Ability Camp - Week 2

Oh week 2, you came in like a lion...and you left like one too! We are healthy and working hard...kind of. Jacey is not as impressed with her session as she led us to believe the first 2 days. She is such a sweet natured, mellow, pleasant little girl that when we dropped her off Monday morning, it was a shock that she screamed to not go. I know right?!?! This week has been uber challenging. Jacey has been really clingy which I am sure stems from dropping her off in session with a couple of unknown ladies, other crying kids and hard work to be done. She is definitely exerting her independance. Her independance includes: arching backwards off EVERYTHING!, refusing to do the activities resulting in not one but TWO timeouts, trying to bite the conductor (seriously??) and receiving only half of a sticker for an activity. The butt end of a sticker might I add!! hehe She is such a strong willed kid. I am kind of shocked, I didn't realize she had it in her. Is it wrong of me to be a bit sad for her but kind of proud that she is exhibiting these opinions?!?! The conductor is great, she just tells me that she isn't going to bend to Jacey's wants, she needs to realize that she isn't going to get what she wants. So tough love week began, and I only cried to Jon on the phone once at the very end of it. How strong am I?!? hehe (Although silently I swallowed tears every morning while dropping her off and she screamed for 4 HOURS STRAIGHT!!!) Yeah, you read that right. My mom was here for the last week also and was super great. Every time I walked into the room with swimming eyes she just told me how great this was for Jacey and what a good thing it is teaching her. She rocks! Also helping with the laundry, cooking, dishes, Jacey stuff and remembering to grab the shampoo and conditioner, not once but four times. hehe I love her and was soooo sad that she left on Sunday. I am all by myself now and feel a little bit overwhelmed. However, the other people here have been great and realy helpful. Although Jacey refuses to let any of them touch her. There is one adult brain injury patient here who wants to hold her and play with her so bad, and Jacey holds her hand but if she reaches out to take Jacey, there is a scream a thon! We had a mini breakthrough yesterday when I was cooking dinner, Jacey followed one of the other kids into the session room and played in there while I was in the kitchen. She averted her eyes for like 20 minutes without wigging out. It was the most glorifying 20 minutes of non-clingy time that I had. AWESOME!! Jacey has been doing well though in all seriousness. She is sitting independantly for all of her lunches, up to a table with a handle bar and helping feed herself those meals. Also during dinner time now that Gramma is gone, she is sitting on the table independantly while I feed her. It is also amazing how loose her hands are, opening and closing around things and reaching up high for things. Walking, she has more oomph to her steps and wears these amazing shoes. Pottying is....interesting. She is arching off of it all the time, and her little tush red from rubbing on the potty seat all the time. But we did make one pee on the pot, TMI?!? Nah, it's little kid pee, not that gross. Another awesome thing (well kind of) is that during her scream a thons in class while she is sitting on chairs or stools, she is mastering getting down. The conductor told me that she is a smart girl as she continually is trying to get off the equipment (not while they are supposed to, don't get to proud of her yet). She will reach her hands down to gauge how far up she is and then slide her bum to the edge and reach her arms down to help herself down. She does this over and over again, (resulting in the time outs and half sticker hehe) but that if it is higher, she takes more time to get off. Our conductor told me that it shows her brain is really processing and planning her moves out. YEAH FOR NOT FOLLOWING THE RULES RIGHT!?!?! The conductor also told me that she is probably one of the strongest, most stubborn kids she has worked with. Umm I hear another high five Jacey coming on...no?!? In all truthfullness, this is probably one of the hardest things that I have ever done. Relinquishing all Jacey control to someone unknown, and trusting that they are doing the best for your kid. I have learned soooo much from the conductor and the other parents, that it blows my mind. Jacey is such a crazy, gongshow, apparently brilliant kid and I love her spunk. She works hard every day and I see such changes. I can't wait for Mr Bird to get here and spell me off. I miss him! I also really appreciate your emails, comments and love. Thanks guys! Take care and we'll update again probably in a week. Love y'all!! - Alyson and Jacey

