August Was Moving Month

-
Image
It's been a while since I have put up a blog post. I also haven't been very active on Faith's Mom's Facebook page. That's because the month of August was dedicated to moving!  About 4 years ago, Faith and I moved from the apartment she grew up in, to a different one in northeast Bismarck. The primary reason for the move was to have underground parking so that getting her loaded into the van by myself during our cold, snowy winters would be less of a challenge. We also needed to find a place in which the elevator didn't break down on a regular basis!  One of our last sunsets at our old apartment  That place served us well, but the drive to her day program, which is located across the river in Mandan was time consuming, not to mention, expensive. I drove about 45 miles a day and used up a tank of gas a week!  Searching for a New Place  Before our lease ended, I began praying about finding somewhere else to live. A condo would have been nice, but surprisingly not a...
Post a Comment

Our IEP Meeting, A Dietician and Chocolate Cake

-
Faith loves chocolate cake!

What a crazy week this has been. We have had many appointments and meetings this week but I'm only going to mention a few of the more important ones.

We had Faith's IEP Meeting (Individual Education Plan) which is a huge meeting involving all who work with Faith at school to ensure we are setting up proper goals for her and working with her to attain those goals. If I count correctly, there were a dozen people seated around the conference table - all who thankfully have Faith's best interests in mind.

Rob could only be there on his lunch break, so I was a little nervous at first when he wasn't there because I was worried, I was going to answer a question wrong or something. They all talked about standardized testing and how that really wouldn't be fair to Faith considering her physical limitations. In the end we as a team decided to for-go any type of testing and focus on helping her achieve her goals.

Throughout the meeting, I was genuinely impressed with each and every one of those members on Faith's IEP team. They all had great input and great ideas. They are a group that is high on problem-solving and will go to great lengths to make sure Faith's needs are met at school. I really couldn't ask for a better group of people and am completely confident in each of their abilities to allow Faith to achieve success at school.

I am not naive, and I know this isn't always the case with special needs kids and the schools they attend. Some parents really have to fight for their child and defend their child. It is obvious in some cases that the school doesn't even want to deal with certain children or the needs of those children, which I find sad and heartbreaking. I am also thankful that Faith's school has so many resources at their disposal, which I know is not the case for every school, especially those schools in smaller towns.

On another note, Faith had an appointment with a dietitian yesterday. I think Kelly got a kick out of Faith, especially since Faith kept calling her by her first and last name. And while Kelly and I were discussing Faith's diet, Faith would interrupt and say to Kelly, "I think you need to write that down."

We decided Faith needs more fiber added to her diet to ensure she doesn't get constipated. I also found out I may have actually been feeding her too much with her 10 oz. feedings four times a day. Faith had a fast growth spurt this summer and that's probably why! 

The dietitian told me if they grow too quickly it could impede their physical capabilities (those with CP anyway) and cause her body to not function as it once had. Which is what we were seeing with Faith - her digestive system seemed to be not working quite as well as it once was. We also figured out exactly how much water Faith should be getting and that she could continue to eat solids as she pleases.

The dietitian was really able to break the numbers down for us and figure out exactly how many calories and grams of fiber, etc. Faith needs for her body to function as optimally as possible.

Finally, I am giving the recipe for my crockpot chocolate cake that I had mentioned on Facebook and had many interested inquiries about it. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Ingredients
18 1/2 oz. pkg. chocolate cake mix
3.9 oz. pkg. instant chocolate pudding mix
6 oz. pkg. semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 c. sour cream
1 c. water
1/2 c. oil
4 eggs, beaten
Ice cream or whipped topping

Mix all ingredients well; pour into a greased slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Serve warm, topped with vanilla ice cream or whipped topping.

Comments

Post a Comment

Most Popular Posts

August Was Moving Month

-
Image
It's been a while since I have put up a blog post. I also haven't been very active on Faith's Mom's Facebook page. That's because the month of August was dedicated to moving!  About 4 years ago, Faith and I moved from the apartment she grew up in, to a different one in northeast Bismarck. The primary reason for the move was to have underground parking so that getting her loaded into the van by myself during our cold, snowy winters would be less of a challenge. We also needed to find a place in which the elevator didn't break down on a regular basis!  One of our last sunsets at our old apartment  That place served us well, but the drive to her day program, which is located across the river in Mandan was time consuming, not to mention, expensive. I drove about 45 miles a day and used up a tank of gas a week!  Searching for a New Place  Before our lease ended, I began praying about finding somewhere else to live. A condo would have been nice, but surprisingly not a...
Read more

My Tetanus Shot Ordeal: A Real Pain in the Arm

-
Image
Last Wednesday I had my yearly doctor exam and when she said I should get my tetanus shot updated, I didn't think twice about it. The nurse said my arm would be sore for a couple of days, gave me a handout and stuck the needle in my arm.  The next day my arm was sore and although I found it a little harder to pick up and carry Faith, I was glad the pain wasn't going to last long. Boy was I wrong! But not only was my arm sore, my whole body was. I felt achy and extremely tired. According to a medical site on the Internet, these were mild side effects of the Tetanus shot. If these were only mild side effects, I would really hate to have them at a moderate or severe level. My arm is still red and sore on day 2 after my tetanus shot. On Friday, two days after getting the shot I felt so tired that I took a four-hour nap after getting Faith off to school. Then on Saturday I took a three-hour nap up until 7 o'clock, but still felt tired and was able to go back to sleep around 10. ...
Read more

Cari's Cardiology Update

-
Image
Normally, Faith is the one with all of the appointments but this week it has been my turn. On Monday I had my annual echocardiogram. On Tuesday I had my pacemaker device check and appointment with the cardiologist who comes to Bismarck from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN.  The doctors who come are pediatric cardiologists who also specialize in adults with congenital heart defects (CHD). This saves anyone in the area who has a CHD from having to travel to Rochester each year. It is very convenient! (I do travel to Rochester to get my pacemaker changed, though!)  The Bible verse that has kept me going all these years! When I saw the doctor, we mainly discussed two things: my Fontan and my pacemaker. But first, a little background. I was born with double outlet right ventricle (DORV). Basically, this means both my aorta and pulmonary artery stem from my right ventricle. Because of this, my left ventricle does not really do anything, which is why this CHD is referred to as a sin...
Read more

Faith's iPad

-
Image
There's a blog I read called Caleigh's Corner about a little girl with CP. Her symptoms are similar to Faith's except that Caleigh is nonverbal. One of the posts discussed Caleigh having her own iPad along with a special language app to enable her to "talk." I saw the photos of Caleigh with her iPad and thought how awesome that would be for Faith to have her own. Then, a couple of months ago, during a visit with friends, Faith discovered the Apple iPad for herself. I saw her with an app called Pocket Pond and how she could press the screen to make a splashing noise and the water ripple. She loved it!  She also checked out a piano app where there are the actual keys of the piano. After she was done looking at it, she looked at me and said in the sweetest voice, "mommy, can we please take that little screen home with us?" I discussed the prospect of Faith having her own iPad with her speech and physical therapists and they both agreed it would a gre...
Read more