Progress!!!

Today we had occupational therapy at The Rehab Center in Evansville. I could tell a HUGE difference in Zane's left arm. It was less spastic and he was a LOT easier to stretch out! He was grabbing for things with his left hand and putting shapes in the shape sorter. (With assistance of course but before he would never even attempt to grab things with his left hand) When we worked on feeding, he was doing some of the work with putting the spoon to his mouth BY HIMSELF! We are praying that this is only the beginning of the amazing things we will see after the stem cell treatment. We are expecting HUGE things!

Yesterday he went to school for speech for the first time and the therapist said he made a new friend. :) He is going back to school tomorrow for speech and physical therapy. It is SO exciting to see the huge gains he is making! I will continue to keep everyone updated!! Thanks for the prayers and support!

Exciting changes!!

Hey guys! So we are about 4 weeks post stem cell treatment. We have already seen some AMAZING changes! As I have posted before, he is definitely using his left hand more. Yesterday during physical therapy, he was even using his left hand to prop sit!!! Before, if we had him sitting and he started falling, he didn't have the protective reflex to catch himself. He now does this consistently! His physical therapist has said that she can tell a huge difference! We give all the Glory to God and are so thankful to everyone for helping us give Zane this chance!! We are considering taking him to Germany again next year to see what kind of additional awesome results we can get! I have been very pleased with what we have seen so far!

Last Friday he got Botox for the 2nd time. They give Botox to kids with cerebral palsy to help relax muscles and block nerve impulses going to those muscles. (This in turn drastically reduces the spasticity) The only bad thing about the Botox is that it wears off anywhere between 3 and 6 months, so it's a procedure that has to be continually repeated. He received 250 units of Botox in his legs. The last time he got Botox, he received 150 units so hopefully we will really start to see some awesome results! The neurologist has agreed to do it again in 3 months if it has wore off. She is excited to see what happens with the stem cell treatment also.

I am going to try to update as often as I can. I will update as we see new changes! Thanks everyone for all of your prayers and support and for helping us make "A Way For Zane!" :)

It's been a week and a half!

Sorry I haven't updated since we have been home. We have been really busy with getting stuff put away, going back to work, taking Zane to therapy, etc. Last week all of his therapists told me they could tell a difference. He said the word "balloon" a few times for the speech therapist. Our physical therapist says she can tell a difference as well. He seems to be more social and happier. Of course, he is really tired at times but I attribute that to his body is tired from trying to heal itself. He is definitely using his left hand more. He putting objects in it to play with and it isn't in a fist when he feeds himself or takes a drink anymore! That, to me, is a HUGE accomplishment! The doctors in Germany told us that it could take 5-6 weeks before we start noticing his muscle tightness getting better. I am so excited everyday to see what changes we might see. We are supposed to go next week for Botox injections. He has had this done once before and it loosened his muscles up for about 1 1/2 months but then it wore off. They give Botox in his legs to relax his muscles. In the mean time, we do intense stretching and strengthening exercises. We are asking for prayers for less spasticity in his muscles and continuation of progress. We are all very thankful to everyone who made this possible for Zane!

Just a day of relaxing...

Today we have spent the day relaxing in the hotel. Zane has been playing with his cars and watching movies. He has been acting totally normal and hasn't been in any pain at all today. So far, it seems as though Zane's left hand is A LOT looser than it was before. He is actually using it to help play with his cars. Normally he keeps it fisted up. Last night he had a car in both hands. This is a HUGE improvement. Today, when he was asking for a drink, he said "da-rink," normally he says "dink." These may seem like small improvements but even the smallest thing can change Zane's quality of life. We are expecting to see more improvements in the next several days/weeks/months! We have had a great time here, but we are ready to come home! Tomorrow will be a long day as we start our journey by arriving at the airport at 7 am (midnight back home) Our flight will land in St. Louis at 4:30 pm tomorrow afternoon. We are so excited to see our family! Dean and Rhonda and Ezekiel will be picking us up at the airport! We have missed him SOO much! We are planning on eating dinner (McDonalds again) and getting to bed early so we can get some rest for our big day! We are all packed up and ready to go! Thanks again to all of you who have supported us before, during and after this trip! God Bless you all!

Well, we asking for millions of cells and...