Ability Camp- First Week

Wow! Alot has happened since we have started/finished fundraising and set our plan in motion for camp. WE ARE HERE!!!! My mom, Jacey and I arrived in Ontario on Sunday April 15th in the early afternoon. It was an early flight, and Jacey rocked it as per usual. She is such a great traveler...if I ever win the lottery, I am heading to Australia because the flight is a gongshow and my kid would rock it! Anyways we got here around 1ish and found our luggage and rental car. We were loading our things into the car when we realized that the stroller would not fit...awesome, felt like an idiot after the guy had said a few times that we should upgrade. I was like "no,no,no there is only 3 of us and it will be fine"...it did eventually work out, my mom and I just got creative. We drove the 3 hours or so to camp in the rain, smog and blech and only almost got lost once...it was a real victory. Everyone was already there and so we did the tour and introductions to each other and then we unpacked the car and tried to get Jacey organized for bed. She was sleeping in a big girl bed with a bar along the side and I was nervous that she would try to stand up and fall on her melon but she did good with it. Throughout the night I had started to feel blech, coughing, running nose and fever. I ended up taking blankets, pillows and tissues and slept on the leather couch in the tv room in hopes that none of the husbands would come in and see this sick, hot mess on the couch! The next morning I had a fever and was sweaty and all gross. Terrible way to start off the first day. The camp director had told us that we (parents) would go into session on the first day and the last day and here and there during the program but that the first day was the busiest and longest....hurray for sick me! I ended up making it through the first hour and then I had to go lie down, the shivering, teeth chattering and disgusuting cough were making all the other families huddle in a corner. I am soooo glad that my mom was there. She stayed in with Jacey, who seemed to do well. She followed what the instructor was having her do, although she is soooo nosy that often she just stares at everyone else and forgets what is going on. My mom said that she learned so many tips and things from the other moms and also from the instructor who moved Jacey around and helped correct things. They do a cool routine....one that I'm sure I will learn once I see it all hehe. All the other 3 kids have been here at least once or twice before and remembered the instructor...as soon as she spoke with her Hungarian accent, two started crying right away hehe. She is tough and expects greatness but is really kind and helps when needed. It is hard work. The first day after class, Jacey was dozing in the room before Hyperbarics. We held her off and she slept through the hour dive. That later afternoon, I slept and didn't get out of bed at all. I ended up being sick a few times also...lovely. That night Jacey was bagged and she hit the sack, while I trudged to the tv room with my gear for another night of sleep. (At this point I barely spoke 2 words to any other parents, the instructor or even my mom) Did I mention that she rocks?!?!? The next morning I felt yucky again and stayed in bed. My mom took Jacey and fed her, dressed her and got her ready for session. I slept and she got to enjoy about an hour to herself before having to wash laundry, tidy the room, make a snack and lunch for my kid. Jacey did pretty good in session this morning I heard. There were only a few tears as she did a few stretches that she did not like. (Reasonable I think, glad I wasn't there, cause I am a major wuss when it comes to her being uncomfortable)By lunch time, Jacey was sitting (independantly up to the table holding her handle) and falling asleep during her meal. She kept dropping her head down and Christina (the instructor) had to keep reminding her to hold onto the handle or she would fall. hehe My mom took Jacey into Hyperbarics again today. This is how much my mom rocks, all the families are husbands and wives right now. 2 of the husbands are leaving after the first week and returning for the last week. So while they are here, the mommies have said "you are doing everything for this week and the last because I am doing everything for 3 weeks in the middle", so the dads are in the hyperbarics and my mom. She rocks! Although I hear the guys really help her by plugging in the tubes and things for her so that she doesn't have to get up and down alot with Jacey. After Hyperbarics, we headed into town (Picton) because I went to Emergency and ended up getting a perscription for cough syrup and infection. That night Jacey was coughing and within a couple hours had a fever. We were up most of the night with Jacey and her fever, cough, runny nose and barfing. My poor mom has done so many loads of laundry due to Bird Girl ralphing all over things. As soon as she catches up with the last yucky load, another one pops up (literally) and she has more to do. I helped as much as possible but was still sick and weak and clammy. My mom and I took turns sleeping in the tv room with her while the other one slept in the room. The next morning Jacey couldn't go to session and her temp was spiking at 103. She did alright through the day, still fairly pleasant but very lethargic and smoking hot. That night was the same, off and on sleep and super hot temp. She was drinking her bottles though and sipping thickened water laced with gingerale. The next morning she still missed session due to fever and we decided to take her into the hospital (Belleville, an hour away) to be checked out as she was pulling her legs up and her stomach was making sounds and she seemed in pain. Belleville had a pediatrician on site and so that was nice to chat with her. Jacey had some fuzzy sounds in her one lung and she was worried about a Urinary Tract Infection. She got a perscription for both and told to take it easy for a few days and no hanging out with others as we were contagious. (My poor mom had been popping Cold FX and things this whole time and was beginning to have a bit of a cough. NOOOOOO, she can't get sick, she is the only one holding this mess together) Jacey was pumped full of meds and her fever broke in the night and she slept fairly well with me in bed with her. My mom passed out in the other bed and is feeling better. (Still has a bit of a cough but not sick...wheph!) We decided that since Jacey couldn't participate in sessions or hyperbarics that we would head into Belleville, get a nice hotel and hunker down in in for the weekend. No sharing of bathrooms, or tv room, or kitchen. No confinement to the teeny tiny room that we have masterfully unpacked and been living in sickly for the last few days and no cooking. So here we are....and this is why there is a post. I can sit upright without losing my lunch, there is internet connection here and also more than 5 feet between us. The tiny lady and my mom are passed out in a big bed in another area of our hotel room while I am plugging this out on the couch. Thus ends the first week. What a way to start!! I am hoping that from here on out we are healthy and raring to go. I know there will still be a few tears cause I am wimpy like that lately but that this is great for Jacey. The other families seem great and I have learned alot from them. (Although I am sure they still think of us as the lepers!) I am super sad that my mom leaves in a week...oh what will I do?? But also excited because that means only 2 weeks until Jon is here. Oh how I miss that guy! Also my sisters, who I have bawled to on the phone already more than once...I miss them so much and their sweet kids. Amelia said to Jenny that she "wants to get Jacey from camp please", hehe so cute. Anyways even writing these last few lines are making me tear up. We love you all, thanks for the support. Posts will not be as often as the internet connection at camp is not good, soooo hopefully some. Also probably not alot of pics until were home as we can't take any of the session but they take like 10 days to load. Sheesh!! Take care. - Alyson

