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Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Strides
Kaleb is making strides every day and amazes both Josh and me too! He is so pleasent to be around and so joyful. He smiles all the time now and is so content.
His speech therepist has started to give him water to swallow. At first they started at 1.5mls and he coughed instantly. They said it was a good cough though and it showed that he is protecting his airway really well. So then they went to a baby spoon full of water and he swallowed it with in 3 sec. This is VERY GOOD becuase there are a lot of kids that are 5 years post injury that aren't able to do this. The amount of water has gradually increased and now we are at 3mls and he is swallowing it well and with in 3 secs. Amen!!! Praise God Kaleb is Healing!
The other day Kaleb saw himself in the mirror and got EXTREMELY excited! He would turn away and squeal/laugh and then look at himself again... This continued for about 5 minutes. He is really starting to gain head control and is able to hold it at midline. He PT and OT are so impressed with the progress he is making. I think that it has a lot to do with the hyperbaric Chamber. This is a miraclous machine and it helping him heal SO MUCH! If you want more info on the chamber go to www.hyperbariccenter.org.
The other day Kaleb haden't seen me for most of the day and I went and laid next to him and he got so excited and smiled real big! Then he started to babel to me. It was like he was asking how my day was... It is the cutest thing. He does the same to Josh when he's been at work the whole day. It is nice to see that he recognizes us and shows us that he loves us.
I have been asked several times if we have gone to trial yet... the answer is no. I don't know when we will go but I don't think it will be anytime soon do to the defense. I am sorry I don't have any more info...
Praise God for all that he has done for Kaleb and our family!
Kaleb had his EEG and as far as we know everything looked fine. First they held a strobe light over his face for about 10 minutes to see if he had any type of seizure and the nurse said that all that it showed was that he got excited! Which is great because that confirms that he def. sees something. Then they had him fall asleep because I guess it is common for kids to have seizures during the REM cycle of sleep. That also showed no seizure like activity. Then I had to wake him up by calling his name and he woke up! So I am SURE that he hears! I bet a lot of his recovery stems from the hyperbaric chamber. He is doing SO WELL!
He is so happy. He gets in these laughing spells lately where 2-3 times a day he just laughs and laughs. I think that he sees angels because a lot of time he just stares up and smiles and laughs. I love to see him so happy and not in pain. I am so thankful for all of the days I am able to see him awake and taking in his surroundings. I couldn't bare to go through three months of him being unconscience again. I cherish every waking moment with him.
He has been doing well in his therepies. We are doing some water trials in speech therepy on thursday. This is where the therepist will take syringes of water and put it in his mouth to see how we reacts to it. The goal is that he swallows it as soon as it goes in his mouth... If this takes place it might be a indication that he might be able to tolerate eating. But that is a long ways away. In physcial therepy he hasn't completely gained control over his neck and head so we still have to support it like a newborn baby. When he is laying on his back he is able to lift his butt off the ground and scoot back! So maybe sometime soon we will be getting him a scooter board.
We are so blessed to have our baby boy! I thank God EVERY DAY for all of the blessings he has given our family. Thank you all of you for praying for our son and loving him so much!
11:31 AM - 1123 Comments - 1506 Kudos - Add Comment
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year to all of you!
We pray that this year is filled with healing for Kaleb and all members of our family. We also pray for justice for our beautiful son! We leave everything in God's Hands and pray for peace that surpasses understanding.
I hope everyine had a great and safe New Year. Josh Kaleb and I stayed home and spent it together. We are so thankful that we were able to ring in the New Year together!
Kaleb is still doing wonderful!He is my little chatterbox! He loves to talk! In the AM he is always in such a happy mood... but he has ALWAYS been a happy baby since the moment he was born. Today I was watching A Baby Story and I started to think back to when Kaleb was born... When he came out and they layed him on my chest he didn't even cry... He just looked around and made a couple little noises but nothing like what you see on these shows. He has always been so happy with life and takes in everything so peacefully. I am so thankful that he loves his life... This is why it is so hard for me to understand WHY this happened to him. But we trust that God has a GREAT plan for his life! He has already done so much for him! I love to see him smile!
