11-25-09

Happy Thanksgiving!


I’m thankful that Quinn is back in her bed and sleeping so peacefully, after two trips to the Emergency Room, a trip to Omaha, and antibiotics, she is back to her contented self! Yeah for that!


It’s been another year to be thankful for! So a quick list of my thanks!

I’m thankful for Quinn and her continued progress.
I’m thankful for her therapists who continue to bring a positive attitude and helpful hand to our continued education and improvement.
I’m thankful for a husband who overcomes his injuries with a smile and will do attitude.
I’m thankful for an amazing babysitter who loves Quinn and goes above and beyond every day as if she were her own.
I’m thankful for her children who also share their love with Quinn and our family.
I’m thankful for a job that I love to pieces, as well as my 400 and some kiddo’s who make me laugh and learn and I can only hope I teach them as much as they teach me.
I’m thankful for my family who loves all of us as much as we need.
I’m thankful for my friends who I see often, as well as the ones that are loved even when I don’t stay in contact as often as I should.
I’m thankful for everyday events and remembering not to take them for granted.
I’m thankful for my church, where I can find peace, and where Quinn can sing along with the congregation, and thankful when she continues singing for a few seconds that we don’t get dirty looks for her rejoicing!
I’m thankful for simple pleasures, such as reality t.v., morning radio shows, good books, the right pair of shoes, and a good hair day.
I’m thankful for the roof over my head, and the opportunity to make it work even better for Quinn in the future.
I’m thankful for Children’s hospital, we were there again on Monday to find out Quinn had a ear ache and that got so bad it probably lead to her gums bleeding. So we finally got things situated.
I’m thankful for Quinn’s crying to let me know when something is wrong, even though it tears me up inside, it’s good to know she can express herself when she needs to.

Goodness I could go on and on, but instead I’m going to share a story of thanks to a woman who came into our lives when we needed her most!




Here are Chrissy and Quinn at one of our first meetings. It’s also the first picture we got that showed Quinn has it going on, with tracking and understanding.




Here is the miracle moment when Quinn held her head up for the first time since her event. We have had quite a few miracle moments with Chrissy, and we are so thankful for all of them.

So I want to extend a sincere thanks to Chrissy – Our 1st therapist, who God is sending onto new adventures over the next few months. So with happy hearts for her, and a bit of a heavy heart for us, (thank goodness, she is staying in Lincoln, and I consider her a friend, as much as a therapist, so we will continue to see each other) I just wanted to say how important she is to us.

When Quinn was born, we had our beautiful baby who hit all the target marks, and was amazing and we were blissfully happy. At about 5 months old we found out about her heart disease, but again, after reading and researching, I accepted she might not be running marathons, but past that we were on a great path still. The day after her heart surgery when she aspirated and coded, we were worried. I was so thankful we did not loose her, that I was ok with the fact that she might have some issues. As the weeks went by at Children’s we were slowly coming to terms with the fact that Quinn did have traumatic brain injury, but being ignorant about what that was, and at the same time, a bit scared to really learn about it, I just continued to be thankful to have Quinn in my life. We had an experience with one of the Neurologists, who told us, not to expect anything out of Quinn, “the most we could hope for was for her to breath on her own and keep her body at the right temperature. We should not ever expect her to hold her head up or do anything else.” It was interesting that the next day with other doctors in the room, how his story became more positive, but the situation was still overwhelming and we were stuck in a very scary place. I was so thankful to have Quinn, but my prediction of our future was now fuzzy and unclear. My predictions were blasted away and I had to learn to live in the present and not try to predict the future. Just find the love in the moment, and be grateful for every day I have with Quinn.

Coming back to the present, I’ve had to rehash that same basic story to two different emergency room doctors and nurses over the last few days. Just remember, I have been sleep deprived over the last few days, being sleep deprived and so worried about Quinn, but when they asked me about Quinn’s history, both times I teared up just talking about it. So sometimes I feel like I’ve come to terms with everything, other times, I see that I still have some learning and accepting to do.

Well, we did have a physical therapist at Children’s hospital, that came in to see us a few times, and she was positive and hopeful and that gave my heart a bit of a lift and the hope I so needed. Then after we got home, we got signed up with Handprints and Footsteps, and Chrissy was our therapist. I say our therapist instead of Quinn’s therapist, because although Quinn has gotten more then I could have ever hoped from her experiences, I have too. Quinn would relax with Chrissy, she would do things for her before she would do it for anyone. Chrissy is the only person that Quinn held her head up for when laying on her stomach. She is the only female that Quinn has just fallen in love with. Chrissy ranks right up there with dad, and that is a big deal. Chrissy got calls from our doctors to ask if Quinn really was doing what I said, because she does not show off for very many people. Chrissy was always positive and supportive and advocated for Quinn like no one else I had seen.

Basically God brought us to Chrissy. Chrissy brought us hope when we needed it more then anything. She brought us understanding and acceptance. She brought us knowledge and helped us learn so much. She taught me that Quinn can still play, she can still thrive, she can still grow and mature, and can live an amazing life. It might not be what I predicted, but it will be educational and joyful. She was our first concrete true positive experience after experience something that was so scary and not so positive. She has been a great listener, a great advocate, saying just what I needed to hear, when I needed to hear it. At times, I was not ready to hear it, and Chrissy was so safe and supportive, giving me time to absorb the information and then she was ready to keep going after I had the time I needed! She has helped me find an understanding, an acceptance, and at times has helped me see how lucky we are to be where we are, compared to what we planned on when Quinn was born. I cannot ever truly express how lucky we are to have her in our lives. I’m so glad we are not saying good-bye to her, but just switching the role she will play in our lives. I only hope we can all find those people who God brings into our when we need them most. I’m so thankful for God bringing Chrissy into our lives. I would not be the person I am today if it were not for her. We have other amazing therapists who we are so lucky to have, and we are so grateful for them as well, but when we met Chrissy we were broken and battered, and she brought us the light, the hope and peace and the belief we needed at a time where the tunnel was pretty dark. So Chrissy will always have a very special place in my heart. She helped me mend my broken heart and has helped Quinn share information before she was ready to share it with anyone else. I thank God for bring Chrissy into our lives and pray that in her journeys, she will bring that same joy and acceptance to others. She is a rare jem and we are the family we are now, in part to her friendship, knowledge, and support. So Chrissy – thank you! I don’t know if you know what you do for all your families, but we love you will all our hearts!

I hope everyone can be thankful for a special person God has brought into their lives at a time they needed them the most! Happy Thanksgiving!
Susan Otte