Today is Anna’s 10th birthday!!! Happy Birthday, Booski!!!
This last year has brought Anna more stability and health than she’s ever had. She is five months shy of a two-year anniversary from her last seizure! She changed medications from Risperdal to Abilify which halted the early on-set puberty that started plaguing her at age 8. There were some very significant behavior problems last summer and fall that led to an academic placement change from inclusion to life skills and now she is making progress on her IEP goals. For the first time in over seven years, she is sleeping independently! Sometimes even through the night! It’s been a very, very long time since I got to sleep with my husband in my own bed on a regular basis. I am really proud of her!
Ten things Anna loves right now
- Reborn baby dolls
- Playing with Zachary, the reborn doll Santa brought her this Christmas
- YouTube videos about reborn baby dolls
- Basketball
- Soccer
- Funny words (happy hallo___)
- AFV
- Peanut butter and jelly
- Her Nana
- Going out to eat at La Brissa
Ten things I love about Anna right now
- I can get her to belly laugh by adding potty words to any song
- She likes to play with baby dolls as much as I did as a child
- She never complains about taking her medicine every night
- She doesn’t get frustrated when trying to read, she says, “I can do it”
- She delights in all living creatures from a roly poly to a dog to an elephant
- She is brave
- She still wants to fall asleep on my shoulder, all nestled and cuddled up to me
- When I pull out my camera, she will smile for me
- She can almost get herself dressed independently
- Her best friend is a sweet girl in her class who is nonverbal and in a wheelchair
There was a time when Anna was in the hospital for the second time in two months at age four, and she seemed to be getting more and more complicated and deteriorating, when I wondered if we would get to have her with us for much longer. Reaching age 10 seemed like a hopeful dream and in my darkest hours, I wasn’t sure she would make it. And here she is. Strong, healthy, and mostly happy. Yay, Anna! Happy Birthday, my sweet wonderful girl!!! I love you!!!