It's New Year's eve, and we're staring 2012 in the face. This past year has been one of the biggest roller coasters of my life, and probably John's life, with plenty of shitty moments. But the year also had some positives, so it wasn't a complete loss.
I'll spare you all of the long, drawn out details - it's not necessary to post lengthy descriptions when the evidence is in my blog archive toward the bottom (so for my newer readers, feel free to click through past posts and check stuff out). I will, however, offer the "Campbell's Soup," or condensed version of things. So (drumroll, please), here is our 2011 Year in Review:
* Judith continued to thrive (even through that GBS infection), and was discharged from the NICU after a harrowing 9 week journey
* We survived our first RSV season without incident, and avoided illness the rest of that winter
* Judith was shuttled around to numerous specialists, and discharged from the majority of them
* We went to 2 NICU Developmental Clinics, and they caught the torticollis and developmental delays early, contacting Early Intervention for consults and services
* Judith has received EI services (PT) for the better part of the year, and it has done wonders to catch her up
* 3 sweat tests later, we got the firm diagnosis of Cystic Fibrosis, adding yet another crazy loop into our lives. We know she has the DF 508 mutation, but still don't know (and won't know until the lab panel is expanded again, and even then it's iffy) what the 2nd mutation is.
* Judith & I went to a bunch of amazing get togethers with my awesome mommy friends that I met online! It was fantastic to meet these ladies in person, and I can't wait for more GTGs in 2012!
* As we discovered early on, Judith likes to do things differently, off-track from what "normal" kids do. We're monitoring her eyes for the bad vision genes I managed to pass down to her, and discovered that, unlike most preemies that suffered from ROP, she's far-sighted and will need glasses much sooner than we expected. However, she dodged the bullet and avoided them all of this year, but I doubt she'll get much luckier with that in the upcoming year.
* Our 2 wonderful NEBTR rescues are getting older, and both celebrated their 6th birthdays. They still bring us lots of joy, provide us with tons of entertainment, and most importantly, they welcomed Judith into our family and are very protective of her.
* Despite everything stacked against her, Judith is thriving and developing, and has grown into an adorable toddler! I am amazed at her progress, and I can't wait to see how she continues to develop in 2012!
I am looking forward to some things in 2012:
* I can't wait to see how Judith will interact with everyone as she gains/improves upon her skills. She already loves the dogs, but I'm also excited to teach her how to interact with them respectfully, properly, and safely so she doesn't hurt them (or them, her).
* Judith will hit 22 lbs sometime in the upcoming months, and I am looking forward to having the conversation about getting The Vest to use for her daily CPT regime. It will help save our hands, and it will also make it easier in the long run for her to learn how to be independent with her treatments/do them herself (even though that's years away, but why not build the foundations early?).
* More GTGs and play dates with our friends!
I'd love to see surprises being kept to a minimum this year, and we can have a quieter year than 2011. Here's to hoping for a healthy, happy 2012!
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