Summer time!

Greetings everyone!

Jen here. Sorry I have not updated in FOREVER; Mom and I have been busy with the college life! :-) We got done with our first year at Muskingum on May 7th, and since then, we've just been relaxing at home pretty much, enjoying the wonderful spring weather!

Coming up tomorrow is a day of great celebration for all; a CCI graduation! Mom and I LOVE to go to these; they are always SO FUN! Tomorrow's going to be THE BEST; we are taking Lisa along with us to experience the magic of a CCI graduation, AND we get to meet Madison and Andros (and Butler) for the first time!!!!!!!!! WE ARE SO EXCITED!!!! :-D

In other news, Mom had an orthopedic doctor's appointment the other day, and now she's got some big decisions to make. See, my mom has cerebral palsy, and there's this stuff in her leg muscles called spasticity that is caused by the CP which makes it hard for her to function sometimes; we've been researching lately to try and find ways to fix her functioning so that she can walk more normally, and easily. Her doctor is advocating this surgery/treatment known as intrathecal baclofen therapy. Baclofen is a muscle relaxant that has been known to work wonders in individuals with cerebral palsy. During the surgical part of it, the doctor would go in and insert a small computerized Medtronic pump into the area underneath the skin of Mom's abdomen on one side. The pump would be filled with baclofen, and it would have a threadlike catheter attached to it that would go from the pump, around Mom's side, and into the space between the vertebrae of her back. The pump would continuously deliver baclofen to the weakened muscles from her hips down to her toes, so that she could stretch and strengthen them. She would have to go in every three to nine months to get the pump refilled, and then go in every five years to have surgery to have the pump replaced (that is how long the batteries typically last). There is a trial she will go through as well to make sure that the baclofen does not have any adverse effects and will actually benefit her.

In other news, my Aunt Kaeli is getting married next month, and Mom gets to be a bridesmaid in the wedding! I, however, will be staying home, as a church filled with 200+ people is not really the ideal environment for a service dog to be working in!

Oh, and can't forget our beach vacation to North Carolina in mid-July! By then, we may have a new (furry!) member of the family; my Grammy and Grandpa are looking at bulldog pups because my Grandpa really wants one, and they have an appointment to go look at some pups tomorrow morning while Lisa, Mom, and I are at graduation.

Mom and I think you should follow our BFFE Lisa's blog, too! :-) She can be found at http://miracleintraining.blogspot.com/ ;-)

Whew! That was a lot of update! Mom and I hope all of our friends, CCI and non-CCI, are doing wonderfully!

That's it for now.

Until next time,
Jen