12 years ago today...

So there I was, home alone at 5pm, needing to go to the hospital. By 6pm, your dad showed up, and grandma Char about 15 minutes later. Little did we know grandma has a double life as a race car driver. We were checked into the hospital around 7pm. We were bumped from surgery for a set of twins to be delivered and then taken into surgery around 8pm.

At 8:46, you were born, all 3 pounds and 7 ounces of you.

From there you have made your own story.

Happy Birthday to you AJ!!!! 12 years later and going strong!!!!

I love you, mom.

12 years ago on Tuesday I started going into labor although it was labled "Braxton Hicks". Well I huffed and puffed, reassuring your Dad and grandma Char that the Doctors said "Braxton Hicks" after an unscheduled appointment.

I will get a bit ahead of myself to say this went on for three days. On Thursday your Dad had an interview and your Grandma had something going on and it was very hard to convince them to continue with their plans and leave me home alone. I tried sleeping (funny I know, but I tried). Grandma Char called about every hour to see how I was doing. Still huffing and puffing my Braxton Hicks I told her.

Around 5 pm I had something change and called the closing doctor's office to be told to come into Labor and Delivery.

Your story will continue in a few more days...

About this time in 1998, we would be told your birthdate would be January 3rd. What a way to ring in the new year. We have twice weekly appointments with the doctor. Ultra sounds every time. The doctor has a plan for your delivery with your Frank Breech position in mind. But a good plan makes people feel like they have it under control. So we were just patiently waiting for your arrival. Hoping to meet you. Not getting too ahead of ourselves.
So much for my idea of having your delivery at home. Thus I nick-named myself Willow to remind myself to be flexible. That would come to be very handy advice indeed.
I think the baby crib was up by now, all the clothes washed and put away. Snuggly blankets waiting. Grandma Bettie had made a christening gown and blanket for you. Oh, and since I adore Winnie The Pooh, that's what we were surrounded with. Silly willy nilly old bear.
You and I had many talks about doing your best and how much your dad and I loved you. I think Grandma Char patted my tummy and sent her love as often as she saw me. You are one very loved little "bump".

In the final weeks before you were born, we discovered you were in a Frank Breech position and I would need a c-section. Our many doctor visits would reveal a heart beat that sounded like a racetrack and that made me happy. We knew you were still with us. The best sound in the whole world.

I sang silly made up songs and hugged my tummy. Prepared your baby things. Your Aunt Bonni let us borrow her children's baby bassinet. Grandma Bettie sewed a Winnie-the-Pooh bumper and sheets for it. We still had until January, but were expecting your arrival.

I tried to say focused on NOW and not get too ahead of myself. We had to wait for more information. And you were the only one who could reveal that to us.

We hoped we could meet you, even if it was only for a little while.

So, about this time in 1998 we found out our baby would be a boy. His due date is January 15.
We had no idea what Arthrogryposis was or what it would mean for our son. But they gave a very grim outlook.
Our greatest wish was to meet him and let him know us, even if it was a for a little while.

This link is for Exceptional Preschoolers, AJ's video is featured here.

Thank you Miss Rachel for your gift of teaching. We wish for you great success.

http://exceptionalpreschoolers.org/welcome/

AJ is Turning 12 soon...

What's new in the past few years for AJ? Well, with the continued support of contributors we were able to remodel our bathroom tub wall. Now AJ can use his shower chair without getting his feet squished by the wall. What a great feeling that is compared with a bed bath. Oh, as an added bonus, we have the dryer running with warmed towels so he won't freeze on the way back to his room. AJ is very cozy.

We were able to purchase a Transfer Lift Chair to safely move AJ from room to room. Our previous methods were not good for AJ's positioning or our backs. We LOVE the Transfer Lift Chair! Our backs are very happy too. We received the chair on our 12th anniversary. What an awesome gift!

We also have had other household items such as hot water heater and washing machine needing to be replaced. As we average 3-5 loads of laundry a day we kept Grandpa Francis and Grandma Char busy while using their machine. Thanks Dad & Mom. AJ sure appreciated clean linens and drool cloths.

AJ was a recipient of Make A Wish this year. He received sound activated lights and a speaker set up that works through his TV and goes into his bedroom. Light never sounded so good! With the lights we received an added bonus as the creator of the lights, Ken, has befriended us and now is a part of our family.

Speaking of added family, Alin has also been added into the mix. We interact via the internet and Skype (video). Three hour time zones don't matter when a connection is made. We enjoy Alin's music picks dancing to AJ's lights. It makes for quite the party from Washington to Illinois. Alin made a U-Tube video with AJ and the light driver lights in it. Alin and AJ have different disabilities, but very similar lifestyles.

Via AJ's TV we can connect his computer and have been looking up topics to back up what he was focusing on in his school lesson. For instance, AJ was learning about safari animals and with the help of Teacher Mary has now been watching Africam.com. We are looking into more interests for AJ via the internet. We are also hoping to have AJ's Springboard (communication device) be able to allow for some navigation on the internet. Our hope is that it will work with a voice command set up. This is in the very early stages now.

We were recently contacted by a teacher in NY who attended a program that started off with the showing of AJ and Grandpa Francis' video. We were very excited to know that something we do daily can inspire others and confirm that what we do is important not only in our family life, but that it is spreading out to reach others. It's our way of paying it forward. Being on the receiving end quite often and then being able to give in this way is VERY rewarding.

Visit AJ's BLOG at ajpatnode.com for more information regarding Ken's lights, Alin's U-Tube video, future posts about his computer or AJ & Grandpa's video on the website.

May God bless you. Thank you for blessing our lives with yours.

The Patnode's

This is what we are sending out for this years update.

Just learned a presentation of AJ's video (see Grandpa's Creative Construction) has made it to NY.

We are very excited to know something we stand by inspires others.

Very cool.

We are currently using AJ's computer to access information to coincide with his school work. For example one of his lessons was about the desert, so we came up with a documentary about deserts. AJ was very interested.

We are currently looking at Africam.com to view the happenings at a water hole. Unfortunately it is nighttime in Africa when AJ is awake. We will continue to see what we can discover.

Some topics have been hit and miss with finding information. We look foreword to new adventures via the web.

Here is what AJ has been doing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsfZ0C9yjjU AJ & Alin

http://litedriver.com/ AJ & his new lights

Here is what AJ has been up to lately. See link below.

http://litedriver.com/

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