Clan McConnell

Lucas watering the plants

2010-04-17T19:45:00.000-07:00

Bruce, Luke and Madison

2010-04-17T19:44:00.000-07:00

2010-04-17T19:43:00.000-07:00

Madison 3 months old

2010-04-17T19:42:00.000-07:00

Lucas

2010-04-17T19:39:00.000-07:00

I just finished my cousins dad's photo album. I used my new digital program called "My Memories Suite".

2009-06-21T12:07:00.000-07:00

Here are some things about me....

2009-05-13T15:44:00.000-07:00

Here are some things about me….

1.) I was married at 19, divorced at 21.

2.) I went to Winnapeg, Canada with the church youth group when I was 16.

3.) I hated going to school.

4.) I read backwards…so I have to think backwards in order to get right.

5.) I collect books.

6.) I love castles.

7.) I can't be around a lot of extra noise…it puts me over the top.

8.) I use to collect pigs. Went to the SPCA to get a pot belly pig but they were too ugly…brought home a German Shepard puppy instead.

9.) I would love to live on a farm.

10.) I have only flown once on a big plane and it wasn't even that big. (Delta).

11.) Have flown in a 4 sitter plane.

12.) I have no desire to live in a snowy town.

13.) I have seen Bon Jovi, Skid Row, George Staight in concert. I also seen a few others but can't remember who, mostly rock bands from the 80's.

14.) I am allergic to all small furry creatures…rats, cats, hamsters…and I can tell when I walk into people's house that they have one of them living with them.

15) My parents bought me a horse when I was 2. I didn't have it very long.

16) I love peppermint….mostly in my coffee. Starbuck's peppermint mocha drinks are the best.

17.) I throw out food the day of the expiration date.

18.) I use to just drink Crystal Milk…no other brand.

19.) I believe that God has a plan for everyone.

20.) I believe God gives us free will and it's our free will to make the choices we make, whether good or bad.

21.) I have a hard time going to church because I get all teary eyed once the service starts…I have no idea…so if anyone has any thoughts to this…I am open to hear them.

22.) I love watching & listening to Sean Hannity…and I am thrilled to not have to look at Alan Combs anymore….too scary!

What is Frontal Lobe Syndrome....?

2009-04-03T15:18:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to research Frontal lobe Syndrome...and well there isn't much information on it. But what I have found is it is pretty interesting and it has helped me understand Andy a lot better.

I found this on: http://www.chiroweb.com/mpacms/dc/article.php?id=40324. I cut and pasted the info I thought relates to Andy the most. If interested, please check the website for the full article.

Frontal Lobe Syndrome

By Michael McHugh

The frontal lobe syndrome patient may demonstrate an attention deficit. The patient may appear slow, uninterested, may lack spontaneity, may be easily distracted by irrelevant environmental stimuli, and may be unable to sustain attention. The patient's disinterest and easy distractibility may contribute to an apparent poor memory. The frontal lobe syndrome patient's memory is normal, but absentmindedness may lead to the appearance of a memory deficit as the patient literally "forgets to remember" and has the inability to focus attention long enough to form the rudiments of memory. These patients may fill in memory gaps with confabulation, or the elaboration of imaginary facts and experiences to fill in their gaps of knowledge or memory.

These patients may also engage in concrete thinking, which is an impairment of abstract thought. This trend may be identified during a basic mental status evaluation by the patient's inability to properly interpret proverbs.2,4 Closely linked to concrete thinking is the demonstration of "utilization behavior" in which the patient has the tendency to manually grasp and use objects presented within reach.

Perseveration is common in frontal lobe syndrome patients and is the tendency to maintain a previously established motor pattern without modifying the activity according to the demands of the changing environment because of an inability to shift from one line of thinking to another. When faced with a series of different motor tasks, the patient may end up performing one component of the series of tasks over and over again and may demonstrate great difficulty, or an inability to change motor patterns. Perseveration is one of the reasons for poor job performance in the frontal lobe syndrome patient.