Wow! What a day it has been! We have been asking you to pray for MILLIONS for cells, and....that is what we got!! 7.3 million to be exact- with 98% vitality!!! They were able to put cells in through the lumbar puncture and do an intravenous infusion as well. We are SO excited! We have noticed a few little changes so far such as, in recovery he was playing with his left hand- which he usually holds close to his body. We will be letting Zane rest over the next several hours so we can let the cells start doing their job! Zane has been acting so well and is actually lying in the floor playing with his cars right now. Please continue for Zane to have great results from this procedure and for safe travel home! We are ready to see Ezekiel!!!

It's almost time!!

We will be picked up from our hotel in about an hour to go to the XCell Center for the lumbar puncture. We are praying for huge results! How awesome would it be if, in recovery, he said something he had never said before. Or, if he sat up by himself for the first time! These would be extreme results but nothing is too big for our God! Everytime I think about the possibilities, I tear up! I am taking our video camara to video any changes we see in him during recovery. The procedure is scheduled to start at 10:45 am which is 3:45 am back home. It should last around 30 minutes. The doctor said they may decide to infuse some stem cells through his IV as well which is what we are hoping for! I pray that when we get there, they tell us they got more cells than they expected! I have also been praying for a good recovery and no reaction to any medication they have to give him. When it is all done, we will be bringing him back to the hotel room on bedrest. I'm sure McDonald's will be on the menu for his dinner! Jeff and I want to thank each and every one of you who have been supportive through this. Whether it be money, prayers, helping out with fundraisers, etc. All the glory goes to God! So, God, today when Zane gets his procedure done, let your will be done, help to improve the symptoms of his cerebral palsy, help the cells repair his brain and give him better speech, help him sit up on his own...all of this for YOUR glory! Love you guys and will update more when we get back.

Bone Marrow Extraction

Today we had the bone marrow extraction. Everything went really well and Zane did awesome with getting his IV put in. The Dr. told us that if they get enough stem cells, they will put some in through the lumbar puncture, and some in through the IV. Zane did so well through all of this! We won't know until Thursday how many cells were extracted. We have to be back at the center at 10:45 am (3:45 am back home) to have the lumbar puncture done. Please keep praying for minimal side effects from these procedures. Keep praying that they extracted MILLIONS of cells and that we will see great results quickly! We have met a few families from the US. Everyone has been exceptionally nice since we have been over here. Zane hasn't had anything to eat today so we are getting ready to head to McDonald's. We will post more as we know more. Thanks so much for the love and support you all of shown our family! 

Monday, September 27,2010

Today we had our inital consult with the anesthesiologist and met with a therapist. Everyone at the XCell Center was really nice! We even met a family from Southern Texas! I hope we get to see them again so we have someone to connect with. The anesthesiologist was very reassuring that side effects from the anesthesia are very uncommon. They will be using one of the same medicines that are commonly used in the United States. He assured us, though, that Zane will not be getting the "Michael Jackson dose." haha This morning we ventured over to the airport to see what kind of shops were there. We found a McDonald's and had breakfast there. I am sure we will be frequently that place now because Zane doesn't care much for the food over here. We also went into the supermarket and bough some lunch meat/gouda cheese- which is AMAZING!

Tomorrow we go in for the bone marrow collection. We have to be there at 1:00 pm (6:00 am back home) Please pray for no side effects from the anesthesa, no complications with the procedure, no pain afterwards and, most importantly, that they are able to collect MILLIONS of cells! The more cells they get, the better chance Zane has of making better progress.

Thursday our lumbar puncture is scheduled for 10:45 am (3:45 am back home) We will have more details about this tomorrow as we meet with our neurosurgeon tomorrow.

We  need LOTS of prayers right now for a successful procedure tomorrow. We know God is in control of this situation and are excited to see the results! Thanks again everyone for your support through all of this!

