Lanier Landing: Where The Wild Thing Is...

We've been home for well over a week now, and are finally falling back into the rhythm of life. Oliver's transition was a little rocky the first few days back at preschool. He always does so well in the hospital, and he has these rather aggressive outbursts while getting back to the normal routine. His biting and hair pulling are (thankfully) happening less and less....Without language to express himself, we think this is sometimes the way he tries to communicate his frustration. This sweet little child has been through so very much in his short life.

These are photos from our Fall Festival at church this past Sunday. Oliver was a big fan of the hayride (he loves tractors!). Sometimes these events are hard for him; he gets overstimulated and it leads to a melt-down (or 3 or 4). Thank you Nancy for walking so happily with Oliver so he could calm down (and me too!) after melt-down #3! We don't say enough how much we couldn't do this without the help of our O-Team!

To follow-up on some questions about the VNS:
Our understanding is Oliver won't be able to have another one for many years to come, due to the small size of his Vagus Nerve and the area of scar tissue. There isn't enough space on the nerve to put one back on at this time. Our neurosurgeon's nurse called today to get some info that Cyberonics (the manufacturer of the device) has to send to the FDA.

The loss of the VNS is also the loss of significant nursing hours. Once the VNS was put in Oliver would have transitioned to having a nurse with him full-time at school which would have been HUGE. We are still grieving the loss of the device and what that could have meant for his development, as well as the additional staffing help for him...

Thanks for your support and prayers!