Getting Ready

We leave on Sunday for the Institutes. I have so much to do - laundry so I can pack, food to make to take with us, a revisit report to complete, my own school work which is already a week late. Plus Zack's programs still have to get done and I have to teach Ashley's homeschool work. I just can't get motivated to get it done and I find myself staring blindly in the open refrigerator door looking for some comfort. But there is none to be had.

On the bright side, I got out the invites to my Partylite show that is next Saturday. They got my first triple threat: postcards, evites, and a new service I just came across called phonevite. I am hoping for a great turnout. A fun candle party with big sales would be an awesome welcome home present after 5 days of intense programming in Philadelphia.

Zack isn't doing so well today. I think he might be nervous about the trip. I wonder sometimes if he is disappointed in his own progress especially after he puts in so much work. Bob and I always beat ourselves up when we feel like we didn't get the results we wanted. I always forget that maybe Zack feels that way too. His biggest problem in life is comunication, always has been. I know it must be frustrating for him.

I am already feeling very guilty because I don't think I did a very good job this 6 months with programming. We always come home with good intentions but then life gets in the way. Actually, I am feeling pretty much like a bad mom. I have yelled at Ashley really hard a few times here lately, the baby watches entirely too much TV, and we should get stock in McDonalds because some days we go there twice.

Sorry, I am just venting...we'll get it done the best way we know how.

The Big Green Miracle (We Hope)

This is Zack's new O2/CO2 tank. He is to do 12 inhalations per day working up to 40 seconds each. Why, you ask?



Evidently, the area of his brain that is injured also effects his breathing. You wil notice that many brain injured children are "mouth breathers" and their mouths are always slightly open if not really open in the most severe cases.



Interestingly, it was revealed that Michael Phelps, the Olympic swimmer, was severely learning disabled as a child and that is why his mother put him in swimming. LD is a type of brain imjury. Have you ever noticed when you see him how his mouth is always slightly open?



Anyway, Zack's biggest problem in life is that he cannot communicate easily by talking. He just doesn't have enough air. That is because when a child is confronted with the choice of either to breathe or talk, he will choose to breathe and live - DUH! Now at the last visit to the Institutes, we discovered that Zack is trying to talk his fool head off but we just can't hear him. His voice is so soft and his pronunciation so poor, we just can't make out what he is saying. Therefore, we are teaching his brain how to breathe more deeply.




Evidently, CO2 and not O2 is what controls your breathing. When there is more CO2 in your blood gases, a signal goes to the brain to breath more deeply thereby increasing the oxygen and decreasing the level of CO2. By having Zack breathe a mixture of 80% O2 and 20% CO2, it triggers this breathing reflex to breath more deeply. This teaches his brain how it feels to breathe deeply. By doing this multiple times per day, we are in effect re-wiring his brain. Over time, this should help him to always breath more deeply and hopefully improve the quality of his speech.




We pray that it will. This little green miracle cost a pretty penny - $800 to start and then $84 for each tank refill - and as usual, insurance doesn't cover anything. Thank you Southern Health. I love giving you over $300 out of every paycheck and then you don't want to pay for anything.


My brother and his wife have gotten this same tank for their son who is also brain injured. They swear it works miracles and by golly their son talks! Of course they got their tank a few years ago and it only cost them about $300. Funny thing about medical supply companies: as soon as they figure out that desperate parents will give their right arm to make their kids better, they jack up the prices on everthing. Nice right - special place in "&*@!" for these folks, I always say.

Baltimore

I am so excited!! The room is booked! Peg and I will be on our way to Baltimore April 24 and 25th for a Partylite Multi-Regional Event. I so need this to pump some life back into me. I am especially excited about seeing "The Guys"!! They are our entertainers from our National Conferences. I am especially partial to Kevin ( the brunette). Peg adores Billy (the blonde). And everyone loves Karl too!! :)

This will be just a taste of what is to come in Atlanta July 15-18th at our National Conference! Road Trip! I can't wait!!

See, this is just exactly what I was talking about....my Partylite is just so much more than money. The whole experience just gives so much to me. Look at what I have to look forward to in the next few months!

