Grace seems to be adjusting to the cast extremely well now. Yes, the first day and night were trying on her but no complaints now or a mention of it! Children are just so resilient. That is why I want to continue to see everything through the eyes of a child!!
It was a pleasant visit to Thomas Eye Group. The girls kept themselves entertained for the entire three hours so I am so very impressed and proud of them. Grace's vision is doing great and no need for a change of lens strength at this time. How about my little overachiever! Dr. Lipsky was certain that she would need changes at least once a year till teen years! Well, not my sweet baby Grace it has been one year on the same strength. I know God and Dr. Grande working and praying together (with eye muscle exercises) made this so!
Now I am going to tackle laundry or better yet climb the mountain of clothes to fold and put away, then start decorating!! Have a beautiful weekend, we might get a dusting of snow tomorrow!
Please take the time to read the below, condensed email and see the brief yet moving video, it will be worth it.
[[Tiffany Norris sent a message to the members of "Ten for Tiffany."
--------------------
Subject: What a Merry Christmas!
Hello friends! We are in the Christmas spirit....how about you??? We have received one of the BEST Christmas gifts anyone could ever want. We have experienced & seen with our very own eyes our little girl achieving more than we ever thought possible!
It's been 4 months since Tiffany had her surgery in St.Louis & what a difference a few months make. I'm beginning to have trouble remembering the "old" Tiffany. I came across some videos yesterday that I had taken before her surgery & I couldn't help but cry. Watching her struggle to bend her legs....unable to go up & down steps properly.....unable to walk with her armcrutches.....unable to take proper steps with her walker....watching her little legs cross inward with every step....watching her step on her own feet when she walked....watching her drag her legs behind her when she crawled....the list goes on & on. PRAISE GOD she is freed from all of this! It's been an absolute miracle what has taken place over these last four months & the blessings & positive changes just keep coming....
This year I decided not to send out Christmas cards...or Christmas letters since the majority of people we know follow our lives either on facebook or carepages. As a special Christmas treat & a token of our appreciation to you all for your prayers, financial support & encouragement, we have made a little video showing you Tiffany's progress over the last 4 months. The song we used is "What Faith Can Do" by Kutless.
http://www.youtube.com/10fortiffany
From the first time TIffany heard this song on the radio she said, "MOM! This song is about me!! They are talking about when I fall & about me getting stronger!" From that point on, we have claimed this song as "Tiffany's song" & she knows almost every word to it!
In January of 2009, our pastor gave a sermon on "Asking Big". Many times we pray for small things to happen in our lives or in the lives of others. He encouraged us that day to really dig deep & ask for something BIG....something that only God could have the power to fulfill. I remember as I sat their & listened, tears constantly streamed down my face....my insides shook.....my hands trembled....it was like he was talking to me & no one else. I KNEW what Steven & I's "ASK BIG" was going to be.....for our little girl to walk. That was something the doctor's told us that Tiffany may never be able to do on her own. However, that day, we put our complete faith & trust in our God and truly believed that He could make this happen. A few months after hearing that sermon & "asking BIG", we learned about Dr. Park & the selective dorsal rhizotomy procedure that he has essentially perfected. Our prayers were being answered & still are today. Never in our wildest dreams did we think Tiffany would be walking with her armcrutches less than a year later. Never in our wildest dreams did we have the assurance that she would one day be walking ON HER OWN without ANYTHING!
While we still have a long road ahead that involves ALOT of hard work, we are anticipating everyday with such excitement because it means we are one day closer to seeing our dreams become a reality! We serve an amazing God!
From our family to yours, we hope that every one of you have an amazing Christmas season & that we would remember what Christmas is all about....the birth of our Savior who gave His life for each one of us so that we could have hope in the future! If you've never experienced this "hope" that I talk about, I would love to share more so that you too can experience the best Christmas ever.
Before I end, I wanted to remind you all that Tiffany will be on TV this Sunday (Dec.6th) at 1:00pm. There is a telethon for United Rehabilitation Services (where she receives therapy) & we were asked to come be apart of it. If you're in the area, please tune in to channel 2 (wdtn) & support this great cause! If you're out of our area, you may be able to go to http://www.facebook.com/l/14bb1;www.wdtn.com & see clips of the telethon (I'm not sure if they post this on their website or not).
We love you all; thank you for letting us share this journey with you!
Steven & Terra
ps-don't forget to check out our latest video on http://www.facebook.com/l/14bb1;www.youtube.com/10fortiffany ]]
Friday, December 4, 2009
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Beautiful Day
Wednesday afternoon Grace had her first cast put on. Her contracture is at -5degrees and the goal/need is to get her flexion to 15degrees so her foot needs to flatten by 20degrees. This is what the CP does. I will try to post some pictures later. So Grace got the 'Super Boot' on and was in a lot of discomfort. Even though the Botox paralized the gastrocnemius, plantaris and soleus musles. The other calf musles (politeus, flexor digitorum longus, the flexor hallucious longus, the fibularis longus, fibularis brevis and the tibialis) did not get much use due to the contracture of the first mentioned musles! Whew, that is a finger twister! So I believe that those musles got shorter so the stretching is very uncomfortable especially in a fixed stretch.
