Vote for Gabriella Roddy - Payne, OH in the 2013 National Mobility Awareness Month Local Hero contest!

Vote for Gabriella Roddy - Payne, OH in the 2013 National Mobility Awareness Month Local Hero contest!

To all my readers, We are tryin to win Gabby a new van! Please take a moment and vote daily for her! We can do this!

AFO'S

I first need to say how sorry I am for my lack of updates! Being a full time student is defiantly taking up more of my time (In a good way) We have been dealing with the wonderful waiver program in Ohio and by wonderful I mean this is a very long drawn out process that should be simple, but due to some major poor listening skills we have had to reapply. This time around I have everything in order and we should be good to go.

Gabby had the botox in her calf muscles, and then we followed up with serial casting. The first week was living hell! She was so angry and sore all she did was cry. We had her fitted for new sole less AFO's two weeks ago, and today they came in. We had the last set of cast removed, and she finally had flat feet again! I also for the first time in Gabby's life got to go buy her some shoes. I know to most people we would not think twice about it, but this is one of those milestones that meant the world to me. We went shoe shopping right after our appointment. As you can see from above she loves them! She is growing like a weed! The whole time change thing did screw her up and for about a week was staying up till 2-3 am! I think she is finally back to her schedule and that is a good thing as my spring break is over and its back to the hustle and bustle of school.

I am carrying all A's in school with one B. If you know me from back in High School, well you know how much I truly applied myself... So it feels good to be going after my dream-and being successful at it. I have registered for all my summer classes and applied to be in my nursing classes this fall! I can say to everyone who uses the excuse its impossible because I have kids, is full of crap! If I can do it anyone can! As you see this post is at 1:30 AM, because I just finished up some homework! I feel this is also showing my kids that at least one of their parents is furthering their education and that college is a good thing. I feel this is even better for Kiera to see, as she truly needs someone to show her the right way in life!

The kids got all A's and B's on their report  cards-I know not a big surprise there! Smarty pants kids! I will try and post again here soon!
Love you all-
Maria

Happy Ground Hog Day!

Life has been BUSY here! The kids are doing great in school. Kiera and Kirstynn made the honor role as always plus got their C.A.R.E.S. awards to! Jazmyne is to young for the traditional grade card but is getting all E's and S+ ! We are getting ready to start 4-h projects at the house. Kiera is taking a second year in photography (We have a DSLR and it was to advanced for project one last year) and quilting! Kirstynn and Jazmyne are clover buds so will be doing the county wide project all clover buds do. This year its Keeping fit and healthy. They are keeping me busy with all their homework, and school activities!

Gabby is doing great as well. She goes Feb 12 to Akron for her botox treatments! I am very excited for I know this will help relieve the daily pain she is currently in. She is moving forward with Ipad! We received the arm to attach it to her wheelchair, and it has made it more accessible for her. She can choose if she wants to play on it or not. She also can choose when she is done. I love seeing her move forward, even if its just something simple. I feel something simple is massive to us but to the rest of the world trivial.

School is whooping my butt! I am getting 100% in math as well as Comp 1. Biology is going good to. I am just struggling with it. Its not my cup of tea, I am learning allot about things I had never thought about before and I am guessing that is the point of the class.I have great teachers, and its a wonderful school program as well. We have out meeting Wednesday with a state worker. She will be coming out to the house to do the finial interview of Gabby's wavier. I have had to call endless amounts of times and demand to find out what was going on. Her file was sat off to the side at one point. It happens just glad I am on top of this! Lets hope this will be the last step and soon be able to have nursing here. I am going to bed after 2 am(when I finish my daily school work) and getting up by 7:15 to help the other kids get ready for school. Its starting to whoop my butt, and ware me out.

Well I hope everyone had a happy Ground hog day. Lets hope his prediction was right and we will see a early spring. Now with spring comes Ohio's crazy storms, so I am hoping for a calm spring and summer this year. I think we got our fair share last year! :-/

Thanks for all your support!
Love-
Maria

Christmas in the PICU

I wanted to post an update to all my readers whom don't follow us on facebook. Gabby just got out of the hospital, from a picu stay. We had her teeth cleaned about 2 1/2 weeks ago and Gabby aspirated while having them cleaned. A week after her cleaning we took her to Dr. Wiley and he confirmed she had aspiration phenomena, we got her on medication and hoped for the best. We ended up spending Christmas Eve in the hospital (gave her fluids and sent her home) She only continued to get worse as the days past. We ended up taking her back to our doctor's office and they admitted her into our local hospital. (Great Hospital but not a children's hospital) they could not place an iv line, and had wanted to place a pic line (We refused) and were transferred to Children's hospital in Toldeo. Gabby spent 3 day's in the PICU. This was the sickest we have seen her to date. She gave us all a large scare. She was in an unresponsive state for the first 20 hours. Her right lung was full of phenomena, and was starting in her left lung. Her o2 stats were in the lower 80's(off oxygen) and high 80's with oxygen. Her respiration's were around 55-60 and her heart rate had shot up to around 170+. She was placed on some new antibiotics (strong ones) and lots of new breathing medication. We also are getting a vest that will 'shake all the fluid around" She is home now. We are taking the week off from everything to continue to allow her to heal. Please, Please everyone get the flu shot. There fear is she also caught something else and that was why her body was unable to fight it off. It was a scary couple days for us. The doctor's and nurses were great! While there we also filled out new paper work to get Gabby on a wavier. This will get Gabby a permanent nurse, and will allow me to be able to attend things with the other children, more time for school (so i can be full time student) and it will help us be able to keep her out of the public. There is just to much going around, and having her limited to the public will help reduce her being exposed to any other virus.

