Thursday, December 07, 2006
Thanks for checking up on Lukas
Hi Everyone. I want to say thanks to all those who emailed me asking about my son's progress. We greatly appreciate it. I know you all care about his progress, especially after the stem cell treatment in China. I've also been interviewed by a number of agencies who are working on stem cell research or articles. In all instances, everyone wants to know what changes Lukas is making. As promised, here's the list of things Lukas has improved thus far:
My son's diagnosis is (severe) brain injury leading to Cerebral Palsy.
1 - Eating solid foods - Before the trip to China, my mother and I would never dare give Lukas any chunky food such as steamed carrots or veggies. We couldn't give him bread or anything that required some chewing before swallowing. He could drink fluids fine. He loves eating soups and hamburgers. But, we also had to mix it up with some fluids and mash it up pretty good. He doesn't like pureed foods, just really mashed up foods. If we gave him something chunky, he would move it around and swallow it whole. Then gag and choke. So, we never dared gave him anything chunky. After the first SC treatment, Lukas began to have a huge appetite. He was eating a large bowl of porridge and other soups. We normally just give him a small bowl and it was a huge task making him finish it. Then, we started experimenting by giving him larger pieces of food such as soft veggies and chips. He loves the crunchy sounds the chips make. Upon return to the US, he is now completely on solid foods. He can pretty much each anything that is chewable. It's pretty amazing. In fact, he finished a slice of pizza two days ago. We would tear the the pizza into bite sized pieces and pop it in his mouth. He would chew and swallow nicely. We are now teaching him how to use a sippy cup. He alwasy taken liquids using the bottle. So, now we will advance to a sippy cup.
2 - MOTOR skills - The first thing his therapist noticed was how Lukas's trunk muscle has strenghten. Before we had to careful hold him, and provide maximum trunk support to keep him upright. Otherwise, he would flop over, backwards, and possibly hurt himself. Now, with my right hand (I only weigh 100 pounds), I can hold his entire body upright and he will balance nicely. He started walking in his walker back in May. But now, he is walking faster and stronger in it. His ability to balance is pretty amazing. He likes to jump alot. So I put him on the bed. I support his upper trunk with both my hands. As he is jumping, I would slowly move my down towards his hips and thighs. When he's really into the jumping motion, I even let go of both hands for a few seconds. He is able to maintain the posture while jumping. That is pretty amazing. To jump and maintain your posture at the same time. For Lukas, that is huge.
SITTING: Before the stem cell, Lukas could sit in the tripod postion (legs crossed in front, both hands on the floor in front of the legs) for 10-15 minutes. He always liked having someone sit behind him to provide the support. After the stem cell, he seems more independent. He gets mad when we sit behind him. He likes to be left alone. So we put him on the couch and let him sit by himself until he falls over.
3 - COGNITIVE skills - Before the SC treatments, Lukas was in his own world. He did not interact with us much. Sure, he knew who his parents were and who the doctors and nurses were, but he didn't interact with us. He was either quiet or crying when he's unhappy or sees someone he doesn't like (such as the acupuncturist who sticks needles into his head, arms and legs). In the last month, Lukas is very interactive. He can follow simple commands such as "give me five" (he would slap your hand), "clap your hands" (he could clasp his hands alittle closer together), and "do the wah wah" (he would bring his right or left hand up to his mouth and do the "wah wah" sound, like the Indian wah wah). He is also very playful. He often slaps daddy in the face. Daddy makes a yelling sound. Lukas likes that reaction and keeps doing it. Each time daddy yells, Lukas would giggle. We play with him all the time now and his reactions are very appropriate. Before going to China, he would just ignore us or give us a blank stare. Like, he didn't know what was going on or what we were doing. He is such a sweet and playful child now.
If you call his name, he will turn to look at you. If you talk about him or talk to him, he will pause to listen intently. If you talk to his other siblings, he wouldn't pause.
