Hello Internet family and friends. It has been awhile since the last post. Outward changes are not moving as quickly now, although inward progression continues to improve.You will be happy to know his grades are staying above passing (higher in most cases) for all his classes in school.

He really likes playing Halo with his brother, who will be going into the USAF in June. His sister leaves for college in August. It should be a big transition from two siblings to none. It will be a change for mom and dad, too.

He had a goal to run a 5K with me in September, but with his progression at physical therapy there was no real need to wait. I received an opportunity to join a team from work and run a 5K benefiting Children's Cancer, so the three of us decided we would run with the team. He thought it was cool that the team was called the same as his future high school.

He did very well, although we had not trained past the three mile mark prior. Mom, Dad, and Isaac stayed together most of the way, then toward the end I started motivating him to give a good finish. I think he got some excited energy when he could see the finish line, so we sprinted across together. Here he is coming up to the finish line....

Sprint for Cancer, Las Colinas, April 21, 2012

Yes, that is a black eye! He got in a fight at school....with the floor.....trying to jump over a net he knew was a bit too high....and as you can see, lost. (For those who listen to Jeff Dunham, he likes to say he was "Isaac, on the floor")

I recently found a neat little website called Lumosity.com. It is primarily billed as "brain training", but I see it as practicing the basics of Math, Spelling, Memory, Attention, Speed and Accuracy; something we can all use, right? I used it for about a week, then set him up on it. I wanted him to play an hour, but I think he went a bit longer. He told me at one point it was the "telecommute version of his therapy center". (He knows about telecommuting because Mom does three days a week) Anyway, if you are interested in this program, either a single license or family license (5 logins), use the coupon code GLOWING for a 20% off price.

One thing that is causing a struggle is his focus gets distracted easily when he is doing a task that he doesn't want to do. His OCD tendencies kick in about then and he gets permanently lost from the intended task. This will get more challenging when the older two are not in the house on a daily basis, I'm sure.

That's all I can think of at the moment. I'm constantly trying to think of things for practicing balance during his routines to make them more enjoyable, yet accomplish more than one thing at time.

Each day brings a new challenge

A funny thing happened on the treadmill. We were apparently putting our phone up to run, and used the wrong holder. It had a half bottom, and our phone slipped out from underneath and came crashing to the floor. While the phone case, and face, were intact it seems that the screen module was broken. ET no phone home!

He has been taking care of this phone, both before and after the accident., so we know things happen. We let him take his tablet to therapy to keep his schedule. I was considering what to do about the phone and was pretty sure we could do it over the weekend.

The tablet worked until Friday when he put it on the car in the garage and helped get ready to go to therapy. Since he was taking his medicine, mom drove slowly to the main intersection outside the subdivision before speeding up. Neither of them heard the tablet fly off the car. I hope someone picked it up to have an early Christmas, because otherwise it was ruined in the rain that evening.

Needless to say, I'm not sure the tablet is coming back soon, but we did get a replacement phone for him over the weekend.

To live, or to die, each day

I feel I must write this, because many of those I know need to hear it. There are answers below, so don't stop.

Every day you wake up, you have a choice. You either choose to live, or to die. While some may think that a harsh reality, consider this:

Happiness has been scientifically proven to overcome adversity, eradicate pain, and make the body healthier. (Wish that were true for dieting, tho...lol)

Stress has the opposite effect. It makes the body weak, it drains the body of energy, and it pushes the person away from those who care the most. Stress can lead to heart attacks, and heart failure. Put simply, stress kills!

Every day you wake up, what are your thoughts? Are they, "How am I going to get through this day?" or "Oh no! Not today! I have to ______!"?

If so, you have given in to stress. Unless something (completely unexpected and amazing) happens to change your mood, you will continue on this course. You may figure out how to get through the day, or you may realize that half the day is already done without the stressful occurrence before you relax. Either way, you woke up and chose to die. At least half of your day, you are choosing that same fate.

Even writing this made me feel very stressed. I know someone like this. She is older, has moderate dementia, advanced diabetes, and is going blind because of some poor choices in life. She also has just been diagnosed with Parkinson's, and has deteriorated more in the last year than in the last ten years. She used to drive, but has not been able to in the last year.

She calls me frequently, asking my advice on what to do to stop this madness. She tells me in almost every phone call that she just wants to die. I encourage her to enjoy the people who are around her, to participate in activities despite her condition, and to use her remaining abilities to enjoy life. She listens to what I say, resolutely agrees, then repeats the conversation the next time because of her dementia.

She is stuck in this angry cycle because that is how she trained her body and brain to react to adversity. I feel sad for her because of her condition. I cry for her because I know she will forget our conversation. I pray that she will be able to be happy. I know that my voice is a smile in the dark clouds of her situation, and that somewhere inside she knows this, too. I know...because she is my mother.


ON THE OTHER HAND........


When you wake up, train yourself to remember that God has given you another day to enjoy your life. The more you try, the better you will become at it. First think about how you get to see those you love again. You can give them the benefit of your knowledge, and you can learn from theirs. Life is full of wonders, no matter your age, no matter where life has taken you. Find any three year old at the mall or in the park and watch how they view the world. Everything is wonderful to them. (Except naps, of course)

Interestingly, I have watched Isaac tackle the world since his accident. His heart is in front of him every step of the way. At first I thought it silly that God would change my son to be so much of outwardly loving person, because how can that continue through this world.

