Another School Year has Begun

Well.
We have gotten through the first week of Nick's last year of pre-school without incident. He is a little upset that his "girls" aren't in his class this year. Luckily his best friend Pedro is so everything is ducky :P

As Nick starts his final year of pre-school and prepares to go into mainstream public school I find myself marvelling at his progress over the last 4 years. I was looking at a picture of him in NICU the other day. Tubes everywhere, looking so fragile and then I see him now taking on the world and I think If only we could have seen a fraction of what he would be capable of we wouldn't have been quite as terrified.

I see our family and friends who have welcomed Nick and accepted him with nothing but love and wonder and I am so grateful and feel so fortunate to have the family and friends that we do. Without all of your support, we never would have gotten through even the first year without falling apart.

As amazed as I am at Nick's progress and his capabilities, I can't help but be a little nervous about him starting kindergarten next year. I know that the administrators and teachers will help ease the transition so I am trying mightily to just cross that bridge when we come to it and enjoy his last year at his wonderful pre-school. We are so lucky that he is able to go there and continue to be amazed at everything he has learned and how far he has come since he started. I am sure that Nick will continue to amaze us every day!

That's all for now! Thank you for reading!

Michelle

Sorry for the Delay

Hello all. I want to take a minute to thank all of you for your generous donations toward Nick's dream bike! I will keep you posted on the status!

Well, no news is good news right? Things are swimming along. In recent weeks Nick had to fight off a skin infection from the surgery and the irritation of his splint. Then he developed a rash from the bandages. Seems he is allergic to an adhesive in bandaids. Who knew? Now that that's cleared up he is ready for the pool again! Good thing since it's been so HOT and humid! School is starting back up soon....we hope. Nick goes to a state funded special education pre-school and I have yet to hear anything as to when or if we are opening on time or at all. Normally by this time of year I have received a notice of the open house and bus schedule. I have seen nothing as yet. Last year we lost 10% of our funding. We will see what happens this year. In the meantime...we wait.

Occupational therapy has been going well. In 6 weeks, Nick has gone from having to be reminded to use his right hand to using it automatically. It has also desensitized immensely! 6 Weeks ago you could barely touch his fingers. Now he is picking up marbles off of the floor using his thumb. HUGE progress. He hasn't had use of his right hand in 4 years so we are very excited about the results. Left hand work will begin this winter.

Thanks again to all of you!!

With Love and Gratitude...
The Waldrop Family

Nick Waldrop Bike Ride

Hello again everyone! Just wanted you to check out this video of Nick at the Abilities Expo this weekend. He rode a bike all by himself! It was awesome. The bike is expensive and of course not covered by insurance. We are currently applying for funding and any donations would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!!!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkWs282OQ8Q

Blogging - Day One

Most of you that will be reading this have some idea of Nicholas' situation and his journey thus far. For the rest of you I will give you a brief overview.

Nicholas was born in January 2006 with an extremely rare condition called TAR Syndrome (Thrombocytopenia, absent radius). This condition is marked by a low platelet count which required numerous platelet infusions over the first 2 years of Nick's life. It is also marked by missing radii in both arms resulting in clubbed hands. In addition his arms are much shorter than your typical child and will be throughout his life. Nicholas was also born missing the lower bones in his left leg. This required an amputation of his left foot at a year old and he now walks with a prosthesis.

Nick has had numerous surgeries in his 4 short years. The most recent was a fixator placement in order to lengthen his ulna on his right hand and then centralizing the right hand on the newly lengthened ulna. This pair of surgeries will be repeated on his left hand next winter.

Despite his challenges, Nick is a well adjusted, happy little boy who loves to do things that all other boys love to do. He has a smile for everyone he meets! In the 4 years I have had being his mom he has amazed me every day with the things that he can do...that we never thought he'd be able to.