4 - VISION skills - Before the SC treatments, Lukas didn't give much eye contact. Therapists kept asking me whether or not he could see. He wasn't interactive with his toys or surroundings. He didn't notice or care when someone enters the room. Now, he definitely has eye contact with everyone who enters the room. If you come up to him, he will look over to you and give you a smile to acknowlege you. His rehab doc is so impressed with this. His eye doctor is very impressed as well. They say that eye contact is a higher level of vision. If he has eye contact, he is definitely on the road to recovery. Both doctors examined Lukas last week. They had some wonderful things to say about Lukas. Six months ago, all they said were negative things, like Lukas is non-responsive, etc. Lukas's vision is definitely better. He is playing with his toys more and exploring his surrounds. Just the other day, I was holding him on my hip. I was wearing a pink hat and he was tapping it like crazy. As he tapped it, he giggled. Then he was playing with his bottle of milk as I was feeding him. Lukas is still unable to feed himself or hold a bottle. But the fact that he knows the bottle is there is a good thing.
His digestion and overall health is very good. We are keeping him fever-free right now. PLEASE BE AWARE that you need to keep you child healthy 1-2 months after the SC treatments. If your child gets a fever, the immature stem cellls will die. I've quarantined my other children because I want Lukas's stem cells to developed. My sister-in-law is so gracious to offer us her guest house in the Los Altos Hills. Its very quiet and beautiful.
Those are the biggest improvements we've seen to date. I will post more as we see it coming. I just wish he would just stand up and start walking. Now, that would be a miracle.
So, I talked alot about SC treatments. But you know what, GOD is the one treating my son. He is the one that gave me the courage, strenght, and money to take my son on this journey. Although stem cell is a part of my son's treatment, it would never be successful if my prayers weren't answered. I ask for the treatment to work for Lukas. And God answered my prayers. So, I have to give the most credit to GOD and his blessings, then SC treatments.
Email me with questions AnnaNo2007@yahoo.com. Please read this blog first so all or most of your questions would be answered. Then email me with any other questions that are not answer here.
Hi Everyone. I want to say thanks to all those who emailed me asking about my son's progress. We greatly appreciate it. I know you all care about his progress, especially after the stem cell treatment in China. I've also been interviewed by a number of agencies who are working on stem cell research or articles. In all instances, everyone wants to know what changes Lukas is making. As promised, here's the list of things Lukas has improved thus far:
My son's diagnosis is (severe) brain injury leading to Cerebral Palsy.
1 - Eating solid foods - Before the trip to China, my mother and I would never dare give Lukas any chunky food such as steamed carrots or veggies. We couldn't give him bread or anything that required some chewing before swallowing. He could drink fluids fine. He loves eating soups and hamburgers. But, we also had to mix it up with some fluids and mash it up pretty good. He doesn't like pureed foods, just really mashed up foods. If we gave him something chunky, he would move it around and swallow it whole. Then gag and choke. So, we never dared gave him anything chunky. After the first SC treatment, Lukas began to have a huge appetite. He was eating a large bowl of porridge and other soups. We normally just give him a small bowl and it was a huge task making him finish it. Then, we started experimenting by giving him larger pieces of food such as soft veggies and chips. He loves the crunchy sounds the chips make. Upon return to the US, he is now completely on solid foods. He can pretty much each anything that is chewable. It's pretty amazing. In fact, he finished a slice of pizza two days ago. We would tear the the pizza into bite sized pieces and pop it in his mouth. He would chew and swallow nicely. We are now teaching him how to use a sippy cup. He alwasy taken liquids using the bottle. So, now we will advance to a sippy cup.
