Tough Road

Six months old and 9 pounds. That was Charles when he first came home. At birth he weighed 944 grams, that's barely 2 pounds. Charles was in all aspects an infant for the first two years of his life. This photo was taken when he was around 14 months. He is still an arm baby.

With so many challenges ahead, it was on. One of the first things to do was to contact the 0 to 3 Program, a government program, which was strongly suggested by the therapist and social workers in the hospital. This program offers free testing and therapy for children with a certain percentage of delays. Parents should contact an agency called Child and Family Connections in their area for more information. The services provided, were one of the most important components to any success that Charles could have.

The key for any program, especially government, is the parent(s). Parents are crucial in making sure the individuals who provide the services, do what they should be doing. There are many flaws and the parents will have to be a strong advocate. Our home seemed to have a revolving door with the Vision, Occupational, Physical and Speech Therapists. A social worker is also available for the family. I urge all parents to have your child tested if you suspect anything. Sometimes it's obvious that your child has a delay, but not always. Slight delays could be overcome in a short time.

This time was not easy at all. For many months there seemed to be no change or progress for Charles. He wasn't active at all, like an infant. We always had some kind of appointment with the doctor and because he was sick a lot, we were there even more. Charles suffered from acid reflux and he could only drink an ounce and a half every two hours. With that, he needed to be fed sitting completely up and had to remain sitting up for twenty to thirty minutes after each feeding. Now this was throughout the night also. Talk about sleep deprivation, can you imagine? It was heart breaking to watch Charles suffer through life this way.

This is his first New Years.

At about a 12 months he rolled over; 20 months he sat up; 2 1/2 years he began to pull up and stand. This was the first real sign that the words "He probably won't walk" began to fade away.

Special Olympics & Charles

Wow, Look At Charles!



Two metals, a gold and silver one. Hooray!!!



That's what Charles won at the Specials Olympics event on Sunday. It was a great day. Charles loves the outdoors. The weather was perfect and everyone was enjoying it.

The Gold Metal was won in softball. Way to Go, Charles!



The Silver Metal was for the 50 Meter Dash.
Video Coming, problems uploading

This was such a proud day for Charles and the whole family. It's amazing how much is put into the Special Olympics. You never realize how important certain things are until you or your family are affected by it. Thanks to everyone.

Here are more photos:

Ready, Set, Go!



And the Winner Is...



Look at what Charles can do:

They said what?

Yes, he walks and runs funny with a gait. But, not only is he walking, he's climbing. "Look At Charles" :-)

Happy 9th Birthday

Wow, 9 years old. Charles is doing things he wasn't expected to do. This was such a great, fun day.

Sorry, no American Idols for singing :-)

The Beginning

A normal gestation is 40 weeks, can you imagine being born almost three months early? Well, that’s what happened to Charles. His vital organs had not developed completely. He had a brain bleed which caused Cerebral Palsy. Thinking he had not survived the birth, he was not immediately cared for in the labor room. Once he was given notice he was given oxygen and that caused ROP, Retinopathy of Prematurity, in which the retina become detached from the eye. This caused total blindness in the left eye and poor vision in the right eye. There is the potential for a retina detachment is right eye, which would cause total blindness. Charles also had to deal with the onset of seizures the first six months of his life.

He was incubated for about four months, so he wasn’t able to leave the hospital for about five months. When he was about to leave for home, the doctors said “He might not walk”. “We don’t want you to be surprised or shocked later by getting you hopes up.” That was like a knife being stabbed in my heart. There are several other ailments that Charles had to deal with in his ‘New Life’.

What a Life, huh?

Look At Charles

Look At Charles! And the doctors said "He probably won’t walk".

Wow, what painful words. “He probably won’t walk”. Here is the story of Charles, now nine years old, who because of serious prenatal problems he was born way too early, 5 months to be exact. The doctors thought he was dead. Born so early that his body and organs didn’t develop completely. He had a brain bleed at birth and was incubated for four months. After all that, he is left legally blind; with Cerebral Palsy; he falls under the umbrella of Persuasive Development Disorder (PDD) tinkering in the realm of Autism; and is Developmentally Delayed.

In this blog you’ll discover the meaning of “he probably won’t walk” from Charles himself. It’s an extraordinary and amazing, reality story. By the time you’re finished, you’ll be saying “Look At Charles!”.