Hello Everyone!
It has been a while since we posted but that just gives us more to share!
Erik had a great year at school. He became more and more alert and engaged in the classroom and even was administered end of grade testing. He did well. He is making choices and wanting to stand more (with support) which is great. Teachers also shared that Erik became more appropriately engaged by listening to questions asked, waiting for others to respond, and vocalizing when the teacher called on him (instead of when others were asked t respond). He was fairly consistent which is great to know.
We also have changed the agency that provides nursing care for Erik as well as multiple changes with therapists. Erik now not only receives physical therapy but also speech and feeding at home as well. There are adjustments with getting to know everyone but so far all is going well. Thank you for your prayers that we would find therapists to work with Erik and please continue to pray for progress in all areas.
Now for the BIG news . . .
On July 17th Erik surprised us ALL! Dad was feeding him a snack and noticed him raising and using his right arm! It was unexpected and extremely exciting! We watched him for a while and even recorded a video. We were capturing the moment with the video so it is really dark and hard to see but his right side is toward the camera and you can see him moving his arm/hand all the way up to his mouth! Even his right leg is moving! Before this he would extend it some and move it a little when excited but moving it to his mouth and out repeatedly is truly God's work! Here is the video link which seems easier to see when the screen is small. You may have to copy the link below and paste in your internet browser to view.
http://youtu.be/otXI4aoAgC4
Please keep up the prayers as this progression is truly God's work. In fact, it has created many opportunities for us to share our faith through sharing Erik's progress which is a welcomed opportunity. It would typically take months of focused therapy to see Erik voluntarily move his right side like this. We saw this literally overnight. Erik's nurses and therapists immediately commented on the change too.
This for us was another moment where we stopped and said, "Wait God . . . this is not even what we are praying for right now but thanks so much!" Truly God's timing is perfect!
Enjoy your summer!
Love in Christ,
The Medlin Family
Erik's Ramp!
Select "comment" below any post or send the Medlins an email . . .
Friday, July 29, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Thursday - February 24, 2011 - Positive Updates . . .
Hello.
We have some exciting news to share. After several years of praying for thorough OT services for Erik, we are pleased to share that Erik now has a speech/communication AND a feeding therapist coming to the house weekly to work with him! We are so happy to have the addition of these 2 individuals to our team! Timing is everything and Erik is at the point where he is fairly consistently responding to things like pushing a button to indicate interest in an activity or to make a choice. This makes securing the 2 additional therapists key enabling us to take advantage of the interest and motivation he is showing towards progress. Please continue to pray for Erik to positively respond to these interventions.
We continue to struggle with seizure activity. The spells are brief but he seems to be having them daily (with a few days here and there without anything we notice) and we need to figure out the best approach for reducing or eliminating these all together. Please keep this in your prayers . . . actually our prayer is for the seizures to stop all together! :)
We were able to schedule a second appointment with another contractor for an estimate on converting the dining room downstairs into a bedroom with shower for Erik. Of course when the contractor arrived he immediately said they are not going to approve it, I will prepare an estimate but I can tell you that it will not be approved. So . . . what this does is make the prayer for this to come together for Erik more of a priority! We will keep you updated as things progress.
As always, thanks for your continued prayers and encouragement.
Love in Christ,
Keith, Wendy, Margot, Brigitte, Erik, Nick
We have some exciting news to share. After several years of praying for thorough OT services for Erik, we are pleased to share that Erik now has a speech/communication AND a feeding therapist coming to the house weekly to work with him! We are so happy to have the addition of these 2 individuals to our team! Timing is everything and Erik is at the point where he is fairly consistently responding to things like pushing a button to indicate interest in an activity or to make a choice. This makes securing the 2 additional therapists key enabling us to take advantage of the interest and motivation he is showing towards progress. Please continue to pray for Erik to positively respond to these interventions.
We continue to struggle with seizure activity. The spells are brief but he seems to be having them daily (with a few days here and there without anything we notice) and we need to figure out the best approach for reducing or eliminating these all together. Please keep this in your prayers . . . actually our prayer is for the seizures to stop all together! :)
We were able to schedule a second appointment with another contractor for an estimate on converting the dining room downstairs into a bedroom with shower for Erik. Of course when the contractor arrived he immediately said they are not going to approve it, I will prepare an estimate but I can tell you that it will not be approved. So . . . what this does is make the prayer for this to come together for Erik more of a priority! We will keep you updated as things progress.
As always, thanks for your continued prayers and encouragement.
Love in Christ,
Keith, Wendy, Margot, Brigitte, Erik, Nick
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Thursday - January 13, 2011 - Happy New Year!
Hello Everyone.
