LONG Life update
There has been so much happen in a short amount of time that I think the best way to do this is going to be to break it down by family member.
Jeff had knee surgery on January 28th and has been home since. What they thought would be a relatively simple scope procedure turned into a 6-inch cut over the top of the knee and a week in the hospital. Officially the diagnosis was synovial chondromatosis. In Tara terms? He had cartilage that looked like little fish eggs in his knee that was growing onto the part of the knee that lubricates the joint, and it hurt. A LOT. He's making good progress with his physical therapy and hopes to be released to go back to work next week sometime. He's taking one class at the community college this semester and then is only one class away from double degrees in Photography and General studies. He's 6 days away from his 15 year anniversary with the United States Army and should be able to retire in 5 years unless he's medically released after this surgery.
Kamden...my sweet boy. I can hardly believe we're coming up on his 5th birthday. Last week, Kamden saw a wonderful children's psychiatrist, Dr. V., and we had confirmed what I already suspected. Kamden is autistic. I'm sure those who read this regularly remember that I'm working in school toward a degree in Psychiatry, and the more that I studied and did my own research, the more I suspected it. I started documenting his behavior and triggers and we made an appointment to have him evaluated. It didn't even take the doctor very long after looking over our accounts of his behavior and seeing him "in action" in the office to give a diagnosis of ASD - Autistm Spectrum Disorder. Until he's a little older, we won't be able to determine where on the spectrum he lies, but the diagnosis is a relief. It's a relief in that we can safely say he's not just "being bad". It's a relief that we can say for sure what he's dealing with and start working appropriately to help him. Wednesday evening, we put together a sensory box for him. He sees a behavioral therapist weekly and she has a box full of rice that he loves to play in and it seems to soothe him. I figured it'd be a good substitute for cold days when we can't get outside to the sandbox!
Jeff had knee surgery on January 28th and has been home since. What they thought would be a relatively simple scope procedure turned into a 6-inch cut over the top of the knee and a week in the hospital. Officially the diagnosis was synovial chondromatosis. In Tara terms? He had cartilage that looked like little fish eggs in his knee that was growing onto the part of the knee that lubricates the joint, and it hurt. A LOT. He's making good progress with his physical therapy and hopes to be released to go back to work next week sometime. He's taking one class at the community college this semester and then is only one class away from double degrees in Photography and General studies. He's 6 days away from his 15 year anniversary with the United States Army and should be able to retire in 5 years unless he's medically released after this surgery.
Kamden...my sweet boy. I can hardly believe we're coming up on his 5th birthday. Last week, Kamden saw a wonderful children's psychiatrist, Dr. V., and we had confirmed what I already suspected. Kamden is autistic. I'm sure those who read this regularly remember that I'm working in school toward a degree in Psychiatry, and the more that I studied and did my own research, the more I suspected it. I started documenting his behavior and triggers and we made an appointment to have him evaluated. It didn't even take the doctor very long after looking over our accounts of his behavior and seeing him "in action" in the office to give a diagnosis of ASD - Autistm Spectrum Disorder. Until he's a little older, we won't be able to determine where on the spectrum he lies, but the diagnosis is a relief. It's a relief in that we can safely say he's not just "being bad". It's a relief that we can say for sure what he's dealing with and start working appropriately to help him. Wednesday evening, we put together a sensory box for him. He sees a behavioral therapist weekly and she has a box full of rice that he loves to play in and it seems to soothe him. I figured it'd be a good substitute for cold days when we can't get outside to the sandbox!
I'm sure you can tell from the pictures that he's more than a little fascinated with it all :) He's spent SO much time in the last two days playing with it - I love how the simple things can make such a big difference.
As for me...I'm taking 13 semester hours right now and IF things go as planned, I'll graduate with an A.S. of Psychology and an A.S. of Forensic Science in either December of next year or May of the following year. I plan to finish out bachelors degrees in both at WTAMU and then look at medical school at Texas Tech. The ultimate goal is a masters in Forensic Pathology and a doctorate of Psychiatry with specialties in autism and PTSD. I may be out of my mind, but it's a fun ride in the mean time. I'm also taking the rest of the semester away from Facebook. As much as I enjoy it and love that I can keep in touch with so many people over such great distances, my schedule demands SO much of my time and I waste a lot of that time on, you guessed it, Facebook. It's too easy to get lost in sharing posts, games, chat, etc., when what I really need to be doing is studying the physiology of the heart and cardiac system, reading about social deviance, taking care of my mom, spending time helping Kamden with what he needs to thrive, getting ahead around the house or even taking time for myself. Lots of people get by without Facebook. Who knows? Maybe I'll LIKE not using it and will delete it. No one pass out. Just a thought.
In the mean time, I'll be posting here regularly to keep everyone updated with life at the Koopman house. I so appreciate all the people who stop by and read here regularly and those who are just sporadic visitors. I hope that in the days and weeks to come you find some gem here that touches your life.
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