Monday, August 13, 2007
It has been some time since I last updated Lukas's blog. This has to do with blogger.com switching to Google's ownership. I tried to "claim" Lukas's old blog but had a hard time. Somehow it seems I had to migrate through a mirad of links before I could get to Lukas's blog and update it. Anyhow, I was able to find the right link to his old blog. Yeah!
Well, Lukas continues to do well and doesn't require any visits to the doctors' whatsoever. Since his return to the U.S. on May 26th from China for his second treatment, Lukas did not get sick or required any medical treatment. He's happy, healthy, and doing well. He is very aware of his surrounding and can communicate to us what he wants including hungry, thirst, or his desire to go outside of the house and play. Language-wise he has not learned any new words other than what he already knew such as eat, daddy, mama, grandma, grandpa, brother, and play. All these words he says in Vietnamese.
What we do see the greatest improvement in is his muscle tone and balance. He was able to sit unassisted (even though we were right beside him in case he needed us of course) in the bath tub for about 20 minutes. He was thoroughly enjoying splashing the water in the tub. We continue to hold his hands and have him walk with our guidance. He has gotten so big and tall that I can not hold him for more than a few minutes. So, the best way is for Lukas to walk on his own as we hold onto both his hands. Sometimes we can even let go of his hands for a minute or two and watch him balance himself. But he always feels insecure and would require our assistance again. All in all, our observation is that Lukas can do many things independently (sit and stand). However, he chooses not to do them more often. We don't unstand why. I guess we just have to wait for the day when he's more motivated to do that himself. For now we just try to get him to do things more. But he protests and gets cranky. Unless we are able to make him forget that he's doing something, then he'll show us his true potential. For example, when we put him in the bathtub, he becomes really excited and playful. He enjoys the water and forgets that we are making him sit unassisted.
Feeding and health-wise, Lukas is never better. He's still med-free and eating very well. He's growing so fast I worry that grandma and I won't be able to hold him or handle him smoothly. Our goal is to have him walk independently soon. We are so excited for all of Lukas's progress and will take him to China again for his third round of stem cell in January 2008.
We really appreciate everyone's love and support for Lukas. We love you all so much! Take care!
Well, Lukas continues to do well and doesn't require any visits to the doctors' whatsoever. Since his return to the U.S. on May 26th from China for his second treatment, Lukas did not get sick or required any medical treatment. He's happy, healthy, and doing well. He is very aware of his surrounding and can communicate to us what he wants including hungry, thirst, or his desire to go outside of the house and play. Language-wise he has not learned any new words other than what he already knew such as eat, daddy, mama, grandma, grandpa, brother, and play. All these words he says in Vietnamese.
What we do see the greatest improvement in is his muscle tone and balance. He was able to sit unassisted (even though we were right beside him in case he needed us of course) in the bath tub for about 20 minutes. He was thoroughly enjoying splashing the water in the tub. We continue to hold his hands and have him walk with our guidance. He has gotten so big and tall that I can not hold him for more than a few minutes. So, the best way is for Lukas to walk on his own as we hold onto both his hands. Sometimes we can even let go of his hands for a minute or two and watch him balance himself. But he always feels insecure and would require our assistance again. All in all, our observation is that Lukas can do many things independently (sit and stand). However, he chooses not to do them more often. We don't unstand why. I guess we just have to wait for the day when he's more motivated to do that himself. For now we just try to get him to do things more. But he protests and gets cranky. Unless we are able to make him forget that he's doing something, then he'll show us his true potential. For example, when we put him in the bathtub, he becomes really excited and playful. He enjoys the water and forgets that we are making him sit unassisted.
Feeding and health-wise, Lukas is never better. He's still med-free and eating very well. He's growing so fast I worry that grandma and I won't be able to hold him or handle him smoothly. Our goal is to have him walk independently soon. We are so excited for all of Lukas's progress and will take him to China again for his third round of stem cell in January 2008.
We really appreciate everyone's love and support for Lukas. We love you all so much! Take care!