I also found out 85% of my schooling will be payed for with grants! That is only about 15% we will have to pay out of pocket. I don't expect to go for free but its nice to have the extra grants to help out. I hope to be able to get some scholarships to help pay for the following 8 classes I will need to obtain my RN after I finish with my LPN. :) I never thought I would be one to head back to school at the age of 30, but I am happy some classes transferred from my first time around. I know this will help my family in the future, and give me more knowledge with Gabby so we can give her a better quality of life. They are older getting older and someday we will have college and cars to pay for! :D I hope every one had a Merry Christmas! I will post picture hopefully this week from Christmas!

Thanks again for all the prayers, We see the power of prayers daily!
Maria

Rock Your Look Photography

Rock Your Look Photography- Kim a family friend took our Christmas pictures again this year! I am in love with them! This is a sample of what she has for this year! I love them! If you message me I can provide you with the information to get in contact with her! Thank you Kim!

Happy 11th Birthday Kiera

Happy 11th Birthday Princess!

Santa's In Town

As you can see Santa stopped past the Payne Fire Department today! The girls had fun, and again I cant say enough to the Payne Fire Department! It was perfect this year! I hope to see it for years to come!

Update's

Just a short update: Gabby is doing great! We have had several appointments in the past couple weeks. Her eye pressures are the lowest they have been! (Happy dance) We have found another location to restart the process of getting her contacts. This will be located down in Columbus Ohio! I will post more information as we know. We also had a great Neuro Apt! With her seizures under control, we are pleased with how she is reacting to her Keppra now. She will be receiving botox in her calf muscles to help relax them. She has been able to turn her foot in her AFO's and learned to wiggle her foot out of them sometimes. After two week of the botox treatment being done, she will be casted off once a week for 4-6 weeks. Around week 3-5 she will be fitted for a new pair of AFO's and we hope this will help relax her muscles and allow her to wear the AFO's all the time again. While she is having her botox done her new dentist will also be stopping in to give her a good teeth cleaning. :D

I hope everyone had a safe Thanksgiving! We went to visit family and friends in PA. It was a great trip! And plan to return over Christmas. I hope for lots, LOTS of snow when I am there! I sure miss large amounts of snow. There has been no snow so far (other than a couple flakes here). I will post another update of Gabby around Christmas. We plan on going to see Santa on Saturday! Our local Fire department is having Santa stop to see the children! My kids are beyond excited! (other than Kiera, you know she is now to cool to sit on Santa's lap)

Hope everyone is having fun decoration their tree's and preparing for Christmas, but in the hustle and bustle lets not forget what CHRISTmas is all about!

Much love,
Maria

Merry Christmas from my "boy's"

Merry Christmas from my "boy's" Meeko & Storm.

Kirstynn got Student of the Week

                                                      

Kirstynn received student of the week! She is working very hard in school this year, and is getting super smart! Her reading level is above average and I can tell everywhere we go she is reading signs, papers, and her books! Her teacher said the following about her:  

Mrs. LaBounty/Mrs. Ritchhart selected Kirstynn because she is a very pleasant second grader. She is always kind to everyone. She always has a smile on her face and is a fun person to be around. Great Job,  Kirstynn. We are excited to have this chance to recognize achievements in and out of the classroom.

Great Job Princess! As always, You make me proud to be your mother. I am glad to hear you inner kindness is shinning through in school! Love you so much!

Wheelchair-Gabby-rocking it!

Gabby got her new wheelchair! And she LOVES it! It provides a great amount of support to her mid section, and as you can see she can sit in a normal sitting position. We hand picked each part of the wheelchair to conform to Gabby's needs. Tonight when John picked her up out of it she threw it a fit! We all got a good laugh over it. :D If you are searching for a new wheelchair and have any questions please feel free to ask! Happy Thanksgiving!  

Trick or Treat....

Fall Pictures-

Today was perfect for picture taking! It was 80,sunny,and light winds! Thank you to Kiera who helped me set up and seat everyone! Here are our fall Pictures! I love these! Such great smiles! Hope you all enjoy them! 

