Happy Thanksgiving Everyone !!!!

Enjoy this little video Nicholas and Andrew helped me make.

Andrew had his follow-up last Friday with his neurosurgeon. He said the syrinx (pocket of fluid) in his spine is nothing to "worry" about but we want to watch it closely. It grew 3cm over 1 year, making it 5cm now. They would like to leave it be, just watching unless it causes him problems. It it unrelated to anything else, they do not know the cause of his syrinx. We need to watch for symptoms..... if his ability to walk/balance declines, if he is more irritable (pain related), changes in urinary/bowel function. These can be signs of the syrinx getting larger. He got a "baseline" back x-ray to monitor his scoliosis. This can be caused by the stroke damage (weakness to the left side) or from the syrinx. Andrew will follow-up with neurosurgery in ~6months or sooner if needed, he will have another MRI then and x-ray of the back. His brain scan was unchanged, so he may start getting the MRI/MRA of the brain every couple years to monitor for any potential changes/problems.

He saw his rehab PA/MD also. He will get multiple botox injections to his left arm next month sometime. They will call us when it is scheduled in the Childrens surgery center. He will need to be sedated. The doctor said he would like to take this opportunity to do the injections and not miss out on a critical time for Andrew learning to use the arm. He may get more weakness and that is the risk. But hopefully it will help him to gain more control of the arm and it will be less likely to tighten up and relax back to a "stroke-lie" position I guess you would say.  So sometime next month he will get the injections.

Other than that, we got a trampoline the boys can both enjoy with a nice enclosure to keep them safe on it. This will help Andrew with balance and leg strength for example. We encourage him to try and jump. It is a lot of fun :)

A little behind with the updates.... Andrew turned "2" on Feb 6th!!!!!

He had fun. Brother helped him out with opening presents.

He has been doing really well with his therapies, little by little he makes progress.

Now Big brother has a birthday coming up next week!!

This past Wednesday, Andrew had another EEG, saw his Neurologist and Rehab doctor at Children's Hospital. We have not heard the results of the EEG yet.

Both doctors were very happy with how he has been doing, his progress, walking etc.

Now he will be back in Milwaukee at the end of March for his follow-up MRI/MRA of his brain and spine. This will assess his brain now and the fluid pocket in his spine they found last March. Hopefully that fluid pocket will be gone and he will not need any surgery for it. After he gets this done, the next day he will see his Neurologist again and his Neurosurgeon. So that will be the end of March. He does not need to see his Rehab doctor again until the end of May.

It was a nice trip even though it was long & exhausting. We got to visit with the social worker in the Rehab office and even the coffee ladies we have visited every time. We also stopped to say hi to Andrew's pediatrician in Green Bay plus a few others. Sorry we missed some other friends in Green Bay.

Everyone was happy to see him :)

In 2 weeks we will go to Neenah, Wisconsin to the Children's Hospital there to participate in another radio-fundraiser. We share Andrew's story to help raise money. We are happy to give back.

Andrew had a great occupational therapy session on Friday, he was trying to use his left hand to do activities she requested. And he was receptive to trying!!! He is understanding so much more and he is getting very good at communicating even though he does not say much yet! Really exciting....

Big brother is always a great role model and Andrew adores him. When Nicholas goes to school, Andrew wants to go too! Of course he sucks up the attention from the little girls at school when Daddy & Andrew drop Nicholas off. Nicholas usually really enjoys going to school.

Otherwise after tha holidays, Andrew is getting back to his schedule of PT & OT at home plus a session of PT/OT at the hospital weekly with speech therapy once a month. So, things are pretty busy usually at our house ..... :)

Well we figured it was time to try and get a photo of the 2 boys in front of the Christmas Tree, to get them to smile at the same time, WOW lol it was quite the challenge. We had fun though, and I think the pictures turned out pretty good!

Andrew is still a little wobbly at times, but is walking pretty good. We will get him fitted today for another smaller foot brace. It will help position his foot, which turns outward and also help him not to scrunch up his toes and give his foot support. But he has been experimenting with running a lot!!! So he has had some wipeouts quite often. He is gradually learning "how to fall". Since he does not have the automatic reflex to put his arms out to catch himself.

He has been so excited along with the rest of us.

Otherwise he has been busy with therapy, at home and at the hospital.

We decided it was time to get Andrews Haircut for the first time, Still unsure of how I feel about the look lol. I think it makes him look much older and not like my little baby boy, But I think Nicholas' turned out great and he loves it....

Here are a few pictures from the Briggs and Al's Run and Walk for Childrens Hospital!! Thanks to everyone for the Help, support and donations, This event is for such a good cause and all of us are so excited to be a part of that....