These patients may demonstrate a diminution of spontaneous activity, a lack of drive, an inability to plan ahead, a lack of concern, and possible bouts of restlessness and aimless, uncoordinated behavior. These findings may also contribute to poor job performance and family relations. Lastly, the frontal lobe syndrome patient may demonstrate a disturbance of affect ranging from complete apathy to disinhibition depending upon the location of the lesion. A lesion to the dorsolateral aspect of the prefrontal region may produce apathy, emotional blunting, and an in
difference to the surrounding world. Their apathy may be noted during examination and may extend toward work and family. These patients may become incontinent, not because of a lesion affecting bladder function, but because of a disregard for their surroundings and the consequences of their actions. Conversely, a patient with a lesion to the orbital region of the prefrontal lobe, or the underside, may exhibit disinhibition, a failure to appreciate the consequences of one's actions, and euphoria with a tendency to jocularity. These patients may exhibit moria (childish excitement), joking and pathological punning, sexual indiscretions, and exhibitionism.

Neurologist update- Frontal Lobe Epilepsy

2009-03-17T15:54:00.000-07:00

I must say that I am very thankful for computers and websites....there is so much more information on there that one can learn from. It is so much easier to learn from the web than spending a ton of time in the doctor's office.

I also must say to those who have special needs kids...get a second opinion if you have any doubts or concerns that are not being addressed by your regular doctor. I say this because Andy was on the same seizure meds for 7 years and nothing else was done about to see if the meds were working. We have been dealing with Autistic like symptoms for many years and haven't had the support we needed to deal with the issues because he has cerebral palsy.

Remembering back when Andy was 4 months old in the hospital getting his shunt re-vised after his shunt infection....

We were told that cerebral palsy is an all around catch all diagnosis and not to focus on the "Cerebral palsy" part. The "CP" part really doesn't mean anything. To look at Andy after his shunt was placed you would not think anything happened to him. He looked like a perfect little baby. His eyes were wide open. He was able to move his arms and legs. The neuro-surgeon told us...he didn't have CP but he might have problems in school...he'll probably have a hard time in math and science.

Bruce and I still talk about that doctor and wonder why he thought that. A few weeks after that we changed medical insurance and our new neurologist told us that Andy would start walking around age 2.

At age 2...a few things happened...The neurologist put him on Trileptal as a preventive thing...He had abnormal spikes in his EEG. The abnormal spikes could trig a seizure at anytime. So, we agreed to the medicine. He had just learned to sit up....he learned to roll everywhere and wouldn't try to sit up because he was on the go all the time. He also at some point started shaking his head back and forth from side to side...like he was shaking his head no all the time. This is called stimming. I remember Andy's behaviors getting harder and harder...he also started waking up at night...many days he would be up all night long. We tried sleeping medicines but they weren't working. We were told it was behavioral issues and he wanted to be in control. We were letting him win when one of us would sleep with him or he slept with us. We always felt there was a reason he was waking up. We did a 24hr EEG in the hospital...which showed the same abnormal spikes. The neurologist didn't do anything about it....just kept him on Trileptal.

It is now 7 years later....Bruce has been sleeping in the same room as Andy since Luke's been born. (He will be 5 in June.). We have major Autistic like symptoms going on and still have no help or direct on how to deal with them.

Until today....!!! Our new neurologist said Andy's EEG is severely abnormal with spikes that it is worst than the cases he described in his book. (Autism and it's Medical Management: A Guide for Parents and Professional by Dr. Michael Chez.) Yikes...how can this be. He said the Trileptal can actually make the abnormal spikes worst. And his behavior could be the direct result of the Frontal Lobe Epilepsy.

So with this Frontal Lobe Epilepsy comes the Frontal Lobe Syndrome. Just when I thought I have heard it all...(ok, maybe not...however I haven't ran into FLS before.)

All the Autistic traits Andy has....may come from this Frontal Lobe Epilepsy and Syndrome.

