Drew is back!

Drew has NOT been himself the past 2+ weeks. He got bit by something near his eye, and it swelled up. Took him to urgent care 2 weeks ago,and have been to his doctor several times. To make a VERY long story short, he is just now back to being 'Drew'. The fevers, vomiting, listlessness, not eating, meltdowns, and pain that have plagued us seem to be resolving. He laughed for the first time in 2 weeks, is back to eating like a truck driver, and is sleeping peacefully as we speak. Or, as I type :)

Consider this a warning for any bug/spider/ant/critter that is thinking about biting my boy...I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN and it won't be pretty. You will tell your bug/spider/ant/critter friends if you know what is good for you. I can make 6 or 8 little cement shoes if I need to. :)

We had a good time tonight at his game. Grandma and Grandpoo were there again to cheer on the Challengers and Drew. I saw Drew gazing lovingly at Grandma...it was so sweet. There are no games for the next couple weeks. I think it's the 'All Star Break' for us. :) We are having a Fundraiser at CiCi's Pizza at Hall Rd and Schoenherr on July 8th from 5-8. Mention Challenger Baseball and they will donate 10% of sales to us!

We are looking forward to a great 4th of July. God Bless America and God Bless our troops that fight for us so we can have our freedom. We live in the BEST country in the world.

Hope you all have a safe, fun 4th of July weekend!! This is a pic from last year 4th of July at the cottage. He loves his beach!

Hello Summer!!

Today is the first day of Summer, and like I tell Drew...God gave us a beautiful day! We are looking forward to a great Summer. So far, we are having a blast with Challenger baseball, grill-outs with friends, and a few trips to the cottage. We are trying to have Drew ride his bike around the bases (we take one base at a time, & there are no outs so everyone gets a chance to bat) and he did pretty well at the first game. He is actually grabbing the bat and hanging on to it this year! baby steps...

The other pic is from a different game--his friend was helping him around the bases. The bad thing is, they were supposed to be in the field. AND she was heading FROM first TO home. WHILE the other team was up to bat! But hey, we are more interested in the Spirit of baseball than the logistics of it!!! We have a blast, the kids learn about teamwork and patience, and a few skills too.

We are looking forward to our trip to Soulstice--to see Aunt Terri. I will for sure post about our adventures. The Madigan boys are coming with us, and Drew adores his cousins! As do we!!! It should be a blast. We get to see the Annessa kids too. It's win-win!!

No Fear.

Gibralter Trade Center in the Clem has their annual Fair going on now. We went last Sunday, and decided to go back today after the rain stopped. They have 'Bike Night' on Friday and Saturday nights...live band in the Pavilion. We hung out at the Fair, then listened to a great band called Room 13. They did everything from Black Eyed Peas, to Stone Temple Pilots. Great band.
The highlight of our night was when we went on the Ferris Wheel. It's the Big Ass one, tallest I can imagine. Luckily, it has the 'gondola' style cars, not the bench seats from back in the day. Those scare the crap out of me...you move a fraction of an inch and it swings like cra-zazy! Plus, with Drew's lack of muscle control, I was always terrified that he will scoot out of the seat. ANYWAY, with this type, the round, umbrella covered type with the pole in the center of the car--much safer!! It is super tall, tho! Drew is way braver than Chris and me...we were a bit nervous at first, but he was looking around with such wonderment, I learned quickly to relax and enjoy the view.
Next stop was the Roller Coaster. We went on it last weekend too, but I swear, this time it was faster! It was the kiddie coaster, but went fast enough to make my hair fly in the breeze! Drew was allllllll smiles. He anticipated the turns, and where daddy was, and during the biggest hill, he braced himself and I could feel his smile deep in my heart.
He loved the live band too. He watched the kids and adults dance, and loves listening to music. He is so fun to hang out with...my little fearless punkin.
Our first baseball game is Thursday, June 10th at 6:15. We can't wait!

zoo & stuff

We went to the Zoo with the Wolo Girls last Thursday...it was a beautiful day, sandwiched between cold/rainy/windy days. Drew is still under the weather...woke up on Sunday and was sick--turns out it's strep. He is still feeling crappy. He is napping on and off on the couch--I hope he feels better soon!

Lokomat is almost over, and we had to miss Monday and Today. :(

Here are some zoo pics from last week...

Loko Legs

Crazy Legs Kijek rocks!!! He is doing so well in Lokomat...today Terri took the guidance force (amount of work robotic legs do) down to 40%! That means that he was doing 60% of moving his legs, while holding up 50% of his body weight!

He continues to do the entire 45 minutes--that is a lot of work!!! He makes us so proud at how hard he works (when he wants to...LOL). He cracks me up.

I am gonna take some pics (keep forgetting my camera-UGH) so you can see what the Lokomat is.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!

Ya take the good, ya take the bad...

Things have really busy around here lately...Drew's 9th birthday was a blast, with lots of school and baseball friends in attendance! We are blessed to have a circle of amazing friends and their families. We bowled, played pin-the-tail on the donkey (more like 'walk up and stick the tail on...our kids aren't always fond of blindfolds, spinning, or being handled!!) and Drew got a lot of very nice gifts.
We started Lokomat again...we did it last year, it's the treadmill gait-training with the robotic legs that assist in patterning and weight bearing. Drew loves it. He worked up to the 45 minute mark on the second session! 45 minutes is the max, but Terri, his PT can increase his weight bearing and decrease the machine help, so he has to work harder each session. I am excited to see what the next 8 weeks will bring!
He is doing well in school, we are excited for baseball and summer, and our trip to see Aunt Terri in July.
Our next adventure is the MDA Stride & Ride on May 2. We are on a team called Marisa's Music Makers--she is a friend of ours that has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Our team is raising money to send kids to summer camp so they can have a lilttle bit of fun this summer. May 11 we are going to Lansing for a rally called 'Walk a Mile in My Shoes' to support/increase awareness for the developmentally disabled. Looking forward to both events!!!
Unfortunately, he has been having a lot of seizures the past month. He had another bad one yesterday afternoon, and had a second one 40 minutes later (not as bad) even tho he was medicated with Diastat (to stop seizure activity and knock him out). We are increasing one of his meds, hopefully that will help. I don't know if it's cuz he gained some weight, it's Spring, or what is causing them. Scary thing is--he stops breathing when he has seizures. I will never used to seeing him turn blue and convulvse violently, no matter how many he has.
If you are a spiritual person, please pray for Drew and us. For him, so he doesn't regress or have to endure these seizures. For us, so we find the strength and wisdom to protect him from seizures, so he doesn't hurt.
Thanks to all our followers...It makes me so happy when I hear you mention that you read the blog!! He is my FAVORITE subject, after all!!

Time Flies!!

Boogie will be 9 next Saturday--I can't even believe it! We are having a party here with some of his buddies from school and baseball. We can't wait to get these crazy kids together for his birthday!
I will take lots of pics. I am so happy Spring is here tomorrow. I don't even mind that it will be like, 43 degrees! IT'S SPRING!!!!!!!!! WOOO HOOOOOOO
We are scheduled to start Lokomat again next Monday, the 29th. That is the treadmill/unweighting system/robotic legs thing that we did about a year ago. Drew loved it, and gained muscle mass and coordination during the 8 week session. He is doing great riding his bike in our basement and I told him he can ride it from base-to-base at baseball if he works hard and keeps doing a great job.
Sleep is still an issue for us, but it will likely always be. Drew continues to amaze us and make the world a better place with his engaging spirit and sense of adventure. I love how he sees the world around him; to watch the wonder on his face when he sees the wind blow through the trees, or hear his belly laugh when he sees something unexpected makes my day. Every day.