Willie’s Facebook Status regarding Jordan’s game May 7th
10 May 2010 1 Comment
in Blessings, Jordan, Sports, Uncategorized
So, for those of of you that know my Jordan… At his baseball game Friday night, Jordan played his first game without his walker. The entire game with no assistance. He batted (coach pitch) by himself, rounded the bases by himself, played the field by himself, actually went toward ground balls, played catcher. All by himself with no assistance. At all. It was very cool to see!!
Jordan’s foot
29 Mar 2010 2 Comments
Ever wondered what a fallen arch looks like? Here’s what Jordan’s right foot looked like as of yesterday.
One view
And when he raises his toes. Nothing very normal about that.
Sleepover for Bekah
26 Mar 2010 Leave a Comment
in Around the house, Bekah, Jordan, Raising kids
Following the Home schooling Easter party today Bekah was begging for Genna to come over for the night. Despite some illness this past week, I obliged. Apparently, the girls think they’re visiting the spa. Nails, bubble bath, lounging in jammies and watching Pippi Longstocking. Wow, the life of a kid is pretty good.
Two little swimsuit-clad girls enjoying their bubble bath with snacks behind them.
Meanwhile, Ashley is at a birthday party sleepover, which means Jordan – odd man out – is asking for a sleepover with Mom and Dad. He was hanging with Willie tonight when Jordan says “Dad, I like you… And you know, I like you two.” Willie and I. How sweet is that?
First day of spring 2010
25 Mar 2010 Leave a Comment
in Family Outings, Health, Jordan
It’s warm! Gotta head outside. Once some household stuff was taken care of both in and out of the house we packed up and headed across the way to the Lake Sammamish area and Marymoor Off-Leash Dog Area – one of our favorite places.
And we're off!
Once the sun comes out, all Bekah can think about is water. March 21st and she's got on a swimsuit in Seattle!
She did confess that the water was cold.
Where Bekah thinks water, Jordan's thoughts immediately go to "'throwing rocks in the water', a favorite past time.
As we meandered down the trails, we eventually came to a bird sanctuary where dogs could go but had to be leashed. More water was located...
Ashley took hold of the camera and rock skipping began
It was so amazing to me that the trees could still be so bare and yet the temperatures be so comfortable.
The maiden, stripped to just her swimsuit
Down a great bridge trail with no idea where it went, just hoping we were actually on a 'loop'.
Aha! The Lake! Mom and Bekah at the end of the dock
Willie and Jordan reach the end of the dock
What was intended to be a family photo shoot - cut short by a wicked inch long splinter in Jordan's palm.
The girl with the camera! She did a great job. So many nature shots I could never post them all.
Quite a long walk. Jordan started complaining that his feet hurt. Should have paid a little more attention to that...
The good news: A gorgeous, 71 degree family day
The not so pleasant part was that even by the next morning, Jordan’s right instep looked horrendous. Puffy, purple, really scary. I thought he was going to end up with a serious pressure sore. The last few days have been spent purchasing new shoes he can wear without the splints (which he was rubbing on and caused the skin problem), adjusting the splints, back and forth conversations with physical therapist, and several calls to Children’s to set up appts. with orthopedists. It appears that Jordan’s instep has fallen more than 1/2″ in the last 4-6 weeks. He seems to be hitting a growth spurt that his foot and ankle ligaments just can’t support. Our goal at this point is to “save” the foot as much as possible until he is seen April 8th. Thanks for praying.
Celebrating Jordan’s 12th Birthday!
01 Mar 2010 1 Comment
Jordan’s last pre-teen year – wow. The morning of Jordan’s birthday we sat at breakfast and asked Jordan what he wanted to do at the end of the day to celebrate his birthday. “Open presents and have cake,” he said. Sounds pretty obvious except for the fact that Jordan has NEVER asked for a birthday cake in his life. It had never crossed my mind! Thank you Ashley for cranking that out by the end of the day. Once we were all home (he was last), he got to do his presents, have some dinner, cake, and then have a movie evening.
Additionally, he’s been talking about going to Great Wolf Lodge for nearly a year now. When a great deal came up for home schooling families we jumped on it, celebrated his special day a couple weeks later, and headed to Grand Mound, WA for a family overnight mini-vacation.
Happy Birthday, Jordan! We love your quirky personality that always surprises us. Your sense of humor is amazing and your determination and faithfulness are so admirable. You are precious to us and our Heavenly Father.
It's my birthday!
Skyping with Gramma & Grampa for the first time
Celebrating with his "Ding Dong" friend, Mr. Keith on Super Bowl Sunday. Thanks for the cake, Kim!
Heading into Great Wolf Lodge on a balmy, February afternoon in WA.
Jordan and the Great Wolf mascot (I'm sure he has some name...)
Getting battered in the wave pool
Basketball in the water was where Jordan parked it for hours.
BAHA surgery went great!
03 Nov 2009 Leave a Comment
Wow – time flies!
Jordan’s Stage II surgery for the BAHA went great and the doctor was very pleased with how the posts had osseointegrated. The soft tissue work was done at this last surgery as well as adding the abutment. He’s had his post-operative appointment and is scheduled to receive his processor (hearing aid box) on MONDAY!