We are starting him on new medicines and taking him off Trileptal. It will take 4 weeks to reduce the Trileptal...so hopefully within a few weeks we will see improvements.

Oh, all the sleeping issues we had with him is because of this. His lack of attention in the class room is not ADD...it is because of the abnormal spikes. Oh, the lack of potty training, the lack of memory is all directly related. Hopefully the medicine will reduce a lot of his issues. In the doctors book...he stated that he has seen the kids improve up to 70% in behavior and in speech. We are praying to see some improvement...maybe not the full 70% because Andy's EEG is worst than those of Autistic kids. So, only time will tell.

Family update

2009-02-15T18:55:00.000-08:00

Here's a few family member updates:

Bruce's family update:

On Wednesday night, Robert (Bruce's Dad) went to the hospital for heart attack symptoms. We found out yesterday he has to have a triple by-pass. The surgery is scheduled tomorrow morning.

On Thursday, we found out that Bill (Bruce's Step-Dad) had a stroke. It isn't looking very good. He is sleeping 90% of the time and is not eating much. The doctors say he might not recover. He can not use his left side at all. Bobbie (Bruce's Mom) and Bill live in Idaho.

It's a bit weird to have both Dad and step-dad in the hospital at once.

My family update:

This weekend I found out my Uncle Randy is in hospital with seizures. He also lost some of his vision and the doctors don't really know what is causing them. They do think he might have had a stroke in his eye which is not showing up on the CT. I have done some research on seizures and vision and there is a type of seizure called Occipital Lope Epilepsy. Hopefully we will know more in the next few days.

I have another Uncle in Florida that is going through chemo treatments. He has been in and out of the hospital for a number of things.

The boys are doing really well.

Lucas started speech therapy again. He is thrilled to go back. The evaluation was done by using the Preschool Language Scale (PLS-3). He is extremely high auditory comprehension with moderately delayed expressive communication skills.

Luke's age = 4 yrs 7 mos.
Expressive communication = 3 yrs 5 mos.
Auditory comprehension = 5 yrs 8 mos.

Andy will be off track in March. It doesn't seem like I will be having a meeting with the school district regarding placement this month. We do have a meeting with transportation on March 4th. I am trying to get the whole team together on this day to talk about the plan. We'll see what happens...if anything.

We are shopping for a German Shepard. We think we found one we like. I will post photos if we bring him home. Hopefully Charlie our cockapoo will like him.

Well that's it for now. I hope everyone reading this is doing okay.

What is PDD-NOS?

2009-01-22T20:36:00.000-08:00

Last week, Andy was diagnosed with PDD-NOS from a new neurologist. I have been doing some more research on PDD-NOS.

I found this on www.autismspeaks.org website:

Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified, or PDD-NOS, for short, is a condition on the spectrum that has those with it exhibiting some, but not all, of the symptoms associated with classic autism. That can include difficulty socializing with others, repetitive behaviors, and heightened sensitivities to certain stimuli.

Those with PDD-NOS behave like those with classic autism in many ways. First, they are all different (meaning one person with PDD-NOS doesn't act exactly like another; the same holds true for classic autism). When interacting with others, they may appear unemotional or unable to speak, they could have trouble holding eye contact, or they may have trouble transitioning quickly from one activity to the next.

Those with PDD-NOS are different from others on the spectrum in one specific way: While they may exhibit some symptoms of those conditions, they don't fit the bill closely enough to fully satisfy all criteria set by the experts. Perhaps they started having difficulties at a much later age than others on the spectrum. (According to the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities, they are often diagnosed between the ages of 3 and 4 years old.) Or they may have the same challenges — for example, they may be oversensitive to their surroundings — but not to the extreme that others on the spectrum do.

Consequently, those with PDD-NOS are sometimes thought to have a "milder" form of autism, though this may not be technically true. One symptom may be minor, while another may be worse.

