began to show some real independence at times by pushing hands away that were trying to feed her something she didn't want as well as grabbing hands and pulling them to her when they were trying to tickle her. And of course, I turned 30. I know the decade ahead will be better than the one I've left behind so I'm anxious to get started! November was another big month for Emma as she began Speech Pathology Therapy (SP). This added two more sessions of therapy a month to Emma's ever growing dance card. To accomodate all her thearapists and my work schedule, we ended up moving all thearapies to Tuesdays. This would make for a very busy day for her, but no more physically demanding than if they were spread out due to the focus of each therapy. We also took our second vacation together - this one was a road trip to Austin for the inaugural Formula 1 race. It was great to see how well she would handle road trips - which she did beautifully other than having a leaky diaper less than ten minutes after we left the house. We also went to see the unveiling of the Gallery of Hope that she was a part of - which ended up on the local news! Everything that happened this year just kept building all the way through December. At this point, Emma can say twenty words and understands and additional eighteen more words/phrases. And then, to top off everything, I had Emma for Christmas. That said, not much else I can say at this point to make this post better.

Looking forward to a wonderful 2013!