Joey has been meeting a lot of people lately. They all love him!!. Radiothons for WKYS, WASH FM, & WFLS helped raise lots of money. And now he is ready to begin his 'duties' to the CMN.
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Joey is the 2007 Champion Ambassador for Children's Miracle Network, representing Children's Hospital in DC.

Joey will be doing some awesome events in DC March 28 ~ 31, 2007. He will be taking a bus tour of Washington DC, going to Capitol Hill for a Senate Luncheon, meeting & pictures with President Bush on March 29th. Then he'll be doing a couple of press conferences & media event for the radio & television.

Friday, March 30th, Joey & his "entourage" will be whisked over to a gala event at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in which he will be the guest speaker (his mom too) & Joey will be singing "Joey's Song" for the audience after a delicious dinner. After seeing Joey's website, the Children's Miracle Network representatives from Utah picked Joey for these special events because of his personality & his way of inspiring others when he speaks about his trials & tribulations ... I help tell his story but he is a walking/talking testimony to the great work the doctors have done. Great attributes to be known for. Keep an eye out on the TV & radio news for coverage on the kids converging on DC. Hopefully you will be able to get a good look at Joey doing some interesting things.

Then we take off on March 31st for Disney's Coronado Springs Hotel in Orlando, Florida for the Children's Miracle Network Celebration with Marie Osmond, John Schneider & lots of others. There will also be a Champion Ambassador from each of the 50 states traveling with us. There will also be lost of media coverage in Florida. Air Supply is doing a special concert for all the kids & their families on April 2nd. Should be lots of fun for Joey. We will be returning on April 5th.

It's hard to believe how much he has recovered from having 1/2 his brain taken out, but now he only has 45%. A good 1/3 to 1/2 of the frontal lobe was destroyed by the stroke. This answered some of my questions about his 'behavior' after surgery. His left eye was closed, he didn't know what to do if you put food into his mouth, he was lethargic, ... definitely not the Joey that went into the operating room.

During that week in the hospital, he had 103 degree fevers, vomiting, IV's shutting down or infiltrating, and just plain craziness. After seven days, I took him home. His day consisted of waking up, us helping him downstairs, his laying on the couch for most of the day until it was time to go upstairs to bed. There were days when I gave up on giving him his medicines. He could not keep them down. Weeks went by with this same routine. Slowly he started making some progress but it was take 10 steps forward ... go back 7 steps. This was the hardest recovery he has ever had. By October he was up and moving better.

A teacher has been coming to the house twice a week. In November I took him to school a couple of days a week, but he only lasted 3 or 4 hours before he had a headache, or just wanted to lay down.

With November came headaches. The headaches got more painful with each day. Three weeks after the headaches began, the vomiting began. A 'new' neurologist saw Joey and just assumed that he was having migraines. Even when I told her I was afraid he may be having mini strokes and that I wanted him to have an MRI ... she said no, that he was either having seizures or migraines. Okay, we tried giving him Motrin but the vomiting and headaches kept slamming him. The weekend before Christmas was horrible. He vomited at a restaurant and then at Shoppers ... poor Aunt Sharon. Saturday is her day with Joey ... and boy did he give her 'a day'.

Dec. 21, I can't even begin to explain what was going through my head when Joey opened his mouth to tell me something and the words came out in slow motion! The headaches became more severe, his eyes were bulging out and he started losing his balance. I chatted with Childrens' neurology and said I wanted him brought in. He was admitted on the 22nd. Once one of the Neurologists who knows Joey, saw him, they sent him down for an emergency CT Scan. An MRI could not be done because he needed to be sedated. The MRI would be done on Friday, supposedly.

The CT Scan showed that the fluid in the left side had built up and the pressure was pushing/smushing the brain and brain stem. That explains the eye bulging and everything else. It scares me to know that I didn't know how bad off he was. They started him on steroids and the headaches went away instantly. Now it was just a watch-and-see situation. He went into the hospital with a 100% chance of having a shunt put in. A shunt is a device that is put in the head and it drains off fluid into the stomach or a vein. Joey has avoided having a shunt for over 5 years so I was hoping his body might have just needed a little 'jump start' to naturally take care of the fluid. With the drugs working ... Joey was becoming a little bit more of himself.

The MRI didn't happen on Friday, nor did it by Saturday morning. I 'sort of' had to explain to the Neurology docs, Neurosurgery docs, and the nurses, how upset I was over this not being done yet. I told the surgeons, 'if he gets worse and you take him to the operating room, what are you going to do without an MRI'?

One of his surgeons spoke with an Anesthesiologist during another surgery. When he found out she was talking about 'his little buddy' ... he called me in Joey's room. He was bringing people in on Christmas Day to do the sedated MRI. The sedation part is hard because one of the doctors must remain with Joey during the entire procedure.

One thing I know: God works in mysterious ways. By time they got the MRI, it looked better than the CT Scan. The steroid was helping Joey; easing the swelling and pressure. Getting the MRI done and having these results, along with Joey being 'more himself', these were the BEST Christmas presents I could have asked for.

He came home after 6 days, on the steroid and a diuretic. He was now 50% chance of needing a shunt.

Jan. 5, 2006 ~ Joey saw his surgeons. Joey looks great! He will need another MRI in about 4 weeks to compare to the one on Christmas. With that being said ... the surgeon is hoping that it may have been some kind of viral thing going on, that caused the fluid pressure to build. I thank God that Joey got so sick when he did and did NOT go on vacation with his dad and siblings this past week. The pressurized cabin in the airplane could have caused irreparable damage. God was watching over Joey. Oh yeah, this means that there is a 'possibility' of no shunt at all.

Joey is a true Miracle!!! His seizures have been much less in numbers and much less in severity since the August 2005 surgery. All of the prayers you have all said for him are working. Please keep Joey in your prayers.

Here's to a Happy, Healthy & Prosperous 2006 for all of us!!!

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