It's been a while since our last post, we seem to be just as busy now as we were this entire summer. The title of this post indicates good news which it is. Leo continues to do new things and while they may not be earth shattering changes, they are a welcomed sight.
Part of the reason why we haven't posted in a while is that Leo is a lot more awake and active than he has ever been which means by the time we actually get some down time to write a blog post, sleep is a lot more desirable. From a development standpoint, Leo is doing several new things. Besides being more awake and aware of his surroundings, he will now follow objects (like a toy) from left to right moving his head to track the object. He still can't move his eye's left to right but the fact that he is tracking objects now and his eyes can tell his brain to move his head is an awesome sight to see. Not only is he tracking objects, he seems to be tracking sounds too. While not as consistent as his sight, still a very positive sign.
Also, when Leo has his one way valve on his trach where he breaths in through the trach and out his nose/mouth - he makes a lot more sounds than he ever has. Sometimes almost babbling but you definitely know when he is mad now. He is getting stronger too, even though he still cant sit on his own, he can roll over or spin around, especially when he is mad. When we do therapy with him, he can lift his head higher and use his muscles more than he has in the past. He was even showing off his six pack last week.
Health wise, Leo has also been doing well except for an incident last week. Last week we took our annual trip to Chicagoland Speedway and the morning of the day I was to leave for the weekend, Leo decided to get a plug in his trach which resulted in Leo turning blue and the nurse have to give him breaths with a breathing bag. After an emergency trach change, Leo was doing much better. We still aren't exactly sure what happened since Kate and I were both at work and that particular nurse loves to create drama. But like most weekends when I am away, I was worried Leo would end up in the hospital. Luckily after being gone for a long weekend, Leo stayed healthy and safe. Maybe this incident was his way of saying "bye dad, i'll miss you" :)
Leo continues to get more attention from the media. Last week we were interviewed by the Pantagraph which is the Bloomington, IL paper. The story is supposed to be published sometime late this week so we'll post a link to it when it is available.
Sammie is busier than ever. Between pre-school, dance, music, jumpspot and all the in between activities - there is never a dull moment for her.
As for me, I started a new job (same company, same job title, different area) a couple of months ago but I'm finally getting around to telling this story. I always struggle with how to tell new co-workers about Leo - not really an easy story nor a short story to tell. Ironically, my first full day in my new job Kate and I had to rush Leo to the hospital because he had a high fever that we couldn't get down. (See August 4th post). So it didn't take long for me to tell my new team - again, maybe Leo's way of saying hello :). When I did, everybody was extremely supportive and caring. I even found some of them had children or family members with medical challenges too. My new team and area has been awesome - glad I took the new assignment at work.
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