I sat last night reflecting on 2008, and there was a lot of wonderful things and some not so wonderful things too. Emma has changed so much this year and she has had some ups and downs too.
The worst part of this year has to have been when I watched Emma almost code after her last major surgery. Her pulse dropped to zero. The crash cart was brought in and I was moved to another area as I sobbed very loudly. Luckily she came back very quickly. That happened a few times before she finally stopped. I on the other hand took a few days to recover from the whole episode. To watch your child almost code is a very scary thing.
The best part of this year, has had to been watching Disney on Ice with her. It was a fun day as a family to take her to her first stage show. She was so in awe.
Or maybe it was her learning to use her wheelchair and or her walker, and the freedom both give her. OR maybe it is just her being so cute and funny like she is everyday of the week.
Actually, I think the best part of the year is any part that does not have to do with either a doctor visit, therapy session or hospital stay. Last year we did only have one overnight stay at Vandy, and it was about four days long after her kidney repair surgery. She had two outpatient surgeries, countless tests, therapy sessions to numerous to count or add up, and many visits to her specialist. She added two new therapies to her schedule and finally dropped OT from her days. Which was great since it use to be her biggest problem area and it was her first one to drop.
We had a lot of fun! We had lots of play dates with friends, trips to the park, hours on end at her grandparents being spoiled, art projects, cooking fun, hikes in the woods, and so much more. We have watched her get bigger and older! She finally is in two toddler cloths!! Yippee!!! She has added new words and new tricks too. She is starting to act older, she loves her babies and playing pretend with them. She loves her kitchen and all her other big girl toys too. Everyday she makes me laugh and wonder what she will do next. She is full of surprises.
We hope 2009 will bring no hospital stays at all. We hope no surgeries either!! We pray she will get better mobility in some form to give her the freedom she wants. We pray that Daddy gets the promotion he really wants at the YMCA and that I pick up more story times at the library too. We hope to spend more time as a family relaxing and not just time at therapy or at the doctors. We want to start family movie nights on our couch with popcorn. All in all we want less stress and more fun
I pray that you and your family have a wonderful year full of fun and memories!
Rachel Zook
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