Jacey's Fundraising is.... complete!!!

Well we have officially started...and stopped fundraising! We began in August with our big family/friend garage sale and it took off from there. I never expected it to get as big as it did, or do as well as it did. I thought the bottle drive would be a lasting event until May when we left, but I think I did 5 trips of bottles...and poor Graham, Mikey and Jon did a really yucky, huge trip! (Thanks guys!)

The big family garage sale was huge, I thought we'd have a little pile and that would be it. I guessed wrong! People from church, family members, random friends and strangers all donated items and poor Jenny, Gramma and I were pricing and organizing for hours at a time. It was CRAZY!! I had contacted the newspaper thinking they would maybe do a little write up and that would create more foot traffic, little did I know, she would be on the main community page. A huge write up and pictures explaining what we were doing! It was so cool and that really made it happen. 2 nights before the sale I was organizing at Jenny's when a woman showed up with her daughter and she explained why she was interested and that they wanted to be involved. She donated $5000 on the spot to Jacey. There were many tears and hugs (poor lady didn't know I was part Hudkins and I hugged her like 5 times). That is when I knew camp would happen for Jacey and she really got the ball moving. The garage sale was a HUGE success, people stopped just to donate, they bought bread for $100 (Gramma's bread rocks but sorry Gramma, not $100 worth!! hehe), they donated their own garage sale earnings to Jacey. There was another newspaper picture with info about the garage sale. It was great. We raised alot that weekend and it was so great to see all the family support.

We were then contacted by Walmart who had seen the newspaper article and asked if they could host 2 BBQ's for us. They wanted to help Jacey, who lives in the comminuty. We did 2 BBQ's on 2 separate Fridays...even Gramma and Grampa drove out for the best hot dog they have ever tasted....I'm sure of it! We raised $1000 and then Fort Sask Walmart doubled that. Unknown to us, the store manager had contacted Walmart Canada and they decided to match the amount...again tears and hugs to the employees occured. (Excpet the manager, he did NOT look like a hugger) So a total of $4000 was made to Jacey that afternoon. The same newspaper write had come to do pictures and a large write up again...I asked if he as sick of seeing us yet!