Here are a couple photos…
This is what Jordan's head looked like the day after surgery - 10/24. There is a disc covering the surgical site which is wrapped with a strip of Vaseline gauze.
This is what the site looked like the day after the post-op appointment when the disc was removed. (The disc snaps on and off, and stays in place except for times when we add ointment to the site.)
The site is healing very well. The biggest issue seems to be a disturbance to his balance for some reason. His aid at school, therapist at horse riding, and also a volunteer at riding therapy all noted some atypical instability in Jordan. Not sure what that’s all about. Appreciate your prayers.
BAHA surgery Phase II is here!
22 Oct 2009 Leave a Comment
Jordan’s check-in time at Children’s is at 8:45 Friday morning. Surgery will start about an hour and a half after that and will last about an hour fifteen minutes. Recovery will be 1-2 hours and then we head home. Jordan is very ready to have his BAHA! (We’re trying to help him understand that this process still isn’t over. He still has to heal for 2 weeks before the actual amplification box delivery appointment occurs.)
We much appreciate your prayers for Jordan’s safety, our peace, and the girls as they will be home (and are both fighting the flu).
Jordan’s 1st big bike ride
28 Aug 2009 1 Comment
in Jordan
In an amazing turn of events that were a total answer to prayer, 5 days before we left for Family Camp I ‘stumbled’ upon information that Outdoors for All rents equipment. I had checked with therapists and case workers and no one knew of anyone who rented stuff. The very next morning I took Jordan to Seattle and tried out a bike. And then, only by the provision of friends was the bike actually rented for the week. It was such a blessing.
And at the end of the week, when asked if he’d liked Family Camp, Jordan responded, “Yes! ‘Cause I had my bike!” Like, duh!
Bailey’s back!
17 Aug 2009 Leave a Comment
in Around the house, Ashley, Jordan
Many years ago in a house not too far from here… We were the owners of a fantastic Golden Retriever named Bailey. He was the first Bodger baby to join Willie and Stephanie’s home. Within a year, Ashley came along and there was fur pulling and spitting up on him and all kinds of fun. A couple years later, Jordan joined the family. The Bodger family in 1998: Willie & Stephanie, a daughter, a son, and a dog. It added up perfectly up until Jordan reached 6 months and his development went from on-target to far off it. His declining health and increased care needs resulted in lots of work for Stephanie and the wonderful dog ended up getting the boot. Thankfully, he didn’t get booted far.
Family members were able to take the amazing Bailey and have been his caring owners for the last 11 years. Sunshine, Shannon & Oskar have dog sat for our new dog, Benny, multiple times over the past 4 years but we have never gotten Bailey back onto our turf… at least not until Aug. 8th, 2009. Bekah was at a sleep over while Ashley and Jordan got a reunion with their 15 year-old Golden Retriever when he came for an overnight dog sitting.
Despite being deaf and having vestibular issues, he is still the sweetest dog I’ve come across.
Unable to climb the stairs and too big to be carried, Jordan and Ashley brought their pillows downstairs and had a sleepover in the living room with Bailey. I saw tears in Ashley’s eyes as she got ready for bed…
Jordan's ready for his downstairs sleepover with Bailey
Jordan and Bailey
Ashley and Bailey - she has such a tender spot in her heart for him
Since Bailey ended up sleeping by Ashley, Jordan got Benny on his 'bed'.
Horseback riding therapy – “hippotherapy”
29 Jun 2009 6 Comments
in Therapy
Jordan - with physical therapist and occupational therapists at Little Bit
Jordan has been on the wait list for Little Bit Therapeutic Riding Center for over 3 years and we finally got the call for him to come in for an assessment.
After talking with me, viewing Jordan’s IEP (with school physical therapist’s notes), and setting some goals, it was time for Jordan to mount onto Bjourn and take his first lap around the arena.
Heading into the arena with his team
For the early riders, there is a PT on one side, an OT on the other, and another person behind who actually steers the horse kind of like a plow horse.
Here is Wikipedia’s brief explanation: In the hippotherapy environment, a therapist uses the horse‘s movement to provide carefully graded sensory input. A foundation is established to improve neurological function and sensory processing, which can be generalized to a wide range of daily activities. Unlike in therapeutic horseback riding, where specific riding skills are taught, in hippotherapy the movement of the horse is a means to a treatment goal.
Jordan is so looking forward to his next time up on the horse.
Jordan will be able to work on strengthening his trunk muscles, gait movement, visual tracking, hand strength, fine motor skills and a myriad of other things. He starts the summer quarter on Monday, July 6th at 3:00 pm! Yay!
Jordan’s ability to walk independently has grown so much in the past year. In November we sat down with the educational team and set goals for the year. The PT wanted to set a goal of Jordan walking 60 feet independently, to which Willie and I pretty much, well, laughed. He was currently doing almost 30 feet. Well, only 7 months later he was walking over 100 feet independently! God is so good to continue healing and growing this boy.
