Happy Halloween!

We had a good Halloween. Destin went to physical therapy and he got his casts off for good! HOORAY! In his left leg he ended up with a 17 degree range of motion in a straight leg position and a 22 range in a bent leg position. In the right leg he was an 18 in straight leg and 23 in bent leg.

It's different to see Destin's feet again. I mean, it's not like we haven't seen them for years, but 5 weeks is a long time. We can definitely tell a difference. He uses his ankles more. The obvious range of motion is up and down, but he also has more flexibility from left to right. We have a series of stretches that we will need to do 3 times a day to keep this going.

The physical therapist noticed that he is still going to his tippy toes to walk. She thought he would be a good candidate for the AFO's (leg braces) so he can get more to a flat footed position. She also said that she couldn't believe how strong Destin was. Usually when she takes off the casts kids cannot lift themselves up. Destin went right up to a standing position. Did you expect anything less? :)

We got a call from Olga today to tell us that Destin has been accepted to Bell Swan (still trying to find the correct spelling) Preschool. Everyone thinks this is going to be a great thing for the D-man. I will be going into more detail as we get more information.

Sheri and the pea packer stopped by work for a little bit. We had a mini trick-or-treat party for the kiddos.

There were only a few trick-or-treaters that stopped by the house tonight. Probably a good thing. It was nice to relax. Sheri and Destin were all over the place today. Sheri grabbed a Papa Murphy's pizza for dinner. The people there gave Destin a mini pizza.

I'm off to Michigan tomorrow morning. Fun for me!

Good Relaxing Weekend

It's been a good weekend here in Colorado. The most ambitious I got was getting a haircut on Saturday morning. I actually had a nostalgic thought on the way. I remembered when Dad and I went to get haircuts in downtown Naperville Lisle when I was a pea packer. The haircut to me was pretty trivial. The best part was going to this general store called The Book's Nook (or at least I think that was the name). I'd get a bunch of candy there. I opted mostly for Now & Laters, Bonkers, and as much gum as I could get my hands on. It was a neat thought. Destin and I will have to find a place like that.

Sheri took Kristin (MK) to breakfast at Le Peep on Friday. Jann, Lindsay, and Gunnar came over for a beer that night. It's good to know they are back in CO!

Sheri ran a few errands on Saturday, but nothing too obnoxious. We made some gnocchi for dinner and just vegged. It was nice. Destin slept through the night which was a welcome change for this week.

We went down to Russ and Nancy's tonight for dinner. We had roast beef, mashed taters, salad, green beans, and CUPCAKES!! I'm not sure what was my favorite. It was a good night.

Halloween tomorrow should be pretty fun. Sheri and Destin are going to come by work for a little bit. We will be passing out candy to all the trick-or-treaters. If we get really ambitious we may carve a couple jack-o-lanterns; make some pumpkin bread; and roast some pumpkin seeds. Pretty festive Halloween if you ask me! :)

Next week is pretty packed. I'm hoping to keep up the documentation! I will be travelling to Plymouth, MI on Tuesday and Wednedsday, but I should have time to type.

I did a little work on the site today. There is a new video and 3 new photo albums. There are a bit scattered through the list, so here's the short list:

• Karter's 2nd Birthday


• Dr. Joe, Emma, And Claire Visit


• Fun Stuff In July 2005

Visit With Dr. Allen

Destin had a visit with Dr. Allen today. He checked out Destin's palate and tubes. Everything was fine. He actually said the tubes had detached and he took them out. We have them now and they are T-I-N-Y. He told Destin that sometimes if kids put their "TUBES" under their pillow that the "TUBE" fairy is likely to show. Sheri said that if Pop Pop catches wind of that the "TUBE" fairly will definitely be making an appearance!

There is now no plan to see him again. A bittersweet thing. He's been so involved in Destin's life so far and so helpful; but it is time to move on. Thanks for everything, Dr. Allen!

Sheri and the D-man were down at Grandma and Grandpa Stackpole's for most of the day. They left from there to go to play group. It was Halloween costume day today. Destin wore his cowboy outfit. He looked good. Sheri said that he was a big fan of the Sit and Spin. I believe I remember someone else who was a big fan as well.

New Casts, Less Sleep

Destin got his casts changed yesterday. We went with the fire engine red casts. He is progressing well. In a bent leg position he has an 18 degree range of motion in both feet. In a straight leg postion, he has a 10 degree range in his left foot and a 12 degree in his right. His physical therapist said that she would be happy with 15 all around (both feet, both positions), so he is in good shape. This could be the last iteration (fingers crossed).