Hope the holidays were great and that the new year is starting out well. Erik had a good Christmas and we are pleased he did not have any seizure activity on Christmas day. Past month or so have been challenging with seizure activity. Very few days lately without recognizable seizure activity.
Makes things rough because even if they are brief, they exhaust him and make it difficult for him to eat, make him less responsive, and just bum us out! We have had 2 adjustments to his VNS which have possible reduced seizure activity down to 1 time per day (that we see) but we are suspicious that he is having them when we are not aware - especially at night. He has been very tired all day long for the past 5 days and we just don't see anything that could be the cause. Sleeping all night, no medication changes, etc.
We are praying for a solution so keep this in mind as we know God will carry us through this. We are asking for the discernment to know what actions we should take.
Erik has been doing well in school and seems to really enjoy his instructors and classmates this year. They are working with assistive technology and encouraging him to make choices which he appears to be intentionally doing! This is great to see as it does appear he knows what he is doing and is happy to be able to communicate with us through the tools available.
Thanks to all of you for continuing to keep us in your prayers . . .
Love in Christ,
Keith, Wendy, Margot, Brigitte, Erik, Nick
Hope the holidays were great and that the new year is starting out well. Erik had a good Christmas and we are pleased he did not have any seizure activity on Christmas day. Past month or so have been challenging with seizure activity. Very few days lately without recognizable seizure activity.
Makes things rough because even if they are brief, they exhaust him and make it difficult for him to eat, make him less responsive, and just bum us out! We have had 2 adjustments to his VNS which have possible reduced seizure activity down to 1 time per day (that we see) but we are suspicious that he is having them when we are not aware - especially at night. He has been very tired all day long for the past 5 days and we just don't see anything that could be the cause. Sleeping all night, no medication changes, etc.
We are praying for a solution so keep this in mind as we know God will carry us through this. We are asking for the discernment to know what actions we should take.
Erik has been doing well in school and seems to really enjoy his instructors and classmates this year. They are working with assistive technology and encouraging him to make choices which he appears to be intentionally doing! This is great to see as it does appear he knows what he is doing and is happy to be able to communicate with us through the tools available.
Thanks to all of you for continuing to keep us in your prayers . . .
Love in Christ,
Keith, Wendy, Margot, Brigitte, Erik, Nick
Monday, October 25, 2010
Monday - October 25 - Erik back in school . . .
Hello all.
So sorry it has been a while since our last post. We have had some ups and downs but the ups way outnumber the downs! Erik returned to school the end of August and is doing really well. He was moved to the older class and weekly reports indicate that he is really working hard! A focus for this year is on communication and they are using tools and strategies in the classroom allowing him multiple opportunities to make selections, decisions, and choices. He loves it!
Health wise Erik has been doing okay. We have had periods of increased seizure activity but all in all we have kept them at bay or now. He is getting 4-6 molars which seem to be causing him quite a bit of discomfort. Thanks goodness for Motrin!
August 25th, we did make a trip to the Emergency Department but it was not for anything we could have anticipated! Strange thing . . . his nurse was doing his regular stretches and he cried out in pain. We have not heard Erik actually cry in over 2 years! Seriously! The nurse stopped his stretching and waited a bit and when Keith touched his foot after he settled down he cried out again. We had to get it checked out. Really swollen and red and hot to the touch. X-rays were fine and blood work was fine. The days after involved follow-up x-rays and staying off of his foot but in time, it all worked out. We are thinking it must have been a torn ligament or over stretched muscle. He was a trooper though and kept on going!
The only other bit of a challenge we are trying to work through is that we were told that effective July 2010 we would be able to receive $10k for home modifications. This is a part of the program Erik is enrolled with and is a 1 time offering. We set things up and began working to be ready to make changes to the home turning the formal dining room into a bedroom with a bath for Erik on the downstairs floor. Erik is getting so big that it is becoming a safety issue taking him up and down the stairs. The date for this to begin moved from July 1 to September 1, to October 1. When we had everyone come to the house to talk about this late September we were told that we could not add a bathroom to the existing room because this was considered an "addition" opposed to a modification. Our understanding is that an addition would represent additional square footage which is not what we would be doing at all. Please pray that we can identify some solution before the program is no longer available!
Thanks for all of your prayers and support. As each day passes, we see Erik continue to interact and respond in new and fun ways. This confirms for us that he is indeed progressing.
Love in Christ,
Keith, Wendy, Margot, Brigitte, Erik, Nick
So sorry it has been a while since our last post. We have had some ups and downs but the ups way outnumber the downs! Erik returned to school the end of August and is doing really well. He was moved to the older class and weekly reports indicate that he is really working hard! A focus for this year is on communication and they are using tools and strategies in the classroom allowing him multiple opportunities to make selections, decisions, and choices. He loves it!
