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Thanksgiving

Bonnie

This Thanksgiving I have been reflecting on things that I am grateful for.
Most years I find I am grateful for the usual things, my family, friends, good health, things like that.
This year I find myself grateful for things that are a little out of the ordinary for me.
After spending 11 days up at Primary Children’s Hospital with Kiera, I realized how grateful I am that I am able to be home to take my kids, and the kids in our carpool, too school every morning, take care of my niece after she gets out of kindergarten, do my house work, be here for my kids when they come home from school & care of my dogs.
This experience also made me grateful for friends, neighbors, ward members and even strangers!
I had so many people come out of the woodwork that stepped up and took over all my daily duties!

My dear friend Alisha took care of my dogs. She’d come and feed them, take them out to play, and even bring her kids over and they all spent time giving them attention. On some days, we had a visit from a ‘house cleaning fairy’ that would wave her magic wand, and the dishes got done, socks got folded, and rooms got cleaned! It was amazing!!! I LOVE fairies!

Our dear friends Jon and Melanie brought us up a very valuable distraction! Most nights Kiera would cry in pain, and had a hard time taking her mind off her pain, but Jon and Melanie brought up a large selection of movies from their home for us to watch! Kiera LOVED going through them! When she was not doing therapy she was watching a movie they brought for her! I’ll have to admit, it was a good distraction for me too!

My sweet Mark had to take over duties that he never really needed to before! All the normal duties of a house wife became his. Though he was drowning in stress, he was a huge support to me and the girls!

We had many wonderful visitors! Family ward members, school friends of Kiera’s, and friends. It was great to see the faces of so many who care for us!

Mark and Savannah would come up to the hospital nearly every day after she got out of school, and they would be there till 8:00 or 9:00 every night. And because Mark wasn’t home much, we had a lot of people bringing in dinners for them! Alisha would let them into the house and they would put it in the fridge. What a blessing that was for them not to have to prepare anything!

And I quickly realized how grateful I am to be able to cook my own food! Every day I ate hospital cafeteria food, and for most it’s fine, but being gluten free I quickly found that I did not have much to chose from.
Some days for lunch all I could eat was squash, fruit and a drink. Some days I was able to get a tiny salad, when they had them, but some days their salads had chicken on it that was cooked in sauce with gluten.
Breakfast was actually fun for me cause I could eat almost everything! So every morning I’d have eggs, sausage, hash browns and bacon! I will miss that! haha Not healthy on a daily basis, but at least it was something I could eat!

After the first night of me sleeping on a hospital parents bed, I was instantly grateful for my own bed! I got achy from the beds, and from sitting in the hospital rooms with nothing to do.

One mom from Kiera’s class was kind enough to pick up Savannah from school and bring her right to the hospital to me so Mark could stay at work longer!

My mom also did this too! She picked her up, took her with her to a couple B-day parties that we had to miss.
My mom did a lot of things for us during this whole thing! One day that she was there visiting, I got a bad migraine, and I was so ill I couldn’t sit up cause I would get nauseous and vomit! The nurses said I had to leave, so Mark stayed with Kiera that night, and my mom took me and Savannah home!

I have to also mention how grateful I am for Rachael who came up to stay with Kiera while I ran to watch Savannah’s first violin concert! That was a drive for her, and I was SO grateful to her for her sacrifice!
Also, Melanie and Debbie came up and gave me a nice massage as we visited! At that point I think every muscle in my body was in knots, and though their touch was on tender points, it hurt SO GOOD!!!!!!!

I would be stupid if I did not mention the nurses, techs, therapists & doctors that worked around the clock for Kiera, and many other kids! All of the people that worked with us were fantastic, and a few were exceptional! One sweet nurse made Kiera a poster that said “Kiera is FREEKING AWESOME” LOL
Another nurse clicked instantly with Kiera, which is rare cause of how shy she is. Kiera started belching her famous big burps and the two of them giggled and made jokes about it for over an hour! It was adorable!

