1st Day at Little Stompers

It's hard to believe Keira is three and going to preschool! She has grown up so much in the last six months and is a super big sister to Akemi.

 Check out her new turtle lunch box.

 Chocolate cupcakes were in order to celebrate a successful first day!

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Dex Pulse #2

Keira just finished up her second Dex Pulse and for the most part handled the increased steroids as well as can be expected.  The first day went very well but she struggled days 2 and 3 to not get overly upset and emotional.

We tried to keep Keira's schedule as normal as possible and I do believe that it helps her to keep busy and distracted.  A big thank you to Susanna, Oriana and Grayson for helping to keep her happy and entertained during my first week back at school.  She was always excited to share the fun things that she did while I was at work.

The evenings seemed to be harder for her since she would be tired from the day.  Often Keira didn't know what she wanted and would waffle back and forth from one thing to the other, and even one person to the other (totally not normal for her).   In addition, Keira didn't have much of an appetite.  Not having a full tummy probably didn't help her mood much.

The good news is that we made it and are going to once again begin reducing her prednisone.  Our goal will be to get her off the prednisone with no active signs of the OMS returning.  Once that happens we will have to figure out how to get her off the dex.

Beach House 2012

Family road trip to meet up with two of our favorite families!

It was so much fun being able to hang out together for a long weekend at the beach, even if the weather wasn't super warm. I have a feeling this might become a tradition!

  

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1 week post Dex

I just wanted to give a quick update on Keira.  Although the three days she was on the dex pulse were hard, Keira is already noticeably better.  We were concerned that she was looking worse toward the end of last week.  She was super unstable, falling A LOT and her hands were very shaky, not to mention her irritability.  When you stop and think about all that is going on in her little body it's amazing she handles things as well as she does.  We're so proud of her spirit and willingness to keep moving forward.  The most she ever asks for is some extra chocolate milk.  :)  

Keira is suppose to go see her Physical Therapist tomorrow so it will be interesting to hear what Jackie thinks.  I feel like Keira is just about back to normal with her gross motor skills.  I can still notice a slight shakiness in her hands, but it is way better than before and I'm sure most people would not even notice it at all.  The other crazy thing is that her speech seems so clear and articulate.  I think the people at the Articulation Boot Camp think we're silly for sending her, but this is all good information to have documented.  Maybe her speech will be an earlier indicator for an OMS flare and we won't have to let things progress into hand tremors and more severe ataxia.

Keira has also been such a great helper at home with Akemi while Naveen is out of town this week.  She's cooperative, happy and has lots of energy.

We will continue to keep everyone updated on how she is doing... thanks for all the happy thoughts!