"High Performance Kid"

Wow, 2 blog posts in a row!! I getting on a roll here. I am just thrilled with how Izak is doing in ABM therapy, and just feel the need to get on here and brag, lol, plus it is a good way for me to keep track of progress. Monday and Tuesday were great therapy sessions. Have I told you that my kid is AMAZING, I know I have, many many times, and I will continue to do so!!!!

So, what has Izak done the past couple of days,,, (I take notes from J.R. after every ABM session because I am really not allowed to talk during therapy lol, hard for me, but in the end we talk about the progress for the day)

• Izak is differentiating between his legs, instead of moving his legs as one he is moving them separately (A lot of children with CP tend to thing as the legs as one unit in the brain).


• Izak is using his extensors (pushing) with his legs, subtle, but it is happening more and more.


• Izak is really really getting frustrated (imagine that, my red-headed monster) and really trying to roll to his side, he is trying to get from point A to point B,, BUT, he has to learn all the small steps in between, and learn how to use different muscles in the appropriate way. Izak and J.R. are working hard on building up to be able to do this movement.


• The organization of Izak's back is much better, he isn't using spasms to move, the back is much more relaxed.


• Izak had some AMAZING hand work going on, which is what the video shows, he was super interested in J.R.'s finger and his hands were delicately wrapped around it, and he would open and close his hand around J.R.'s finger. His eyes were very wide and alert during this, and he was trying to look at what his hand was feeling (we will be working on the neck, he turns his head now, but we need a more fluid movement, and it isn't consistent yet).


• J.R. stated Izak is making sense out of nonsense and order out of disorder!!!! Izak is a smart cookie!!

When discussing the events of the day, J.R. laughed and said "Izak is just a high performance kid, he wants to please me, you, himself, and he works very hard at it." Just think, if Izak is doing all of these wonderful small little things now with such determination and will, imagine what he will be doing months down the road. All little things must be learned and put together to build up to bigger things,, and that is just what he is doing. It is amazing, just amazing to see God working in Izak. It is the smallest things in life that are the BIGGEST Blessings!! Thank you for checking in with us, leave us a note, we love hearing from you, your encouragement means the world to us!! Thank you for loving my family, please keep Izak in your prayers, keep all of his buddies in your prayers, pray for health and strength. We love you all!! Check back in soon!!! God Bless,,,

Recap of Last Weeks ABM Sessions!

Hi all, I promise to do much better job of of blogging. I PROMISE!! So, last week was pretty amazing, Izak was very relaxed and into his ABM sessions with J.R.. I took notes all week after J.R. was finished working with Izak, so instead of leaving you all hanging until I get the knack of this, I will share with you how amazing my son is!! Here were some of the great things Izak did!!

• Izak's pupils were the smallest J.R. has seen them (very very reactive to light changes, Izak tends to have very dilated eyes), he had great color in his eyes, his BIG BIG beautiful blue eyes with eyelashes to die for lol!!


• Izak tends to keep his left arm bent at the elbow and up by his head with his hand fisted a lot of the time, during ABM his left arm was extended for most of the session and his hand was open!! GOOO IZAK!! (You see it is the small things that are the biggest blessings, and all these small things will eventually add up to bigger things for Izak)


• J.R. began to work with Izak's feet and legs (we have been working a lot on his trunk) and Izak had great range in his legs, in J.R.'s words AMAZING!!!


• He has lots of random motion with his arms, random motion with the intent on doing something purposeful, a lot of Izak's later success will come from these random motions.


• Izak pushed against J.R. intentionally, it was a controlled movement and not a reflex push. The quality of the movement was again in J.R.'s words excellent


• J.R. talked about how Izak's "learning switch" is most definitely ON, meaning he has the ability to learn many many many things.


• Izak had rapt attention when J.R. was working with Izak's left leg, Izak was very very interested in what was going on, he was like "hey what are you doing down there?" lol!!


• Izak has muscle spasms in his back, however, in the weeks we have been working with J.R. they have almost become nonexistent, he still has them occasionally, but when he does they are much more controlled, and he is able to get himself out of them quite easily, he doesn't get "locked" into them.


• J.R. talked about how it is his belief that the spasms are initiated by Izak with the intent to move, Izak wants to do something, roll, reach, and this has been what he does out of frustration of not being able to do that. We are teaching Izak that he has more options to move, and it is amazing exciting stuff.


• J.R. felt Izak push back with his legs (huge), J.R. was pushing Izak's leg, and Izak pushed back, something I have never seen him do. It is not consistent at this point but it has happened a few times, and it will keep happening more and more!!!


• Izak likes to pull his legs up, and contracts them, his leg contractures are easing up!!!!


• Izak is very alert during these sessions, and very engaged.


• When J.R. was working on the left ankle and leg, Izak let go of the contracture in his arm.


• Izak was very tolerant of moving his hips and feet down further.


• J.R. stated that things are starting to make sense to Izak, Izak is beginning to make some little choices.