We learned that the hospital has its own church branch up there, and we were very excited to all be able to attend church together at the hospital with Kiera! We have never been in a room with a more powerful spirit before! It was So strong and overwhelming, that Mark and I had a hard time keeping it together through the short half hour sacrament meeting. Then, for anyone interested, they had primary lessons that they would bring to your room if you asked. So we did that, it was very sweet!

One night was particularly bad for Kiera, and all the medications they had for her were not helping her pain, it was 11:00 at night when I asked if she could find out if there were any LDS men who could give Kiera a blessing. I had heard over the intercom several times through out the day, every day, a request for an LDS employee to contact the operator. So, I did this at 11:00pm. And at 11:30 two men in scrubs walked into the room, one with a long scruffy goatee. They gave her a sweet blessing and went back to their work. It was a unique experience for me, but it seemed like it was part of their daily routine. How grateful I was to them! A few minutes after they left Kiera was able to finally get comfortable and fall asleep!

One thing that has surprised me is we have had people we barely know, and complete strangers, that have been donating money to help us with our over whelming hospital bills!

I have SO much to be grateful for this Thanksgiving, and I don’t think I can list them all, but this was a small attempt.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
This year I hope you all find big things, and simple things to be grateful for!

If you are reading this blog,… I am grateful for you!
Thanks everyone!

Self worth

Bonnie

What defines self worth?

I have spent a lot of time thinking about what makes up my self worth.
Wikipedia says: “Self-esteem is a term used in psychology to reflect a person’s overall evaluation or appraisal of his or her own worth.”

I have thought about all the things I have accomplished in my life, some of which include: being a stay at home mom; home schooling my girls, and my sisters kids, for 4 years plus preschool; learning sign language; learning to play guitar; learning to crochet & other artsy things I have tried and enjoyed.
Some might not view these as “important”. Some people may focus on traveling the world, or becoming someone of social, political, medical or scientific importance in order to feel a sense of accomplishment or worth.

This got me thinking of Mark’s roll, and his worth to me. Because if not for him and his support, and ability to support our family, I would not be able to do these things.
In these economically hard times, it has become an almost insurmountable thing for a mom to stay at home and raise her kids!

I know as people we all seem to under appreciate our selves and our own worth, no matter what we have accomplished in our lives! We are our own worst critics!
And what a sad thing that is!
Everybody has great worth, regardless of if we have done great or small things. Its just a matter of perspective, and finding that your own worth is much bigger then you can see for yourself!

If your too close to something its hard to see the full picture. For example, by focusing on one flower…

You’ll miss the diversity of each flower and how, together, it creates an array of complimentary colors and smells that make something exquisite!

Then I got thinking, its not about what we do in life, but how we view what we’ve done in life.
I can look back at my life and say “I have not accomplished a single thing! I have been stuck at home, going no where as life passes me by!”
Or I can say "Wow! I have been a teacher, a mentor, a cook, a maid, a counselor, an artist, a singer, and a friend to my kids and my family’s kids!
If you ask me….that is pretty groovy!

For a while I felt like a failure because I had to stop homeschooling my children due to my many health issues that got me down, not only physically, but mentally too.
My self worth took a nose dive!

Perspective is imperative to seeing your own self worth!
Look at the whole bouquet rather then just one flower.

I may not have a career that is a high paying well respected job in the eyes of others, but in the eyes of those who it matters most, my job has been the best in the world! Its certainly not been an easy road, but it has been worth every second of sweat, tears and joy!

So, take some time to define what self worth means to you, step back and see the whole picture.

Find your own self worth.

Lagoon

Bon

We went to Lagoon yesterday with my mom and my sister in law’s family.
I have decided that Saturday is not the best day to go, but despite the long lines we had a fun time!
While I was there, I realized that at this same time last year we took our girls to Lagoon, but Mark had to push me around in a wheel chair because my plantar faciitis was so severe I could only be on my feet about a half hour a day!
That combined with the fact that Kiera also was able to stay on her feet the whole time we were there, was a thought that made me radiate with ‘warm fuzzies’!

