18 Candles 🎂

 It is surreal to think that it has been 18 years since we welcomed Anna into this world.

18 years since the easiest, most blissful pregnancy and delivery. 

18 years since we became parents. 

18 years since a pudgy baby with a button nose changed our worlds forever. 

There aren’t enough words to explain how lucky we are to call this incredible human being our daughter.

This person Daddy and I have always said we can’t take credit for, because she was born this way. 

She is absolutely gorgeous inside and out.

 Smart, funny and so talented.

 Since she was a toddler she has had the gift of walking into a room and making people feel better. 

  She has a presence that makes people feel like they belong. 

She is sarcastic and funny, those Caito genes are strong.

 She is smart and charismatic, 

dorky and silly, 

beautiful and artistic. 

She is the perfect combination of procrastination and getting things done. 

She is a philanthropist, an advocate and a champion. 

She is a resilient survivor. 

She is just a really freaking awesome kid! 

We can’t wait to see how the rest of Senior year goes and to see all she experiences and accomplishes in her future. 

Happy 18th Birthday to our “Peanut” 

Big Decision time!

 Senior year is full of so many unknowns. So many choices and huge decisions. 

Anna has known she wanted to be an Art major for the last year. 

 

Her talent goes without question. 

She has taken nearly every Art class offered at OHHS and besides knitting a scarf, has truly loved them all. 

She applied to the Fine Arts program at Mount Saint Joe, 

Drawing and Painting at the Art Academy and 

Fine Arts at DAAP, University of Cincinnati. 

After months of waiting, sending in portfolios and waiting some more she has heard back from all 3. 

She was accepted into Mount Saint Joseph with an offer for admittance with distinction. She received a 4 year scholarship worth over $40,000 and an offer to join the Honors Program. 

She was offered entrance to the Cincinnati Art Academy with two separate 4 year scholarships. One based on the strength of her Portfolio, The  Satterwhite Noble Entrance Scholarship. The other is the Teacher Award. The total for 4 years is over $66,000. 

Most recently she was accepted to DAAP Fine Arts Program at the University of Cincinnati. Today she received word she has been chosen as the recipient of the Cincinnatus Century Scholarship renewable over 4 years! This is $10,000 towards her education at UC. 

  What an Honor!!! Accepted at all 3! 

Her choice was an easy one. 

We are so excited to officially announce that Anna will be a UC Bearcat next year!

DAAP is the dream!

 

 Her number one choice all along

As a huge Bearcat fan who has been a part of Bearcathon with a children’s Miracle network since she was in 6th grade, she loves UC!  

With one of the best Art schools in the country and an amazing group of philanthropic students she is excited to become a part of the Bearcat community! 

Can’t wait to watch this girl shine !! 

Ooohhhh, ooohhhh, ooohhhhh👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻UC❤️🖤

.

Two steps forward….

 Wanted to post an update, for those who have been keeping up and for myself. FND (Functional  Neurological Disorder) is a tough diagnosis. It has symptoms emotionally, physically and cognitively. It doesn’t have a “cure” or easy fix. It takes time and therapy and work. Sam has been putting the work in, but it has been hard for her and she is still struggling. Thank God nowhere near where we were in December, praying we never go back to that. We have seen some incredible gains. Her personality is back most of the time and she is doing so good💗

But, it is hard. Anxiety is so hard. Being fearful that every ache and pain will lead you to the bad place you were. Trying to relearn things your body once did easily is so hard. Sam has been doing amazing. We are so proud of all of the steps she has taken dealing with FND. It is hard. It feels like it has been an eternity for her and there isn’t really an end in sight. This can be frustrating for all of us, but especially for Sam. 

She has continued to work so hard in therapy. Working through her fears, imbalance and deficits in her strength. She is usually a little fearful going into OT and proud and strong coming out. She is proud of the work she is doing. We are beyond proud. 

She has had a few setbacks. The anxiety and fear have crept back in a few weeks ago. Recognizing this mom has tried to have her talk through it, but she is just like her mama where talking it out usually means avoiding it. She has been working with her OT, Sarah, to acknowledge and work through the things upsetting her. She has some papers we go over and I’m proud to see her trying different ways to calm her mind and body. 

I don’t think I realized how often she was struggling over the years. Things that I didn’t know were anxiety and sadness coming out differently as behaviors. She is talking about this now and I am so proud of her for sharing with me and so incredibly happy she is feeling better about it now. 

We hope she can have her physical therapy assessment in the coming weeks. As her mind struggled with fear, her body fell in line. Her gait seemed a little more off. She wants so badly to run. She wants to play soccer again. A few weeks ago being a “coach” for her teams was fun, now it is not a positive in her life because she just wants to play. I told her we will get there, but I can’t tell her when or how and that is hard on both of us. 

 OT has given her the gift of confidence, working on balance and using her mind and body. Twice a week she works to get back the skills she needs. She will continue therapy at her pediatrician as well as start with Children’s telehealth. She will start PT.

We had a check up at her pediatrician and she is down 8 lbs. we imagine that is less of a loss  than where she was in mid January. we know that is from the time she wasn’t eating, but hate that food may become a problem and pray that she continues eating and enjoying her food. ARFID is an awful disorder on top of everything else and we pray she is able to eat without fear as time goes on. 

