30 days in the hole...

I can't believe it has been a month since I blogged. We have been sick...thank you, Michigan weather! With a special shout-out to Global Warming--We are alternating between flu, respiratory issues, and yes, allergies! I am still coughing like crazy and am considering taking up smoking; if I am gonna feel like crap I should at least have a vice. Tee hee!!!
Drew is in the throes of yet another cold. He felt good for a few days, (after his resp. infection/ear infection cleared up) and now is super congested and coughing. That is why I titled this post '30 days in the hole...I feel like a prisoner to viruses/bacteria/and other assorted crud.
ANYWAY...Drew continues to rock our world. He absolutely LOVES Christmas and everything that comes with it. Just like his daddy! I would be a total Grinch if it weren't for him. I love seeing his face light up when he hears a Christmas carol for the 1,000,000th time. We went to my friend's Christmas service at her church, and he was sooooooo geeked every time they sang! He stares at the tree, and will crane his neck if he can't see it. Tomorrow, Santa is coming to his school--I can't wait for the picture! Last year's pic looked like Drew and Santa were old drinkin' buddies--they have conspriatorial grins on their face, like they know a secret we don't!!!
We hope this Christmas finds everyone happy and healthy. Remember the Reason for the Season! We look forward to hanging out with the family at Joan's on Christmas--attire is 'pajama party' (great idea, Erin!) and can't wait to see everyone. Well, almost everyone. We will miss the Annessa clan and the Schenk's, but they will be close in our hearts.

Monster Trucks, Baby!!!

Drew, Danny, Monika and I went to the Palace to see the Monster Trucks this past Saturday. It was fun!!!! Drew wasn't sure what was going on at first, but loved the trucks and the activity. His favorite was a car looking thing on huge monster truck tires. They did a 'wheelie' contest, a 'burnout' contest, a motocycle show and then freestyled it for the grand finale.

The motorcycles were by far his favorite...they jumped super high, over vans and cars and the span was a few hundred feet!!!! I know our next show will be the motocross when it comes to town. He kills me. :)

We always have fun when Danny and Monika come with us...Danny is a cool kid and he cracks Drew up! I bet they will come with when we go see moto-cross!!

Two weeks till Thanksgiving. I am Thankful every day for my beautiful, loving family and friends. Every day is a gift and an adventure. Life is what you make it, and be kinder than necessary...remember everyone is fighting some kind of battle.

school photo 2009

Fall...

It has been too long since I have blogged about my love. Thank you Betsy, for 'reminding' me. I wish I had some cool pics to share of the Fall colors, but I don't. So, I am just gonna brag about my boy instead.

We are still on the waiting list for Lokomat. BUT are going to Novi to CHM Rehab for Speech every Wednesday till the end of December. They have this cool machine that can hone in on Drew's pupils using infared and a camera. He can look at pics on the computer and make choices, since it is so difficult for him to use his hands to point or indicate. The therapist says we have A LOT of work to do to get ready for the Mytobi machine. He needs to strengthen his eye muscles and focus. Mostly focus!

We also started Chiropractic. Drew loves it! He like 'ran' into the office the other day...I was holding him up, but he 'ran' without crossing his legs and it was fast! He went about 30 feet in a row! That is huge. He usually goes a few steps then stops.

Next week at school the Halloween Shenanigans begin. Drew loves all the activity. He will be Elvis for his school party, since his teacher is a complete FANatic. He will be Han Solo for the 31st, at the Madigan's and our old stomping grounds.!!! We love going there and seeing our old friends/neighbors.
I gotta get some new pics on here...he is looking more grown up! We hope all is well with our blog-friends. Especially Chelsea!!!! <3

Please consider...

Donating to Drew's page for the Autism Walk on October 11th at the Palace. We are on Team Grand Slam with our Challenger baseball friends Marilyn, Crystal, Shari, & James. Our friend Frankie has the best shirt...'WHAT! is my Autism showing?'...some of the other disabilities are more easily recognizable, and often Autism or ASD is looked on as bad behavior or bad parenting. It is neither! Remember...we are all fighting some sort of battle. Be kinder than necessary and spread the LOVE!

Like Elvis (Costello) said: "What's so funny 'bout Peace, Love, and Understanding?"

Here is the link:
http://www.walknowforautism.org/semichigan/drewroxx

Are you ready for some FOOTBALL!

We love Football season. There were a lot of 'big' games yesterday, but the only one we were interested in was St. Anne vs. OLGC. The Eagles lost, but played a great game. Connor played an awesome game...we kept hearing his name over the loudspeaker for making tackles and stuff! We misssed Brendan's game cuz Drew had a chiropractic appt and speech therapy. :(

We will for sure see Brendan play and Jim coach next Saturday. Then going to head to the St. Anne Festival!! Can't wait to hook up with my former classmates on Sat night.