The pea packer and I pulled an all nighter last night. One of the side effects of the casting is that they take a little bit of getting used to. I'm a little bit sleepy.

We had our 6 month evaluation with Olga and Becky from Early Child Connections. I'm embarassed to say that it was the first time I've met them. Especially since they have been working with Destin for the past 2 years! We talked about how he's doing and where we want to be in the next 6 months. It's amazing that pre-school is just around the corner. We spent a little time on that.

He had an appointment with Cindy at the Amaryllis Clinic today which he always enjoys.

Well, I'm going to hit the sack in the next 20 so I'll wrap this up. More to come!

Toomey Feeding Clinic

Destin had a good day at the Toomey feeding clinic today. He tried chocolate pudding and liked it. We have given him some in the past but he wasn't too impressed. It's nice to see that he is now! One thing he didn't like today was prunes, but who really does? :)

Tonight I made my first batch of applesauce for this year. It turned out pretty good. The recipe has been passed down on Mom's side of the family. I don't think I make it as well as Linda Hirsch, and I'm sure she doesn't think that she makes it as good as Lila Larsen. Applesauce is just one of the things I love about fall; especially THIS applesauce. Destin had it for the first time last year. He seemed to like it although it was a little tart for him. His eyes closed pretty tight and his lips puckered. I'm hoping this face comes out again in the next couple of days.

Today was a perfect fall day in Colorado. Low to Mid 60's with that crispness in the air. I'm excited that autumn is here.

Wrapping Up The Week

I'm popping on to add a few happenings for the past week, and to set the schedule for next.

We had an issue with the cast on Destin's left leg. His foot got loose and he was in some discomfort. He wasn't sleeping very well because of it. We took him in to the PT clinic to get the cast removed. So he's just sporting one cast now.

Saturday, Cousins Stephen and Terry were flying back in from Florida. They crashed with us on Saturday night. It was good to to hang out for awhile.

Destin and I have had some good bach time this week. Sheri had a dinner on Monday night; a haircut on Tuesday night; ran errands on Saturday; and a baby shower today. Destin and I were able to hang out. It was nice. Sheri did make some killer strombolis on Saturday night though. So, we'll keep her around for awhile (Am I going to get into trouble for that one?)

We reached a milestone this week. Destin held his own sippie cup and drank from it! He lays down and brings the cup to his mouth, and then takes a few sips. We are very proud of him.

The coming week is the normal busy. Destin has the Kay Toomey Clinic on Monday. Tuesday, we have our 6 month checkup with Early Childhood Connections. Olga and Becky will be by the house to talk about what we want ECC to do with Destin going forward. I'm thinking about working from home that day. Wednesday he is going to see Cindy. Thursday's play group is to dress up for Halloween. He also has a check up with Dr. Allen(the guy who did his cleft palate surgery), And, finally, sometime during the week he is going to try to squeeze some playtime in with Karter.

(BTW, Destin is going to go as a cowboy for Halloween. Yee haw!)

Flintstone's

I forgot to mention earlier that we started Destin on Flintstone chewable vitamins. He seems to like them. We crush them up and put them in his oatmeal in the morning. His first flavor was purple which makes for an interesting color of oatmeal. :)

A new favorite of Destin's is his table. Sheri found a Little Tikes table with two chairs. He will sit at it and watch movies, color, play with play-doh; he and I have even painted a little bit. I have some pictures to post of him in action. I will hopefully get them up soon.

Today was pretty mellow. Sheri and Destin ran a few errands and hung out at home. It was a rainy day today in Denver. Autumn is setting in.

Comments

A few of you have asked about leaving comments. This functionality was broken for awhile, but with the new home it is up again. Feel free to drop any comments you want into the Comments section.

The Week In Review (plus a little more)

Let's start with last Monday. Destin went in to the Children's Hospital physical therapy office for a minor fix for his third round of casting. Green was the color of choice for round 3.

Last Wednesday Sheri and the pea packer headed to Colorado Mills. Destin rode on the merry-go-round there. Sheri said he really dug it. She also said that Destin was a bit of a bully in the kids area. Apparently, he hit a cup out of another child's hand and in the process hit the kid as well. That little stinker; he does love his cups though.

Thursday was the usual play group day. He did his normal routine. On Friday he had a great day at feeding school. He tried honey, blueberry syrup and got more comfortable with some hard munchables.