School has been going great. 

So thankful for her friends who have been her saving grace.

So thankful for an empathetic principal and teacher. 

 So incredibly thankful for a school nurse who Sam absolutely loves. 

. 

This girl has been through so much. The fear of sickness and “getting worse” is her trigger. Feeling like she can’t do the same things she did when she “got sick” because it may happen again. We are working to know that we are not in charge like that, I am trying to teach myself as I help her understand. Medical Anxiety is awful. In a family like ours where some really bad stuff has happened, it’s understandable. I never knew that it would help me to see things differently trying to help my girls see the light. 

This isn’t an easy fix. Our girl needs prayers for perseverance and a positive attitude to get back to where she wants to be again. We pray every day we will get there. Please keep the prayers coming! 

Stronger (update on Sam)

 This Girl CAN!! 

I can’t even begin to explain the level of pride and disbelief I feel looking at our girl. The last few weeks have brought so much growth, bravery and strength. She has fought through the things that once caused her paralyzing fear and moved forward further than even she thought she could. 

She has gone from a pale shell of herself, frail and thin, to a girl working to get her muscles back.

She is determined and she is ready. She has continued OT and has been doing big things. She even climbed on the play set this week! Jumping and attempting to run. Things her body wouldn’t allow her to do a month ago. She has been walking the stairs using every other foot and even carrying things with her when she walks.

She is so proud each session to show her OT, Sarah, what she can do. Sarah has been blown away at her progress too and said she is ready to add in PT to help. This is a step we hadn’t expected this soon and we are excited to get it started. 

Her appetite is back! She has been requesting snacks between meals and desserts! Tonight I was at Kroger and I actually got tears in my eyes as I grabbed ice cream sandwiches that she had requested. It was only a few weeks ago I was in tears searching the protein content on liquids I could maybe get her to ingest. Knowing nothing I bought would be welcome. 

She is one of the “coaches” now for the basketball team she was originally playing on.

Her coaches are amazing friends who made her feel so welcome and even got her a uniform to wear while she coaches at the games. When I say our village is in the best, this is what I am talking about! 

She asked to play in the snow this week. As we got her ready she looked at me and said, “a few weeks ago I couldn’t have done this, I wouldn’t have been able to play”.

She is right. She could barely walk. But, she put her stuff on and she played in the snow. She pulled her friend on a sled (which is something she does in OT:) she even rode the sleds down a hill. She was so excited to be out there with her friends. 

Her journey is far from over. She has a lot more work to do and months of therapy. FND is something that may flare. She may have setbacks. She may never notice it again. One thing is for sure, she is a fighter!! She is a tough cookie and that sassy part of her has made her work harder and get better.

 This week our girl turns 9. We are so happy to celebrate all of her achievements and every part of who she is! Please keep the prayers coming as we continue this journey. 

Sam I Am 💗

 

I haven’t posted on this blog in years. I kind of forgot I even had it! I have had a few people reach out and I wanted to write this out to let those who care know what has been going on and to have it all documented for myself💗 

  In late November Sam fell and hurt her knee. Not a significant fall or injury. Throughout the following week we noticed she was walking differently and fearful to play volleyball with her team. She also didn’t want to play her beloved soccer. By the end of the next week she was showing signs of weakness in her legs.

 When she spiked a fever during a sleepover and seemed tired the next day we decided to take her to Children’s. While there she had a fever and the on call doctor being an Oncologist was very concerned with how she was presenting. He ran many blood tests and expected to see bad results. As we waited in the waiting room terrified we tried to calm Sam who was completely distraught after having her first ever blood draw. Thank God the bloodwork came back normal. Even surprising the on call doc. We were sent home counting our blessing without any answers, but happy with what had been ruled out. 

Over the following week we noticed she was walking less. She was unable to navigate stairs normally and wouldn’t engage in any activity that required mobility. She stopped playing volleyball and soccer and was sick with worry going to practice even to watch. She struggled to go to school and was constantly afraid of something happening, of falling and hurting herself or being away from home. During this time she also ended up with a stomach bug and got sick at school. We watched our happy silly girl become a shell of herself. She cried morning and night, was afraid of anything and everything. Couldn’t step down the front step from our house and feared walking next door. She struggled getting in and out of the car. She looked frail. We tried to do Christmas things like go to the museum, but she was scared to walk around. Scared of the people, crying and just wanted to go home. Everyday it got worse.  She started talking to the therapist at her pediatrician. She saw her a few times and she suggested having her see an Occupational Therapist as well. 

At the start of Christmas break her fear became paralyzing. She was moving very slow, her body was stiff and the movements she did make were rigid.

She struggled with normal tasks like to get in the bath, off of the toilet, stand up, sit on the ground, bend her legs. She feared standing up at all and walking was incredibly hard to get her to do. When she did walk her gait was so incredibly off.  She had her OT assessment and continued therapy. The days got worse and she was afraid to eat. We spent our days forcing her to eat or drink in small amounts as she feared vomiting If she ate. Anyone who is familiar with ARFID understands how incredibly awful this disorder can be. She was losing strength in her legs and cried from fear off and on all day. We found small moments of joy over Christmas, but it was all consuming for not only Sam, but our whole family. We are so blessed that we are surrounded by people who love us so much. Sis took over Christmas dinner with a days notice. We spent it together and it really was a great day.

