Hi Everyone! We have some awesome news to give you in this blog update! Liam had a swallow study completed yesterday morning. It was by no means an easy task...Liam is scarred forever after the horrible experience he had when he was 18 months during a swallow study- I was SO nervous and SO happy my amazing husband was with me so we could fight through this together. As soon as we walked thru those big doors and Liam saw the radiology machine and the vests come out he freaked out. For the first 10 minutes he did nothing but scream which broke my heart, we all kept trying to soothe him. I eventually broke down and turned on mickey mouse and it was a miracle in itself that I was able to get any reception! After his tantrums subsided we were able to get him to drink from a cup and he actually enjoyed it! After every sip he took we all cheered like he was a celebrity and he soaked up all that attention. During the study Liam drank from a regular cup (water mixed with barium) as well as from a straw and his sippy cup. The results showed immense improvement in Liam's ability to swallow. I cannot tell you how happy, proud, and blessed we feel....the emotion is literally too great for words...I am not even quite sure if it has all processed yet! Our miracles just keep showing up in so many different places, and even in the form of foundations, therapists doctors, and technologies. We could not be more grateful to have access to a place like Good Shepard Rehab, with Vital Stim therapy which may have made this miracle possible. This milestone is huge for us and I am thanking God! As a side note, the swallow study did not come back 100 % perfect, Liam still has somewhat of a delayed swallow reflex which is minor cause for concern and we will continue with therapy to attempt to improve this, but the big news is he is no longer at very high risk for aspiration, and now we can teach our little man how to drink from a big boy cup just like all the other kids in daycare... and even better we no longer need to teach family and caregivers how to mix the dreaded thick it into our sons drinks. We are absolutely thrilled. But this isn't the only news we have to share...
Liam has made HUGE improvements with physical therapy! Before when he would jump on his trampoline, or anywhere for that matter, his legs were stiff and rigid, and looked quite awkward. Liam didn't enjoy jumping on his trampoline for too long. With some Physical therapy and core strengthening Liam now bounces all over the place, and when he jumps and hops he lands with BENT knees with great ease. To see how much fun he now is having makes this mama so incredibly happy I could never find the words to explain. We are still looking into some minor issues with Liam's feet and ankles, and getting some orthotics in his shoes is being discussed. However, we could not be happier with all of the improvements in Liam's development and we wanted to share with you the amazing things going on with our miracle baby. He makes us smile everyday. There are moments I want to be stern with him and we end up giggling so hard we have tears. He lights up my life in a way I never could have imagined, and I can't wait for what is to come.
That is all for now, the Nagy family sincerely hopes you all are staying warm and only going out in the snow for fun! Love to all, xoxo : )
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