The Mitchells: Christmas

Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Christmas

Our Christmas was wonderful this year. As you can tell from the pictures, we were in Dallas this year. Sunday, Christmas Eve, we attended service at church. Ella didn't like the loud music so we hung out near the nursery and watched the beautiful service on a TV. After church we headed to Andrea's folks house in Richardson. We enjoyed a night full of family as Mimi's side of the family (the Elkins) have ALWAYS, since the beginning of time, gotten together for Christmas Eve. Two of the brother's families got to join and we missed Joe, Aubrey, Taylor and Alan. It was a night of good times, great food, lots of laughter...and we all got to talk to Mike via a web cam and instant messenger, it was bitter sweet. After we got back to our house that night we opened presents from family and friends who couldn't be here with us and received wonderful gifts...Ella has officially taken over as the biggest recipient of presents!!

Christmas morning we awoke early enough to open gifts, just Joe and I...and let Ella sleep. Once we had opened gifts we loaded up and headed back over to Andrea's parents to do gifts...the way my mom loves to do Christmas. We had a wonderful time and Mike got to join us again.

For "brunch" Andrea's Aunt Linda and Uncle Roger came over and Grandmother and Grandfather joined...it was a good time to talk and eat...before we talked and ate some more over at Brian and Kayla's new home. Andrea's Aunt and Uncle (on her father's side) host the whole Roughton family on Christmas Day...it's a wonderful day and their home is beautiful. They are building a new house right next to their amazing art gallery and the house is like something I've never seen before!! We ate wonderful food and had great conversation. It was truly a relaxing and joyous holiday.

We are now home and trying to figure out where all of the new things go and how to get our house back to normal...it's a great problem to have.

I hope you all had a marvelous Christmas and remembered to keep Christ at the center of all of your festivities.

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Ella's Story

Elizabeth "Ella" Hope Mitchell was born on May 10, 2006 at 3:45pm...by 5am the following morning the whole world turned upside down. The doctors came in to inform us that while Ella had been resting in the Newborn Nursery, she began to have irregular breathing and seizures. It was touch and go for the next 3 days. We were told several times that she probably would not make it alive through the ordeal. She had contracted Group Beta Strep which had resulted in meningitis. Due to the seizures and the infection we had no idea what the long-term effects would be. After Ella spent a long and trying month in the NICU we came home to see where the effects of her illness had left us all.

A few months later, almost a year, we had an official long-term diagnosis...Ella has Cerebral Palsy. She is a happy and loving child. She struggles with physical delays, cognitive delays and all sorts of things that have come and go.

2-eye surgeries to correct lazy eye
3-EEG's to check for siezures
5-MRI/MRV/MRA to check actual brain damage
3-CT scans for brain stuff
1-G-button/feeding tube surgically put in (and then Ella removed herself)
10 (approx)-Swallow Studies
1-Scoliosis Study
2-Kidney Reflux tests
2-Upper GI tests
1-24 hr reflux test
8-hearing tests
countless UTI tests
seemingly a million developmental tests
a hand splint
bath chair
adaptive stroller/wheelchair
stander
gait trainer
AFO's

ha, not to mention all of the therapist...currently: OT 2X/week, PT 3X/week (2 land, 1 horse), ST 3X/week (2 oral motor, 1 speech), develomental 1X/week, vision 2x/month, and we are about to start ACCDAT camp.

As of 4/8/2009.