11.5.09 Head Case

Yay for the Ellie Bear! ECI came out today for Developmental/Educational Therapy. Although Ellie slept through most of it, she did demonstrate her amazing skills to caseworker Jan. Apparently our little darling is advanced on Gross Motor & Social Skills. Take that 21st chromosomes! That being said, we have homework where we work moving the hands & head to midline (which she already does in some positions) and continuing to improve head control. These photos show some of her therapy: side-lying, back-lying & back-lying in our laps, supported sitting, & stomach-lying. Jan is also having me fill out the HELP Chart to track Ellie's progress. I have been informed that Jan will remove the Chart from my possession after I complete it so that I cannot obsess over it--she knows me to well ;o)

Here is something that I learned today. Okay, I actually learned about it last week from sister-in-law Laura and then yesterday from Jena but none of us had the contact info or websites until Jan came along. Ellie qualifies for the Texas Medicaid Waiver (C.L.A.S.S., MDCP, HCS). Basically this allows Texas to allocate money to provide long-term services to those with disabilities such as Down Syndrome. The downside is that the waiting/interest list is ~8 years long.

Remember how yesterday Amelie had extensive dental surgery and they said all the canines have been removed? Well, last night I had to give Ame some pain medicine. this requires me to open the mouth. Um, she has all 4 canines. So the vampire kitty is back!

Ame is doing very well. She is super affectionate and loves her soft food. She tried to eat from the can because I moved it to her bowl. She is still hiding under Andrew's desk most of the time but she will climb onto the kitty condo occasionally.

Sophie and Tama are doing well. Andrew got a new receiver for the media room which he spent most of last night setting up. I got to check it out during Criminal Minds. My brother Matt changed his airfare from Thanksgiving to Christmas so now the my side of the family will all be together. Papa Charles & Mama Dunja, you better still be coming down for deep-fried turkey and smoked brisket!