The Kay Toomey clinic has really worked out for us. We definitely expected it to, and it's very rewarding to see how far Destin has come. For example, he's bringing butter cookies and crackers to his mouth now. Butter cookies are his favorite, although he has recently taken a shine to the Club brand crackers and sticks.

That brings us to the weekend were we spent a little time at the pumpkin patch as I mentioned in my last post.

Today he went in for his 4th round of casting. Sheri and he picked light blue because the only other colors available were purple and pink.

Each round of casting, the physical therapists measure Destin's range of motion. Measurements are taken for both a bent and straight leg senario. The bare minimum to discontinue the casting process is 15 degrees for both feet in both senarios.

Destin is past that in the bent leg measurements but behind in the straight leg. I will get the exact measurements from Sheri. I know the numbers, but I forgot which feet they go with. :)

I believe I'll stop here. More to come soon!

New Home And Pumpkins

The move is complete! TheHirschFam.com has a new home.

The pumpkin patch was fun yesterday. We went to Rock Creek Farm. It was a proper pumpkin patch. They give you shears when you arrive and you can cut your pumpkins directly from the vine. There are a greal deal of "pumpkin patches" in Colorado(and elsewhere, I'm sure) that are just fields of dirt with pumpkins lined up on them. I don't mean to knock these types of "pumpkin patches", but I don't think that The Great Pumpkin will be visiting there soon.

At Rock Creek Farm we cut 3 pumpkins, walked through a corn maze, and saw some farm animals. Grandma and Grandpa Stackpole were there with the three of us. We took a bunch of pictures which I'm hoping to get up soon.

Another highlight of the trip was that Destin had some root beer in his sippie cup. He liked it. Sheri had an Orange Crush and we thought he would like that better, but he didn't. I'm not sure if he just liked the sarsparilla or if he just wanted to be like his daddy. (I had the root beer!)

There were a number of things that Destin did last week that are worth mentioning. I've hit my cut off time for tonight. Plus, I'm going to double check with Sheri to make sure I have them all.(The real reason, right?)

Talk to you soon.

New ISP Post

Just a post to see if the site has officially moved over to the new ISP.

AWOL - A Little News, And A Move

Happy Birthday, Uncle T/Ty!!!

I apologize for not being on for the past 10 days. Destin has been doing fine. He's in his third week of casts. We opted for the green casts this time.

We are going to hit a pumpkin patch tomorrow with Grandma and Grandpa Stackpole. I will let you know how it goes.

The main reason I haven't been on the airways is that I'm in the process of changing ISP's for this website. Everything has been moved over to the new platform, so I'm hoping to make the switch this weekend (Fingers crossed).

Wish me luck!

Good News

We received good news from Dr. Miller today. Everything looks good with Destin's heart. They did an ekg, an echo cardiogram, and a chest x-ray. The device they put in there is right where it is supposed to be.

He did say that Destin still has an innocent murmur which is normal. Without getting too medical, there are pathways in his heart that vibrate causing the murmur. These will stretch out as Destin grows and the murmur will most likey disappear between the ages of 5 and 10.

Destin's heart is still fairly enlarged which Dr. Miller said is normal as the heart adjusts to its new state. Of course, I still believe it's because he's come through all his hurdles with flying colors; and I will continue to believe it!

We go for a checkup next August, and that is pretty much that. It has been such a joy working with Dr. Miller. We would recommend him to anybody.

It was a good day.

The Pea Packer's Casts

The above picture was taken last week with Destin's red casts. I am going to snap one before Friday with his blue ones.

The weekend was fun. We went to Karter's 2nd Birthday party at the Colorado Railroad Museum. It's a really cool place. It was a gorgeous day to be outside. All of us walked around the rail cars. We even got a video of Destin being an engineer.

Sheri went off and played with Jill for the rest of the day on Saturday, so Destin and I bached it. Today, the three of us hit Costco in the early afternoon for a meat run. We brought everything back, and Sheri went out to get some other groceries so again, Destin and I bached it. It was a good time.

People's reactions to Destin's casts have been interesting. Noone has run at us screaming, "Child Abuse! Get them!", but we have received our share of looks. On the other hand, we have been approached by people who are "in the know" about what the casts are really for. They have offered us words of encouragement, and how well they've seen the therapy work. These are the comments we focus on more.

Busy week coming up; as usual. We have all the normal stuff plus 2 visits we are really excited about: (1) Anna (Destin's new speech therapist) is coming over tomorrow to hang out with the pea packer, and (2) we go back for a checkup with Dr. Miller (cardiologist) on Tuesday. I will be sure to keep everyone informed.

Have a good rest of your Sunday!