Next was a large garage sale in Fort McMurray. A bunch of Emily (my mother in law's) old staff had asked if they could "throw something together". I thought it would be a tiny little thing. Not so. It took place in my old elementary school gym and there were over 25 tables of things. There 3 tables just for all the baking that friends and strangers did for Jacey. Over 10 companies from Fort McMurray donated items for a raffle as well as some beautiful quilts from Mom and Aunty Sylvia. M&M meat shop donated their grill and food for a BBQ to run at the same time. It was HUGE!!! There was another write up in the Fort McMurray paper about it and there was huge interest. There were even a group of construction workers outside who came and had lunch at the BBQ and at the end of their day showed up with a $200 cheque that they had done up for Jacey. It was AMAZING and hugely successful!!!

At the end of the sale while we were cleaning up, a man and woman showed up looking for us. They had read the article and run a foundation called KIDS FOREVER. They had decided to adopt Jacey for the year. They have a large dinner, dance and auction where they raise most of their money and then choose 10-12 children to adopt every year and Jacey was one of them. They gave us a $3000 cheque and again can you guess.....tears and hugs and tears. They offered to pay for her wheelchair. Although her chair will be 100% covered, they offered then to help pay for the van and adaptations we would need to make. 3 weeks later we were invited back up for the KIDS FOREVER fundraising event. My parents, Jon's parents, Jacey and all the couples who helped in the Fort Mac garage sale came. There was a delicious meal (the chef brought out an early little plate just for Jacey, she was starving) and then a silent auction, a live auction and company presentations of funds and then the family recognition. They had picures and write ups of all the kids they were adopting. (Don't worry guys I picked the cutest pic of Jacey I could find) It was an amazing night to be a part of. They presented us with our cheque and I almost passed out. They had given each family somewhere between $12,000 to $20,000. Jacey received $17,000. It was such a surreal experience.There were again many tears and hugs and we all had to speak...you know Jon, strong and silent type. So while I was bawling I had to get through some type of thank you and speech.

There are still things happening for Jacey. Retrospect Photography in Fort McMurray is donating a portion of each of her sessions to Jacey until March. Fort Sask Towing is donating a portion of every service call to Jacey until May and a friend of mine in the Fort does photography and is auctioning off a few sessions that she will donate the money to Jacey.

As I sit here typing it all down, tears stream down my face. I would have never in my wildest dreams thought that this would happen for our family. It is a tough, tough business raising kids...and it is a tough, tough business raising special kids. I know that Jacey was meant to come to our family, and this success just shows how much she is loved and supported by not just our family, but friends and communities. It is still surreal to me, I look at the fundriasing bank account and pinch myself. We are so excited for camp and for her changes that will occur. Thank you everyone for all that you have done to help get us there. Couldn't have done it without all your love and support. Thanks!!

Love The Bird Family (Jon, Alyson and Jacey)

Ability Camp for Jacey

Well it has begun....we have officially started fundraising to send Miss Jacey Bird to Ability Camp. We are so excited to start this journey together with you all! Here is a brief intro to Jacey and our family for those who don't know and also our quest to send her to camp.

Jon and I met in high school and have been together for about 9 years now. We've been married for 5 years and welcomed our little Jacey Bird almost 3 years ago. Jon works as an Accounts Payable Clerk and is going to school to finish his Accounting Degree. I interestingly enough went to school for my Special Needs Teaching Assistant Certificate, and am now staying at home to be with Jacey. She joined our family in August of 2008 and has been such a joy ever since.

A few months after she was born, Jacey was diagnosed with a rare type of Cerebral Palsy. She was born with very little white matter in her brain. Now it has been explained to me that our brain is like a computer and the white matter is like the chords directing the info to our body parts. Because Jacey has such little white matter, her body does not move as it should. She has had surgery to help her rigid and spastic muscles in her hips, strabismus surgery on her eyes to help straighten them, and 2 injections of Botox in her legs to help relax the muscles. She is such a trooper! She has the funnest little brown-red curls and the best smile ever! (Not that I am biased...okay maybe a little bit)She is also such a happy, goofy kid. Her spirit is so sweet and she is just a special little lady.

