This week Laila, my mom and I were able to go back up to CLC in Michigan for an evening of celebration that they were having for the school. This is an annual event that they hold to raise funds to support the school. I had no idea that it would be as big of a deal as it actually was. Everyone was all dressed up fancy (we had too for fun and I’m glad we did!) and there were hundreds of people that met at this country club for dinner and live & silent auctions. I knew they meant business when the mayor of the city of Grand Rapids did the prayer before they served dinner.
They had some amazing auction items and while we couldn’t afford any of them it was very fun to be able to read about them. Two of my favorite items were the Harley Davidson motorcycle that had been donated be the dealership in GR and the package to have a song written for you by a famous recording artist that included airfare and hotel to got to Nashville or LA to watch the song be recorded! The school brought in $260,000 that evening! WOW!!
This is a picture that I took of Laila before we left. She’s sitting up so big in a bumbo seat!
As I look at this picture and the difference I see in her I would like to update as to how things are going now that we’ve been home for a few weeks. As you can see in this picture her trunk support has improved greatly from being at CLC and since we’ve been home and implementing some things from there. She doesn’t always sit up this great but I’m very impressed with the change that we have seen. It was also fun to be back home and get her back to her normal PT and have her be amazed and be able to see such a difference in her. Sometimes you miss how big of a change it is when you are a part of the gradual so her saying that was such an encouragement.
If you have been reading with me from the beginning you know I was not at all interested in potty training with Laila and was just going along with it because the school was doing it. You also see through my crazy roller coaster emotions throughout our time at CLC I really started to see what they were saying and was so thankful to be able to have opinions from the other parents. That being said, potty training is going really well here at home. While Laila still goes in her diaper and doesn’t always tell us when she needs to go, we did just a few days ago have a breakthrough I think. We always go on the potty first thing in the morning before her bath. Sometimes she would go and sometimes she wouldn’t but I don’t think she really knew when she did go. Well this time as soon as I sat her on the potty she went and then looked up at me and said “all done momma!” I really think that she’s starting to understand and make a connection between the feeling of going and that it means potty like I’ve been saying all this time! Yay!! I honestly never had a thought in my mind of her ever being potty trained. I just thought that since the doctors said she’d never walk that that meant potty was out of the question too. Silly, silly Angie. Thank you CLC!!
Her weight bearing on her legs has also been improving more and more. Now that we make her be responsible for her own body and take steps to her wheelchair and also stand up to get out of it, we see her endurance growing all the time. She also stands (with help) in front of the mirror every morning to check out her outfit and hair to make sure she likes it. We usually get that little Laila “awwww!” from her :) Last weekend Jack was getting her ready in the morning and when she was done looking in the mirror she decided it was time to walk and she walked (again, with help) out of her room, all the way down the hall and to her chair in the living room. WOW!
Her speech is incredible! She can now say pretty much anything we ask her and says tons on her own and in the right context. She is still doing her babble and some of the things she says we can understand but others can’t but most of it is very clear. Examples: “My TAIR!! (chair)” she’s very possessive of her new power chair. “Hop birdday! (Happy birthday)” “Off paaee pees (off potty please)” “dair is (there it is)” “lud oooo momma (love you momma)” “I stand up” “all done bites.” It’s really hard to think of all of them because she basically says anything and everything! She can also sing certain parts to songs which is really fun too!
Basically I’d like to end by saying the someone had told me that CLC was a miracle; I would have to disagree. I feel like going into it with that mindset might set you up for expectations of thinking you’re going to walk in the door and do no work and walk out a few weeks later with a changed child. I’d rephrase that and say the CLC partnered with determined parenting can bring miraculous results. I finally came to the realization that anything that comes without sacrifice and hard work doesn’t last. Look at weight loss, you can take a pill or do some crash diet and you may see miraculous results……. for a little while. When you put work, consistency and dedication into really making changes, that’s when you have something that sticks. CLC is very clear from the start that none of this is going to go anywhere if the parent isn’t willing to back them up. Little by little I’m trying to implement things into Laila’s life that she learned there and I can honestly say I’m seeing the miracles in her. And I’m so thankful that they are miracles that will stick :)
I’ve been writing this all week so I’m just going to get this posted and get it over with! The fun part is that since I took so long, I have now received her report from CLC showing all of her progress. You might not be able to see them great but here are some pictures they sent me of her in the classroom. I hope you’re as excited about them as I am :)
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