Today was our first day here in Alabama getting Jude and I settled into our apartment life. We decided to take a couple days off work and school to enjoy a beach vacation before we start therapy on Monday. So this morning we had to say goodbye to Clayton, Daddy, Grandma and Grandpa after a great vacation to Destin, Florida. Tomorrow we will go to UAB campus and start our 1 month long program of Constraint Induced Movement Therapy (CIMT). We are back for a second round after such a successful trip here in 2008.
Perhaps I should start with a brief history of what brought us here. Jude had a stroke on the left side of his brain at birth and was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy Right Hemiperesis at 8 months old. No one is really sure why it happened and we don't look back, we only focus on what's ahead. He is such a handsome little 5 year old boy that makes everyone around him smile. His life and our family life revolves around therapy day and night. He has taught us all how to put our heads down and succeed no matter how high the hill is in front of us. Which brings us here to UAB.
We are here for an intense rehab therapy done by University of Alabama Birmingham called Acquire therapy.
We will go in for a pre-test to evaluate Jude's skills and after the 4 weeks of therapy they will do a post-test to see how he has progressed. I hope we have the same great results we had in 2008. Last time we came he went from a raking grasp to picking up cheerios with a pincer grasp and putting them in his mouth.
He will get a full cast from his shoulder to past his fingertips on his unaffected side which for Jude is his left side. So will be forced to do all tasks (eating, dressing, itching, etc) with his right hand. A therapist will come over to our apartment for 6 hours each day Monday through Friday and work with Jude to help build new pathways in his brain. It's a really hard thing for me as a parent to watch but even harder for him to go through. He works so hard and although he is only 5 years old I can see the determination he has to do everything he is asked. If it were me I would have given up a long time ago but not my sweet Jude, he's in it to win it as they say.
Tomorrow will bring new obstacles as it will be the first day with his cast but I am going to stay as positive as I can be and have as much fun as we can! Today was filled with shopping, coloring, Lego building, and reading and was a great time. I am sure tomorrow will be the same with as much spoiling as he can handle! He is one of the greatest boys I have ever come across. Without him, along with all the hills he has to climb, we wouldn't be the same.
We are both really lucky to have the support we have with our friends and family. He has so many people in his corner cheering him on. Without his Aunt Julie and Uncle Peter (and cousins Grace and Jack!) and his Grandma and Grandpa DeBruin our trip to UAB wouldn't be possible (as of right now insurance declined the therapy but we are appealing!) because of the cost. We have been able to focus on Jude's therapy rather than how to afford it which makes for a lot easier breathing, so thank you from the bottom of our hearts. And without my parents we would never be able to split the time between Indiana and Alabama, they have the hard job of taking care of Clayton. We as a family are forever grateful.
I will try to keep you posted with photos and notes as much as we can so you can all take this journey with us. Hopefully he can give everyone reading this as much strength as he gives me. Jude is amazing!
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Location:Birmingham,United States
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