Micah's Milestones (a.k.a. Micah's Miracles)

According to Micah's CT scan, he has very little brain and a whole lot of fluid inside his skull.  The untreated hydrocephalus caused massive damage to his brain for the first four years of his life, and the profound neglect  did not do him any favors, either.  His neurologist is amazed.  I am amazed.  According to his CT scan, he should not be able to do the things he is doing.  Like feeding himself:

and coming to me when I call him (well, I am actually signing and beckoning and smiling big at him too, in addition to calling him, since we know he is very hearing impaired) and he is climbing up onto furniture, and back off again, and sitting up beautifully (although he still always has to keep one hand on the ground for support):

He is not quite crawling, but he is Army-crawling now:

and scooting himself around the house on his bottom:

He drew today, for the very first time:

although he still is not sure how excited he is about this coloring thing.  But Mommy was so, so excited that I think he may have wondered if coloring is not so bad after all.  Still, I think he was way more excited about the marker lid.  He absolutely LOVES toys that fit over his fingers.  LOVES them.

I have not yet caught him signing on video, but I will have to try to capture it, so I can show you that this boy is UNDERSTANDING the concept of sign language!  I was starting to wonder when/if the lightbulb would ever come on.  He is now signing "please," "all done," "sleep," and "more."  I can't even tell you how excited I am that we are communicating!  Gideon has been signing for quite awhile now, and I am so giddy with Mommy excitement that Micah is joining in!  I am working on a few other signs with Micah, showing him and doing hand-over-hand, signs like yogurt and oatmeal and diaper and . . . well, a whole bunch of other ones!  We are also starting to introduce picture cards for communication, so I will keep you posted on that fun, as well!  

He is beginning to play with toys instead of just throwing them or hitting himself in the head:

He is standing up so nice and tall:

And even starting to take little tiny steps when supported:

And he has become such a lovebug!

I have been reading a book called 

The Brain That Changes Itself.  

Fascinating.  I don't find a lot of spare time to read these days, but what I have read so far is HUGE.  Inspiring.  Hope-filled.  Challenging.  Confusing.  Miraculous.  I wish I could make this book required reading for every doctor, therapist, and teacher my kids come into contact with.  

Here is a brief description of the book:

An astonishing new science called "neuroplasticity" is overthrowing the centuries-old notion that the human brain is immutable. In this revolutionary look at the brain, psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Norman Doidge, M.D., provides an introduction to both the brilliant scientists championing neuroplasticity and the people whose lives they've transformed. From stroke patients learning to speak again to the remarkable case of a woman born with half a brain that rewired itself to work as a whole, The Brain That Changes Itself will permanently alter the way we look at our brains, human nature, and human potential.

And here are some reviews:

From Publishers Weekly

For years the doctrine of neuroscientists has been that the brain is a machine: break a part and you lose that function permanently. But more and more evidence is turning up to show that the brain can rewire itself, even in the face of catastrophic trauma: essentially, the functions of the brain can be strengthened just like a weak muscle. Scientists have taught a woman with damaged inner ears, who for five years had had "a sense of perpetual falling," to regain her sense of balance with a sensor on her tongue, and a stroke victim to recover the ability to walk although 97% of the nerves from the cerebral cortex to the spine were destroyed. With detailed case studies reminiscent of Oliver Sachs, combined with extensive interviews with lead researchers, Doidge, a research psychiatrist and psychoanalyst at Columbia and the University of Toronto, slowly turns everything we thought we knew about the brain upside down. He is, perhaps, overenthusiastic about the possibilities, believing that this new science can fix every neurological problem, from learning disabilities to blindness. But Doidge writes interestingly and engagingly about some of the least understood marvels of the brain. (Mar. 19)
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"Mind-bending, miracle-making, reality-busting stuff with implications for all human beings."
-The New York Times

"A remarkable and hopeful portrait of the endless adaptability of the human brain."
-Oliver Sacks

"The power of positive thinking finally gains scientific credibility."
-The New York Times

Anyway, I am always researching and trying to learn more, and this is my latest discovery.  Anyone else read this book?

It seems that a lot of people lately have asked me, in a hushed tone, "So how is it really going?"  And I can tell them, and tell you, that it is really going just as great as you see here.  I am not just saying that things are great.  They truly are.  Sure, these kids are busy, and expensive, and complicated.  They are a lot of work to get from here to there.  They are noisy.  They have a lot of appointments.  They have anxiety issues that still make it tricky to go anywhere without panic attacks and screaming fits.  And even with all of that, I can say, completely and without hesitation, that I am blessed more than I know how to express.