Sightseeing

We have had a fun filled 2 days! Yesterday we went to Old Town/Alstadt and had a blast! It was fun to walk around and see the old buildings and shops. Jeff and I both ate a doner but Zane opted for McDonald's! After we got back, we all took a big nap because we were so exhausted! We just ordered room service for dinner. This morning we got up and ate the breakfast buffet at our hotel. It was good, but I found it kind of odd that they eat lunch meat for breakfast. When we were done eating, we walked to the hotel to the supermarket and bought some cokes and juice. It will be nice to have coca cola in our room- even if there isn't any ice. After that, we went to the Aquazoo. This is an AMAZING place! We got LOTS  of awesome photos. We got to see the Rhine River. We then went back to Old Town to eat at Fuchschen Alt. This was a good place to get authentic German food and at a reasonable price! Jeff and I both had knuckle of pork with saurkraut and mashed potatoes. Zane had a breaded schnitzel but ended up eating our mashed potatoes. Jeff acutally tried the saurkraut but he didn't like it- it tastes much like what it does in the U.S. After this we went for another walk around Old Town. We ended up down by the Rhine River. We walked along the river until we came to the Rhine Tower. We went up in the Rhine Tower and took some awesome pictures of Dusseldorf. By this time, Zane was getting grumpy and we were pretty wore out so we headed back to our hotel. Now I am in the process of uploading some pictures! Tomorrow we go to meet with the anesthesiologist at 2:00 pm, (7 am back home) We are so excited to get this treatment done! We wanted to get the majority of our sightseeing out of the way so Zane can spend some time in the hotel recovering. We are missing Ezekiel, but we know he is being well taken care of! We love it over here, but also miss being home!

WE MADE IT!!!

We have arrived in Dusseldorf! We came straight to our hotel room after we got off the plane so we haven't been out doing much yet. So far we love it here. Our hotel room is SO nice! When we got off the plane, someone from the XCell Center was waiting to bring us to our hotel. (Which is right by the airport!) I wasn't expecting them to be there so that was a nice suprise. Zane is playing in the floor with his cars and Jeff is trying to find English channels on the TV. We have to report to the XCell Center on Monday at 2:00 pm for our anesthesia consult. The bone marrow aspiration is Tuesday and the lumbar puncture is Wednesdays. As soon as I have specific times I will post them. Germany is 7 hours ahead of the time back home. I'm hoping to get off here and catch a nap, so I will be updating as we can! Thanks for checking in!

Less than 12 hours away!

Hey guys!!

We are less than 12 hours from leaving for Germany! We are so thankful to everyone who has made this possible. We are especially thankful to Jeff's parents, Dean and Rhonda Colyer, and my parents, Sid and Sherry Gross, for taking such GREAT care of Ezekiel while we are gone. I am going to miss him SO much and I know he will miss his "buba!"

We are needing some VERY specific prayers right now. We need prayers for safe travel, for Ezekiel being able to cope with us being gone. Most of all, right now we are asking for prayers for MILLIONS of stem cells when they do the bone marrow aspiration on Tuesday. I will be updating as I know more details about what will be going on. I will be mainly updating through this blog and will post a link on facebook everytime I update. I am SOOOO excited yet SOOO nervous. Zane is in God's hands and I just know this is going to have a GREAT outcome :)

Less than 2 weeks away!

WOW! Time has flown by! We are leaving in less than 2 weeks! We have raised $26,795.45!! We are so thankful to everyone who has helped us provide this opportunity for Zane! I have started packing a little at a time and am amazed at how stressful that can be! I can't believe that in less than 2 weeks we will be in Germany! It seems like only yesterday that we decided to pursue this. I thought it would have taken a lot longer to raise our goal- when I told people what our goal was, they would always say, "That's a lot of money!" We truly believe that this is God's will for Zane and are praying for great results! Now, these are a few more specific prayers we are asking for: Safe travel and successful procedures (more specifically that they will harvest MILLIONS of stem cells on September 27- the more cells they can harvest, the better chances we have of this helping Zane) I hate the thought of leaving Ezekiel for a week, but I know he will be in great hands. Hopefully he will adjust to us being gone for a week and the grandparents will have a great week with him! Once again, we would like to thank EVERYONE for their support!!

I created this blog as a tool to keep everyone updated while we are in Germany. We will be leaving for our trip on September 24! We are very excited and can't wait to give Zane the chance at life he deserves! It seems like it was only yesterday when Jeff called me at work to tell me all about this exciting treatment he found in Germany! I have started packing a little bit each day but am feeling very overwhelmed! I am also dreading having to leave Ezekiel behind with grandparents. I know he will be well taken care of (and probably will be spoiled rotten) but it will definitely be different with him not being around! I am so excited to see the results that we get from this treatment as we have heard some very exciting stories from other families who have taken their children. I will try to update between now and when we leave again!