It is also Cider mill weather! YAY! Going to Yates with our friend Ben later...it has been way too long since we got to hang out together.

Oh, I gotta call Beth Mabry and to make an appt. for Drew's pics! She does beautiful work...check out her blog in my 'favorites'.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNT JOANIE!!!!!!

End of an August

We are looking forward to going up north for Labor Day...REALLY hoping that we get some beach days!!!! It is supposed to warm up, I think. All of this Global Warming shenanigans is really jacking with my sinuses and our beach days. That is what we get for not respecting our Mother--jacked up weather patterns and unseasonably cold and warm spurts. I am gonna keep my sunscreen next to our winter coats just in case! LOL

Football season is here, so that is fun! We are looking forward to cheering on Drew's boys (Connor and Brendan) and their teams. GO EAGLES!!!!

We hope this post finds you all well...here are a few shots of Drew lovin' summer!

hang in there!!!

I have been neglecting the blog and I feel horrible. I will update it ASAP, and a loyal follower called me out last night on this. Thank you, Betsy! I haven't forgotten...just have been busy!

here are a few random pics of Drew till I can get back here in a few days to talk about our trip to Terri's in SC and camping.

Happy Birthday, America! and Lori!

We went to the cottage for the 4th...great weather, great beach days, great cook-outs, great company. Joan, Dave and Maddie camped and we grilled and chilled at their site till the fireworks on the beach Sat. night. Then back to the campfire, where Drew finally succumbed to sleep. He fought it hard tho! He doesn't want to miss a thing! Lori snuck in a kiss...

We hope everyone had a great 4th of July weekend. We are blessed that we live in America, and our brave soldiers fight tirelessly for our freedom and way of life. Thank a soldier~!!! :)

Summer...so far

We hope this finds everyone well...we are doing great! Last Saturday our friend Shelby K came to Drew's game and sang the national anthem for us before the game! She is 8 (and a half!) and has a beautiful voice. And the guts to sing that difficult of a song in front of people! American Idol in training!!! :)

It was so sweet. The teams lined up on the first and third baselines, and she was on the pitchers mound. The kids had their hands over their hearts...nothing gets me more than a kid singing...except a bunch of kids listening and cheering when the anthem was over!

We are looking forward to going to visit Aunt Terri in Hilton Head in a couple weeks...we can't wait!!!! Beach days, dolphin cruise, music in the park, swimming, shopping, grillin' and chillin' is how we roll on HHI! :)

Angels among us

Today was Drew's last day of school for the year...till next week when he starts the summer program. He is classified as SXI, or severly multiply impaired so he goes during the summer too. He has a the rest of this week off, then goes for a week, then has 2 weeks off. He also has two weeks off in August. We thank God for the dedicated teachers and para's, and support staff that take care of our kids and teach them academics, life skills, creativity, and have fun!

I gotta give a huge shout-out to Dottie...the world's best bus driver. Ever. We have been blessed with great bus drivers since we started (and I have heard horror stories!), but Dottie has a loving soul and gentle spirit. She truly loves what she does, and it shows. She will not hesitate to clean the kids' faces, wipe their noses, indulge their unique personalities. She makes the ride fun for the kids...at Christmas, there is the Christmas music, the jingle bell bracelets for everyone, the thoughtful gifts. She told me once "I can't believe I get paid for this job"...and I believe she really feels that!

She is an Angel. She marks every holiday with thoughtful gifts, and now that it is the end of the year, this is what I found in Drew's bag. I know there was a similar award in each of the kids' bags...cuz that is Dottie.

The 'Piano Man' reference is cuz we tape Drew's keyboard to his tray so he can jam as he feels the urge. The 'excellence in bus riding' is pure Dottie. :)

We are so blessed. We hope you all have a great summer! Check back for baseball pics...we missed tonight's game cuz Boogie is still under the weather and actually took a nap! He needed it!

Also HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNT SUSIE! WE LOVE YOU!!!!!

Last LOKO post

We ended Lokomat last Friday...I need to tell you that Drew supassed our goal of 50% guidance force for the legs! He did 50% for a good part of the session and then Terri brought it down to 45% Drew did 55% of the leg work for 10 minutes! He complained a bit, but I can only imagine that it was hard work for him! So proud!
We also got some great feedback from his re-assesssment. And video of his truckin' down the hall, while I was holding him up...but only if someone was 'chasing' him!

He also pedaled a lot by himself at CWJR on the bike yesterday...Terri R, are you reading this!? put that in your data for Lokomat!