He is getting so much stronger and can hold his head up for a little longer now. I know that with in the year he WILL be sitting. He is such a character.. He always has something to say about his therepies. He loves to play with his light up toys and coos at them often. When he wants attention he says something that sounds like "mum". He hasan EEG coming up next week and I pray that imporvements are visible! I know they will be.
I am being bombarded with questions about the trial. No it has not happened yet. I don't know when it will but when it does our memories are as clear as they were May 9. I am sorry that I cannot tell you more... I wish I knew more.
I wish all of you a BLESSED NEW YEAR.
9:23 PM - 718 Comments - 1044 Kudos - Add Comment
Thursday, December 20, 2007
"A totally different baby"
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!!! Lets not forget out greatest gift... Jesus!!
Kaleb had a Neurology appt. today and when she walked in the room she said "Wow, he looks like a totally different baby!" AMEN! She was SO amazed by how well he is doing and it made us feel great! She has been there since it all first happened so for her to notice a great improvement is AWESOME! We told her how we are taking him to the hyperbaric chamber and her face lit up! She was very pleased with this and after he gets 80 treatments she has ordered a spec scan... (this is a scan where they look at what part of the brain has activity and what parts don't) When Kaleb was in the hospital he barely had any activity so we are anxious to see the difference! I know he is going to surpass EVERYONES expectations of him... I will never put limitations on him!!He will do everything in his own time. He is starting to laugh quite often now. He is so happy and peaceful. He makes me smile all the time. He is our Christmas gift!
As you see in the new pictures I posted, Kaleb got to go see Santa. This Santa was a special needs Santa who saw kids with cerebal palsy. Selama Grotto in St. Petersburg hosted it and it was nice to meet other families like us. This is also the organization that has provided all of Kaleb's Hyperbaric Chamber Treatments. Two guys we are especially thankful for this Christmas is Mark Fowler and Hardy Bryan. They give so much hope to so many families. If you would like more information on how the chamber works you can go to
www.hyperbariccenter.org
www.HBOT.com
Wouldn't it be wonderful if treatments were available to all kids who needed them? These guys are trying to make that possible in Tampa and I pray they are able to!
This past year has been such a rollercoaster ride. We almost had our most precious gift taken from us. We have grown so close as a family and have met so many wonderful and loving people. We are so thankful to God that he has given Kaleb a second chance at life. We are so thankful for ALL OF YOU for all the prayers and support that was poured out on behalf of Kaleb. All of you are a part of our family and helped us through the most difficult time in our lives. THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts. We love everyone of you.
Merry Christmas
Josh, Kristy and Kaleb Schwade
9:27 PM - 1108 Comments - 1600 Kudos - Add Comment
Monday, December 10, 2007
Sorry it's been a while
Sorry that it has been so long since the last update... We have all been under the weather. Kaleb's Birthday Party went GREAT! We had a great turn out. That was the first time that Kaleb had been back to the park since he was hurt. He looked so handsome and was very happy during the whole thing! The part just turned out so great. We had the chance to meet some of the people who had fundraisers for kaleb and that was VERY rewarding!
The Chamber is REALLY starting to produce results! I wish that all of you could see the improvements like we can. He is smiling duriong therepies now and is able to role from his side to his back. He is purposely hitting toys and is starting to cry when he wants something. This is such a wonderful sound! It sounds weird but when your child is silenced because they were shaking you ache to hear them cry. It shows that he knows what he wants and we are SO THANKFUL for this. We have also been putting him on his belly (in the floornanny, Thank you to the Real Facts Forum!) and he is really lifting his head up! He dosen't have the best control yet but it is getting there and all of his therepists seem very optimistic. His pediatrician said that he is in the top70 percentile for growth. He is getting so strong and big!
Thank you to all who sent Birthday Cards and Gifts! They were greatly appriciated! I am going to keep this short because I am not feeling well. Kaleb is doing AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!
1:02 PM - 557 Comments - 844 Kudos - Add Comment
Friday, November 30, 2007
My HAPPY boy!
Kaleb is now a big ONE year old! I can't believe it! I am so happy that he made it to his first Birthday. When he was in the hospital we all celebrated his 6 month Birthday because we weren't sure if he would make it to one year. I am so thankful he did! We didn't do much celebrating on Tuesday becuase he is having a party this weekend! I am so excited about this because there will be many people there that haven't seen him since he was hooked up to a bunch of machines. Now he is healthy and happy.
