This is been quite a year for our family... we have grown in many ways from the hardships we have faced - but they are all just stepping stones hopefully leading us to a very rewarding future!
Where to start? Well... there is alot to mention, and frankly TMI! I'll make this as frank as possible :)
June '10 - Welcome Chase Christian Stathokostas! 6/14/10 9lb 3 oz *We Love You*
July '10 - Maternity Leave - Enjoying the summer with my boys <3
August '10 - Mommy gets a promotion @ Work! Return to work from Maternity leave
September '10 - Brayden started Beachwood Nursery School's Early Learning Center! Mommy went there when she was his age! He was just under 2 at the time.
October - Brayden turns 2! We had a birthday party to celebrate with our family & friends :)
Happy Halloween! Took the boys Trick or Treating (w/ Riley!) for the first time! Brayden was Nemo & Chase was Squirt! Chase was 4 months old :)
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| Riley & Brayden Trick or Treating! |
November - GiGi was hospitalized (my grandma) after having surgery and months of recovery - it was a VERY scarey time for our family - lots of hospital visits & prayers. Thankfully, our prayers worked <3
Somewhere during "football" season my husband had knee surgery, after the year we have had, its easy to understand why I can't remember when this was :) All I know is he was able to get special seats at football games, LOL!
December - We went to visit Grandma on Christmas Day in the hospital, and spent Christmas with Aunts, Uncles & Cousins like we did growing up. It was a very nice Christmas - wished Grandma could have been home with us but we know she was in great hands!
January - Brayden started Early Intervention! After recommendations from his nursery school to have his hearing checked, and being sent to an Audiologist - they referred us to have an evaluation done to check his development. He was eligible to receive Early Intervention services and they started Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, & D.I. 1x/week each. We also we sent to an ENT, and we chose to go to CHOP in Philadelphia.
February - Chase's first Valentine's Day! Gus took me to NYC for an overnight stay at a beautiful hotel. We had a nice dinner and went out for a few drinks to enjoy some *us* time, since it is few and far between :)
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| <3 Me & My Husband NYC <3 |
March - Brayden gets tubes in his ears! We went to CHOP for Brayden's surgery, it was a quick 15 minute procedure (thank God) but it was the hardest thing (thus far) that we had to go through! Thankfully, they gave him some "giggle juice" before wheeling him away to knock him out, so he was relaxed and did not get upset. We of course couldn't help ourselves (I cried, I'm pretty sure I saw Gus shed a tear too).... It's tough to know your child is about to have surgery... even if it's a quick procedure. We were able to see him in recovery, which was very difficult for him. We left the hospital within an hour & he was back in school the very next day!  |
| Brayden Post - Op Ride Home! |
April - Happy Easter! April was a fun month preparing for one of my best friends weddings! Enjoyed a bachelorette party this month with the girls - and as far as I can remember it was a smooth month at home with my babies! Those are few and far between in 2011 ;) |
| Me & the Bachelorette! |
May - This is the Climax of the year if you will. Brayden's appointment with the Developmental Pediatrican was 5/3/11. On this day, he was diagnosed with Autism. It was a very bittersweet day. We went in to the appointment understanding that a diagnosis was a possibility, obviously hoping for the best, but prepared for the worst. This was the turning point of our lives. In a way, this was the best thing that every happened to us. After Brayden received this diagnosis, so many things changed. Our outlook on life, on the little things especially. Our boys mean the world to us, and we are dedicating our life to them (as most parents do) in hopes that they can have a happy and successful future. After the diagnosis, Brayden's therapy with Early Intervention increased. He went from getting 3 hours a week, to 7. They changed his DI to 5 hours of Applied Behavioral Analysis/week. He also gained a new Therapist! His transformation from this point forward is absolutely MIND BOGGLING! He just amazes us every single day. Not a day goes by that I am not proud of my little boys. They are the most amazing gifts. We are so thankful for all of the hard work & effort that Brayden's therapists put into working with him on a daily basis. You can't put a price on what they have given us. They have given us HOPE for the future. They have given him LIGHT that we didn't get to see in such a way before. They have given us FAITH in God that he has chosen *US* to be blessed with this beautiful gift and they have given us STRENGTH to make it through even the toughest times when some may find it easier to just give up. We will always be indebted to them for all of their love & support :)
May was also a fun month for Gus & I and our friends because we got to celebrate the wedding of Luca & Jaime Del Guidice! What an amazing night 5/6/11 <3
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| Mr & Mrs Del Guidice <3 |
June - Our baby is 1!! Chase turned 1 on 6/14! We had a small group of family & friends over for pizza and cake on his actual birthday which fell on a Tuesday this year. He also had surgery this month - he had an undescended testicle & a hernia!! Poor little man, surgery #3 for my men this year! It was a longer procedure than Brayden's tubes - he was in for about 45 minutes - and once again, we were teary eyed when they took him away from us! I was really nervous for this surgery because of the location of the incisions and the healing. I didn't want him to injure himself in any way. We were able to leave the hospital about an hour after recovery, and he was running around the house that afternoon! Silly boys<3 |
| Chase is 1! |
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| Chase Pre-Op! |
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| Brayden, Chase, Mommy Mommy & Pop Pop! |
August - The dreaded August... Another life changing month... 8/2/11-8/3/11 was the worst 36 hours of our lives. Here goes nothing...