The whole season was different than we had expected, but it was the best it could be and we were together.

 Throughout the weeks Sam had a spot she felt safe on, on the couch and we had to make her get up and walk a “lap” to move her legs. She cried to have to get up and we had to help lift her to her feet. Grandma and Papa came over to get her up and talking and played many games of Sorry and Uno. 

 I was in constant contact with her pediatrician. She assured me that physically the doctor had ran every blood test. Thank God I have a dear friend who is a doctor and he was able to assure me and calm me down when my own fear set in. We felt helpless and like we had no direction. 

After a month of not knowing what was happening we were relieved to get a diagnosis. Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) also known as Conversion disorder. We explained it to Sam that something in her brain misfired and her body and brain weren’t communicating. This disorder has caused physical, emotional, mobility and sensory issues. We aren’t sure if underlying anxiety caused it or if it caused the anxiety. We do know that the last few years of trauma surrounding Wyatt’s injury could have been part of it. When she hurt her knee she immediately went to Wyatt’s injury. She and I spent a lot of time talking about that with skills we both learned from her therapy sessions. 

With the help of a friend and Sam’s fear of Children’s Sam started OT at ABC Pediatric therapy. She has been able to start to trust her body again,  We also discovered using sour spray to distract our brain when we felt overwhelmed.  As of the beginning of January it had been over a month since Sam jumped, ran, walked up the stairs without holding on, stood up without help, or did any physical activity. As she continues to deal with the physical aspects, but we have seen some amazing changes with her too. One morning when she woke up it was like a switch had flipped. She woke up happy and wasn’t crying. We heard her laugh and she had a little more pep in her. I heard her singing along to One Direction in the car. Things I had once taken for granted.  Tj and I held our breath afraid to say anything! She has thankfully been our sweet girl since. She has woken in the morning smiling instead of in tears. She has laughed and been able to enjoy playing with her toys. 

She has been able to go out in public places, which made her panic a few weeks ago. She has been eating chicken nuggets and Mac and cheese! After weeks of barely anything she has some pounds to pack back on. She has been able to get into the bathtub again, which caused such panic attacks she could barely breathe a few weeks ago. Slowly, She is starting to use her body again. After three sessions of OT with her beloved Sarah, she started to trust herself again. Last week she jumped and hopped in place. Tj and I felt like she learned to walk again. Anna and Wyatt cheered with actual joy. Sam was so proud of herself we sent videos to grandma, papa and sissy. 

She has a long road of recovery ahead of her over the next few months. We hope and pray that we continue to see improvements and we are so incredibly thankful to have our girl back smiling and happy. She has OT twice a week for the next few months and will add PT into that soon to help her to correct her gait and gain more strength in her arms and legs. We continue to work with her therapist and pediatrician as well. As of mid January she has had 5 sessions of OT. She loves going and has been working so hard.  What she can’t do one day she will come back and show Sarah she can do it the next visit. She has been able to jump on a trampoline, bend her knees, do log rolls and walk backwards. This week she kneeled and crawled!

These are huge fetes from a few weeks ago when she could barely walk, couldn’t bend her legs and would actually pick her leg up with her hands to get into and out of bed. She has been working so hard to use her muscles. She still lacks a lot of muscle tone,lost over the last months, but her OT is optimistic she will get it back with OT and PT. 

A few weeks ago we went to the mall and made it to 2 stores. She struggled walking. Today we walked almost the whole thing and she happily spent my money on skin care and new shoes!

The differences are astonishing seeing how far she has come. Thanks to her good friend, Stella, school has been so much better too. Mornings were tough and there were a lot of tears and fears. Last week we asked if Stella (and her brother) could come in our car to school. It has been a game changer and made our mornings full of smiles! 

She has worked so hard both in therapy and outside of therapy. She made a big decision to go back to her soccer team as a “coach” to cheer them on. The last game we attended left both of us in tears and absolutely broke my heart. She sat at a table just broken and in tears. She didn’t even want to see her friends. This time she sat with her team and coached and cheered. She hugged her friends and was so warmly welcomed. This time I wanted to cry happy tears as I saw her walk to the box across the field. 

She has started eating all of her favorites again! Not eating may have been the scariest part of it all. We watched our girl lose weight and color in her face. A few weeks of very little food make a big difference in someone already thin. We are so happy that she is back to chicken, Kraft Mac and cheese, fries, cucumbers, ice cream cake and fruit roll ups! Not everyone understands how awful it can be to see your child afraid of food, having them come through it and be happy to eat is a huge win! 

The last 7 weeks have been a bit surreal. Each morning I brace myself that we go back to where we were, but pray for continued healing and happiness. Our girl is amazing and resilient and has come so far! 

We told Sam we know she will be back to running and playing and doing the things she loves. In the meantime Please keep our girl in your prayers!