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Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Another day, another cold


Blurry yes, but cute!
Just wanted to show you Harley, a Golden-doodle, who is one of the therapy dogs that visits on Sunday evenings at the Ronald McDonald House.

Amelia got sick again this weekend. It started Friday night. I was up with her every 20 minutes when she would either cough or sneeze. She was a faucet on Saturday and needed so much care I couldn't even go to the bathroom without pulling her in there with me (lovely, right?)...by the late afternoon her temp was up and I was up with her all night Sat. night. We took her to the Ped. on Sunday afternoon. Needless to say, we took Monday off from Therapies 4 Kids and went back to LI Monday afternoon and started back on Tuesday morning.

I bumped into the other Amelia's mom, Dora, from the playground (see several posts earlier), who is pregnant again --YAY! Who put it best by saying that everytime Amelia gets sick, she just gets a "touch" of it. I agree. I'm sick this time too, but not nearly as full blown as my girl. Just "a touch". You know what I mean?

Anyway, so here we are, Wednesday. Amelia still has strong leftovers (and I was so hoarse yesterday I sounded like some sexy porn star) from being sick, so we've decided not to start the HBOT this week. They don't want anyone going into the chamber who isn't at their baseline and it's obvious that neither one of us is. So we'll start next week -- fresh.

As for getting back into therapy this week, she's been doing well -- for a sickie! Amelia is definitely not where she normally is, but Amy is being very easy-going about it. She's pushing her, but not too much for her physical issues this week while she gets her strength back.

My folks are in Germany and Poland doing the inevidable tour -- the one that all older jewish folks do, before they're too old to do it -- visiting concentration camps. OY! What a fun and romantic trip to take for your 50th Wedding Anniversary!

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Adorable pic. I'm sorry that you guys came down with the big one..bet your husband's happy about your voice...you were always so sexy anyway-you hot redhead-so does your nose match your hair? Debbie, what is a HBOT and what is it used for? Did I see that in the video?
Love,
Your ignorant but dying to understand something, friend...Jodi

Debbie said...

Ha ha! I'm a natural blonde now.

HBOT is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy and there's a link on the side of Amelia's blog to the site of the place we go to. It has a big history and is used for all types of traumatic brain injuries (TBI), diabetic wounds, autism,etc. The idea is that you're put into a chamber that is pressurized and you're breathing 100% oxygen. The pressure pushes the red blood cells thru your system; into all the nooks and crannies of your brain,to promote healing of injuries. The idea being that people with TBI's don't have as effective circulation.

It was developed by the Navy over 55 years ago to help divers with the bends. Of course they are using it for all kinds of purposes now although it is still considered a fringy therapy for kids with CP. There are clinical trials being done, but you know how the FDA is with acknowledging anything as safe and effective.

Also, the HBOT is expensive and insurance co.'s don't want to pay for it (where we go it's $225.00 a dive and we do 2 dives a day, you are supposed to do 40 dives in a row, take 3-4 weeks off and go back for 40 more and so on).

I can't tell you for sure what we see in Amelia, but her focus and communication are stronger since we started the dives. We've done almost 80 and will start back on Monday to do 20 more while on LI for therapy.

laila said...

OMG she looks amazing sitting up so strong!!! Hugs and hope your feeling better soon!!!

Carrie said...

Love the doggie.. That picture is so cute. I hope you guys get better really fast.

Unknown said...

Debbie,
Thank you for the explanation. That is unbelievable and so expensive. You are doing an incredible job for Amelia. I really hope to meet her one day...love, Jodi

Unknown said...

Hey Debbie,
Are you involved in a research program involving HBOT? It sounds really interesting from what I've read...can't even imagine how you've researched for your baby. Are you involved in online support groups?