Now where does Andy fit in to all this: My opinion is this: I think when he was born the first brain injury was the lack of oxygen at birth. The second brain injury was the subdrual hematoma (otherwise know as "bleed on brain" due to the over use of the vacuum. The third injury was the hydrocephalus that went unnoticed for 6 weeks...allowing the 3rd & 4th ventricles to enlarge. (Therefore, requiring the VP Shunt). So, because there were 3 insults to his little baby head all before he was 2 months old...over time this has now caused him to display Autistic Traits/PDD-NOS.

By doing the intensive physical therapy at Movement Discoveries (5 days a week for 3 weeks) 3 years in a row...Andy was able to over come most of the low tone and build enough strength & muscle to walk independently without a walker. Since his last trip in June 2007 he has not used the wheelchair. He has walked through the zoo and many other long distance trips. (He does stop to take breaks once in awhile but he keeps on going.) Oh I forgot to mention, the ankle surgery he had last year also helped him from having his foot turned in. (He had a club-footed due to the cerebral palsy.) Correcting his foot helped him with his balance.

So where does the PDD-NOS/Autistic traits come in: Here are some of the things he does everyday. (I will add more later.)

1.) Watches Barney videos every minute he is at home from sun up to sun down. He has learned to fastward and rewind the tapes. So, now if there is a sentence or a word on the tape he is watching, he will stop right that word. (for instance: The sentence on the video might be, "Barney, I love you." He will rewind to "Love" and stop at "You" and rewind over and over at "Love" "You. Boy, if you are in the same room with him you will go crazy listening to "Love you", "Love you" over and over again.

2.)He shakes his head side to side. Very fast. (Try doing this yourself...you might not be able to do.). For many years, the school district has told me...he does this because he has CVI...(Cortical Vision Impairment). However, the eye doctor said if he did have CVI, it's so mild and it would not cause him to shake his head the way he does. She said it known as "stimming".

He also flaps his hands when he is excited.

3.) He is non verbal. I understand that many kids with cerebral palsy are non verbal. However, the neurologist and the neuro-surgeon do not see any where on his MRI's that the speech area of his brain was damaged. When Andy was able 18 months he was starting to say a few words...like Mom, Dad, Shoe, More and Home. At the time he was also learning to use ASL/SEE (Exact English) sign language. So, he would sign and say those words. Well, he stopped saying them. He just uses ASL now. However, if he gets really really excited he might be able to say a word...He really tries hard to say words...His latest word is Papa and I have heard him say, " Poo poo". But if I hear a word today I may not hear the word again....like mom, home and more...I haven't heard in years.

4.) So, he knows about 200 words in ASL....so if he wants something....like a taco from taco bell. He will sign it to me all day, every moment of my waking day...if I don't run out to get him a taco from taco bell. He is very strong willed and very persistent. (Most days, it's very maddening.). This also happens if he wants my family members to come over. We try to have a family day where family can come over on Sunday's to have dinner. Well, if those Sundays come and go and family doesn't come over....Boy, we are in for a very long day sometimes a very long week. He will sign the whole family to us every time we look at him. He will not (can not) understand that some Sunday family is busy or we are busy. So changing the routine is a very bad thing in our house.

Andy tries to make routines and if we don't make it a routine...we are in so much trouble with him.

5.) Andy will only eat: tacos (he likes taco bell but he will eat tacos that I make him.) hamburgers from McDonald's, he will eat ham and cheese sandwiches (mostly at school because he only wants tacos at home.) I can make him a fruit smoothie once a day (to try to get some fruit in him) and he now likes spinach raviolis and salad. However, a major problem with him is if he asked for a taco first....and I say no because it's 6 in the morning...He may eat what I make him then after he is done he will immediately ask for a stink' taco.

