Ah, the New Year! Boy, are we ready to start fresh! I know it's just an arbitrary day on the calendar, but the idea of wiping away the past and starting over with new goals, hopes and wishes is just too wonderful to not to indulge in. I have plenty of new goals, hopes and wishes for Noah.
Most of them involve working on his skills. He wants so badly to be able to communicate. His sounds are increasing, but our focus right now is to get him to sign more. Noah understands the idea of motioning to get us to do something he wants. He is learning them faster too. We decided to teach him to sign "milk" and he picked it up in 3 days. You too can sign "milk", just pretend your milking an invisible cow. Good Job! You've just signed "milk"! Would it be too self-serving to teach him "Mama" next?
We are still hard at work with developing Noah's social skills too. Due to school and patient neighbor children Noah is less likely to hit (as much). He reminds me of a dog my parents have: Bonnie is so desperate to be loved that she ironically drives you away. Noah is so desperate to play with other kids that he gets too excited and doesn't know what to do with his energy. And no body wants to play with that kid. But we do see improvement. He settles down after a few minutes now, usually.
Our hopes for him medically is to remain as seizure free as possible. We are already trying our 4th medication and he's not yet 3 1/2 years old. If we can't find a medication that keeps his seizures contained the next option is surgery. I really don't want to put him through something so tramatic. But his current meds have reduced his seizures to about 1 "bad day" a month, down from 2 "bad days" a month on the previous medication. His side effects, like excessive sleepiness or irritability seem to be minimal.
Noah's goals preoccupy us, but the rest of us 3 Hunts have New Year's resolutions too. Geoff has vowed to make us less of a TV watching family and Owen's goal is to play more basketball. My goal, I am almost hesitate to say out loud because then I'll be committed; but I think I am going to take up some serious running. Really because I am a copy cat and all my friends do it! I'd like to feel physically strong and looking good in a swim suit isn't a bad deal either.
It is difficult to find the words... As a father now, the way you view things changes. I am deeply touched by the words of your blog and can't imagine how difficult this experience is, and at the same time, I can appreciate how meaningful and life changing it is for you and your family. Noah is blessed to have you in ways he can't yet comprehend.
ReplyDeleteG, I encourage you to start running if you enjoy the activity. The question is, how do you make the time amongst other demands? What else has to give in order to give yourself that time? I hope you can make it happen. And, if you need motivation, do a major run (half or full marathon) as a fundraiser... it may help you make it happen. For example, last year Jen and I raised $12,500 for a local non-profit that Jen is a board member of. Their annual budget is $15,000... so raising that coin made me feel great. I used the Bicycle Tour of Colorado as my vehicle to raise the money... it was 513 miles over 6 days through the Rockies... it was awesome. This year I am fundraising again for this organization that helps traumatic brain injury survivors by competing in ironman Coeur d'Alene. If you need a running/fundraising mate, let me know and lets pick a half or full marathon and do it... it won't be about run-time... sometimes finishing is good enough. Acquired brain injuries are unfortunately underfunded (especially in the areas of treatment/support... money is often raised for research and while I appreciate how that helps the future, I also worry about those surviving with acquired brain injuries now) and any funds raised always help.
Well, I'm a follower of noahsnoggin and our thoughts are with you.
Matt & Jen