Well...I'm done! On Monday, we went to the Xcell Center at 9:00. When we got there my Mom had to read sign a zillion papers, and I was starving. She wouldn't let me eat or drink because I was having anestisia. But guess what? The first paper she read said I didn't have to fast! So, my brother Caleb, got me some really good apple juice! Well....the doctor got really angry with my mom a few minutes later...."You should have known better!" She showed him on their paperwork where it said fasting wasn't neccessary, but he was still being mean! These German people talk like they are mad at everyone! But he wasn't really mad at my mom, he was mad because the mistake happened at their center! So, we had to delay my procedure for 1 hour. It was really hard for my mom to watch me be put to sleep. They put the IV needle in my wrist before I was asleep...AND IT HURT REALLY BAD! I was screeming. My mom asked why they did that before I was asleep, but the doctor got angry with her again...saying he knows what's best! Well, maybe he does, but they don't do IV's like that at home. I've had a few surgeries before, and it never hurt that bad!
But, the procedure went great! I woke up only 5 minutes after they were done, and they watched me for an hour, then I got to leave! Boy, are the hospital beds uncomfortable! I felt just fine! We even stopped for ice cream on the way back to the hotel! They have really yummy ice cream here!
On Wednesday, we went back to the Xcell Center at 9:00, did I tell you it takes an hour to get there on the train? When we got there, this time I was fasting again, and my mom wouldn't let me eat or drink! But the doctor was running really late, so we got started over an hour late! I was so anxious and bored, I was kind of mad! But, everything went fine during the procedure. This time they put the IV in my elbow area, and guess what? As soon as they were done....I pulled it right out! I didn't want that in my arm any more. They made me stay in my hospital bed for 5 hours to watch me. It was really boring! All I could do was lay there. My mom read me a whole magazine, we looked at pictures we've taken on her camera, we tried to watch TV(but there was not any channels in English)...it was boring!
But, I did have a roommate that was 15 years old from Spain. She had a stroke when her mom was pregnant, and she can't really talk, but she can walk a little. She reminded me of my friend Molly Parnes. I kept asking her questions like, "Do you like rubber ducks?" and "Do you like baby dolls?" She didn't speak english, she spoke spanish. Her sister could speak English and would answer my questions. She would make all these funny sounds and clap her hands alot....she was really loud! Her mom and sister were really nice.
Finally, it was time to go home....but then I got a headache and my stomach hurt! I threw up all over my Dad! Oops...sorry Dad! My mom and dad didn't want to take me home on the train because I wasn't feeling good, so they called a taxi to bring us home. But, we waited and waited, and after 40 minutes, we decided to take the train. So, an hour later, we got back to our hotel. It's not really that far, it's just you have to get on 2 different trains to get there. I wasn't feeling very good, so my mom and dad gave me some pain medicine and I fell asleep. I had a really good night sleep. I slept for 10 hours and then woke up because I was thirsty. Then I went back to sleep for 3 more hours. I'm feeling pretty good, my back is sore where they put the needle in.
I'll keep you posted! Thanks so much for thinking of me! I love you all....my dad will add pictures later! My mom is not sure how to add the pictures.
Love,
Harrison...HG....."The Man"....Chiefy....Hrificent!
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Hi! My name is Harrison...
Hi. My name is Harrison Spiers. I was born on March 8, 1999. My Mom and Dad were really excited to have me join their family. I already had a big sister, Morgan, here to help take care of me. When my mom was pregnant with me, they thought something could be wrong with me because something came back a little off in some of her blood work. But, after much tests were done, they determined I was healthy.
Something else happened as I was born. While my mom was pushing me out, the cord got wrapped around my neck, and I was purple/blue when I was born. I was not breathing. The nurses did a great job of helping me breathe, and I was fine just a few minutes later.
I was a pretty normal newborn. I definitely had my days and nights mixed up. My big sister was really fun. She liked to push me around in her doll stroller. I knew she really loved me.
When I was four months old, my mom’s friend asked why I couldn’t hold my head up. My mom wasn’t sure, so she asked my doctor. The doctor told her not to worry about it unless I still couldn’t hold my head up at six months.
Well, guess what? At six months, I still couldn’t hold my head up very much. My head was sooo heavy. My doctor told my mom it was time to do some tests. So, we went to see a developmental psychologist.
Man, that appointment was long. All she did was asked my mom and dad a zillion questions. At the end of the appointment, she told my mom and dad the news….I was going to be moderately to severely mentally and physically handicapped. Well, my mom and dad didn’t believe it. They knew I was smart. They said a lot of prayers on my behalf, in fact they still do.
Next, I went to get an MRI of my brain. Boy was that weird. I went to the hospital, and they put me to sleep so I wouldn’t be afraid of the loud noisy machine. After the results came back, we went to see another doctor. He told us that my brain was normal, there was nothing wrong. I was just developing slower than normal.
This is when all the therapies began. We had people over at my house all the time. There was a physical therapist, a speech therapist, an occupational therapist, and a development therapist. This was crazy. I didn’t like some of them, sometimes I would just scream through the whole session. Some of them were really nice and helped me.
When I was just a little over 18 months old, my family moved to Colorado for my Dad’s new job. I guess it was ok, except I had to move away from all of my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. This was pretty hard because I missed them so much.
My mom also had to find me some new therapists. We started going to therapy almost every day. This time we had to go to an office, they didn’t come to my house. We did this 4x a week until I was three years old. During this time, we went to see many new doctors, and they all said the same thing. I was developmentally slow. Finally, we went to a doctor that gave me my diagnosis, Cerebral Palsy (CP).
Let me tell you what CP is. It basically means that I have slow motor skills; this was caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain. There are 3 different types of CP: spastic, ataxic, and athetoid. The type of CP I have is Athetoid. This basically means that I have problems controlling my muscles. Sometimes I am really floppy, sometimes I am really tight. This makes it really hard for me to hold still. Most of the time, my arms like to go flying. It’s hard for me to hold them still. My hands are clenched most of the time. This makes it very difficult to feed, write and dress myself.
Even though my body doesn’t function like all my friends and peers, I am just as smart as everyone else. I do go to a normal class at school; I just have an aide with me all the time. She writes for me and helps me with my daily skills. I even have a computer that helps me write sentences and do my spelling tests. It can talk for me also. I can talk, but sometimes people don’t understand everything I say. Most of my day is spent in my wheelchair. I do have a tricycle that I can ride for exercise, and also a special walker that helps me walk.
I still do therapy. I ride horses with my physical therapist. It’s really fun. This is the only time I can sit up myself, without being in my wheelchair. I also go to speech therapy as well. My speech has improved so much since I started.
I love people. I love my friends. Some of them are really amazing. They don’t care that I don’t speak perfectly, or that I can’t walk. I really love sports as well. I love playing football and baseball with my dad and brothers. I also play baseball on a handicapped league. They have a special field where wheelchairs can ride on the entire thing!Followers
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You're a real trooper! (so is your Dad!)
ReplyDeleteAfter all that fasting I think you deserve an all-you-can-eat pancake day and double scoops of ice cream!
Love ya,
Fran Cohen
Thanks for the updates! Can't wait to see you in November or December! The lawnmower keeps asking when you are coming! :)
ReplyDeleteLove you!
Uncle Aaron, Aunt Mindy, Spencer, Riley, Paris, JJ and Sydney!
Good Job Harrison. It isn't easy being in hospital when you are in your own country but being at a hospital in a country that doesn't speak english as their first language must be really hard.
ReplyDeleteWe are so glad that your procedures all went well. Now that the business end of your trip is taken care of you can get back to the fun stuff - (: Can't wait to see some pics . . . .