We are starting to notice that he is starting to REALLY smile! He loves when he is the center of attention and just smiles away. He is also starting to make a noise similar to a laugh. I call it his happy noise. He is such a little talker now too. It is so cute. He is such a happy little boy and it makes me so happy to see him that way. I think he is like that becuase he has seen Jesus and has been touched and healed by him. I wonder how he views the world... He is really starting to get a little hand-eye coordination too. You are able to see it in the new video that I posted up of him hitting toys off of his boppy pillow. He has such a great personality. He loves his daddy so much that we automatically wakes up when Josh gets home from work. I am trying to catch him doing his happy noises on camera so I can share it with all of you.
The Hyperbaric treatments are going GREAT! I see SO much progress in him! I will be posting a blog soon with all of the information about the Hyperbaric Chamber. They truely are miracle workers.
I am so encouraged by how blessed we have been through this entire ordeal. God is so good to us. He has answered so many of our prayers and all of yours. I cannot thank all of you enough for all that you have done for our family. You all are bright lights in a DARK DARK world. Thank you for all of the Birthday cards and gifts also! I wish I could meet each and every one of you and thank you personally!
10:45 AM - 1414 Comments - 2005 Kudos - Add Comment
Monday, November 19, 2007
Chamber Bound
Kaleb has been to the Hyperbaric chamber now for 1 week and Kaleb is showing progress. After we get out of the chamber Kaleb is so talkative for the rest of the night. The entire way home in the car he is say what sounds like "mum"... It is ADORABLE. He also seems like he is smiling more now too.. This week is kind of off for therepies so I have been doing a lot at home with him so that he doesn't get off schedule. I had him on his belly laying over the boppy and he was lifting his head off the floor about 2-3 in consistently!!! I WAS SO EXCITED! I called my mom right away to tell her the good news! He is getting stronger and stronger each day! I will be posting a video of him playing with an overhead gym soon...
We go to a house to use the hyperbaric chamber and she has a son who is very autistic and has mild cerebral palsy. He doesn't pay much atention to ANYTHING. The other day I knelt down with Kaleb and his mom told him to look at the baby. Now cognitively this boy is at the age of one but he is eight. When his mom told him to look at the baby he dropped his toy and look at Kaleb for a good minute and leaned over and KISSED HIM ON THE FOREHEAD! His mom started to cry and she said that he has NEVER done that before and he has been around other babies! At that point I started to cry also. There is something so special about Kaleb... God has given him a presence that I will never understand and I am so thankful for this. He truely is a Angel of God. He has been touched by his hands and I think that people just sense that.
Thank you for all who have sent down PJ's and LJ's for Kaleb's Birthday! Only one week until my baby boy is one! I cannot believe it! I will def be posting lots of pictures of his Birthday Party.
I hope all of you have a blessed Thanksgiving and good luck shopping for Christmas on Black Friday! I have to go take Kaleb to the chamber now!~
9:23 PM - 968 Comments - 1413 Kudos - Add Comment
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
He Started the Hyperbaric Chamber
Kaleb started the Hyperbaric chamber this week. We were a little nervous because the chamber is like being in a air plane the way your ears need to be popped constantly. Well with Kaleb we thought this might of been a problem since it is hard and he is still re-learning how to swallow. However this wasn't a problem at all! He even got the hang of yawning to make his ears pop. The chamber is so neat. It is about the size of a tanning bed and it is in a ladies home who has a son with cerebal palsey(that is the brain injury that kaleb has that resulted from SBS). It is big enough to sit Indian style though. We are so VERY THANKFUL for this oppurtunity. The lady who has the chamber told Josh and me that every child the has been to their chamber has showed impprovements!That is AWESOME. These kind of treatments should be available to all brain injured patients and I wish I could do something to make that possible. Last night Kaleb was SO AWAKE and was REALLY smiling! I was so excited and took a million pictures of him. I will be posting them up today or tomorrow.