It really made me reminisce about the past years experiences and I find that little things bring me great joy! And things that were frustrating, aren’t quite so bad anymore. For example:
Kiera being able to walk away from me when after being asked to do a chore, or stomp her feet in a little tantrum. Those things don’t bring the amount of frustration that they used to!
I seem to feel gratitude that she can do those things, even if its not exactly the behavior I’d like to be seeing.

And things that are usually not even noticeable I really pay attention to. For instance, Kiera walking up or down stairs still brings a feeling of “YES!” to me! (Especially me not having to carry her up or down the stairs!)
Kiera running or skipping just THRILLS me! Very simple things that most people wouldn’t even notice are just a thrill to me! And I Love it!

So going to Lagoon with family and staying all day was Fabulous! I really found pride in watching Kiera holding hands with her cousin, running to get in line for a ride, and just holding my hand walking to the next ride.

I couldn’t go on many rides, my funny equilibrium doesn’t allow me to walk straight if I go on most of the rides there. But I had a great time non the less! I did find a kids ride that I really really enjoy! There is one called the Ladybug, and another that does the same thing called the dragon, and they are VERY small versions of the Rocket. It was kind of funny that I was the one who kept asking for that ride, considering its more of a kids ride, but because of my dizzy brain, it was something I could go on, and it was a small thrill! It made me laugh every time it dropped! It was great! I had to bribe Kiera to try it with me, and once she was on it, she said “Lets do it again and again!” hehe

Savannah and Mark went on all the “cool” rides like Wicked and Colloses. Man, my Savannah is Really growing up! It’s while to see our little girl actually looking more like, and acting like, a young lady instead of our “little girl”.

We are going to try to bounce back on a day when we can hit more rides without being in line forever! :)

Shark reef aquarium at Mandalay Bay

Bonnie

While on vacation in Las Vegas with our groovy friends, Dayv and Alisha, we went to Shark reef aquarium at Mandalay Bay.
This was such a fun experience!

I loved being able to see fish bigger then my head swimming around my head!

This kind of fish, I think it called a Lion fish, they are SO FREEKING AWESOME LOOKING!!!

I’ve always loved watching jellyfish! There is something peaceful and serene about watching them! But this place had the most massive oval shaped tank for theirs! The picture doesn’t show the size, but it was from ceiling to floor, and probably 6 feet or more across.

There was a very beautiful tank with a very active octopus in it. It was tricky getting a picture of him that wasn’t blurry.

We had a great time playing with the sting ray’s tank. Touching the string rays as they swim past, along with a couple other creatures, was a lot of fun for all of us!

Mark took a couple video clips from our water proof camera of the sting rays and other creatures from inside the tank! This was pretty freeking groovy if you ask me! :)

One of the most Rock-Tastic parts of this place was the hallway type rooms we walk into and top to bottom was fish, sharks, turtles saw fish and other creatures swimming everywhere!
I wish the camera got better pictures, but with a flash on glass, its kinda hard!

Special thanks to Dayv, Alisha, and their in-laws, for hooking us up with a great place to stay, swimming fun and awesome dinners. Their sweet sister in law, Rachel, even made a gluten free dinner and desert just for Kiera and I!!! I was very impressed, and very flattered that she put that much thought, time & effort into our family, which had been total strangers! They all treated us like family, and that was very special! So thanks everyone!

Hoover Dam Trip

Bonnie

This past weekend we went to Las Vegas with our friends, Dayv and Alisha and their kids. I haven’t been to Vegas since I was about 16, so it sounded like a fun get away.
We left Thursday night, and stopped in Cedar City and stayed at a hotel with a pool. We got there just before 10:00pm and swam till 11:00. This was FABULOUS because I’m not used to driving for 4 hours straight, and my body was so stiff and sore! The girls were EXTRA excited that they not only got to swim, but they got to stay up super late to do it! :)

The next day we traveled about another 4 hours, through Vegas, and to Hoover dam.
I’ve never been there before, and so it sounded fun. But, by the time we got there we were all ready to kill each other from a combination of being in the car far too long, and the Nevada 115 degree heat!

We took the official tour of Hoover Dam. It was pretty cool, and very educational! They took our picture on a green screen first, and imposed the background in later:

We started with taking a trip down a VERY long elevator to the bottom of the inside of Hoover Dam. We walked through these huge concrete tunnels.

