LIKE A PRO

Business a usual was the look on Trey’s face as he woke up for his first day of preschool and continued that gaze onto his very first bus ride. This ‘strictly business’ look remained with him as we got ready, boarded the bus, walked to class and said our good-byes. I guess either of the alternatives could make a parent’s heart hurt – too happy to leave or so sad that he’d be crying, so neutral was ‘good’ – I guess. Anyway, the first day left tears in my eyes (go figure), filled with so many emotions and questions. Would the kids be nice to Trey?, would he make new friends?, would he be teased for a multitude of reasons? All the concerns any parent would have about their child as they send them out into this cruel world except multiply those possibilities X’s 10 with a child of special circumstances.




Mike and I followed the bus to school, watched as Trey got off the bus and followed behind him as he walked to his class – not once did he show emotion, it was as if he’s done this a million times before. We were able to see Trey be shown which cubby to put his backpack into each morning (wouldn’t ya know it’d have to be at the top) sit in a circle and be directed to sit ‘criss-cross-apple-sauce’ – thanks to all the physical therapy, Trey was able to sit in this position like all the other children (just another thing that could have separated him from the “norm”), and sing their morning song. I was so proud of Trey for being so ready for his big day. Once again I said a prayer that this would be the start of “something good” for our baby.





After I dropped Mike off at work, I headed to the store to buy Trey a smaller sized backpack (you may notice from the pictures his was way too big for his little self). I’ve made a special place down one of our hallways for each of the boys to hang their back packs, and added dry erase boards to make notes of each of their weekly happenings (should come in very helpful when I am out of town). Trey was so happy to see me putting this together when he returned home – and being hung at a level he could negotiate.

11:04 came about so soon but like an anxious mom, I was again outside with my camera ready for the moment when Trey’s eyes would meet mine and he would show a sign of happiness or of being proud that he accomplished his first day of school like a “big boy”, just like his brothers…that moment came, and I am so happy to say that I captured the moment. My heart filled with pride as my head confirmed that we are doing the right thing.






Here’s to a great 2009-2010 school year!
PS- If you noticed the man in the photos taking pictures... Well he was taking pictures of our little celebrity for an upcoming article in the AZ Republic.

"Making It RIGHT"

July 19, 2009

My stomach is in knots and true to course, I can’t sleep. Mike and I have been asked to meet with a “quality control” team at St. Joseph ’s Hospital tomorrow morning. We have been invited to explain the order of events that lead to Trey’s misdiagnosis. We will also be able to raise any and all questions we have about billing issues/inconsistencies regarding Trey’s weekly infusions. I pray all goes well and that this meeting will bring awareness to our concerns as well as the negligence and lack of empathy Trey’s doctors displayed during his time in their care.

Just before Trey fell asleep, I promised him that his mommy would fight a good fight for him tomorrow and I prayed this prayer aloud to him;


Dear God,

You have blessed us with the care and compassion; I pray that tomorrow you would also provide Mike and I with the memory and articulation of our story so that we may make clear to the team of medical professionals the pain and heartache we’ve endured at the hands of their doctors in reference Trey’s misdiagnosis. God please help our account of events help Trey in all ways possible and hopefully help others never to have to undergo this same sort of unacceptable treatment.

Amen.



The picture above is a picture of Trey explaining how he’d fight those “bad guy” doctors

Bad Boys of Rock N’ Roll!

Look out Drake and Broc…I think Trey’s found himself a new band member! Trey and his buddy Josh, the Bad Boys of Rock N’ Roll!

Fundrasier SPOTLIGHT= 4th of July 2008

With the introduction to the remarkable people from Spark Design came forward another “amazing” member of their group, Mr. James Neal Jr. As the owner of Red Hawk Farms, James presented us with the idea of selling his watermelon slices at the Tempe Town Lake during the City’s Annual 4th of July event. James was quick to offer 100% of the proceeds would benefit Trey’s Treasures. James and his staff provided us with everything we needed to run the watermelon booth. The location of the space they rented just so happened to provide us with a front row seat to the spectacular fireworks show. The watermelons were cold and juicy and at times were selling throughout the event faster than we could slice them. Mike and I recruited family and friends to lend a hand which many did so without hesitation.



As luck would have it Mike was already working an overtime shift at this Tempe event. Mike recruited every co-worker he possibly could to visit our booth. Not only did Mike’s recruiting “buy” us the best security at the event, I believe a very large amount of the money we grossed came from those Tempe Police Department Police Officers. We love our “boys in blue”



We can’t thank James, Vince and Susan enough. Again were touched by the level of generosity shown to us all in hopes of helping raise money for our beautiful baby boy.

I'm In

How do you relay this with mixed emotions? Let’s just say that I even had the psychologist boggled. Here’s how the story goes…

Today was part two of Trey’s testing process to be screened for “priority preschool” – a preschool that integrates special need’s children with regular students. The benefits of this program is that the class is small, the teaching staff consists of 1 classroom teacher, 2 para professionals and 2 rotating specialists (OT,PT or ST). Also, this program is funded by the state and will provide transportation to and from our front door.