It was a typical Tuesday, I worked all day, Brayden was in school, and Chase was at my inlaws. Gus worked all day, and then went to his 2nd job at night(thank God, you'll know why if you don't already) I picked up dinner on the way home from getting the kids, everyone ate, and the kids were playing around the house! Typical day, right? Wrong. Changed a couple strange diapers of Brayden's and called the pediatrician because there seemed to be a problem, something didn't look right (after googling, of course!) This happened between 6:30 and 7pm. The pediatrician advised me to bring him in to the office the next day if it happened again. Great! Didn't seem to be too alarming, I'm relieved! Back to play time.. bath time... bed time.. 9:30 I go to bed. 11:30pm I am awakened by my husband who just got home from his 2nd job. I can tell there is something wrong. At this time, neither of us know but one of our senses is telling both of us to go directly to Brayden's room. There he is, in the middle of a HORROR seen. Asleep. If you have a weak stomach, stop reading. There was blood (coagulated?) everywhere. He was in a pool of it... up his back, on the wall... pillows, blankets, sheets, clothes, covered. For those interested in knowing, he bled rectally, and thank GOD it is painless as far as we know! NEEDLESS TO SAY, I cleaned him up as fast as I could, and thankfully he woke up when I scooped him up in my arms and stripped his clothes off of him. The next thing I knew, I called the pediatrician on his cell phone and woke him up since he already knew what I filled him in on earlier - within minutes we had Chase's Aunt Jaime over the house and we were on the way to Monmouth Medical Center, where we would be staying for the next 4 1/2 days. It was about an hour before we got to the hospital. My head was down for the ENTIRE ride, except when I was checking on Brayden to make sure he was still awake. Thank God for DVD players in the car. He was white as a ghost from losing all of that blood... I called ahead while we were about 10 minutes away from the ER, just to let them know we were on the way. We get there, and no one is in site! I was panicking. Gus dropped Brayden and I off and went to park. I walked in, with Brayden, Curious George, & a lunch box full of bloody diapers for evidence - sure enough they couldn't WAIT to see them (doctors are gross!) I wanted to be prepared though... I don't know how I thought to grab them in the state of shock I was in, but I am so glad that I did. The next thing I know, we are rushed around a corner to a bed - a flock of nurses swarms in and out of his room - questions are flying, they rush bloodwork and find that his hemoglobin which should be something like 13 is at 5. something... he needs a blood transfusion. Devasating news. Now that we know this, we need to know what caused this to happen... he had to get a nuclear scan to check for their "assumption" which we "hoped" was correct. Meckl's Diverticulum. Sure enough, 2% of the poplulation have this congenital defect, of COURSE our son would have it! Thankfully, after emergency surgery on 8/3 and a small section of his small intestine removed, we never have to go through this again.... This day goes down in history for us as the worst day of our lives! 2nd to follow for me now is 12/15/02(really bad car accident) - I'd go through all of the physical pain and surgeries related to that again if it meant I would never have to see my babies suffer like this ever again... Worst week ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It has been a blessing in disguise since he has been healed from this surgery - his eating habits have improved a lot, still picky, but at least he is eating more now!
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| Brayden @ Monmouth Med Ctr |
September - This month was another turning point... we met with the Lacey School District through the summer for different evaluations for Brayden to see if he would be accepted into the Preschool Disabled Program. We found out they only offered a half day program and that was not what we were looking for for him. After his IEP meeting, I wrote a letter to the Special Ed Coordinator requesting that he be transfered out of district to a school that offers a full day program for children with special needs - and one day while I was at work, I got a phone call that he was APPROVED! This was a huge accomplishment, for Brayden, and for us. I felt that things were finally heading in the right direction and working out for us. After such a rough year, I really needed an easy transition for him into a school that would benefit him. We chose Island Heights Elementary School (not many local options given anyway, but we are VERY excited after meeting the teacher and observing the classroom!) Also, Daddy got a promotion @ Work! We also celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary and went to Long Island for the 3rd year in a row :)
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| Happy 2 Years <3 |
That's all for now... :) they won't always be THIS long of a read! I had a lot of catching up to do! I highlighted the important segments in blue for those who don't feel like reading this entire post!
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| The Stathokostas Family One day, we'll all be looking! ;) |
Well to the blog world hun! I can't wait to follow along on your family's journey. I am praying for Brayden everyday!!!
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