I cannot believe that Thanksgiving is about a week away! This will be the most meaningful Thanksgiving EVER for me and my family! I have SO MUCH to be thankful for that if I were to write it in a notebook it would end up being a novel. Be sure that you tell all the important people in your life how much you appreciate them. Don't Forget about God!I am so Thanksul for Kaleb! I am so thankful that God continues to answer all of yours/my prayers. I am so thankful to all of my friends on myspace and all who prayed/prays for my little Kaleb. I honestly do not know if I would have been as strong as I was if it weren't for all of you! Thank you! I am trying to find a family in need in my area that I can deliver a Thanksgiving dinner to. I hope that all of you might consider blessing another family in need. The Season of Joy could be the season of sadness for a poor family and think about how a small gesture like bringing them a meal could make it joyous! We are looking forward to this!
I also want to say Thank you to all the bands who are playing in this benefit concert for Kaleb in Ft Walton Beach, FL on December 1st 2007! We greatly appreciate it!
God Bless you ALL!
12:44 PM - 622 Comments - 950 Kudos - Add Comment
Thursday, November 08, 2007
All in God's Plan
Tomorrow will be six months since our lives were changed forever. I catch myself thinking about where Kaleb would be right now if he hadn't been shaken. Would he be walking? Would he be saying little words... This makes me sad. I have a friend whom has a son that was born a week after Kaleb. Him and Kaleb were best friends. It is amazing to see how much Joey is doing and I wonder to myself if we will be able to see Kaleb do all the things Joey does. But then I remember that God has a purpose in all of this... I am not sure what Kaleb will and will not be able to do. But I trust that everything that happens is part of God's plan. God has answered so many of our prayers already and I am so thankful. I know that Kaleb going to the hyberbaric chamber will help him recover more and be able to play with Joey again.
Kaleb is doing amazing. He is so alert now and loves to talk. He is now getting Vision Therepy also. Today will be his first session with that. Kaleb is having some problems with sleeping becuase he is getting so cold. It is like 61 degrees outside and his skin is as cold as ice. I found one pair of long johns at a consignment store and he has been wearing them since sunday (I washed them of course). I just don't know how to keep him warm enough. I have gone to a couple of baby stores to try and find some LJ's and WARM clothes but we live in Florida and I guess that is just not a Florida product. How do all you northerners keep you babies warm? I just think that Kaleb is just very sensitive to the cold. He is starting to look like he is trying to smile again. It is so cute. He also has been making this Popeye face when he dosen't like something... He is def. starting to show so much personality. He is doing so great in all of his therepies. He is gaining more head control and moves it from side to side a lot more. He is consistently swallowing in speech therepy. After the Thanksgiving holiday his therepist is going to request for Kaleb to have water trials. This is where they put little amounts of water in his mouth to see if he swallows it. I pray that he is able to. I also pray that he can start being fed through his G-Tube and not the J-Tube. That would be an amazing accomplishment. All I want to do is to be able to feed him a bottle again... I miss that so much. Kaleb hasn't started the chamber yet but starts next monday. It will be a Monday through Friday thing! We are so Thankful for Harch Hyperbarics and The Shaken Baby Alliance for making this possible.
I have been asked by multiple people what the address is for Kaleb's PO Box. It is
PO BOX 291494
Tampa FL 33687
Birthday cards are plenty for a gift for his Birthday.
I know most of you already saw the professional photos that we had taken. If you are looking for a photographer in the Tampa Bay Area you should def go with Melissa Bonacci! She did an amazing job with us and I highly recommend her to everyone! Go check out her page and see all the amazing photos she has taken!
www.myspace.com/melissabonacciphoto
www.melissabphotography.com
I have been asked by the fundraiser girls to let you guys know that there are keychains and car magnets still available. Those are available at
Keychains
Melanie and Melissa
www.myspace.com/pray4kaleb
Car Magnets
Tana and Jessica
www.myspace.com/kalebribbons
Thank you to all of you who have so diligently prayed for my son and my family. Kaleb is doing so well because of all of you! We are so thankful for all that has been done for us.