2 - MOTOR skills - The first thing his therapist noticed was how Lukas's trunk muscle has strenghten. Before we had to careful hold him, and provide maximum trunk support to keep him upright. Otherwise, he would flop over, backwards, and possibly hurt himself. Now, with my right hand (I only weigh 100 pounds), I can hold his entire body upright and he will balance nicely. He started walking in his walker back in May. But now, he is walking faster and stronger in it. His ability to balance is pretty amazing. He likes to jump alot. So I put him on the bed. I support his upper trunk with both my hands. As he is jumping, I would slowly move my down towards his hips and thighs. When he's really into the jumping motion, I even let go of both hands for a few seconds. He is able to maintain the posture while jumping. That is pretty amazing. To jump and maintain your posture at the same time. For Lukas, that is huge.
SITTING: Before the stem cell, Lukas could sit in the tripod postion (legs crossed in front, both hands on the floor in front of the legs) for 10-15 minutes. He always liked having someone sit behind him to provide the support. After the stem cell, he seems more independent. He gets mad when we sit behind him. He likes to be left alone. So we put him on the couch and let him sit by himself until he falls over.
3 - COGNITIVE skills - Before the SC treatments, Lukas was in his own world. He did not interact with us much. Sure, he knew who his parents were and who the doctors and nurses were, but he didn't interact with us. He was either quiet or crying when he's unhappy or sees someone he doesn't like (such as the acupuncturist who sticks needles into his head, arms and legs). In the last month, Lukas is very interactive. He can follow simple commands such as "give me five" (he would slap your hand), "clap your hands" (he could clasp his hands alittle closer together), and "do the wah wah" (he would bring his right or left hand up to his mouth and do the "wah wah" sound, like the Indian wah wah). He is also very playful. He often slaps daddy in the face. Daddy makes a yelling sound. Lukas likes that reaction and keeps doing it. Each time daddy yells, Lukas would giggle. We play with him all the time now and his reactions are very appropriate. Before going to China, he would just ignore us or give us a blank stare. Like, he didn't know what was going on or what we were doing. He is such a sweet and playful child now.
If you call his name, he will turn to look at you. If you talk about him or talk to him, he will pause to listen intently. If you talk to his other siblings, he wouldn't pause.
4 - VISION skills - Before the SC treatments, Lukas didn't give much eye contact. Therapists kept asking me whether or not he could see. He wasn't interactive with his toys or surroundings. He didn't notice or care when someone enters the room. Now, he definitely has eye contact with everyone who enters the room. If you come up to him, he will look over to you and give you a smile to acknowlege you. His rehab doc is so impressed with this. His eye doctor is very impressed as well. They say that eye contact is a higher level of vision. If he has eye contact, he is definitely on the road to recovery. Both doctors examined Lukas last week. They had some wonderful things to say about Lukas. Six months ago, all they said were negative things, like Lukas is non-responsive, etc. Lukas's vision is definitely better. He is playing with his toys more and exploring his surrounds. Just the other day, I was holding him on my hip. I was wearing a pink hat and he was tapping it like crazy. As he tapped it, he giggled. Then he was playing with his bottle of milk as I was feeding him. Lukas is still unable to feed himself or hold a bottle. But the fact that he knows the bottle is there is a good thing.
His digestion and overall health is very good. We are keeping him fever-free right now. PLEASE BE AWARE that you need to keep you child healthy 1-2 months after the SC treatments. If your child gets a fever, the immature stem cellls will die. I've quarantined my other children because I want Lukas's stem cells to developed. My sister-in-law is so gracious to offer us her guest house in the Los Altos Hills. Its very quiet and beautiful.
Those are the biggest improvements we've seen to date. I will post more as we see it coming. I just wish he would just stand up and start walking. Now, that would be a miracle.
So, I talked alot about SC treatments. But you know what, GOD is the one treating my son. He is the one that gave me the courage, strenght, and money to take my son on this journey. Although stem cell is a part of my son's treatment, it would never be successful if my prayers weren't answered. I ask for the treatment to work for Lukas. And God answered my prayers. So, I have to give the most credit to GOD and his blessings, then SC treatments.
Email me with questions AnnaNo2007@yahoo.com. Please read this blog first so all or most of your questions would be answered. Then email me with any other questions that are not answer here.