My husband and I heard about this fantastic camp in Ontario that works with individuals with Cerebral Palsy, and decided that it was something we wanted to do for Jacey. It is called Ability Camp (abilitycamp.com) and it offers very intense physical and occupational therapy. It also works on eating skills, toilet training and communication. It is amazing the work that they do. The camp is 5 weeks long and between 5-6 hours a day of therapy including the hyperbaric oxygen. The camp is awesome but is also costly. The estimated cost is $6000 for the Camp, $4000 for the Hyperbaric Oxygen therapy and close to $5000 for extra costs. (Flights for 3 people, food, and vehicle rental for 5 weeks)

We have begun fundraising and will continue with: a large extended family garage sale, a bake sale, a continual bottle drive, a Bird Girl raffle and petitioning other social clubs. We hope to raise all the costs and enjoy and learn from this great experience. Although it is costly, we think Jacey is worth it!!

Any donations, support, ideas for fundraising or anything at all are appreciated. My email is ahinko@hotmail.com

This scripture is from Matthew Chapter 6, the Sermon on the Mount
3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:
4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

Thank you so much! Love The Bird Family (Jon, Alyson and Jacey)

These are my days....

A day in the life of the Bird Girls

So the Bird girl and I have enjoyed being at home these last few years. (Not like there have really been a ton of years in our professional relationship but...) I thought I would break up our day so that you can see how we roll. My morning begins with some breakfast and a butt change, I will spare you the details.We almost always watch Harry and His Bucket of Dinosaurs and then Miss Bird turns into a dinosaur herself, which is hilarious. Then Jacey and I hang out on the big red carpet, I like to think of it as the Big Comfy Couch, but not so stupid. This is where we work out, let's not get silly here, Jacey works out not me. I enjoy a glass of chocolate milk! We do our phyios stretches and we work on our little fine motor skills and wear our special hand equipment. This goes on for a good hour or so, or until Jacey rips the hand stuff off via her pirahna mouth. We also spend time in her Pony Walker, affectionately called "Walker, Texas Ranger" or her new standing frame, which she loves. These are all fun and interesting unless Mommy is unloading the dishwasher, playing the piano, dusting, washing the floor, wiping down things or even taking a moment to pee by herself. Then all heck breaks loose and the bird girl yells and yells for me to come running and play with her still. Sheesh! So after we are done playing and working out we snuggle together on the recliner with a bottle for a mid morning snack and then hit the sack. This is one of mommy's favorite 20 minutes of the day...yup I said it 20 minutes...jealous?!? That is what a nap consists of around here. My lady drops like a sack of potatoes into her bed, squeaks once usually and is out like a light for 20 whole minutes. You can imagine my happiness as I either rush through a shower and put clothes on, or do the tidying jobs that Miss Scream a thon wouldn't let me do earlier or third option..is more embarassing. I sit on my butt and relish in the "I don't have to hold my kid 24/7 for the next 20 MINUTES" plan. Hehe The little lady makes some fun talking to herself noises and squirms for a good 5-10 minutes and I dilly dally around cause I want her to know I don't run at her beck and call (she clearly runs the show around here!). We are up and off to the races again! She loves to have fresh air hit her smack in the face, so often times we go sit on the front porch if it is nice out. We don't go on the grass much as we gag, yeah we gag alot and that leads to barf and that leads to mommy barf and so we don't go on the grass much. BUT she does love the air. Then we play, sometimes we go downstairs and see the bunny and chinchilla, sometimes we fiddle around with toys, sometimes we go bounce on mommy's bed. Jacey loves books, music and anything she can get her digits on to chew. So one of those things occurs in this time period. Lunch is next, something delicious, like leftovers or baby food or a sandwich. We are all out gourmet around here! Then you guessed it some more playing, we practice walking in our walkers again with our little leg braces on which is adorable to watch and sweaty to participate in. We also like to re-organize the DVD's, oh wait WE don't like to do that JACEY likes to do that. Sometimes we catch a Backyardigans or Toot and Puddle (mostly cause I love the potty reference name) and or Toopy and Binoo. These are our favs. Then we sit and wait for daddy to come home for supper and a tubby. Then it is off to sleep so that Mommy can tell Daddy all these details. Fun hey?!? If this is not our day, we are running like crazy women to appointments in the city which is fun too! Glad you enjoyed a day in the life....bet you wish your day was as fun. Peace out! - A