6.) He has no sense of fear and he has a very high pain tolerance. So in the past we have found him climbing out the second story window after he pushed the window screen off in order to get to Nene's car. (One of his most favorite things is Nene's black car.)Luckily, my mom thought to run upstairs to check to see if he went up here after we all realized he was missing. He has also gone out the front room window after pushing the window screen...Bruce found him out in the street by my van. We have to watch him all the time. He is always running out the front door or the garage door. Now we have an alarm that goes off when the windows or doors open. We just need to use to more often.

7.) Nene's car....he loves it so much that he wants her to come over just for the car. He just wants to be outside touching it.

8.) Doesn't play with toys. He has the physical ability to do so, he just doesn't. Never has.

9.) I can say Andy loves being with people. He loves the idea of them coming over and us going to see them...but once he sees them....that excitement is over within 5 minutes. He is ready to go home or he will start asking when they are going home. It's like he is preparing himself for the departure. It's not a good thing if we or they are not ready to go home. He then makes it very difficult on us and them.

Okay, If you are still reading this...thank you. It's a lot for one reading but I had a few moments to write.

Another personal opinion of mine is I really think even though Andy had a rough start at birth he has over come a lot of his injury/cerebral pasly. I think he is very strong willed and very determined little guy and if he didn't have that I really don't think he would be walking and doing as well as he has been.

Now I need to find him the right therapy to over come or at least help him to over come all or most of his autistic traits.

Until I have another moment.....

A Poem....

2008-12-18T17:08:00.000-08:00

I received this from one of my crafty yahoo groups. This is so me and my stuff....I am thrilled to know there is someone else out there like me too....

I have no idea who wrote it....but it's really cute. Enjoy.

Twas the night before Christmas, I'm glued to the tree.
I'm wondering what Santa brought just for me.
Could it be cardstock or chipboard or lace?
Or a Cricut, I said, with a smile on my face.
And that's when I heard him,
"Hi Santa, " I said
"You know....good little girls
Should be in their beds."
"I know I should Santa,
And now I've got caught.
But I was just so excited
To see what you brought."
"Well, let's take a look
In this room where you work.
He shook his head quickly,
And left with a jerk.
I heard him exclaim
As he put it in gear.
"You've got enough crap,
I'll see you next year!"

The McConnell Update

2008-12-17T23:53:00.001-08:00

Hi...It's been months since I last posted....Time has been flying by.

What's happened in the last 6 months....

In June, we finally moved. That was quite an interesting chore. It took forever. We were suppose to move in March....and things didn't go as planned...so we had Plan B, and that became Plan C, and that became Plan D...And well, finally months later we did it. My thoughts at this time is...WE ARE NEVER MOVING again....However, knowing my husband...well, it's just a matter of time before he gets antsy feet again.

Since we moved, we painted the kitchen and 2 bedrooms...Andy's and Lucas' rooms. Andy's is orange and red...with the CARS theme going on. Luke wanted a purple room and we picked out a really nice blue that we thought was really close to purple...and Well, Luke was happy that he got his purple room...Mind you, it's not purple...He does know his colors...so I'm not quite sure what's going on with the purple and blue thing. But he is happy about it.

We had Adam our wonderful physical therapist came and stay with us in November. He worked with Andy for 3 days. I think I will be looking for a Therasuit to purchase for the next time Adam comes. I think Andy will still benefit from it.

We hosted Thanksgiving here...we invited over 30 people...I think it went very well...nothing was burnt....and I think the family and friends will be back again.

We are hosting a Christmas Eve party this year. I haven't even started working on that. The house needs to be cleaned. That is on my to-do list for next week. I will have 3 days.

We made Christmas cookies for most of the neighbors...Luke and I will need to make a few more plates for the rest of the neighbors. We will be starting that tomorrow.

I have been having Scrapbook crops a few times a month. It so nice to have a big enough house to hold them here. I can't wait to have a crop in the play room. I think it will hold about 15 people. That will be fun. Maybe in the next few months...I can get enough of us together.

Well, there's the update for now.

