Visit with Aunt Cindy, Jen and Oliver

Luca studying the camera

Hanging out with Luca

New Casts

Luca got new casts again today. It went better than last week but that isn't saying much. Dr. Mosca was happy with the stretching and got at least one foot to 90 degrees. Alicia came with and drove us which was amazing for moral support and kept at least my tears at bay. These cast are suppose to stay on a week or 10 days. We will see. Thanks for praying. PS Luca also seems to have begun teething. :( hope they come in fast.

My 29th birthday

What a great day, bagels for breakfast, walk at alki in the sunshine looking at the mountains with John and Luca and out for a wonderful dinner! Made possible by Aunt Brooke who was so kind to care for Luca! Thanks for all the calls, you all made me feel very loved!

new casts

Luca got new casts on Friday. Dr. Mosca thought his feel looked much less swollen and the bruising has healed too. He didn't think he lost too much ground last week. Luca will get the casts changed on Wed. this week.

Luca chewing

Play date with Layna

Luca is having another day with Layna. They are getting to spend some quality time together each week with Jess and I baby swapping one day a week.

Trip to the Zoo

John, Luca, and I went on a trip to the Zoo courtesy of Boyer Children's Clinic. It was a sunny, Sat. so there were a lot of families there but we had fun seeing the animals. I think the monkey's were my favorite part and the lions were pretty cool too.

Cute Luca

This was this morning before the casting appointment and before Layna came over to play.

Another frustrating appointment

Well, you can tell from the title that today's casting didn't go so smoothly. I am taking care of Jess and Kimi's daughter, Layna, 4 days a month and today was the first of those days. A huge thank you to Alicia, who out of kindness, came with us to the appointment to watch Layna while Luca was getting casted.

Luca and I waited in the casting room for 60 mins. While Alicia and Layna were trying to find fun toys in the bigger waiting room. Finally, Dr. Mosca and Dr. J came in. As soon as Luca saw Dr. J he started crying. He is beginning to know the dr. who work on his feet. Dr. Mosca stretch Luca's foot for what seems like forever but really maybe 90 sec. as Luca screamed so hard he could hardly breath. Dr. Mosca then thought for a min. and stretched the other foot. same thing, stopped, thought and then said he was not going to cast him today because his feet are still so swollen. Next Friday he would cast again. Then they both left.

I found Alicia and Layna and we headed home. The whole trip took 3 hours. Thanks again Alicia!!!

Appointment with Dr. Judith Hall

The appointment with Dr. Hall, AMC expert geneticist went well and provided John and I with more info. about Luca's diagnosis. She took down as much family history as we could provide and asked about my pregnancy with Luca. She then launched into an explanation of AMC, the causes doctors know about and then the type of AMC that they don't know what causes it. From our history, amnio results, and the way his arms and legs look she thinks he most likely has the Amyoplasia type of AMC. This type is the one that has an unknown cause (it could still be a genetic reason, but just not discovered yet), is not hereditary, is sporadic (in fact 1 out of 10,000 births.
Amyoplasia means "no muscle growth" for you Latin lovers. The explaination she gave us is that the joints and muscles are formed correctly, but when they are suppose to start growing in the 8-14 weeks of gestation the mechanism doesn't work or doesn't work like it suppose to. She said we would have a 1 in 10,000 times 1 in 10,000 chance of having another child with amyoplasia. On a side note, we were asked to be part of a genetic study at the University regarding this condition. At this point, it just involves getting blood samples from John, Luca and I. Statistically only 5 babies will be born with this in the state of Washington this year.
Lastly, she said these kids generally are able to live independent lives, but not to expect him to become the captain of the football team. She also is hoping that a study is done to see if there is a link between higher intelligence and amyoplasia because she feels there is one from her many years of dealing with children who have this condition. After later on hearing a father who suggested that children who have this need to think differently about how to do things rather than just watch and imitate those older, it seems logical.
She also said that exersise was the best thing for him while I was pregnant, and may be the reason that he is doing as well as he is right now. It was like giving him Physical Therapy in utero. It was nice to hear yet again that I didn't do anything to "cause" this to happen to Luca.

Broken Computer

Hello, our computer is broken again so I am sorry for the lull in posts. I am at the library right now and John is with Luca getting new casts on. His feet looked kind of bruised so I am not sure if he will get new ones or not. Most likely and then again on Friday, Dr. Mosca will put new casts on him. (Dr. J) is casting him today. Thanks for your interest in our lives and this journey.

Alki sunset

Luca and Chris took a nap on the floor together. It was pretty cute.

Luca's new toy

Note Luca does not have cast on because he is getting new one this afternoon.

On the Hike with Chris

Physical Therapy at our house