The Mitchells: Getting the Tree

Sunday, December 02, 2007

Getting the Tree

We REALLY (okay, Andrea REALLY) wanted to continue the tradition of going to a Christmas Tree Farm and cutting down the tree and driving it home. My dad did this with us as kids and I wanted to do it with ours. For the last 2 years we have done this. We realized this year that with cold, wet conditions it probably wasn't going to be easy with a handicapped child who needs to be in her stroller. Soooo, all that to say that we went out on Saturday and picked up a tree at Home Depot. A great tree (maybe a little short now that we have it home). Ella still wasn't totally thrilled so it's probably a good thing we didn't try to make it an all day event. We'll try again next year...I see it getting more difficult here for a couple of years though.

1 comment:

Beck said...: y'know, I almost called you on Sat. to tell you that they had a good tree farm at Home Depot - maybe I just sent that msg via brain waves.; 2:38 PM

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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.