Health wise Erik has been doing okay. We have had periods of increased seizure activity but all in all we have kept them at bay or now. He is getting 4-6 molars which seem to be causing him quite a bit of discomfort. Thanks goodness for Motrin!
August 25th, we did make a trip to the Emergency Department but it was not for anything we could have anticipated! Strange thing . . . his nurse was doing his regular stretches and he cried out in pain. We have not heard Erik actually cry in over 2 years! Seriously! The nurse stopped his stretching and waited a bit and when Keith touched his foot after he settled down he cried out again. We had to get it checked out. Really swollen and red and hot to the touch. X-rays were fine and blood work was fine. The days after involved follow-up x-rays and staying off of his foot but in time, it all worked out. We are thinking it must have been a torn ligament or over stretched muscle. He was a trooper though and kept on going!
The only other bit of a challenge we are trying to work through is that we were told that effective July 2010 we would be able to receive $10k for home modifications. This is a part of the program Erik is enrolled with and is a 1 time offering. We set things up and began working to be ready to make changes to the home turning the formal dining room into a bedroom with a bath for Erik on the downstairs floor. Erik is getting so big that it is becoming a safety issue taking him up and down the stairs. The date for this to begin moved from July 1 to September 1, to October 1. When we had everyone come to the house to talk about this late September we were told that we could not add a bathroom to the existing room because this was considered an "addition" opposed to a modification. Our understanding is that an addition would represent additional square footage which is not what we would be doing at all. Please pray that we can identify some solution before the program is no longer available!
Thanks for all of your prayers and support. As each day passes, we see Erik continue to interact and respond in new and fun ways. This confirms for us that he is indeed progressing.
Love in Christ,
Keith, Wendy, Margot, Brigitte, Erik, Nick
Monday, July 5, 2010
Monday - July 5, 2010 - Erik Enjoying Holden Beach!
Hello.
Just a quick update from Holden Beach, NC! We began our family vacation last Thursday and so far all is going well. Erik, Margot, Brigitte, and Nick are all enjoying the beach.
This year we are particularly thankful for the clean water as we remember the families impacted by the BP Gulf oil spill. We are enjoying more than ever seeing the pelicans swim, fly and dive freely and the beautiful sand and water. We continue to pray for those struggling with the oil spill and those working to stop the leak.
Enjoy this video of Erik on the beach taken yesterday - July 4, 2010.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLnNCztXmao
Love in Christ,
Keith, Wendy, Margot, Brigitte, Erik, Nick
Just a quick update from Holden Beach, NC! We began our family vacation last Thursday and so far all is going well. Erik, Margot, Brigitte, and Nick are all enjoying the beach.
This year we are particularly thankful for the clean water as we remember the families impacted by the BP Gulf oil spill. We are enjoying more than ever seeing the pelicans swim, fly and dive freely and the beautiful sand and water. We continue to pray for those struggling with the oil spill and those working to stop the leak.
Enjoy this video of Erik on the beach taken yesterday - July 4, 2010.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLnNCztXmao
Love in Christ,
Keith, Wendy, Margot, Brigitte, Erik, Nick
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Thursday - May 19, 2010 - Ramp for Erik and more . . .
Hello.
It has been a while since our last post and during that time good things have been happening! Erik is doing well and continues to improve. He is back in school and we are observing positive improvements since his last HBOT treatment.
Erik appears to be making and maintaining eye contact better than before. He also continues to improve on showing appropriate responses to things going on around him. For example, when leaving the house if you tell him goodbye it is likely that he will now turn in your direction. Before he may have responded like this 1 out of 5 times. This may seem like a small thing but this is a BIG change in him!
We are also seeing improvement in the interactions between those who work with and are around Erik on a regular basis. For example, the kids are talking with him more. They have always been good at including Erik and interacting with him but lately (perhaps due to his more appropriate response) the time interacting has been extended. Hope this makes sense. Improvements we are seeing are somewhat hard to describe. You just have to experience it! We are so often amazed at how God can reach down and intervene . . . no matter how large the task may be!
Our other news is that the wheelchair ramp being built by Apex Baptist Church for Erik is almost complete! This will be such a blessing for us and will make caring for Erik MUCH easier. Thank you so much for the team that has assembled on multiple occasions to volunteer time to see this happen. We could never adequately express our thanks!
We also are pleased that Erik's new school schedule is working out. He is home on Tuesday and Friday to allow for additional therapy. We have also taken advantage of these "non-school" days to plan the multiple medical appointments Erik needs. We are still in need of a therapist for speech/feeding for Friday afternoons. Please lift a prayer that this need will soon be met.