So, after sitting down with the psychologist answering his questions along with Trey’s meeting with a preschool case manager and speech therapist answering their questions and performing tasks to evaluate his ‘needs’, it was determined that Trey does meet the qualifications of the state and was accepted into the Priority Preschool Program. The professionals relayed to me that Trey would receive help in adaptive skills, motor skills, cognitive skills as well as communication (articulation, expressive and vocabulary) skills. The one area he didn’t need help with was his social skills – that’s our boy, “Mr. Busy”.



Down come the “flood of emotions”. When the psychologist expressed that based on what he was hearing from me alone, apart from what the other two ladies’ test results come back as, “Trey meets the criteria and will be accepted into the program”, I began to cry. My tears confused the gentleman as he asked, “are you not ready to see your child go off to school?” What he doesn’t realize is that, this is so hard to hear as a parent. Aside from all the great help that will be provided, it is still hard to accept. And about all the emotion’s that came pouring out from my head and heart, onto the table in the form of tears…well, they come from the reality and acknowledgment of me hearing a professional say that our child is effected enough to be accepted into a special needs program, that, “Yes, your child has special needs”. Like any parent, all you pray for is a normal, healthy baby and when the path is different from that of which you know (the easy one), the reactions come from a deeper part of you, an especially emotional place.



Knowing that is was the right decision and hearing about all the help this curriculum will afford Trey confirms that we made the right decision but it doesn’t mean it’s not a hard ‘pill to swallow’. Realizing the benefits that this school will offer and seeing Trey’s face when he was told that he was going to get to ride the bus like his big brothers, Drake and Broc, made all the screening’s, tests, paperwork and waiting so well worth it. Trey will start school on July 27th just like his big brothers!

Grow Baby GROW!!!

With a bit of trepidation I am happy to report that Trey has started his Growth Hormone shots. My HEART tells me that this will work but my head and the medical field makes me question the results…we have decided to go with our heart. The daily injections are as hard as taking your child to the pediatrician for their yearly shots knowing that going into it, all is well, but that at sometime you will have to deal with the sadness of hearing them cry. To know that we have to her Trey cry nightly and that we are the ‘bad guys’ administering the shots makes my heart ache but we have been told that soon enough Trey will get use to the daily injections and that the fear and tears will dissipate. As I’m sure this won’t be a shock to any of you, Trey is actually getting through this all pretty well as long as I let him be a part of the preparation. Trey helps mommy put the injection pen together, dial his dose and open the alcohol swab. The tears are still a part of our nightly routine but I think it’s more due to the fear and anticipation than the pain. But as parents, we all know too well that ANY amount of sorrow we inflict on our children is too much. So for now, we will undergo the anguish in hopes of an “inch at a time”. Pictured is Trey with Lynn, the extremely nice home health nurse that taught Mike and I how to administer the shots. Thank you Lynn for making this new chapter in our daily medical lives with Trey and all our trials and tribulations a smooth transition!

No more, "WHAT?"

Good New, so far SO good…the tubes work! Trey had his follow up visit with his ear Doc to check the fluid in his ears along with conducting a hearing test to see if the tubes are the solution to Trey’s hearing problem. I am so very happy to report that the surgery was a success! The doctor saw no fluid in Trey’s ears and he passed his hearing test as quickly as Trey decided that the test was over.

Mike and I along with numerous other family members have noticed an improved and immediate difference in Trey’s verbal skills, not to mention the fact that we haven’t had to answer the constant question “what?” every other time we asked him a question. We are all so happy to help Trey play “catch up” with his speech delay and already there is a marked difference in his annunciation. And to our surprise, we’ve even been told that swimming is fine even without the use of ear plugs – my how times have changed! This is great news for us and the Arizona summers, for we find ourselves in our pool daily, along with Trey’s weekly swim and PT lessons in the pool, he is always, always, always in the water. Unless something else comes up before then, we don’t see the ENT for another four months.

NOT for medical reasons

I just had to write to tell you all that for the first time since Trey’s diagnosis, we went on a family trip that had nothing to do with Trey and his condition. Mike and I decided it would be fun to respond to his Uncle Glen’s 70th Birthday invite with a big, “Yes”. We were all able to take the time off – 30 hours to be exact and travel to California for the memorable event. We hopped on a Southwest Airlines Luv jet on Saturday morning immediately following the boys swim meet and were back on the road, traveling with Mike’s parents by car on Sunday (Father’s Day) after an extremely lovely breakfast with Mike’s family. We took our time driving home on Father’s Day and made the most of the trip by stopping by an aquarium, the beach and a delicious dinner to celebrate for Mike and his Dad on their day. We all had such a great time just being together, no worries, no appointments, no blood draws, shots or results…it brought a lot of enjoyment packed into a little bit of time for all of us. Happy Birthday Uncle Glen, a big thanks to you and the girl’s for the smiles.

“HAPPY FATHER’S DAY DADA”

Daddy and his boys in California-Father’s Day, June 2009

What Makes a Dad

God took the strength of a mountain, The majesty of a tree, The warmth of a summer sun, The calm of a quiet sea,

The generous soul of nature, The comforting arm of night, The wisdom of the ages, The power of the eagle's flight,

The joy of a morning in spring, The faith of a mustard seed, The patience of eternity, The depth of a family need,

Then God combined these qualities, When there was nothing more to add, He knew His masterpiece was complete,

And so, He called it.....Dad.