What a great year! We were very busy with 27 doctors appointments between Cole and Reagan plus 110 occupational/physical therapy appointments and 18 therapy appointments at UVA in August. We are very excited to also have broken a six year stretch of hospitalizations. Johnny's serious car accident/broken in 2008, Reagan's brain surgery in 2009, Danielle on bed rest, Cole and Kendall in 2010, Cole again twice in 2011 for not breathing, Reagan in 2012 with the return of seizures, and Cole again in 2013 with concerns of a shunt failure. Even though we did end up in Urgent Care this year with several stitches on Cole's chin, we don't count that since it wasn't an overnight at a hotel. We are considering this trend to be broken and look forward to another year of health in 2015!
The kids had a very fun Christmas. All Reagan asked Santa for was a Leash Pup, Flutterbye and a Paw Patrol stuffed pup named Skye. Cole asked Santa for "a Matchbox car…just one." He was very excited about getting the Transformer Rescue Bots Chase and Heatwave and the flatbed/Jeep even though they weren't on the list. The kids were also excited that their Dad took off two weeks from work! It was so nice having him home!
After Christmas we surprised the kids with a trip to Hershey, Pa. We took them to Sweet Lights which is a two mile drive through the woods to look at Christmas lights. Then we headed to a Hershey Bears hockey game and back to the Hershey Lodge. The kids were super excited about being at a hotel and we even made time for a quick swim at the pool. The visit in the hotel lobby from a large stuffed Recesses Cup and chocolate chip cookies and milk on our pillow were icing on the cake!
On the second day of our vacation we took the kids to Hershey's Chocolate World to see how chocolate was made. Reagan decided her favorite part of the entire trip was this ride through the story and especially the singing cows with hair bows explaining about the milk used in making chocolate.
After a visit to Chocolate World we spent the day at Hershey Park. I had taken the kids twice over the summer and although they both had fun, Cole was apprehensive about some of the rides. Well that hesitation was COMPLETELY gone. He was so excited to run after Reagan onto every ride. We spent the entire day at the park and they slept the whole way home!
Johnny was at the fire house for New Years Eve but the kids and I had a low key New Year's Eve at home with the Coullahan's and Golino's. We did have a new record though - the kids stayed up until 11pm! Perhaps next year we'll actually make it to see the live ball drop instead of the "staged" one. But honestly, the kids are just as excited about the advanced show and don't really know the difference yet.
As we look into 2015 we are excited about all that may lie ahead and we are excited about seeing where our adventures take us. We currently have 12 doctor appointments on the calendar, continued weekly OT for both kids and bi-weekly PT for Reagan in addition to a change in our medical insurance. I'm sure this means numerous letters of medical necessity to the medical review board and proof of continued therapy requirements. This year will also require a move from our beloved program at UVA's Children's Hospital to new program. We hope to find another intensive summer therapy program that is a good fit. Kennedy Krieger is our top pick but are still working through the details of how to make the schedule work. Secretly I am also hopeful that 2015 is the year we are able to discontinue Reagan's brace. Time will tell, but we are hopeful this may be in our near future.
Thank you for continuing to follow our journey and we look forward to sharing our adventures next year!