Digital Scrapbook Layouts

2008-12-17T23:41:00.001-08:00

The Christmas Dance

2008-12-03T19:00:00.000-08:00

Click here to create your own video

TLC's Lifetimez Online Brag Book

2008-02-29T23:43:00.000-08:00

Andy Talking 011808 Part 1

2008-02-09T00:00:00.000-08:00

Andy Talking 011808 pt 2

2008-02-08T23:43:00.000-08:00

Andy talking 011808 part 4

2008-02-07T23:44:00.000-08:00

Andy talking to me 011808 part 5

2008-02-07T11:11:00.000-08:00

Pages I Created Using Lifetimez Online

2008-01-26T00:25:00.000-08:00

Here's our newest addition to the family

2008-01-20T15:39:00.001-08:00

Frog Jumping July 12, 2007

2007-07-12T22:40:00.000-07:00

Andy, Lucas & Cait were playing frog jumping today. It was awesome to see Andy doing this!!!

Video of Andy June 13 & June 18, 2007

2007-06-20T16:04:00.001-07:00

Movement Discoveries June 2007

2007-06-20T15:08:00.000-07:00

Well, we are here once again. This is the last week for Andy's intensive therapy program. He has been working with Adam and Matt. Andy has once again suprised the therapist how well he bounces back from things.

When we came here it was only 8 weeks ago he had foot surgery. He had 2 tendon transfers and achilles transfer on his left ankle. It was only 2 weeks ago the cast came off. It was only 4 days ago he was able to walk from the house to the van in the garage with me holding his hand.

I have to say I am impressed with Andy's determination to walk. His foot is still recovering so it still has a lot of swelling and we could tell the first week it was still pretty sore but through it all he still did everything Adam and Matt asked him to do then some.

By the end of the first week, without braces, Andy was able to walk from the hotel room to the van. This is quite a walk from the parking lot since we have a room in the courtyard.

The last week and a half, he has been learning to stand up from the ground. A few days ago he actually stood up and picked up a 3 pound ball and walked across the room to put it in a box. I have it on video...I will try to upload it here.

We have 2 days left. I will post some pictures and videos as soon as I figure out how to do it.

December 2005

2005-12-14T19:39:00.000-08:00

Boy, where does the time go. It's been so long since I last posted. Here's a quick update.

In November I took Andy to Movement Discoveries. They are an intensive physical therapy program in Burlingame, CA. We stayed there for 3 long weeks. My mother in law was able to come with us. She was a big help. Andy did 4 hours of therapy, 5 days a week for the 3 weeks. He did great. By the end of the 3rd week he was able to take 18 independent steps by himself. His legs are so much stronger. He doesn't trip over them like he use to. He still has balance issues but hopefully in the next year he will continue to get stronger and over come the issues. We really want to go back soon.

Lucas stayed home with my husband at night and my mom during the day while Bruce was working. That was a big help as well. While I was gone Bruce was able to clean the downstairs. Where he nicely put most of the toys in boxes in the garage. I have to learn how to rotate them. He was able to get the garage in order so I can do this. It was nice coming home to a nice clean house....but it all changed once I unpacked the van. All I could say to him was, "Honey, I'm home, did ya miss me!!!". I have told him over and over that I am a true "packrat"!!!

While in San Francsico, we went to San Francsico Zoo and to Half Moon Bay beach. Lucas enjoyed the zoo but not the beach. Andy enjoyed the beach but was not interested in the zoo at all. Guess we can't please both of them at the same time. Maybe one day.

Lucas is 18 months old this month. He is signing a number of signs now. "thank you", "please", "red", "more", "potty", "nigh-nigh", "pig", "dad". He was saying "mom" mostly when I was gone but doesn't say it much now that I am back. He loves cars, trucks and animals. He pointed to everything and wants to know what everything is. He loves looking at books where they have the objects he can point to. He knows: pig, sheep, zebra, horse, dog, cat, bunny, cow, tractor, truck, car, clock, fan, banana. I am sure he knows more but I can't think of them now. His favorite drink is chocolate milk! He is getting a sweet tooth, which I am not too happy about. He is so much like his daddy. Lucas also is playing on Andy's computer. We have a game called Reader Rabbit. We have a touch screen monitor that he is able to use. He is able to play this game independently. In fact, Lucas will push Andy out of the way when Andy is trying to play it. Not a good thing, it's too early for them to fight over things. I told Bruce yesterday we need to get Lucas his own computer. He thought I was crazy!!!

