Sisters

The last days of summer are edging away, which always gives me the urge to start cleaning out the summer stuff, which this year for us is really spring stuff that never got done, and summer stuff that we just kept up withJ The last 2 weeks has been AWESOME! Miss Meghan has cut her first tooth, and once that was through we have had hands down, the happiest kiddo on the planet. This little girl hardly stops smiling and I think it’s because she finally, finally, feels good. Her therapists keep pushing her to improve, and in two week’s time she has learned to eat her toes, and roll to her left side! Meghan has a developmental pediatrician- one that specializes in kids with special needs. They see her less often than the regular pediatrician, and make specialized recommendations for her care. She has always been on the small side, but lately she has actually lost weight despite a good appetite, so we’ve added a bottle a day of a high calorie formula to see if we can boost her weight gain. The doctor also recommended that she be fitted for a SPIO vest, which stands for Stabilizing Pressure Input Orthosis. Her trunk muscle tone is low, and she doesn’t bear weight on her arms yet, so her doc wants her to start wearing the vest so that she is able to start sitting up and relating to her world from a more upright position.  We are also headed to Main Campus next week for a sedated CT scan of her entire spine. This should give us more information than the MRI as to her bony abnormalities, and if there are no stability issues in her cervical spine, she will also get a “torticollis collar”.  This will help her hold her head up, and get her neck muscles strong enough to compensate for the hemivertebrae that make her neck tilt. Meghan is on her way to becoming highly accessorized!

Speaking of accessories, The Asher Foundation has honored Meghan and some of her “hydro sisters” by creating a collection in their honor to help benefit special needs children, some of them with hydrocephalus like Meghan. We are very excited to see how God is using their ministry, and just as excited to be a part of it! Check out the Hydro Girls collection at www.theasherfoundation.org.

For nearly a year, this blog has been about Meghan and her progress. Saturday was the Pediatric Hydrocephalus Foundation’s Sibling Appreciation Day. Adding another little person to anyone’s family is an adjustment, and adding a child with special needs to a family is very difficult for the older siblings. The day inspired me to give some serious credit to my sweet Addison, who loves her little sister in a way that makes me gooey and proud. She doesn’t quite understand why Meghan goes to therapy, and so many doctor’s appointments, but she never complains. When she hugs Meghan, she tries to get her entire self around her with simultaneous gentleness and ferocity of love. With as independent and strong as this child is, I am certain that she will be the kind of big sister that will stand up for Meghan, celebrate with her, and be the kind of friend only a sister can be. I believe in the “plan”, and I am glad He gave us Addie to be Meghan’s big sister. Her future will be different because of Meghan, but it will undoubtedly be brighter….

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

 A major thank you to Sarah Marie Photography for capturing these images for us!