In talking about my son, I have heard the words, amazing, smart, strong, determined, the hands of a surgeon (how delicate his touch is and how his fingers explore everything), J.R. has said Izak is a leader, he wants so so much to be able to do BIG things, but we have to get him to learn the small in between steps first. Izak just wants to skip all that and just DO IT!!! lol!! That's my boy!! J.R. comes to our home EXCITED to work with Izak, and it shows, he tells us about how he goes home and thinks about Izak and the lessons he wants to do with him. This is just all great stuff. J.R. is a Godsend. We are so thankful and Blessed to be able to work with him. It is worth every single penny we are mustering up to be able to continue this therapy. Although it is very expensive, and it is shame insurance will not recognize it as a treatment for children with CP, we will continue to find ways to provide this service for our son, God will help us He will hold our hands and show us the way!!

Well, that about sums last week up. Izak is really knocking my socks off (we have to work on his attitude but that's ok, if anyone deserves to have an attitude, it would be Izak), all the little things, as I stated before, are the BIGGEST Blessings, and we are so so so Blessed to have an amazing child, Izak is AMAZING, God is AMAZING, my heart swells with pride for our son. Please feel free to leave a comment, to follow Izaks Footprints, I think you may have to set up a google account, it is very easy and fast, or you can comment under anonymous I think, and please feel free to send people to Izaks Footprints, I want the world to know what an incredible life we lead, and I want Izak's story to touch the world. I'm still working on adding some cool stuff to the website, so bear with me. We thank you for following our story, we thank you for all your prayers, we feel them ALL the time they surround us, we thank you for loving my family. Please keep Izak in your prayers, for God continue to touch this beautiful little boy in amazing ways, pray for him to stay strong and healthy. We love you all,, God Bless,,

I have more video, but I thought this was enough for now!! Sorry about the quality, I had to use my camera, my video camra is shot :-( Hope you enjoyed!!

Starting Fresh...

Starting Fresh....

Our son Izak, who is now 5, has walked hand in hand, footstep by footstep, alongside God on an incredible journey. On May 1st 2006 , when he was 14 months old, Izak became very sick very fast. In the matter of ONE day, we had a healthy happy baby boy to being told he may not make it through the night. Izak was quickly diagnosed with viral encephalitis, he had significant swelling on his brain which has resulted in the diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy (CP) and seizure disorder (tonic seizures). 3 days after Izak was rushed to the emergency room the Infectious Disease Doctor was examining Izak, and he felt something odd, maybe something swollen, in Izak's abdomen. They ordered a cat scan for the next day, the day we were delivered a second blow to our hearts. After Izak's cat scan, a new group of new doctors, social worker, and nurses pulled us in a room to tell us that our baby had cancer, Neuroblastoma. Izak endured 8 rounds of chemotherapy & had his tumor resected. My family has been delivered blow after blow after blow, yet we persevere, we cherish life, we value the small things, we know... life is too short. Since we have put cancer behind us, we go once a year for scans, we are now refocusing on Izak's rehabilitation. We have had several different therapies and currently are receiving ABM therapy which is very unique and.... it's working!! I used to have a CaringBridge journal (well,, I still do) but I wanted to step away from there and start a blog. For one reason, I have A LOT and I mean A LOT to talk about and this can be a good way to get all my random thoughts out (my brain goes 100 different ways at a pace of a mile a minute lol), and secondly, I want to start chronicling Izak's amazing recovery, journey, his life, what he has been through, lessons we have learned, mountains we have climbed, I want the world to see how Izak's footprints have impacted our life. God worked a Miracle in our child, Izak was very sick, very very sick, God could have called Izak home. However, He knew that our son would serve a BIG BIG purpose here on earth. We want to share that purpose with you. God works in our lives in a BIG way and we are Blessed beyond what we can comprehend to see God working in our son every day. Izak is an amazing little boy, who has been through a whole lot in 5 short years, it's almost incomprehensible all the things he has been through, but yet he shines. So blogging, stepping away from Caring Bridge, here I can put videos, pictures, links, a lot of things I can't do on CB. For a while, things are going to be really random as I get this together, figure it all out, get it in order, all videos and pictures on here, but it will eventually turn into an everyday journal about our day!! This could be very therapeutic for me, and my husband (whom I love dearly) Jason may get a little annoyed with me for starting this big project when,, well,, have a lot on plate to start with LOL!! Anyone who loves and wants to follow our daily adventures can see pictures and videos and keep up with Izak's progress, and watch how God works in our lives. Sometimes he work in very peculiar ways!! We have learned a whole lot over the past 4 years, a lot of life lessons, but we have an amazing life and we serve an AMAZING God!! Welcome to Izak's new site!!!! I have a big job ahead of me, but for now I am going to try and put some pictures and video of Izak getting ABM therapy, update his story, transfer over things from CB, so wish me luck!! We are embarking on a new adventure lol. I will post again soon, I am off to try and figure things out, this is going to be cool. We love all of you, we cherish your prayers for our family, we feel them, they surround us. Please keep Izak in your prayers, for him to stay healthy and strong. Pray for all of Izak's buddies, God knows each one and their need. God Bless,,