Saturday, June 14, 2008

Update

Hi all,

Just a short update on all things "Claudia" -- LOL! Of course, that includes Amy and Christopher and my dear, precious friends....

Amy is doing great. Her face is almost healed and her arm is doing better. It has been an amazing process watching her skin renew itself. God is amazing!

Christopher is doing better. We have done some adjustments to his diet, added more consistent "sensory" routines (it's a sensory-integration thing) and he seems to be coping better with life in general. Getting his service dog earlier will help so much too! On the physical side, we've encountered a little "glich". In the last couple of weeks he has suddenly sprouted about 5 permanent teeth...unfortunately, the baby teeth are not loose and are not falling out. SO, on July 2nd we have to take him for surgery at Peyton Manning Children's Hospital (general anesthetic) to have those 5 teeth removed, a phrenectomy (gumline growing down between his front teeth removed) and his 12-year molars "exposed" (cut away the gum so they can descend). Doesn't sound like a lot of fun. Prayers are appreciated!

I'm doing OK. Falling more. My balance sucks.. of course it doesn't help that I have always been a person who is mentally three steps ahead of my feet....cause my feet aren't keeping up any more. I've got a few new bruises (and a shattered tower-fan) to show for my escapades over the past 48 hours, but I say "no blood, no foul"!

I'm doing an overnight oxygen test tonight. My trouble breathing is not getting much better and there is a possibility that I may go on oxygen. That is another dilemma, since oxygen is not generally recommended in ALS (the thinking of my lung doctor is that my breathing problems are due to my asthma, not my ALS).

On the bright side... I am slowly getting my bedroom decorated, thanks to the efforts of my friends. I bought curtains and now just need to get them hung. The walls are all painted and I am slowly beginning to hang my "things" on them. I am collecting old plates/saucers, etc with pink rose patterns on them to hang on the wall. Yard sale fans...keep an eye out for those 25 cent ones for me!

I am so blessed to have you as friends. Love, Claudia


A shadowbox I did with my mother's picture, a pair of her dressy gloves, a dried rosebud and some jewelry... I love you, Mom!

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

BIG NEWS!

We just got word that we are going to be getting our Service Dog in OCTOBER instead of December! We couldn't be more excited! Just over 4 months to go!!!!

Christopher's website is acting up (thanks to my trusty-musty XP platform computer dying and my getting a Vista platform replacement...incompatible with the now way out-dated "FrontPage" that I used to design his site). I will try to get that all straightened out ASAP... but the bottom line is that we have one last financial hurdle to mount to get our dog....the travel and accommodations for the two-weeks in Ohio and some mandatory dog equipment.

If you'd like to help with a fundraiser please contact me. You may also send your tax-deductible donation to:

Congregation of the Covenants
c/o Malcolm Smith
6927 Thousand Oaks Lane
Indianapolis, IN 46214-3298

On the memo line, please designate for what
your gift is to be used. A receipt will be mailed to you at the end of the year.

Update on Amy

Well, it has been a challenging week. I totally spaced an appointment I had Tuesday. Life feels kinda out of control.




Anyway, here's an update on Amy's condition...in a nutshell...she HURTS :


Photos June 3rd (Tuesday):



Photos today (June 4th):

Monday, June 2, 2008

Thanks for the prayers!

Thanks to those of you who prayed! I fully expected Amy to be in bed doped-up on pain medicine for several days, and while she isn't healed yet, she looked much better and felt much better this morning. Don't stop praying! I will post some pictures so you can see the improvement already:

Last night (June 1 approx 10 PM - approx. 5 hours after incident):


23 hours later:


Don't stop praying! :)

Love, Claudia