We hope you enjoy the photos of the ramp and thanks for all of the prayers and support you each continue to amaze us with.
Love in Christ,
Keith, Wendy, Margot, Brigitte, Erik, Nick
It has been a while since our last post and during that time good things have been happening! Erik is doing well and continues to improve. He is back in school and we are observing positive improvements since his last HBOT treatment.
Erik appears to be making and maintaining eye contact better than before. He also continues to improve on showing appropriate responses to things going on around him. For example, when leaving the house if you tell him goodbye it is likely that he will now turn in your direction. Before he may have responded like this 1 out of 5 times. This may seem like a small thing but this is a BIG change in him!
We are also seeing improvement in the interactions between those who work with and are around Erik on a regular basis. For example, the kids are talking with him more. They have always been good at including Erik and interacting with him but lately (perhaps due to his more appropriate response) the time interacting has been extended. Hope this makes sense. Improvements we are seeing are somewhat hard to describe. You just have to experience it! We are so often amazed at how God can reach down and intervene . . . no matter how large the task may be!
Our other news is that the wheelchair ramp being built by Apex Baptist Church for Erik is almost complete! This will be such a blessing for us and will make caring for Erik MUCH easier. Thank you so much for the team that has assembled on multiple occasions to volunteer time to see this happen. We could never adequately express our thanks!
We also are pleased that Erik's new school schedule is working out. He is home on Tuesday and Friday to allow for additional therapy. We have also taken advantage of these "non-school" days to plan the multiple medical appointments Erik needs. We are still in need of a therapist for speech/feeding for Friday afternoons. Please lift a prayer that this need will soon be met.
We hope you enjoy the photos of the ramp and thanks for all of the prayers and support you each continue to amaze us with.
Love in Christ,
Keith, Wendy, Margot, Brigitte, Erik, Nick
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Saturday - April 17th - We are home!
Hello Everyone!
We are home! We arrived home Thursday evening and have been settling back into a routine. We cannot express adequate thanks for all that has been done for us - prayers, meals for the family, assistance with the kids, notes of encouragement, financial support, and more! It is SOOOOOOOOOO good to have our family all under the same roof again!
The time passed quickly and Erik did really well. Interesting, we increased one of Erik's medications that typically makes him sleepy and even with this he appears more alert and engaged. As with the last round of treatment, some results are often seen during or right after treatment but also in the 3-6 months post treatment. We will keep a close eye out, note in any comments shared from Erik's therapists and teachers, and will share his progress with you.
Erik will return to school on Monday (4/19) and he will have a different schedule. He will be home on Tuesdays and Fridays to allow him to receive much needed OT/Speech/feeding and PT services. With his current school schedule (on the bus at 8:15am and home at 4:30pm) we have not been successful finding therepists who can come that late in the day and weekends are not an option. Pray that this schedule will work well for Erik and those caring for and instructing him.
The ramp for the house is not yet constructed. Team is still working to secure permits, etc. to get things coing. Hopefully it will be soon as until we have this it is a real challenge getting Erik out of the home because his temporary aluminum ramp we have broke. We know God will see us through this but lift us in prayer if this need comes to mind.
Thanks again for all of the kindness and love you have shown us during this challenging time.
Love in Christ,
Keith, Wendy, Margot, Brigitte, Erik, Nick
We are home! We arrived home Thursday evening and have been settling back into a routine. We cannot express adequate thanks for all that has been done for us - prayers, meals for the family, assistance with the kids, notes of encouragement, financial support, and more! It is SOOOOOOOOOO good to have our family all under the same roof again!
The time passed quickly and Erik did really well. Interesting, we increased one of Erik's medications that typically makes him sleepy and even with this he appears more alert and engaged. As with the last round of treatment, some results are often seen during or right after treatment but also in the 3-6 months post treatment. We will keep a close eye out, note in any comments shared from Erik's therapists and teachers, and will share his progress with you.
Erik will return to school on Monday (4/19) and he will have a different schedule. He will be home on Tuesdays and Fridays to allow him to receive much needed OT/Speech/feeding and PT services. With his current school schedule (on the bus at 8:15am and home at 4:30pm) we have not been successful finding therepists who can come that late in the day and weekends are not an option. Pray that this schedule will work well for Erik and those caring for and instructing him.
The ramp for the house is not yet constructed. Team is still working to secure permits, etc. to get things coing. Hopefully it will be soon as until we have this it is a real challenge getting Erik out of the home because his temporary aluminum ramp we have broke. We know God will see us through this but lift us in prayer if this need comes to mind.
Thanks again for all of the kindness and love you have shown us during this challenging time.
Love in Christ,
Keith, Wendy, Margot, Brigitte, Erik, Nick
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