Kay, I am done talking about Lokomat for a while. Oh, and he did say 'Da'...3 times to call Daddy on Sunday!
Okay, now I am done. :)
~Shout out to Drew, Kylie, ABC, Hannah, and all my other heroes!

lovin' summer

We have had a great start to Summer '09! Lokomat is ending (BOOO :( ) but we have done a lot of fun things so far. We went to the Zoo today with the Wolo Girls. Maggie, Kylie, and Taylor are fun to hang with, and the highlight of the trip was the Arctic Ring of Life. The lowlight was me getting a tinge motion sick from the Wild Ride dinosaur simulator! It's like the reverse bucket list; there are things I cannot do anymore the closer I get to 40!

The Polar Bear was so cute, swimming around and putting his giant paw on the top of tunnel. The seals swimming upside down were totally cute too.

We went to the Zoo with Danny and Monika last week...it was totally fun! Here are some pics of that trip, and a few others.

65%!!!!

I am so proud of my little man! I was all proud of his doing 25% of the work last session...but today, Terri dropped the guidance force down to 65%! so Drew was doing 35% of the work for the last 19 minutes of the session!

We have a week left. Terri is cool, and set a goal of 50% by the time Drew is done. So he will be doing 50% of the work, moving the legs, while she is adding more and more body weight too. Thank God she is pushing him! He is up to the challenge!!!!

DMC/Children's is amazing. We are so lucky to have found therapists there and at Crawl, Walk, Jump, Run that push our kids, and WANT to make a difference!

GO DREW! We are so proud of him. He truly ROXX!!!

Love to all, and GO WINGS!

Time Flies

Drew and Brendan at B's school play Drew talking to 'Beast' his buddy

We are coming up on our last week of Lokomat. :( June 5th is our last day...I have tried to bribe Terri, the PT to get us back in ASAP, but she is too honest.

There is now a long waiting list...and I am excited for everyone on it! We have seen Drew work so hard these past 7 weeks. He has gained better head control, gotten some increased muscle mass on his cute legs, and his trunk seems stronger. He can stand for longer (assisted) than he could before, and he seems to be trying to 'talk' more.

The guidance force (how much work the robotic legs do) is down to 75% for most of the session now! That means Boogie is doing 25% of the movement to make himself walk! And, he is supporting more of his body weight every few sessions. It must be a hell of a lot of work for him...but he comes thru like a champ! I dread the day I have to explain to him we can't go to Lokomat! :(

His Challenger baseball games start next Wednesday. Stay tuned for pics of our lil' sluggers on their new field!!!

The picture of Drew & his brotha-from-anotha-motha Brendan kills me...it was Brendan's idea to put the wig and glasses on Drew! I love how he includes him in everything. We are blessed to have such great cousins!!!!

Is it just me, or...

Do they re-use people on the Today Show Smucker's birthday montage? I swear I have seen some of those ppl more than once!!!!

Hope all is well for anyone reading this. We are great! Had a wonderful weekend and Mom's day with my boys. Drew continues to rock it at Lokomat! His legs are getting more muscular, which is great for the bones! He rocks. Our friend James has started too...I can't wait to hear about his progress; he is the hardest working kid I know.

Even tho more of you are coming to the darkside (FACEBOOK), I hope you keep checking my blog--Terri, this means you! tee hee!!! :)

Wishing everyone a great week!

lokomat pics

Here are the pics of the Lokomat...you can see how the robotic legs are strapped to Drew's legs and how it all works together. There is a pulley system, the computer can be adjusted to add more or less body weight for when he is on the treadmill. The rate/speed he walks and the amount of work the robotic legs do are also adjustable. I asked the therapist to put a mirror in front of him, so he can watch his legs move. He loves it! He is doing really well with it. Our goal is that he will have more endurance and strength, and stand better. Balance and coordination will come later...we hope all is well with everyone!!! Looking forward to the MDA walk on Sunday with Shari and Team Skywalker!!!

Loko #2

We didn't have Lokomat on Wednesday, the therapist was sick. So today is day 2, and no, I won't be blogging about each session, but I gotta tell ya...little man rocks!~

We are supposed to work up to 45 minutes--he did 20 the first day, which was great! Today, he did 45!!!!! 45 minutes!~ WOOO HOOOO!

It will get more difficult as the weeks go on...he is only bearing half of his weight, and the robotic legs are doing all of the movement, but that isn't bad for a kid who fatigues easily due to lack of movement!!!!!

I am encouraged that he will be moving the 'legs' on his own in no time!!! He WAS listening to her and lifting his knees, so that is good.

