Big News!

 We have some good news to share with you today!

 It's been a long and messy road.

 There have been cautious nibbles at home.

 And hard work during feeding therapy.

According to Tom's nutritionists, he is now 50% tube fed and 50% oral fed!

Tom is getting a bolus of food in the morning and at night with one bolus of hydration in the afternoon. The rest of his nutrition and hydration are by mouth. He has been eating pizza, veggie chips, bananas, peaches and cheerios. Even when he takes too big of a bite and starts to choke he can manage to clear it and continue eating. He is eating more quickly and with clear enjoyment. 

Sometimes I still can't believe it when I see Tom actually swallowing his food. It feels like a miracle but I know it's the result of lots of hard work, practice and excellent support from his therapists. We said goodbye to two of his therapist at the Children's Institute of Pittsburgh this past week. It was sad because Tom really enjoyed his work with them. I am 100% sure that we would not have made this progress in the past year without their help. I am very lucky to live in a city with a functional feeding program like theirs.

Other News

NAPVI Conference

The National Association for Parents of Children with Visual Impairments, in partnership with the Jewish Guild for the Blind, Perkins School for the Blind and the New England Consortium of Deafblind Projects is hosting the 2012 NAPVI Conference this weekend (July 27 - 29) in Boston, Massachusetts at the Boston Marriott Newton. This is a fantastic opportunity to network with other parents and attend information sessions relevant to raising blind children. For more information check out Wonderbaby's NAPVI Conference page. We will be there next year for sure! 

Guest Blog at Pediatric OT

I was invited to be a guest blogger on a Pediatric OT blog created by Abby Brayton-Chung, MS, OTR/L. She is featuring parent perspectives weekly on her site to give OTs and other professionals a glimpse of what things are like for parents. Check it out- http://abbypediatricot.blogspot.com/2012/07/a-parents-perspective-thomas-marshall.html