May is Pediatric Stroke Awareness Month

Did you know kids have strokes, babies have strokes, even the unborn can have a stroke? Our little girl is a stroke survivor. May is Pediatric Stroke Awareness Month and you can learn more about pediatric strokes at Kids Have Strokes.  This year I am raising money for Children’s Hemiplegia and Stroke Association.  CHASA is first international non-profit organization to offer information and support to families of infants, children, and young adults who have hemiplegia or hemiplegic cerebral palsy, often due to perinatal stroke, childhood stroke, or other rare causes.  I hope you can help us meet our goal by donating.  Even one dollar helps out!!  You can click the button on my sidebar any time, or this nice button below!!  Thank you for helping kids like Piper and their families!

 

Fashion Tuesday

She can dress herself and she’s proud of it.  So am I.  It took her a while to manage the little things like putting on jeans one handed, socks and long sleeve shirts.  Now she’s a pro.  Sometimes she needs a little help getting them off again, but for the most part she’s very independent.  I love her choices in clothing.  Very…um…unique.  Her style is all her own, anyway.  And I make sure every knows SHE picked out her own outfit.

Who else would choose the stripy tights AND legwarmers AND Hello Kitty socks, polka-dot skirt and fuzzy butterfly sweater?  Oh, yeah!!

I believe you will fly…

I believe you will fly
because you told me so.
Your limitations don’t apply
where you’ve decided to go.
Your strength is in your heart
rather than your frame.
You are a work of art
you inspire me the same.
The Lord has blessed us with you
and has given you a task.
We will help you see it through
you never have to ask.
I believe you will fly
and I will be your guide.
You’ll succeed in what you try
because I’ll be at your side.

Canon EOS
ISO 100
f/8 at 1/125
28-55mm lens
no flashCanon EOS
ISO 100
f/9 at 1/160
28-55mm lens
no flash

See more Special Exposure Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Special Needs.

Special Exposure Wednesday - Softball

The big kids are in baseball and softball.  Piper gets to watch.  T-Ball doesn’t start until they are in Kindergarden here.  She says she wants to play.  I won’t stop her from trying.  In fact, I’ll be right there cheering her on.  Right now she has no limitations as far as she’s concerned.  I’m not about to tell her any different. 

                 

She can hold the bat! That’s a good start!!

Shot with a Canon EOS
no flash
most at f/2.5 and 1/100 seconds
ISO 100
fixed 50mm lens (love it!!)

Special Exposure Wednesday is part of 5 Minutes for Special Needs.  Stop by for more SEW!!

Special Exposure Wednesday – More Sneaky Therapy

Not that I need to be too sneaky with PM, she loves her physical and occupational therapy most of the time and is a willing participant.  Anytime I can sneak in a little extra, I’m all for it.  PM love to help me with chores, which is strange because the other kids run.  She really likes to help mop or do dishes or cook.  So I had her push around the floor duster.  With a few “two hands!” prompts, she did great!

But sometimes that sneaky right hand would pop up and I’d have to remind her “two hands!”.  But still pretty great!

She did great, that is, until she was dramatically too tired….

    

You can see more Special Exposure Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Special Needs!

My little survivor turns four!

  Happy Birthday, Princess!!

Special Exposure Wednesday – Making the Most of the Weekend

This weekend she didn’t get to run like the big kids, but we took some pictures, blew lots of bubbles for her little brother, and made a new friend. It’s all good!

   Join Special Exposure Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Special Needs!

Special Exposure Wednesday – Olive Fingers

SEC is hosted by 5 Minutes for Special Needs.  Please stop by to see more or link up! 

All my kids like “olive fingers”.  I am trained in my mommy duties to provide each child with no less than 10 black olives on their plate.  One for each finger.  For PM I consider it therapy on the sly.  Look at those fingers open!!!  Whatever works, I say!

Brendon’s Smile

As part of May being Stroke Awareness Month I wanted to introduce you to one of our friends.  Although we’ve never met in real life, I feel close to this family because Brendon’s story is so similar to ours.