Forgot the camera, but will take pics hopefully next week. Mott vs. Sterling in soccer, so we are going to root on our girls on Monday!!! Go Mott! Go Sterling! Go Erin! Go Morgan! Go Kylie! :)

Here are some pics from Easter!

Lokomat

We started the Lokomat on Monday at Children's Hospital in Novi...we will go Mon, Wed, Fri for the next 8 weeks. I am bringing my camera on Friday to take and post some pics. Drew, of course, did wonderfully. Terri, his therapist, said 'we can try him for a few minutes' ( Monday was the first visit...a lot of measuring, talking, and testing) to have him get a feel for it. He wound up doing 20 minutes! They work up to the 45 minute mark. We had to restart several times...he got so excited it shut the machine down!!! It is really cool--he is suspended by an unweighting mechanism, with a belt/harness, and his legs are connected to a pair of 'robotic' legs that move in the proper heel-toe strike pattern on the treadmill. Monday, he was about supporting about 50% of his own body weight. That will increase, as will the speed of the treadmill. Hopefully, the end result will be that he will have learned to pattern his leg movements and coordinate balance with weight bearing to walk or stand better.

I will post pics once I get them. Hope all is well with everyone!!!! Oh, and I wanna shout out to Jen Johnson and Abby, who just completed Abby's stem cell therapy in China and will be home on Tuesday!!!! Jen left her boys at home to take Abby to China...it will be worth it!!! :)

You've got a friend

There is nothing more honest than the emotions of kids. A few weeks ago, Monika and Danny came to hang out with Drew and I. We played, talked, had Pei Wei (first time ever...yum!) and Danny helped Drew walk in his walker. I will never forget the sweetness of that moment when he grabbed the walker and started pulling it...poor Monika was terrified for a second--'is that okay?!' and I replied 'it looks fine to me!' Kids connect in a way that no adult can with other kids. We should all be so accepting.

We are looking forward to seeing them tomorrow. Danny is great kid, and Drew and I love him.

We are on Easter Break tomorrow and all next week. We wish everyone a Happy Easter!

Oh, for the music lovers out there...Dottie, the best school bus driver ever in the whole wide world told me today that she heard Drew get all excited and then realized that the song on the radio was 'Piano Man' by Billy Joel. I told her that we usually belt it out, and she was free to do the same!!! My boy has good taste.

We wish you all all love-filled, blessed Easter!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Happy Birthday Boogie!!!! 8 years ago tomorrow (27th) my hero was born. He had a rough start (understatement of the decade) and began his journey to remind all who get to know him what is really important in life. He is the strongest person I know. He inspires us every day. His birthday is always bittersweet for Chris and I...it was at once the best and worst thing that ever happened in our lives. Best, because we had planned our lives and looked so forward to our baby...worst, because it didn't go at all as planned; with lifetime consequences for him.
Having said that, you need to know that he has overcome incredible obstacles, and has come out smiling and laughing. I will say it again...he is the strongest person I know.

True confessions

Blog, I am cheating on you with Facebook. I feel bad! Also, I can't find my camera to take any new pics of Boogie, so that is limiting my blogging. While I could fill pages with senseless rambling, opinions and other neuroses that I possess, I know the real reason you all check this to get the scoop on my hero, Drew. I love that! That is why I created the blog...so you can get to know the crazy, fun, silly, cool kid that lights up our world.

So, keep checking!! I am on a mission to find the camera, and will take pics of our adventures.

Hope all is well with everyone!!!

Love,
Team Kijek

Super Trooper

Drew Rocks. He handled the surgery today like a champ. Again! This was an outpatient procedure to remove the plate from his hip. It took about an hour total, from anesthesia to finish. Then a few hours in recovery. Scruffy the one-eared wonder dog was there, of course. Scruffy got the oxygen in post op recovery, since Drew didn't need it. The nurse asked 'who bit his ear?!' (Scruffy's) and I explained that our real dog, Roo (RIP) did and I had to cut the dog slobbered ear off. She thought that was hysterical. Scruffy had the hair net on too. He is a very loyal friend. The surgeon made a small incision and got the plate out...there are no restrictions for Drew, and by the time we got home he was trying to stand and walk, moving his legs! He is such a trooper.
We took advantage of the beautiful weather today and took a long walk...he was moving the entire time (as much as he could in his stroller) so I think he will be just fine and ready for Lokomat in April. :)
Thanks for all or your well wishes...love ya!!