Then we went into a large concrete room that had a HUGE concrete tube that carried the water through the dam, and the entire room was very loud and vibrating. The guide told us the sound and vibrations came from the water flowing at incredible speeds through the tubes!

Then we were taken into a very large area that had these very large turbines. I don’t remember the function of them, but here is a picture with a vehicle by it to show its size, and to show that the area down there is so large they have cars to take workers through it!

After our tour inside the dam we went outside and got to look over the edge of the dam, and it was FREEKING MASSIVE!
Mark is afraid of heights, and so he tried to get a picture of it, but couldn’t quite get there, so I took the camera to get a photo. But, photo’s just don’t do it justice!

Outside was a very odd statue of two men with wings reaching for the sky. It was too hot for me to stop and read about what it meant, but they were both VERY large, so it was photo worthy too!

Another large and cool statue we saw represented the workers that spent 5 years, working 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to construct the dam.

When we finished we were all MORE then done with that ridiculous heat!

Considering that Kiera has been working up her endurance with walking, she did pretty well! But you can see from their faces, they had enough!

My Grandfather

Bonnie

Yesterday was my grandfathers funeral. Glen Robinson. He passed away at the age of 96.

My grandfather served in World war II, and so there were 2 soldiers there who honored him. I’ve never been to a funeral service for a veteran , it was quite the experience! Watching those 2 men fold up the flag with precision and respect was very moving! Then one marched off 50 feet away to play the trumpet,… it was amazing! For some reason it made me cry!
I have been very at peace with his passing, and have not really cried over it because he has lived a long fabulous life. So it surprised me that this military service effected me so much!
It was very beautiful!

My grandfather was an amazing man! I don’t know of anyone who could say a negative word about him!
He always had amazing vigor, even at his age! I remember visiting him one day when his friend came by and told us that it was the first year he had not played golf with my grandpa. He had just turned 90 and decided it was time to quit! I was amazed!

As a young child I didn’t realize he was not my biological grandpa. He always treated all of us with such love and tenderness, there was just no question about it… he was my grandpa!

I have so many fond memories of going to his house to visit him and grandma! They had toys we could play with, and even arcade games in the basement. My grandma let us play with her old hats and old gaudy jewelry, which entertained us for hours on end! It was always fun to visit grandma and grandpas house!
And of coarse we can’t forget his candy dish on the counter, that was always full of goodies! We always felt welcome in his home! Their home just radiated with love!

Christmas time was always an especially fond time at grandma and grandpa’s house! They always had fun gifts that were things that showed that he knew us and loved us! We almost always got something silly too! So that was fun!

I can honestly say I don’t remember any specific gifts, it was never about the “stuff” we got, it was more about the warm fuzzies we got.
I know its probably not good to put people up on a pedestal, but in my eyes, that’s where he has always been!

Every time I visited my grandparents house, he always expressed how proud he was of me, I will always remember how he made me feel!

Over the past few months grandma and grandpa had to move out of their wonderful home into a retirement home, and that is the only time I have ever seen him unhappy! I could see and even feel his anxiety over it, but it needed to happen! My poor sweet grandma was no longer able to care or herself, and he was becoming frail enough that he could no longer care for her himself, and I’m sure that was a large part of his anxiety over needing a retirement home. Losing ones independence can be devastating!
Then he stressed over the well being of his sweet wife, which caused him to suffer physically.
Then when my grandma’s health improved they were finally back in the same place together, he was finally happy again! Their love was very tender to see!
The way that they loved each other was deeply moving and inspiring!
I love my grandfather and will miss him very much!

Kiera's recovery

Bonnie

Today is the 6th good day in a row for Kiera. Well, technically 5 1/2, but close enough! :)
It has been a long hard journey for us these past 3 months!
Now, with a little perspective, I want to recap the ordeal our little Kiera has gone through.

