Today I am thankful for answered prayers. I have been having some health issues lately but after a lot of rest and a lot of prayer I am getting back on track. I have to stay healthy to keep up with this energetic little girl!
More good news: Ellis's swallowing test last week went very well and we have just gotten the official word that she has been cleared to take a little bit of food by mouth! Yea! And by a little bit, I mean a very little bit. But some is still more than the little licks and tastes she has been getting, so we are very excited to start trying some new things. We have to stick to purees right now because she handles the thicker foods better but is not yet ready for chewables. Still, this is a big step forward are we are very excited. Right now we are supposed to focus on her practice swallowing, not necessarily nutrition because she will continue to get that from her feeding tube. So anything she wants she can have. I already know ice cream and pudding are big hits.
Ellis has also recently learned to make a few new sounds, including a "g" sound, a "z" sound, and a very pronounced "t." We are so proud of her progress and are working with her now to blend some sounds together. Although not yet perfect, her newest words are "lion" and "George," as in Curious George. It sounds more like "juhge." But we are getting there.
Here's an adorable little video of Ellis showing off some sounds, including my favorite word "Mama."
And now, the sadness. Several days ago we had to say, "Bon Voyage" to one of our favorite people, Ms. Amber. Amber has been Ellis's speech pathologist for the past two years, since we brought her home from the hospital. We know it's not a permanent "Good Bye" because we hope to arrange some visits in the future and she will forever be welcome to come see Ellis. Amber is moving on to bigger and better things in a new job, which will take her and her family to a brand new city, so we will add "Congratulations!" to our list of exclamations. We are being left in good hands because Ellis's new therapist, Ms. Jenna, has already made a good connection with her and has begun some great work. We know Ms. Jenna is going to help her do great things as time goes on. Still, we are sad to lose Ms. Amber!
Ellis's progress and the things I described above are in a large part due to Amber's hard work and love for our baby. When Ellis first began receiving Amber's help, she was three months old and unable to take anything at all by mouth or make any vocal sounds because of her trach. There were many weeks, mostly in that very rough first year, when Amber was literally the only adult other than Greg I saw or talked to. Her positive attitude and hope for Ellis's future have helped me more than she knows. And she never judged me because the house wasn't spotless or my hair wasn't fixed or my baby spit up everywhere. She just jumped in with both feet and made it clear we are on the same team.
She has gone WAY out of her way over and over again to teach Ellis and to teach me and Greg how to work with her on our own with both speech and swallowing. Ellis loves Ms. Amber and always dances in circles in excitement when I tell her she is on her way. So when we had our little going away party for her, it was especially hard to hear Ellis say a sweet little, "Bye Bye!" But Amber should know that she gets a lot of the credit for Ellis's ability to do even that. We know that God has always placed the right people in our lives at the right time to give Ellis the best care and hope for her progress. Amber is a perfect example of that and we pray God's blessings on her and her family as she goes on to help many more families. We love you Ms. Amber!