Tomorrow

Tomorrow we will be at Beaumont at 6:30am to get Drew's plate removed from his hip. The surgery is scheduled for 8, and I hope they take him then. The earlier the better. He can't have anything to eat or drink till after the surgery, and the boy LOVES TO EAT!! Plus, I don't feel like I am doing my job when he is hungry. It should only take an hour or so, then we have a snuggly day planned! My favorite!!!
This pic is of is Drew and his boy Brendan. B will be 9 on Saturday! Happy Birthday Brendan!!! We love you!!!
We hope you all enjoy the warm weather...Spring is in the air?!?!

March?!

Where has the time gone? I really can't believe it is the end of February already. CRA-ZAZY!!!! We are going to a Vegas night fundraiser for the PTO at Drew's school on Saturday. Drew is going to have a blast--his cousins are coming over to hang out. I see Rock Band in Drew's future!!!

We go on March 6th to have his plate removed from his hip surgery. It has been 6 months already! He won't need a cast or anything, just some rest and more rehab. Our next adventure is the Lokomat, a gait training device that uses robotic 'legs' and computer programming to pattern walking. It is at Children's/DMC rehab in Novi, and we will go 3x per week for 8 weeks. The sessions are an hour each. Hopefully, this will improve the brain/muscle connection and create pathways so the brain will communicate with his muscles and he will realize he has the capacity to walk. Then, it just a matter of balance, strength, coordination and putting all of that together on a regular basis! easy peasy. tee hee.
He loves to move, and is ecstatic when he is 'walking'. Challenger baseball starts soon...we are so excited!
We hope all is well...holla!

Catching up

I can't believe it's already almost the end of February! Time flies. We had winter break last friday, mon, tues and back to school on Wed. I kept Drew home today due to icky snot and coughing. We will see if he is better for school tomorrow.

As I write this....he is still crabbing in his bed, fighting sleep. UGH! We are looking forward to Spring...since I think snowmobiling may be done for the season. At least for us!!

Oh, and now for a new installment of 'is it just me, or...':

Is it just me, or is 'The Office' the freakin' funniest show on TV?!?!?

K, gotta check on my crabby-wonderful child...cold season sucks!!!
Terri, we love and miss you!!!!!

Sledding /Girls Bday with the fam January 2009

We had a great time with the Madigans and Smith-Jasinski's at the cottage...sledding, snowmobiling, playing games and cards. Happy Birthday Kylie and Morgan!!! Drew loves having his people around him. We do to!

up north again

We just got back from the cottage, but this weekend was not as fun at the last one where the fam came up for 'Winter Classic' 2009. I will post pics once I get my PC back. That is where all the pics are stored and it fried last week. Hopefully Dave can work his magic and fix it!
This weekend was a somber one for us...we found out on the way up that our dear friend and neighbor John passed away on Thurs. night. He had numerous health problems the past couple years, but died from pnuemonia. He was only 67 and Chris met him on a walk the first year up there...1996. That was his first year up there too. He retired early from GM due to heart problems, and we shared a lot of dinners, converstations, and coffee. He was a cool guy and will be missed.
We did go snowmobiling for a while, but it was very cold. Drew gets bored on the straight-a-ways, but totally loves the trails! All of those dip-hilly-thingies crack him up! We had to stop a few times to make sure he was laughing and not crying! He was so bundled up, but I could see the smile in his eyes! He was a trooper thru the funeral arrangements too, and it never ceases to amaze me to see him get stressed when he feels our sorrow. Such an empath!
We are home now and looking forward to seeing friends this weekend at the Superbowl party. Go Cards!!!! Chris is going for the Steelers, but I want Kurt Warner, I mean the Cardinals to win! We are betting a whole dollar on the game. Fingers crossed, y'all!!!!

Almost 1/2 way there!

Usually, I begin my 'Days till January is over' countdown on the 1st or 2nd of the month. I just realized it is the 12th, and I haven't started the countdown yet! WOOO HOOOO! Maybe it's cuz the snow has distracted me...it is so pretty when it snows. Plus, we can play in it! Maybe it because Drew is cracking me up lately. He is kicking his legs right now, watching the Irish dancers on 'Superstars of Dance'. Watching Chris incorporate the 'curly shuffle' in his dance is good for a few giggles as well.
I so want to take Drew to 'Monster Trucks', but they are coming on the 17th, and we won't be home that day. I think he would love the monster trucks and all the activity. The noise would bug him at first, but he would adjust to that quickly. He is such a boy. Ever since he was really little, the more smash-up, crash-up the better. We used to have Elmo vs. Barney Smackdowns and such. Good times, good times. Oh, yeah...bodily functions kill him too. Boys!!

Facebook addict.

Hey, I need to get on here and post the pics of Tday and Christmas. This past week I have been immersing myself in all things Facebook. I joined months ago and didn't realize how cool it is! Check back soon!!!