Christmas

It's Christmas today...well, what's left of it anyway, and I couldn't have asked for a better present than having my whole family with me for Christmas. Just a few short months ago, we were contemplating have a very sad Christmas. Whilst I have to admit, it was not one of our most festive, it has certainly been our best. I have spent the entire day sorting out music for MJ, listening to her new cd, playing with Cortni's bratz dolls, play dough and painting her new piggy bank, discussing Ashley's make-up collection and clothing, and finally watching Dave's golf dvd. A more beautiful day could not be had. (In case you are wondering, I also had some me time and fitted my new car stero which I am very gratgeful to Santa Clause for)

I am now looking forward to the New Year when ,once again, I can dance with McAyla, like I have done every year since she was little. I am still very reflective over what has happend, and I still get tears in my eyes when I think about how much we could have lost, but I am more than grateful that my baby is still with me.

The New Year will bring different challenges, and we will take them in our stride. MJ will have to see a psychologist who will help teach us all about MJ's injury and the effects that it is having on her emotions. She is also due to have her first assessment with the neuro consultant on the 16th. That will be a shock for him, as the last time he saw Mic, she was hardly talking, still in pads and had only just got into her first wheelchair.

So, apart from Cortni having tonsilitis...again (poor little mite), all looks good for a healthy, happy, prosperous New Year.

As things are really hectic for me these days, and I don't get much chance to update the blog too often, may I take this time to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a healthy, happy New Year.

MJ the celebrity

Well, it's been a fast changing and tough few weeks since my last entry.

Everywhere we go, people keep comming up to us, just to talk to Mic and tell us how inspiring they find my little girl. It's like living with a celebrity. Sometimes, MJ seems a little scared, but other times, she quite seems to like her celebrity status. When we go out in the street, and MJ walks around, neighbours come out just to watch her walk about the neighbourhood, just like she used to.

Exactly 3 months after her accident, I had to face one of the toughest decisions. I let MJ go out without me. I let her hang out with her friends. I was so scared and kept looking out the window to watch where she was. It was great to see my baby girl doing things she used to, 'normal' things. The patience and compassion of her mates astounds me.

Mostly, MJ is bored and doesn't have a very good attention span, but she is so determined.

We went Christmas shopping yesterday (Sunday) and she asked me not to take her wheelchair. She walked slowly around town and bless her little soul, she was in pain at the end of it all. We were in town for 3 hours and although we took breaks, I think it was too much for her little legs.

MJ still gets thought processes mixed up. Instead of asking for a drink, she asks what type of drink. Then, she thinks about it and gets the question right. Odd.

Other than that, physio seems to be going well as does the schooling. Now we look forward to Christmas. Merry Christmas!

MJ walks on her own

Well, so many changes have taken place since my last entry. Two weeks ago, McAyla was given a K-frame. It's kinda like a zimmer frame, except it goes behind and around her bottom. Then last Thursday, she took her first steps....unaided. I was so shocked. Today she went to physio and she's come home with crutches! What the heck!!!!

Fred (the splint) has also gone. Now MJ has a different splint and she's been given one to wear at night. The new splints are more flexible whilst maintaining the support.

MJ is also doing very well with her schooling. She managed to do 100 sums in 20 minutes on Wednesday last week. For MJ, this is pretty good. The teacher told us today that MJ's recall is coming back and she believes MJ will cope when she returns to school.

MJ is upstairs

Well, what a week of excitement for us!

Mic received a k-frame walker on Wednesday to assist her with her walking. She has to be supervised with it at all times, and she is only allowed in it for a maximum of 5 minutes and then has to have a long break. The frame goes behind her and she pulls it along. The only thing that seriously hinders her now is the shoes. I tried so hard to get my baby some shoes that will fit over the splint, but I have yet to be successful. She now has to wear 2 different types of shoes. Her right foot has a size 4 and the other is currently a size 9 which is too big since the splint got shaved down. All I wanted was 2 pairs of shoes, one in a size 4 and the other in whatever size fits over the splint. You'd think this would be a simple task.....yeah right! I tried every shoe shop in Worcester and Brantano's in Malvern and still zip, zero, nada!!!!