BUT IT CAN!!!!

Isaac tackles school, therapy, home, crowds with joy and happiness. His friends are happy when they are around him. Of course, there are more girls than boys at this age. I know that Isaac had to re-learn much of his understanding of the world. I can still see that little boy wonder in many things new to him. Thinking like that, I get a rush of energy and giddiness that simply cannot be described in any other way than the effects of happiness.

Your challenge
When you wake up in the morning, push the stress of the world out of your head. Realize that you WOKE UP, and THAT is a miracle. Another day to try again. Another day to move towards happiness, and maybe infect others into it also.

In the words of Zig Ziglar, "Everything worth doing is worth doing POORLY, until you get better at it."

As you go through your morning routine think about what you have to do to organize your day in your head, but remember that you only have today. You know you can give 100% to whatever you do, and be satisfied that it IS good enough when (not if) you do.

If you do not succeed in anything else, remember this KEY THOUGHT....

"A simple smile, given in the right place, to the right person, is enough to save many lives."

Smile at those you love, regardless of your relationship. Smile at those you meet, because they most likely need it. Smile at those you know, since they will be the ones to pass it on.

And smile when you see your reflection, because you are a wonderful miracle that has been given ONE MORE DAY!

God is truly AMAZING!!!!

I still see a boy who has some issues, but I think I am more sensitive to them because I see him more often after a hard day than others do. (couldn't be because I'm dad, or anything, lol)

What you should know is that the Middle School experience has really done EXACTLY what we expected. Having been with mostly adults for the last four months, his "kid-ness" was put away somewhere inside. He was modeling after the adults, waiting until the sentences were finished to speak and taking time to determine his answers.

It was reported that he went back to therapy a slightly different, chatty, energetic child... more like the 12 year old. We see that the school time is a great catalyst for bringing more of the character of Isaac to the forefront.

He told me tonight, as it is my turn to pick him up tomorrow, that he will hang out with his friends on the bench in front of the school and wait on me to text him.

Back to School!!!

So much to tell, and so little time to say it. Isaac started back to school on Wednesday. Mom took him into the office, but apparently he saw some friends right off. They were all excited, waving frantically through the windows at him. The counselor gave him the option of waiting in the office or going into the cafeteria to wait for the bell to ring. He chose the loudness of the cafeteria, and from what I understand was engulfed by more girls than boys at the table where he sat.

Day 1 was good, with homework brought home and done. Trumpet practice caught him up. He is not thinking of alternate solutions to problems yet. In this case, he could not make the sound for a certain note he had previously been able to make. I noticed that no sound was coming from the practice area, and found he was in meltdown (with tears) because of this. I asked him to show me, and nothing but air came out. He started to cry again, and I told him that I could see nothing wrong with the way he was playing. Since I have no knowledge of trumpets, I called Jesse into the room.

There are times when my older son really impresses me, and this was one of those times. Jesse came into the room and sat cross-legged on the floor, looking up at Isaac. Such positioning is perfect to allow the other person to know you are not trying to control them, but assist them. Jesse determined that a valve was not working properly, worked with it, got it working, and was able to get the note Isaac couldn't get. He then reinforced to Isaac that if a strange thing occurs, and you feel like you are doing what you are supposed to be doing, then look next at the instrument to see if it is malfunctioning.

Facebook excerpts:

01/20/12
Someone told me very early on in this journey about their child's dream that Isaac returned to Huffines & "he was fine". I don't remember who told me that, but I do remember thinking "how?" given the dire circumstances at the time. However, I must THANK that person, because as improbable as that sounded then, it did give me something to hold onto... That child's dream came true this week - 4-1/2 months after most thought it not possible. So, thank you GOD for giving that dream to the child & for helping everyone see it come true! :-)

01/18/12
We continue to see how Isaac is VERY covered in prayer! Smooth morning with none of the anxiety we had seen recently! Walked in with two friends, Riley & Reagan, who arrived at the same time. While waiting in the office for the counselor, we saw quite a few more friends walking inside. The ones who saw him were excited to see him. He then chose to wait in the cafeteria "with friends" until the bell rang (instead of the counselor's office). God is amazing to show us his blessings!

Happy New Year

Isaac is back to school tomorrow. His holiday time was well spent, and he only had a couple times where things were a bit much for him. At a family function in East Texas I found him at a skeeball machine, away from the crowd, making due with one ball. At his Aunt's wedding (at her home) he quickly decided that his tablet was safer than the crowd building for New Year's. He did, however, get his grandfather and his uncles involved in Angry Birds on their phones. It gave him a boost the next morning at breakfast to be asked to "help get them to the next level."

I can't say I blame him with crowds. I gravitated to a doorway at the edge of the party myself, because it was getting too crowded for me as well, but I didn't have a tablet to distract me.

Back home yesterday afternoon, we all rested from the whirlwind of a weekend. Isaac, his sister, and I kicked the soccer ball last night in front of the house. He desperately wants to play soccer again. He is getting faster with his processing, but depressed that the doctors said he could not play soccer. I told him doctors "suggest", but it is ultimately his abilities that will determine whether he can play soccer again. He has to be ready to make decisions quickly when he steps on a soccer field as a player, but if he gets halfway there from his present ability he can take the soccer test and referee. He looked at me and said, "you mean I could make money?"

I think we have found the next motivator. (smile)