Well, I will try to update later with some pictures. Until then, I hope you enjoyed the update.

Andy's Accomplishments for 2004 & 2005.

2005-04-05T22:50:00.000-07:00

Andy has done an awesome job this last year as well as this year. I am so proud of him. He has worked so hard.

These are some of the things he has working on to accomplished in 2005....
*In Feb. 2005...we switched phyiscal therapist....what a difference. He is learning to stand on his own. He still has a long way to go but hey....he is doing it.

*In March 2005, he took his first step by himself. Boy, I had tears in my eyes.
*By the end of March 2005, He has taken up to 6 steps by himself.

These are some of the things he accomplished in 2004.
*January 2004...He learned to walk independently with his kaye walker. He now uses it to go everywhere. The only time he uses his wheelchair is if we go shopping and will be walking for a long time. Any quick shopping trips he will use his walker.

*The rest of his accomplishments are not in any kind of order.....
*July 2004...learned to blow bubbles.
*June 2004...learned his colors and the signs of each color.
*Learning to swing on a regular swing.
*Drink from an open cup without spilling.
*Learned 75 signs.
*Recognize his name on paper.
*Dress & undress himself.....He knows how to do this but I still help him alot. (It's a time thing.)
*Using his signs in sentences.

I would like to thank Deanna for all the hard work and time she spent with Andy.....She was Andy's nanny last year. She really worked hard with him to get to where he is today. (By the way, Deanna....he loves his blanket....many times a day he looks at the pictures. Thank you very much.)

Lucas Accomplishments for 2004 & 2005.

2005-04-05T22:18:00.000-07:00

Lucas is 10 months old this April month. He weighs 19 pounds 1 oz. and is in the 25% for both weight and height. He is doing really well. He is starting to stand up holding onto furniture, and sitting on his knees . He loves to play with cars and balls.

At 9 months old, he started signing "more" and "all done". He blows kissing and waved bye-bye...backwards. (It's really cute.) He loves eating finger foods and pretty much stopped eating the nasty gerber baby foods. He also learned to crawl.

At 8 months, he started to using his pointer finger...and poking any hole he can find.

At 7 months, he started drinking from a straw. He was working really hard on crawling, getting onto all 4's and rocling back and forth. He weighed 17 pounds 8 oz.

At 6 months, weighing in at 17 pounds....He is rolling everywhere....Loves vegetables but doesn't like baby cereal or fruit very much.

At 5 months, Weighing in at 16 pounds 12 oz. He was sick most of this month with bronocolitis (?). Started rolling back and forth.

At 4 months, Weighing in at 15 pounds 10 oz. He started sitting up. He also learned to roll from side to side.

At 13 weeks old, he laughed out loud for the first time. He loved to cuddle with his blankie and play with his hands and thumb.

Horse Therapy for Andy

2005-04-05T22:09:00.000-07:00

October 2004, Andy started horse therapy. Each session goes for 6 weeks for 30 minutes. February 2005, a new session started for another 6 weeks. (This picture was taken March 05.) He has improved so much since the first time he got up on the horse. He is sitting up straighter and he is holding on much better. He is wearing his theratogs which have really made a difference in his posture. He seems to enjoy the horses.

2005-03-18T22:23:00.000-08:00

Andy standing by himself for the first time!!! This was taken in Feb. 2005. We finally changed physical therapist after having the same one for 2 years. Look what he can do now.....Thanks to Burger Rehab in Folsom!!! After one visit, Andy was able to stand by himself for a few seconds.