Brendon suffered a stroke before he was born, as a result he has Cerebral Palsy (right sided hemiparesis, like PM) as well as Muscular Scoliosis, Speech Apraxia and Aphasia.  His parents were inspired to create  Brendon’s Smile, a non-profit organization to raise awareness of Pediatric Stroke.  Please head over to Brendon’s CaringBridge site to learn more!!

1 in 4000 babies will have a stroke

PM is a stroke survivor.  As a result she has Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy that affects her right side.  May is Pediatric Stroke Awareness month and today I want to re-post a video we made for PM after her first round of Constraint Induced Therapy (CIT).  CIT involves casting the “good” arm while participating in more intensive physical and occupational therapy to build stronger neuropathways for her weak side.  You can see the effects this has in just 4 short weeks!  PM did a second round of CIT in June 2009.  We would like to do more soon.  Therapy is so wonderful for her and has really improved her movement and fine motor skills.  We know it will never be perfect, but there has been a TON of improvement!!

You can learn more about Pediatric Stroke at KidsHaveStrokes.org !

May is Pediatric Stroke Awareness Month

Did you know kids have strokes, babies have strokes, even the unborn can have a stroke? Our little girl is a stroke survivor. May is Pediatric Stroke Awareness Month and you can learn more about pediatric strokes at Kids Have Strokes.  A purple ribbon is the symbol of pediatric stroke.  Through out May I will be introducing you to some amazing kids like PM who have survived strokes.  I hope you’ll follow us and come back again!

What Can She Do?

This is no longer the question.  What can’t she do?  I am proud to say PM can now, at 2 months shy of 4 years, remove all of her clothes and put of different ones.  I’ve seen two year olds do this plenty of times.  What’s the big deal?  Can they do it one handed??  I didn’t think so.  Never mind the buttons and zippers (you try doing those one-handed!).  We try to remind her to use both hands, but when left to her own devices, she mostly does it all left handed.  I love that I can give her something to wear and ask her to put it on all by herself.  (PS – big time saver when trying to get 4 kids out the door in the morning!)  What can’t she do?  The list is getting shorter all the time.

What else is great about getting dressed yourself?  Putting on your own princess dress!

   About the photos:  Shot with my Canon Rebel XT using the 50mm prime lens (top) or the 28-80mm (bottom two).  This last shot was natural lighting, which I prefer when I can get it.  The McDonald’s play room has nice big windows!!

I’m sharing these pictures as part of  ”Special Exposure Wednesday” hosted by 5 Minutes for Special Needs.  Go visit them to learn more!!

Special Exposure Wednesday – The Wing

Special Exposure Wednesday is found at 5 Minutes for Special Needs.  A chance to showcase your special parenting in pictures!

I have started to think of PM’s right hand as a wounded wing, tucked up under her arm.  The thing is, with work and little reminders, that wing is functional.  I realize we can never completely “fix” cerebral palsy.  I realize I can’t expect her to do everything perfectly, but I can see what she’s capable of.  I know there’s nothing truly stopping her from flying with that wing when she wants to.   But it takes work on my part, too.  For now, anyway.  Encouragement, love, and patience.  Oh, and probably some prodding and therapy.  She may not always be happy with me for strapping on the “pink” (her left hand restraint) or for asking her to use her other arm, but in the long run I am positive it will be a good thing.  I see it already.  I think she does, too.

 

About the pictures: I shot these with my Canon 50mm prime lens at f2.8and natural light.  If you use a Canon camera I highly recommend this lens, it’s inexpensive and you will looove it!

The Universal Sign for Choking

Wordless Wednesday.  Yikes…

~~~~~ and now some words ~~~~~

OK, OK, she’s fine.  This was just a drill.  She was not actually choking while I stood by and took pictures.  Piper chokes often on food despite my best efforts to keep the really difficult things off her plate.  I mean, Oreo cookies for crying out loud, should not be in the choking category.  It’s really just part of her cerebral palsy, the chewing/swallowing issues.  But sometimes I think she’s just in a hurry to do something else.

See…fine.  Cookie-faced, but fine.

Wordless Wednesday can be found at 5 Minutes for Mom!

Wordful Wednesday can be found at Angies’s Seven Clown Circus.

      

Please stop by these great sites to see more Wednesday and link up!!