Grace is so tough on the outside, then once we got in the car and we were about five minutes away the tears started streaming down her face and she just lost it. She just cried that it hurt. I explained to Grace that Mommy and Daddy would never have taken her to get the 'Super Boot' put on unless it was for the best and needed to happen. I reminded her that she could do all things through God who gives her strength and once all this was over with she would be able to run faster and ride her big girl bike and so on.
She had a rough night, but we got through it and all is great today. A big thank you to Carole and Carly at CHOA in Alpharetta! They are so wonderful to us!
Have a beautiful day!
Grace is so tough on the outside, then once we got in the car and we were about five minutes away the tears started streaming down her face and she just lost it. She just cried that it hurt. I explained to Grace that Mommy and Daddy would never have taken her to get the 'Super Boot' put on unless it was for the best and needed to happen. I reminded her that she could do all things through God who gives her strength and once all this was over with she would be able to run faster and ride her big girl bike and so on.
She had a rough night, but we got through it and all is great today. A big thank you to Carole and Carly at CHOA in Alpharetta! They are so wonderful to us!
Have a beautiful day!
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving
We hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. It was quiet and relaxing which is just what we needed. Instead of the traditional turkey I made a roast beef tenderloin with cranberry-red wine sauce. It was wonderful. Also, made a pumpkin pie with the cookies that Grace can eat for the crust! Very yummy!
I went to the hand surgeon and he aspirated the volar ganglion cyst and then injected it with cortisone. My first cortisone injection. It hurt and continued to hurt for about two days, then great no pain. The area is still bigger and if it does not go down in two weeks he will proceed with a surgery.
I have to start my first insurance appeal. Yes, my doctor did a full panel on my thyroid, being that I am so exhausted, and there is a history of hypothyroidism in my family. Well, the EOB stated no benefits for cosmetic surgery! I did not know that blood work could be cosmetic, HA! So $1,500.00, is the amount.
However, the exciting news on the court is that Saturday morning Grace road her Big Wheel and tricycle successfully for the first time. Yes, she was able to pedal, did not get frustrated and quit for quite some time. I got so emotional I had to go inside for a bit, you know to gather my emotions! Wow, what an accomplishment! It was futile all the efforts that we made in the past and then it was just like a switch was flipped, so wonderful.
Grace has been walking on her heels a lot now and if she is on her toes it is barely, not like before on her tippy toes. She does have to retrain her brain and practice with her right foot/leg. When she walks flat foot her toes are outward and she does not bend her knee. It is difficult but she knows that she can do all things through God who gives her strength. She ate some food that was not apart of her diet and we are seeing the results all ready. Yes, she is whining a lot, and disconnected and rebellious. It is amazing, and I would not of believed it if I did not see it for myself. When she is on her diet she is fun loving energetic, determined and happy.
I started to get a nasty cold last night and stayed in bed all day today. Gabrielle took a nap and Chris took Grace out on the town. They came back with Band Hero. Unbelievable! I walked downstairs to Grace playing the drums! Amazing! Believe it or not, this is therapy for her. It is the same principal as her Bp2 program, with the interactive metronome.
We go to A Healing Place tomorrow to get the results for her OAT test. Then Wednesday afternoon, she gets her first cast of three. Friday is her eye appointment. Pray for me and the doctor that he has a better attitude this visit and I am patient with him!!!
Going to rest up again and get ready for another week!
I went to the hand surgeon and he aspirated the volar ganglion cyst and then injected it with cortisone. My first cortisone injection. It hurt and continued to hurt for about two days, then great no pain. The area is still bigger and if it does not go down in two weeks he will proceed with a surgery.
I have to start my first insurance appeal. Yes, my doctor did a full panel on my thyroid, being that I am so exhausted, and there is a history of hypothyroidism in my family. Well, the EOB stated no benefits for cosmetic surgery! I did not know that blood work could be cosmetic, HA! So $1,500.00, is the amount.
However, the exciting news on the court is that Saturday morning Grace road her Big Wheel and tricycle successfully for the first time. Yes, she was able to pedal, did not get frustrated and quit for quite some time. I got so emotional I had to go inside for a bit, you know to gather my emotions! Wow, what an accomplishment! It was futile all the efforts that we made in the past and then it was just like a switch was flipped, so wonderful.
Grace has been walking on her heels a lot now and if she is on her toes it is barely, not like before on her tippy toes. She does have to retrain her brain and practice with her right foot/leg. When she walks flat foot her toes are outward and she does not bend her knee. It is difficult but she knows that she can do all things through God who gives her strength. She ate some food that was not apart of her diet and we are seeing the results all ready. Yes, she is whining a lot, and disconnected and rebellious. It is amazing, and I would not of believed it if I did not see it for myself. When she is on her diet she is fun loving energetic, determined and happy.
I started to get a nasty cold last night and stayed in bed all day today. Gabrielle took a nap and Chris took Grace out on the town. They came back with Band Hero. Unbelievable! I walked downstairs to Grace playing the drums! Amazing! Believe it or not, this is therapy for her. It is the same principal as her Bp2 program, with the interactive metronome.
We go to A Healing Place tomorrow to get the results for her OAT test. Then Wednesday afternoon, she gets her first cast of three. Friday is her eye appointment. Pray for me and the doctor that he has a better attitude this visit and I am patient with him!!!
Going to rest up again and get ready for another week!
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