2005-03-18T22:04:00.000-08:00

This picture was taken in February 2005. Andy just turned 5 and Lucas is 8 months old.

2005-03-18T21:54:00.000-08:00

Lucas Rayner McConnell was born on June 3rd 2004 at 11:02 am.
A whopping 10 pounds 6 oz. and 21 inches long.
Lucas was born by c-section. Due to Andy's birth injury and the fact that I had gestional diabetes with Lucas, the doctors felt it would be best. The c-section went great. It was awesome to hear Lucas cry the first time.
Because I had the gestional diabetes....the nurses monitored Lucas's blood sugar after he was born. His blood sugar had to be over 40. Which it was 44 the first time. After I nursed him, they re-tested his blood sugar...and little by little it was going up. However, the nurses noticed his respiratory rate was a little high. So, they continued to monitor it. Normal respiratory rate is 40 beats per minutes. His rate was over 100 per minute. After we were transferred into a regular room, the nurses took Lucas to the nursery for bathtime. After a few hours the nurses decided his respiratory rate was still pretty high and they wanted to take him into the special care nursery (NICU) to watch him closer. At this time, they also noticed a heart murmur. The doctor talked to Bruce about ordering some blood work, an echogram, and a chest x-ray. The doctor also found out I was nursing so he decided Lucas could come up to my room for the night.
My aunt (who was staying the night with me) and I stayed up most of the night...watching Lucas. The next morning by 8 am, the nurses took him to the nursery for monitoring. After that, he spend the next 3 days in the Special Care Nursery (NICU). His echogram and chest x-ray came back normal however, his white blood cells were alittle bit higher than normal...which may mean infection. They had a blood culture done which would take 48 to 72 hours to come back...so in the meanwhile, they put him on an antibiotic as a precaution.
After 48 hours the blood culture was still negetive so he was able to come home with me. The heart murmur has closed up and his respiratory rate is improving. My doctor thinks it was all because he was a diabetic baby. Having gestional diabetes can cause a lot of issues. It is so important to do what it takes to get the diebetes under control because it affected the baby. I was luck to have my doctors catch this at 31 weeks.

2005-03-18T21:38:00.000-08:00

Andrew Jacob McConnell
Born February 4th, 2000
9 pounds 8.5 oz.
23 inches long
While giving birth, Andy got stuck in the birth canal. (There were 2 doctors and almost the whole floor of nurses trying to get Andy out.)This caused him to suffer a HIE event. The doctor used a vacuum to get him out which gave him a subdrual Hematoma (bleed on the brain) that developed into Hydrocephalus. He was without oxygen for approximately 15 minutes. His apgar scores were 0, 0, 0, 4 at 15 minutes! Not only did the things above happen, I have moderate to severe asthma and I wasn't able to breathe very well during the last few minutes of pushing, with that in mind, No extra oxygen was given to me at all during the whole labor and delievery.
To this day Andy is diagonsed with Cerebral Pasly, PVL and has a VP Shunt. He is delayed in Gross & Fine Motor Skills and is Non-Verbal.

Clan McConnell

2005-02-28T23:20:00.000-08:00

I would like to take this time to introduce my family. My name is Kristi and my husband is Bruce. We have two son, Andy who is 5 years old and Lucas who is 9 months old. We have a German Shephard and a Chow Mix who are 7 & 8 years old.

Bruce started blogging a few months ago and thought I should start a family blog....So, here I am. Oh, by the way, Bruce's blog is xmarine.blogspot.com.

Thanks for taking the time to get to know our family. I welcome any comments.....

2005-02-28T23:13:00.000-08:00

This is my favorite picture of Andy. October 2004.

2005-02-28T23:11:00.000-08:00

Bruce and Andy at the park. October 2004.

2005-02-28T23:04:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of me and Andy at the park. This was taken in October 2004.

2005-02-28T22:30:00.000-08:00

This is one of my favorite pictures of Lucas. He is 8 months old here. Feb. 2005.