I love to see progress......

Last night after doing Noah's therapy I sat him up in front of me and he actually did quite well holding his head up. He held his head for the longest time. What was he watching you ask?

The Cleveland Indians of course. He does his best work watching the Indians. Even though they're in last place he still loves watching them.

Then Scott asked him to look at Daddy....... he turned his head to look right at him.

I was needing some motivation to get me to work harder at Noah's therapy, this definitely helped. I'm still working on finding a grant to pay for ABR. I didn't have much luck today. I have all the necessary letters I needed but I have had a hard time finding the right grant. One grant only paid for things in the USA and would only help if the applicant had personal insurance. With Scott working a temporary job we only have Medicad for the kids. Another won't be available until possibly Jan. of 2011. I'm getting really discouraged. We were supposed to go for more training the end of August. We don't have enough money, so we're hoping to find a grant so we could attend in November. Its hard to stay motivated when we're not even sure if we can keep affording the training. I guess all I can keep doing is putting it in God's hands and hope for the best.

Is there anyone out there that can help with finding a grant that will pay for Noah's ABR therapy? We don't want to stop something that is working so well for him.

Happy and upset at the same time.......

As you read in our earlier post...Noah's assessment went really well. On one hand I'm so happy with Noah's progress and that all our hard working is reaping some rewards. But, on the other hand I'm so upset and just thinking of all this brings me to tears again as I type this.

Let me explain myself...... I have searched high and low the last 11yrs for something that will give Noah a better quality of life. I've have dreamed of Noah being a bit more independent and able to interact with his peers better. To run and play like all the other little boys his age. Instead he sits and watches them run by. When I came across ABR about 2yrs ago I was wondering if it would work for Noah. I hoped and prayed that the success that we saw on the Demo DVD could actually be Noah one day. After doing ABR for the last 6 months we have seen what we call inchstones. It takes alot of inchstones to get the milestones but we are determined to see them someday. When Noah was assesst by Leaonid ( creator of ABR) last week he was shocked how far Noah has progressed that he had a offer for us....... Since Noah is responding to the therapy as well as he is, Leonid wants us to start using the ABR machine. In most cases familes would need to travel 4x a year for training. Starting in November we will start going 2x a year and start using the machine. In the last 3 months we were able to log in 189hrs manually. With the machine and manual together we would be able to log in over 100hrs a week. Sounds pretty good right? It would be wonderful to log that many hours in a week and see more inchstones quicker. I would love to be able to bring the machine home but the only thing that is getting in the way is money. It tears me up inside that we find the one thing that will help Noah the most we can't afford. It's as if I can reach and touch it but am not able to grab it. I can see my dream but I can't make it come true. How fair is that for Noah...... I guess I need to put my faith in God more. If he wants this for Noah he 'll provide it Right?




In order to bring home the machine in November we will need......
$2,265 for the training session in November (plus exspences)
$ 1545 for a deposit on the machine
$600 for the first and second months rental of the machine
$300 a month starting in January 2010 for the rental.
$350 trainers fee
Please pray we can provide this for Noah,

Susan

JUNE 10, 2008

On Saturday Noah's therapy had a Learn to Ride a Bike Day. We took Noah over and he got to ride a bike. He loved it!!!! He held his head up the whole time he was on the bike. That was about a 1/2 hour. They were able to strap his feet onto the pedals. After awhile of someone pushing him he would pedal a bit himself. We need one of these bikes!! I asked Trent at therapy today about it. He said there is an agency out there that may buy one for Noah. That would be awesome. They run about $3000. Why does everything that would help Noah have to cost so much. Just pray that this agency will pull through and fast.
Trent said we could borrow it for the Shelby Bicycle Days. So look for Noah there on his bike. He looks so cool on it.
Take Care,
Susan

JUNE 05, 2008

Tuesday at therapy Noah did a great job His head control was awesome. He really loves his phisical therapist, Trent.The last several weeks of therapy Trent had a student working with him. Noah was getting tired of her working with him all the time. So he stopped working hard. When Noah got to therapy on Tuesay, he got very excited that it was just Trent and worked so hard for him. He even worked hard for his Occupational therapist. He was picking up some pegs stuck in playdough and putting them in my hand. It was so neat to see. YEAH Noah!!!!
Today was Noah's last day of school. I got the most awesome thing in his book bag. It was his 3rd grade Alternate State Assessment for students with Disabilites. They tested him in two areas, math and reading. Noah got a 21 out of 24 in reading and a 24 out of 24 in math. It says that Noah has performed at the advanced level and meets standards for Grade 3 in Reading and Math. How cool is that..... I'm so proud of him. When I showed it to his Dad, Noah was smiling from ear to ear. He was so proud of himself too.
Until next time,
Susan

January 5 2008

Noah is still doing great. He had his first healthy Christmas and New Year. I remember other years sitting in the ER for New Years. Noah has a bit of a cough still but, he is still doing well.
This year we would like to comtinue to help Noah be the best he can be. We would like to continue with HBOT and we are also looking into something new to try. It is called ABR, here is the website: http://www.blyum.com/ We'll have to travel to Canada for training. It's a therapy we can do at home. Its quite a commitment on our part Its going to take about 3hrs a day to do. But, it looks very promising.
Noah has been in such a great mood lately . It's awesome listening to him laugh. It makes us laugh until we cry.
Thanks for checking in on Noah.
Happy New Year,
The Sheaffers