(CLICK ANY IMAGE TO GET A LARGER VIEW. THEN CLICK AGAIN TO CLOSE IMAGE)

The very first week in March Kiera got a high fever of 104 and slept for 2 days. Then she started to feel better on the 3rd day, so we planned on taking her to school the next morning. I woke her up, and told her to get up and shower, and the moment she put her legs on the floor she screamed and started to cry and shout that her legs hurt.

Mark and I monitored her for a couple days, then we took her to Primary Childrens Hospital. She stayed there through the whole day, and they told us that the blood work showed she had a very high build up of enzymes in her legs due to a rare reaction to Influenza B. They put her on IV fluids to help flush it from her system.

About 4 days later she was back on her feet and doing fine! That next week was her birthday and baptism. We were so grateful that she was walking for her baptism!

Then 2 weeks after that she got a small virus, basic small cold, and as we sat in sign language class she leaned over to me and told me her legs were hurting like when she couldn’t walk. Then within just a couple minutes she was crying.

So, back to Primary Childrens Hospital we go! Another full day of tests & IV’s. This time it didn’t seem to be the same thing. It was a little different from the first time.
Test after test after test and the doctors seemed more and more perplexed.
They ended up giving it the name “Post infectious neuropathy”. Which, when we got a second opinion we were told that it basically means unexplained nerve pain.

We ended up going to the Hospital about 7 or 8 times in this 3 month span, and most of those times after the tests they ran came back negative, they would say “Go home, and in a few days if she isn’t getting better, or is getting worse, bring her back”.

Her school teacher was amazing through all of this! She made a couple different visits to our home. The first one she brought a care package with a book series called Junie B. Jones, coloring books, activity books, crayons, markers, and goodies.

She also brought a HUGE poster board card that the entire class made for her!

This card she kept close to her for over a couple weeks, and looked over each name a few times a day. And she showed everyone who came into the house her very special card!
She also brought a couple different bouquets of very nice flowers for her!

This teacher has really gone above and beyond what any normal teacher would do!

I am amazed at everything she has been through! She has had 10 IV/blood draws, an MRI, 2 x-rays, a bone scan, and a painful & traumatizing set of tests in the neurology department!

Kiera had been in “home hospital” during this time, and was getting a tutor coming to the house twice a week to help her with school. Then we were told she could qualify for a program that would help her get into school with the help of an aid to get her into restrooms and whatever else she was in need of. So, we got her qualified through the school district, and she started school on a Monday. Tuesday she was starting a physical therapy session at school, that the school district provided, along with a child size wheel chair for her to use. (Talk about Rockin Awesome-sauce! What a school!!!!!!)

Then, Wednesday after school Kiera was doing light stretching at home in the evening, and for some reason when she was stretching at home, she was suddenly hit with severe pain in her legs that made her scream!! And at the same time she was struck with a severe head ache, nausea and dizziness. This lasted 3 weeks.

With this head ache stuff she got, she could not sit up.
When she needed to sit up, to use the bathroom, she would cringe and cry because of the amount of pain it caused her little head! We would carry her into the bathroom in a cradle position to try to reduce the time she had to spend sitting up.

The doctors sent in a prescription for a medication that is a anti nausea and migraine combo. We are unsure if it was actually doing anything, but we kept it up.
She was also on a medication for her neuropathy. We think that was doing her good!

She still had a desire to be part of what was going on, and wanted to be able to have fun. As long as she stayed laying down she seemed to feel ok. A couple times we carried her outside onto a blanket with pillows, so she could be with the puppies when we started taking them outside to play in the grass.

The kids all wanted to play Wii Band Hero, so we found a way for her to be involved too.

Every now and then Kiera would have partial days where she could sit up without a lot of pain. She still would suffer from head ache and upset tummy, but she would take those opportunities to try to be a normal kid again.
On one of these days Kiera’s teacher gave Kiera another care package. It was HUGE! It was full of another book series to do with Fairies, and more art activities she could do, laying down, over the summer. Wow she was SO excited!