Today Mic learned to negotiate the stairs on her bottom. Someone has to stay in front of her when she goes up or down the stairs, as there is a risk factor that she might slip etc. The whole day Mic has been itching to get up the stairs and see her room. Right now, she is about 10 feet away from me and I am loving every second. I can hear if she calls for me instead of sneaking downstairs to see if she is okay.

MJ also had a bath upstairs in the bathroom. She revelled in the fact that she could lay down in the bath and have the water warm her whole body instead of just a section at a time. Getting out was seriously tricky though. Whilst I have side rails for MJ to hold onto, getting her legs over the edge of the bath was the tricky bit. Again, I have to stay with her at all times.

When I took Cortni to school today, I noticed that the council have obviously headed our calls and had somebody doing a traffic survey. Maybe, just maybe we might win this battle. Don't forget to sign MJ's petition on her website and help the cause!

School

We are now at the start of week 10 and I look at my beautiful little girl and love wrapping my arms around her and feeling her arms wrap around me as we give each other the biggest hugs. Something I thought I'd never get to do again. We even sway to music as we have always done at Christmas and new year. So, at least that will remain the same this year.

When I look at her now, I don't compare her to how she was before her accident, but I marvel at how much she has improved since her stay in ICU. I look at Mic and I don't see her chair as a problem, I just see it as part of Mic.

I love to watch her face as it lights up when her friends come to visit. She becomes so excited and it helps so much with her speech and her memory. I guess it gives MJ some sense of normality. She feels left out in a way that she has not yet made it to Nunnery, but she is on her way.

MJ's schooling starts on Tuesday. She will have one and a half hours of schooling three times a week. She will cover a range of subjects and the teacher is going to help Mic bridge the gap that has been created as a result of the accident. She will help MJ get her word association skills and number bonds back as well as trying to cover year 7 carriculum. So MJ's brain is finally going to get as much exercise as her body.....yeah!!!

catch up photo's

Having a look through these photo's, I can't believe how far MJ has come. Just a few short weeks ago there was the possibility of her never being able to do the things she has so miraculously achieved. She continues to astound everybody with the amount of progress she makes.

She has an eye test at the hospital tomorrow and is getting quite anxious about it. I think she is nervous that she might have to stay there. I keep telling her not to worry and have made plans with her for after the test. She's still not convinced.

Physio has been going really well. As you can see from the pics, she is able to kneel and throw and catch a ball. She can't do it for long, but she is able to do it. Short term goals for this month, MJ is to kneel for longer, crawl on the floor, and stand to brush her teeth.

She was on BBC Hereford and Worcester radio on Monday, and she commented that she thinks she may have dropped money and bent to pick it up when the car hit her..... As for the rumours that MJ was playing chicken, all I can say to the person who started this rumour...You were not there, just as I was not there, so don't make assumptions about something you know so little about. If you read my very first entry, you will see quite clearly that I in no way, shape or form ever admitted to knowing what happend that day, I have never blamed anybody, so what gives you the right???? What I do know is that my child is and always has been safety conscious. She was crossing busy roads, by herself, long before many of her friends and she started to walk home, by herself, long before any of her friends.

The Beacon Centre

Today MJ went for her first outpatient physio session. It was great. No tears! MJ tried really hard with weight transferring, log rolling on the mat and kneeling. I was most impressed by the kneeling, as the last time I saw Mic go on her knees, she cried bucket loads and couldn't handle the pressure on her knee for too long. Today, she was completely different. She managed to stay on her knees and balance for some time. She stood by herself too. She even managed to flex her toes on her left foot. The movement isn't huge, but at least there is movement. I bet anything that before next week, Mic's big toe will be flexing back quite a bit.

She really enjoys the physio sessions and sees a lot of the activities as games. It helps when she's bored and wants to wind her sisters up, so she gets them to participate.

Hopefully the teachers will be in contact soon so that MJ's mind can get the work out it requires so all of her heals at a rapid pace.