ENJOY THE PICTURES!!!

Well it’s only been 5 months since our last update, so we apologize for the wait; however we have a solid excuse: We are limited on time. Maddie is making tremendous progress as far as movement and stretching goes. She tracks things visually very well and has become pretty accurate with reaching out and touching what she sees. Her movement is still limited in many areas however her therapists as well as Annie and I are encouraged about her current progress and hopeful for future progress. She is still on oxygen, and several of her Doctors feel a strong possibility that her breathing problems are related to her lung structure which is twisted due to what they think could be arthogryposis (no one has officially diagnosed this, however all her symptoms would point to that) or scoliosis. Her back and chest areas are the main focal point during physical therapy: We are hoping that these areas can be corrected through PT, if not she will need surgery on her back which would be done when she is 5.

Speaking of surgery, we started to see an orthopedic specialist in Cleveland named Dr. Armstrong, who is highly regarded by every doctor we currently see. We first went and saw him a couple months back and he spent almost 2 hours with Maddie, looking at her and explaining to us what he thought and what her options are. He will be performing surgery on her feet some time in September and than on her hips 6 months after. We are extremely confident that Maddie is in good hands and will get the best possible care with Dr. Armstrong.

Despite all of this Maddie is just a beautiful little girl who smiles and just recently began to laugh in her own crooked little way. The life in her eyes is dominating, which leads us to believe she will handle whatever obstacles life throws at her for a long time. She is quite simply awesome.

While we encourage Maddie to move and touch as many things as possible, we are doing the opposite with her twin counterpart, Mr. Luke Lippitt. He is at the opposite end of the spectrum. He began to crawl just roughly a week ago and gets into absolutely everything he shouldn’t, and always has a smile on his face when doing so. He is awesome, and Annie and I both agree that we have never seen a baby who smiles as much as he does.

Nate and Zack have to be the best 2 older brothers on the market right now. They play with and comfort both Maddie and Luke daily and have been a big help for Annie and I. We are seemingly always asking them to grab this or get that or could you give me the wipes Nate, or Hey Zack could you find Luke’s binki for me. They smile and love that fact that they can contribute. When they’re not doing that they are fighting, or arguing or playing well together: It all depends on the day.

So there you have it, 5 months of review in 5 paragraphs. We will try to stay on top of the site and keep all of you informed as to Maddie’s progress and surgery. Take care, God Bless and we appreciate the continued prayers and support.