On another note, I have been totally caught up in the blog of a young lady that I used to go to church with at United Christian Church. I was not friends with her per se but every now and then we would run into each other at various church events or at gatherings at some our our mutual friends' homes. She recently lost her battle with leukemia and her plight has just wrenched my heart. 33 years old, mother of a three-year-old, it seems such a tragedy (which it is). Her story has caused me to face some of my darkest fears - the C word for one. But most fearfully, the thought of my leaving this earth before my son is recovered from his autism (being the control freak that I am). More on this later....I have a 1 year old covered in spaghetti sauce who needs my attention.

A New Year!

I always love the beginning of a new school year. A fresh start. New curriculum. An abundance of school supplies (I have a thing for school supplies!) This is my first year of homeschooling a "middle schooler". Ashleys' curriculum this year will include Bible of course, United States Geography, the usual 6th grade math and Language arts, Earth Science, and what I am most excited about - Japanese. Or as I should say "Nihongo" (Japanese) Stay tuned as I post our Unit Studies.

Our co-op starts in 2 weeks as well. There I will be teaching Beginning Sewing and World Geography.

Zack's programs are getting into swing too. His programs this period are focusing on organizing the cortical areas of the brain, improving his breathing and thereby improving his language. We found out that he is talking up a storm, but his voice is so soft and his articulation so poor, that we cannot understand him. In fact, he facilitated that "I talk all of the time but they (his family) don't listen." That of course, broke my heart, and explains some of the bad behaviors he has due to frustration.

So we will continue his running program (3 miles per day- I'm gonna be so skinny!) We are increasing his gymnastics program and have added a simple gymnastics routine he will learn and practice 5 times per day. Also, he has a gravity assisted jumping and hopping program that I think he going to love. In addition, he is to increase his bracheation (monkey bars) from 10 trips per day to 40.

To improve his breathing, he will continue to sleep in his Respiratory patterning device. He will do about 70 masks per day and we have added 10-20 CO2O2 inhalations per day.

He is back on his special diet (no wheat, no milk, no soy, no tomatoes, no citrus, no bananas) so I am cooking all fresh organic again. However this time, the whole family is going on the diet, not just Zack. Which is only fair and we can all stand to eat more healthy. Ashley is not very happy about this!!

Kristen continues to learn to read and do math using programs I learned for Zack at the Institutes www.iahp.org . Remember she is only 13 months old!!! I will be adding Encyclopedic Knowledge to that in the next couple of weeks as soon as I can get the materials made.

Busy, busy!! But I love every minute of it!

Reading and Math Program

I am finally organizing Kristen's reading and math programs. (Yes, she is only 6 months old!) These are the same programs I used to teach Zack, our brain injured child, to read and do math. The logistics of the programs are in the books, How To Teach Your Baby To Read and How To Teach Your Baby Math by Glen Doman at The Institutes For The Achievement of Human Potential . It turns out that the best time to teach your child is when they are under 6 years old when the brain is growing so quickly. The Institutes originally developed these programs to help brain injured kids and found that they worked just as well with typical children when they are very young. Our son is a testament to them as at 9 years old, he is able to speed read over 300 words per second on the high school level and he can do instant math including algebra and geometry. Did I mention that he is brain injured???!!!!



Anyway, I have taught her about 20 words so far and I really needed to sit down and make up some word cards. I made 75 cards today. That will last me about 2-3 weeks (maybe) We started math as well. I had bought the math cards from the Institutes for Zack. While some of them are a little ragged around the edges, they will work just fine for Kristen. We learned the quantities 0-4. I will teach her 5-9 tomorrow.



She got so excited when I showed her the cards today. I thought she was going to jump right out of her seat! I am thrilled to be able to give her such a gift. Thank you God for enlightening me with this knowledge. I keep thinking what a breeze college would have been for me if I could have read as fast as these kids!! :)

My family

I would like for you to meet my family:

This is my husband, Bob, with our youngest daughter, Kristen. She is our "surprise" baby and we call her our little reward from God for a job well done!

This is our oldest daughter, Ashley who is 11 years old and in the 5th grade. She is the joy of my life. I couldn't do what I do without her. She is such a great helper to me. Thank You Lord!

And this is our little man, Zack. I love this boy! We're not sure what "grade" he is in. He is actually a genius. Diagnosed with a brain injury commonly referred to as autism at age 2, we started him on programs developed by the Institutes for the Achievement for Human Potential in Philadelphia, PA back in 2004. He has made amazing progress! At 9 Years old, he speed reads (300+ words per second) books on the high school level and can do instant math like a "human calculator".