Friday, April 1, 2011

4-1-11

Wow, to say it’s been a busy week is an understatement. With school, therapy, another cold, and house stuff we have been more then busy.
Monday Quinn got back to school after her first spring break, and as the picture shows, she was worn out after a week with all the Mooks. It was a great week last week! Well school went well, and she loved it as usual. I don’t know if it was going back to school or just being busy, but Quinn still has a bit of her cold. It’s much better then it was, and we are sleeping through the night, and that is a really big deal for both of us, but the snot is still there! Darn!

Tuesday’s therapy was great. Quinn’s teachers were there to learn more about Quinn again! Have I mentioned how grateful we are for them, working so hard to figure Quinn out and how they can support her best! We are very grateful! The session was great! I did not make it until the last 10 minutes but before that, Suzanne and Stacie greeted Quinn with the exciting news that Quinn’s red power chair was back! Quinn has not gotten to drive it for over a year, which is when we got this picture, wow has she grown over the year or what!
I did not have my camera with me or I would have gotten a picture this time. The eye gaze computer was also there! It was a big technology session. Well, Quinn saw the chair and knew what she wanted to do, but answering questions with the eye gaze computer was first. I heard that the girls told Quinn she had to work on the computer first, and then she could drive. So they asked her a number of questions, where Quinn promptly responded yes or no, each time followed by “good bye”. After answering a few questions, she was squirming and wiggling and trying to get up, as well as refusing to look at the screen. How amazing is she. She answered a few questions, just like they asked, and was ready to drive. Well, she finally got into the power chair, and was off. She drove from room to room, with a small amount of help so not to run into people and walls, but Quinn was getting back into the groove pretty fast! She loves to move! It’s looking like we will be getting a power chair sooner rather than later, which also means a van, but if that is what we need for her to be successful, I better start looking into my options! Well, needless to say, Quinn was not excited to leave, but we had a big meeting to attend.

Tuesday night was our big “Quinn’s House, built with love” kick off meeting with the team. We got to Out Post 12 Studio, in downtown Lincoln, and I have to say, I love downtown Lincoln, and this advertisement studio was beautiful! Yes, Quinn has a media group involved in her house, now. Not only a media group, but interior designers, all kinds of folks helping with windows, digging the lot, pouring foundation, building walls, building the garage, and I can go on and on. I had to hold back the tears a few times, as so many folks have been putting so much of their time and hearts into this project. Quinn was not loving being there with a room of adults, I’m sure she was still wishing she was driving her power chair, but she did take the time to give Greg a few big smiles! She loves Greg! This all got started because of our friend Barb, talking to Greg about finding an honest person to help us remodel our old house and it’s turning into a wonderful adventure. I can honestly say that for a good 24 hours after the meeting, I felt a bit weak and ill. I can’t begin to say what an amazing opportunity this is for our family, and to share our journey with our community, watching folks pay their love forward, is overwhelming and amazing at the same time. I also know how many kids need special housing, and I am grateful beyond words how this has happened to us. I'm hoping I can find my words to share our story of hope and hard work with others through this process.

I took the camera along to get a picture of the group, and forgot to get one taken, until most everyone had left. Greg, the mastermind behind this, and Delrae, our interior designer (who we met with for a few hours Thursday evening) are in this picture with Quinn. Just keep checking back with us, as we are going to have an amazing story of love starting to unfold! Digging is scheduled for May 1st, but we have lots to do before that to have everything ready! ☺

Wednesday Chrissy taught Quinn how to play Memory, putting out 4 pairs of cards to match at a time, and I was told that after a bit of practice, Quinn was really starting to figure out what to do! Chrissy also got Quinn to walk 25 steps! Yeah! Sometimes I don’t even think of doing things like playing memory, so I’m so thankful Chrissy is part of our lives to continue educating me on my own daughter! Yikes, that seems wrong, but yet we know how right we have got it! To top that off, Quinn went potty on the potty in less then 2 minutes that day! Yeah! After a great day, Quinn and I went to Omaha to see the trach doctor, continuing to have our regular 2 to 3 week appointment, and Quinn is doing so well, that we don't have to go back for 3 months! Yeah for that too! Quinn is getting tough too, as she did not cry at all, when the doctor was messing with her trach! What a tough girl we have!


Thursday’s therapy consisted of baking pans, markers, shaving cream, and Quinn giggling and totally having fun getting messing! That is new, because I’ve tried this with her in the past, as well as her doing it in school, but today was the day, with Diane’s coaching and the right mood where she was delighted to get messing and move. Quinn loved working, and did a great job working on moving her hand and arm the way she should.

We are looking forward to this weekend, we are going to work on gardening at our church this Saturday morning, which is a bit ironic, as I loved my landscaping at our old house, but the manual labor involved was not one of my favorite things, however, now that I don’t have that, I’m actually missing it, so John, Quinn, and I are going to dig in the dirt, and hopefully leave things looking good, with more dirt in the garden then on the three of us. After a short nap, (I hope) we are going to go help with an Easter Egg hunt with the Easter Seals. I hear we are going to have 13 campers to play with and find some fun eggs with. So if I’m on the ball, we might have a bunch of new pictures to share.

Whew, are you tired of reading yet? I’ve had a few folks comment on how long the blogs have been lately, but when we are busy we are busy! If you are not to tired from reading, we are currently still praying for Matthew to heal, and his family for patients and understanding, for Quinn’s cold to go away, and for everyone involved in Quinn’s house, built with love project! That everyone is safe working on her house, and that we share an uplifting story that can inspire others to figure out what we can do to make our souls happy?

Blessings,

Susan

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