A couple weeks ago our bishopric came into our home and assisted Mark in giving Kiera a blessing. Before they left they asked if we would feel comfortable if the ward held a fast on Kiera’s behalf. We were very touched, and honored! So, they announced it in church that Sunday, and then the next week was fast Sunday.
At this point Kiera had 4 good days in a row. The most she’d had since her head ache thing. Her legs have been improving! Not as much pain, and she has taken the opportunity to try to walk whenever she can. We have found her little legs & ankles are weak. I bought ankle braces for her because she hurt both her ankles on different days trying to walk. So this is very encouraging for all of us to see her on her feet!!! It has made me cry on occasion to see her on her feet! I’m filled with excitement mixed with a stress relief feeling that over flows into my eyes! :)

Sunday morning we woke up and Kiera was again struck with the head ache that kept her flat in bed.
I stayed home with Kiera, and Mark and Savannah went to church.

I was So sad, and worried because it seemed as though she was finally over the head ache thing, and then BAM, it was there again!
That morning Kiera slept till 10am, which also worried me too!
When she got up, she said she only had a small head ache. I was surprised!

All morning I felt sad that I was not able to make it to church to be a part of this special event for Kiera, but I felt as though I could feel the prayers of the whole ward even though I was at home. It like I had been drinking hot chocolate, I was warm inside, and feeling calm and relaxed! To say I felt ‘warm fuzzies’ is an understatement!

By afternoon the head ache was gone!
Mark and Savannah came home from church, and shared with us stories of how many people share their concern and love for Kiera, and how every prayer that was said included our sweet Kiera. Even in primary every child that prayed included Kiera in it.
Mark and I were so moved! Our spirits were lifted, and we felt a sense of hope, that we had not had in a long time! We felt that all would be well!

It’s hard to put to words what we felt that whole day! We could definitely feel everyone’s love and prayers! It was a very special experience for our whole family!

I know that the prayers offered by all those people in our lives have made a huge difference for Kiera!
Thanks everyone for your love, prayers and support!
We have truly been lifted up through the love of others!

Also thanks to EVERYONE who has made special efforts to help Savannah get some special attention during this ordeal! She had a few friendly “kidnappings” where she got to go out and do special things with special people in our lives! It was VERY good for her!
THANK YOU ALL!!!

Kiera update

Bonnie

A week and a half ago Kiera started school again. She went Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday. Then Wednesday night she was doing very light stretching at home, and was suddenly struck with severe pain in her legs & at the same time she got a severe head ache, dizziness and nausea! The pain and other symptoms lasted all night. In the morning the pain didnt seem to be an issue, but she was not able to sit up due to dizziness, head ache and nausea.
We talked to her pediatrician who said that if its not gone, or better, by Saturday to take her to Primary Children’s Hospital for blood tests.
Kiera and I spent all day at Primary Children’s, and no answers.

A few days ago we had some blood work done to test for Lime Disease. She has MANY of the symptoms I researched, so it was a possibility to check for, even though its rare in Utah.
Today the results came in, and its negative for Lime Disease. But the pediatrician stressed that there are often false negatives or false positives. So…. where we go from here is a complete mystery!

Kiera going back to school

Mom

I find it kind of odd that the doctor wont approve a wheel chair for Kiera, who has post infectious neuropathy, but will approve a walker for her. Their reasoning is that they don’t want her to ‘rely on it’, but she can’t walk more then 12 steps, with the aid of a walker. So, I don’t understand why they wont approve a wheel chair for her. Its silly in my opinion.

They did approve a cute little walker for her, it has a seat in the middle for her to sit, but you can’t use it as a wheel chair, because if you hit the smallest crack she flips backwards, and the adult pushing her falls on top of her. Yes… I have done this!

She likes to be able to get outside and go for walks, so my friend lent us an adult wheel chair and it has been VERY liberating for both Kiera and I!
She LOVES to get in the wheel chair and push the wheels herself to get herself around. As soon as we got it, she immediately found a new sense of freedom that really lifted her spirits!

This morning I took Kiera to her class for a quick visit. She hasnt seen most of her friends in 5 weeks, and she has really missed them! Plus it gave me the chance to see how wheel chair friendly the school would be for the possibility of getting her back into the class room.
We got into her classroom just before school started, and the teacher, after giving her a VERY warm welcome, found a desk that would work well with a wheel chair. Then she started talking about how much she has missed her in class, and how much her friends have missed her.
Then the bell rang, and all the kids started pouring in.