Currently listening :
OK Computer
By Radiohead
Release date: 01 July, 1997
6:15 AM - 1278 Comments - 1604 Kudos - Add Comment
Sunday, October 28, 2007
My Miracle
Kaleb is changing so much everyday! I look at pictures of him in the hospital and he looks like a little baby. It's like I just woke up one day and he is a little boy. He doesn't look like a baby anymore. Being able to see this makes me so thankful... He is such a miracle.
We have great news! Kaleb is going to getting Hyperbaric Chamber Treatments three times a week. PRAISE GOD! All treatments are thanks to Harch Hyperbarics. This chamber regenerates cell growth and can stimulate nerve cells. This is usually very expensive and most health insurances will not cover it. Each patient will have different results to the treatments. Some patients show little results and some show AMAZING RESULTS! I know that Kaleb will benefit from this! HE WILL SHOW AMAZING RESULTS! I have faith in him! We are so thankful and excited for this!
Kaleb is becoming quite the talker! He loves to talk. I put a new video up of him talking to Daddy. He greets us every AM with a 15 minute conversation. I love to hear his voice. He is really starting to make a couple different sounds. He def. can hear and see. I don't know how much, but its obvious that he does. He is also starting to try and reach out to us. Little by little he is progressing. I pray that this will be the pattern of things and he only continues to get better.
We are getting Kaleb's 1 year pictures taken. I am excited! We had his 6 month pictures scheduled for a week after he was shaken so needless to say we never were able to get them. It will be so weird to look at his 3 month pictures and now his year old photos side by side. I am so proud of everything that he has overcome. He makes my heart smile.
I am being asked what Kaleb is going to be for Halloween. He will be a monkey. Josh and I have monkey masks too so we will be a family! We are not going Trick or Treating but we are going to sit outside and hand out candy. We have decorated outside and have carved pumpkins. He loves it outside so I am sure that will enjoy Halloween. We will take a picture.
I am also being asked where Birthday Cards can be sent to... The can go to the same PO Box address that I have mentioned in a previous blog.... all that mail is being forwarded. Cards are plenty for a Birthday wish.
Be sure to check the Hope and Support Page (previously Help Kaleb) for other family's who need prayer and support. Prayer can change everything. Kaleb continues to excel in his recovery and we are so thankful for all of you who have made his miraculos recovery possible through prayer and support. If we can make that possible for another child then lets do it!
Currently listening :
Hello Love
By The Be Good Tanyas
Release date: 10 October, 2006
9:37 PM - 1023 Comments - 1555 Kudos - Add Comment
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
So Amazing!
Kaleb is still doing amazing! He sure is showing a lot of personality. He makes the funniest faces and seems like he is trying ti show a half-smile. He is becoming a chunker too! I've had to get rid of a lot of his clothes because he is growing out of everything. We are able to take him outside more now because the weather is finally starting to cool off down here. He loves to go out. He still has VERY LITTLE head control. We have to support his head like a newborn because he has no control over his neck muscles. He is doing better though. Give him another year and he will be doing much better. All of his therepists are so pleased to see how well he is doing. We know that he is def. seeing something. We think that maybe he sees shadows. He had a vision therepist come and she used this light board and he def responded to it. He seemed to like the color Red. He does hear something too. I put on the video called Praise Baby (it's like Baby Einstein but it is all praise and worship songs) and he turns his head in the direction the sound is coming from. He is slowy starting to swallow again and occasionally sucks. Nothing coordinated though.
His hair is starting to fill in and he is looking older each day! I can't beleive that he is turning one! WHAT A BLESSING! I have started to plan his Birthday Party and I am so excited and proud. The doctors told us that he wouldn't live to see one and now look where he is. This calls for a celebration of his life!
It has almost been six months since he was shaken. Through this we have felt EVERY emotion possible. Here we are six months later and all we can feel is Joy! I am so proud of all that Kaleb has accomplished. We still have a year and a half to see a complete recovery. I cherish every waking moment that I have with him and take NOTHING for granted. I love to hold him when he's awake and talk to him. He really is staring to talk (baby talk) back to me pretty consistently. The other day he said "mama"... I think it was by accident though but either way he still said it. Maybe someday soon he will say "dada". Josh would love that.
Thank you for all of your prayers. Please continue to pray for our little boy! Praise God for all that he has done in Kaleb's life!