*Nursing*

I wanted to say sorry for the lack of post recently, I updated the blog last night with pictures from the past couple weeks. I found out 3 weeks ago we were approved to have a aid come in now for a slotted number of hours a week so I can start COLLEGE to obtain my LPN! You have read that right! I am now an enrolled student, and will be starting school this spring. I had a couple test I needed to pass so all my extra time (as if I have much) has been applied to working on these. I wont be posting much, as I know that I wont have any extra time...for the next 2 years...its appears. I know in the end it will all be worth it!  Once I get my PN (LPN) I will follow soon after with my RN. I will still post pictures from time to time and a small post about how things have been...

On a side note, with the funds from "Giving For Gabby" we were able to handicap our van, build a ramp out front, and purchase a second car to help prevent so many miles being places on the van. They also got her IPAD, tons of apps to go on it, and are going to order her switch.We cant say thanks enough to everyone who has helped along the way. The other girls also got a room makeover, that will include new paint, wall deco they have already purchased and in Kiera's room will be a complete redo as we will be removing all the paneling up there. It has been an answered prayer!

*Gabby was sick, and we spent last Thursday night in the ER. She has it in her lungs again. Lots of chest PT, Cough Assist, Nebulizer medication and a very strong antibiotic she is now on the mend. :) Its good to have a Gabby back! Its the moments where she is not doing so good that always scare us. Thank you to all that pray for her in her time of need and on a daily basis! It means more than words can say!

Thank you to all who follow us on our daily live!

~Maria

Pumpkin Carving!

Soccer 2012

 Soccer 2012- this is the girls second year playing and I can tell how much they have improved since last year! They are rocking it! Keep up the good work girls!

~Kiera~ Student of the week!

I know,I know...How do I raise these smart kids! I have to say Kiera is by far the most driven child I have! She reads, and reads and reads, and studies, and studies, and studies! Keep up the great work Kiera! You make me proud!  Her teacher wrote the following about her :

Mrs. Stouffer selected Kiera because she is a hard worker and is always doing things to improve her work. She has been asking more questions in class and checking her work over carefully. Kiera is always will to contribute to class discussions and is usually the first to be ready when it is time to begin learning. She is always willing to help whenever it is needed. she is a true pleasure to have in class. We are excited to have this chance to recognize achievements in and out of the classroom!

Ronald McDonald House- Akron, Ohio



"The Giving Doll"- Each part of Gabby's doll was made by one person "Such as the hair, eyes, clothing,sewing" and around her neck it says "My name is Megan, I was made to GIVE you faith, love, hope, joy and comfort during this special time." ♥ They were so Kind they also got one out for each of the girls! So now they all have "The Giving Doll" and each one matches the child it was given to. ♥ You can find :The Giving Doll" on facebook! Look them up and see what they are all about! They also accept donation, and helping hands in making these doll's. Consider making a difference and help make a child's day! 



I am always wanting to give back, and I have found a way to give back to the Ronald McDonald house in Akron. We often stay there if Gabby is going to have a surgery or multiple appointments in multiple days.  Its a home away from home for so many family's. They provide meals, snack  foods, presents to the kids, and a warm hug. During "Giving for Gabby" we asked the town of Payne to collect pop tabs for us. I am so happy that we could make such a large donation of pop tabs! With each trip we make I will make a stop past the house to make a donation. They are always accepting travel sized items, pop tabs and food. If you have a donation please feel free to drop it off at Carol's Main Street Makeovers, or drop it past my house. :) I also have a Giving for Gabby option off to the right of my page. If you would like to donate money, please state so under the donation , and what you would like it to be used for-food, travel sized items, ect.... I will make sure every time we go we take pictures. Thanks again to everyone who helped!

Happy 6th Birthday Jazmyne

 Happy 6th Birthday Princess Jazmyne! This year as a family we decided not to have "birthday party's" at our house anymore and instead are letting the kids pick a "special place" they want to celebrate. Jazmyne chose Put Put, and Go Cart ridding! She was aloud to bring one friend and if you know Jazmyne you know she had to bring Adelae! It was fun to watch 3 kids play for the first time! Lots of large swings,odd angled putters, and flying balls but they had a blast. We all doubled up and rode in Go Carts as well. After Jazmyne chose Pizza Hut buffet to eat...and it was yummy! We returned home to a spa night, then movies and popcorn! Talk about a great day! We had Jazmyne's God Mother (Aunt Carol) over for lunch, and Jazmyne was also treated to be able to have her attend a lunch at school and recess with her on her "real" Birthday! (Thank you Aunt Carol, That made her day!) As a new tradition to us doing this we are also taking the kids to the store and letting them pick out their own present from now on. As you can see Jazmyne chose a new purple/silver/pink bike! Happy Birthday Princess! love you so much(and please stop growing up so fast its breaking mommy's heart!)

Meet Storm!

Meet the newest member of our family Storm. He is a rescue dog~! He is very spunky, funny, loving dog! Meeko has grown to love him to! Thank you to his foster family (he has come a long way since they got him)

He looks as if he has a smile on his face :)