I was completely overwhelmed at the welcome that she received by her class mates!
ALL the girls ran up to her with the biggest, warmest grins on their faces, and embraced her with the most tender hugs! “Kiera I’ve missed you! I’m SO happy to see you! Are you staying today?” Those were some of the things we were hearing from her friends.
So, when she got surrounded by these adorable friends, all showering her with love, I totally lost it and started crying. I tried REALLY hard not to cry, but I just couldn’t help it. I got some funny looks from some of the kids too. hehe

The teacher had Kiera at the front of the class and tried to get her to talk about how she has been, what she does with her time, and how her legs feel. But with every question the teacher asked, Kiera would get a little pink in the cheeks and shrug her shoulders shyly.
Then she gave the kids a chance to raise their hands and ask Kiera questions they had. She actually answered these! hehe

After this fun visit, we went to the office and talked to the receptionists there who were very excited to see her! We also got to talk to the principal, who has been trying to find out if Kiera qualifies for a program that would allow Kiera to come back to school, and they would assign her an aid to be with her and help her around in the wheel chair. So we talked about the process, and what we both need to be doing to keep the process going.

A couple hours after I got home I got a call from the district, and Kiera has now been approved!! WAHOO!
Monday I meet with a district lady at the school, and hopefully they will have an aid hired so that she can be trained for all of Kiera’s needs.
She told me that the aid might actually be a physical therapists assistant, and she said that they will be having this aid give 15-20 minutes of physical therapy to her at the school. Just having her do simple movements and things to help encourage her progress!
Oh, AND when I told the lady from the district that the bathrooms might be tight, because her wheel chair is an adult chair, she said “Oh, well, I’ll bring a childs wheel chair for her to use and take home for as long as she needs it!”
At this point my chin dropped to the floor, and my excitement was through the roof!!!!
So, Monday Kiera might actually be able to have a full day at school with her friends!
YAY!!!!!

Stress & Dreams

Bon

This whole week has been full of stress, and I’m such an easy going person I normally don’t stress. But these past 2 weeks I have felt more stress then I can ever remember feeling.
Every night for at least a week, if not the entire time Kiera has been hurting, I have had dreams that really match my stresses.
For example; one night I dreamed that I took Savannah to school, tired and emotionally drained, I went to the front office to tell them Kiera wouldn’t be there again. As I told them this, I heard Kiera call to me. She was walking, slowly with a bit of a limp, to me saying she had finally been able to start walking. I was SO happy and relieved I started crying and ran up and hugged her.
Every single night, its either one dream, or dream after dream about Kiera finally being out of pain, and being able to walk.
So, from this I can see how much the stress of this situation has effected me!

This morning Kiera told me she had “Wonderful dreams”! She then told me that in her dream she was able to go back to school, and how much fun it was! And in her other dream she said she was flying, and how Great it felt!

From this I can see how the stress of her situation is coming out! I can see that she wants to go back to school, and that she is tired of being couch and bed bound! (Who wouldn’t be sick and tired of that!)

Over the years, I have read a couple of books about dream interpretations. Now keeping in mind that it’s all guess work, and not an exact science, I found it interesting that flying seems to be the minds way of dealing with and getting relief from the stress in life.

Have you ever dreamed of flying?
I used to have those dreams ALL the time, especially in high school! It was the most freeing euphoric feeling I have ever felt! It filled my entire being with such care free joy and excitement, in that moment Everything was wonderful!

With that in mind, thinking about sweet little Kiera, and all the pain she has gone through these past 2 weeks, it breaks my heart to think about it!
She has been so strong, and has acted like life is just fine, other then the fact that she can’t walk, and is in pain all the time…..
She is so brave and strong!
She gives me such strength, watching her little body go through all this!

For those of you who don’t know, the latest update on her is we were told she might have something called “post infectious neuropathy” Basically nerve pain/problems, due to an infection she had in her body when sick.
Recovery time, unknown at this point. Possibly a couple weeks to a few months.