Sunday, December 13, 2009

Ava Walks and Walks and Walks...

AVA WALKS AND WALKS AND WALKS………..

Over the past few weeks Ava has made great strides….literally! After Thanksgiving break we noticed an increase in the amount of steps Ava was taking and she is now to the point where I can officially say AVA IS WALKING. Several people have seen her and asked why I never put an update on caring bridge. My response to this was that I needed to wait until she was walking without falling every other step. Once again, Ava has beaten the odds. While it is an amazing thing that she is walking we still don’t know how much she is able to see. We are also unsure as to how much damage was done that is contributing to her lack of balance and coordination. At times she will walk into objects and at other times it appears as if she is just aimlessly walking around and not really focusing on anything. She continues to receive physical therapy three times a week, occupational therapy four times a week, vision therapy once a week and speech therapy twice a week.

As promised I wanted to give everyone an update on Ava’s appointment with the Neurosurgeon. A few weeks ago I mentioned that Ava now has a sixth nerve palsy in her right eye which was diagnosed by her opthamologist. Usually this is caused from increased intracranial pressure in the brain. After much discussion, the Opthamologist and Neurosurgeon have decided that on December 14th Ava will be re-evaluated. If she still has the 6th nerve palsy she will need to have an intracranial pressure monitor placed in her head and receive monitoring in the ICU for one to two days. If the pressure is increased she will require a shunt. Something that she will have long term. She is also going in for an MRI of her spine. She has complaints of pain in her lower back and we need to rule out a few things. I am not a doctor so I don’t even want to attempt to explain all of this. I am asking all of you to please say an extra prayer for her this weekend. While she is a strong little girl she doesn’t deserve any of this.

With that said, I am asking that all of you PLEASE send a letter to District Attorney Susan Reed asking her that this case be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Our first trial date is set for January 19th. I will follow up with details. It is an open trial so if you are able to come and show your support for Ava our family would truly appreciate it. The address for Susan Reed is: 300 Dolorosa, Suite 5072, San Antonio, Texas 78205. Please address the letter to the attention of District Attorney Susan Reed. Email is not sufficient, we need written letters. Thank you all in advance. I would hate to see this happen to another innocent child or family.
Until next time….stay safe!

Love,
Traci