I know that updates have been few and far between, but I have been moving Madison's site to a facebook fan page where it will be easier to update. I will have pictures, videos and updates all on the same page. Plus, visitors can easily post comments as well as keep up with her statuses of what she is doing. You do not have to be a facebook member to view her page, but you do have to be a facebook member to become her "fan" and post comments. Facebook is free to sign up. Please go to facebook and sign up! Madison's page is www.facebook.com/miracleformadison (princessmadison was taken boo lol) I am slowly getting pictures and stuff up, but I do have two recent updates up on that page. (under notes) See you there!

B+ for Madison!

Hello everyone! It is now Wednesday after Madison's surgery and she is doing great! We were really worried about her Monday morning because for the first time since her accident, she threw up. She NEVER throws up! She obviously wasn't feeling very well and was very pale. But, they watched her and decided since she had no fever and had not thrown up again that she would be fine to have surgery. She got out of surgery about 10:00 and was completely doped up on Morphine and Versed. I started to get really worried because she was not waking up. I think that the morphine and versed basically made her sleep through that phase of waking up shortly after surgery. She opened her eyes for a few seconds but didn't fully wake until about 5:00 pm!!! Once she woke up, she really did well. She was a little tight, but never really cried or anything. The doctor is hopeful that giving her ankle some more movement and allowing it to come down to a normal position will allow her arch to come down but it may not work. Please pray that it does because the surgery on the arch is much more intense. Thank you for the prayers for her surgery. Madison did really well! B+ for Madison

The summer ended for our Princess this Monday. Added to her already busy day of therapies, was a half day of school. The first day, I took her into her classroom she was met with familiar faces. Some of the kids who were in her class with Ms. Mimi the year before last are there and they were reunited! They all were so happy to see Madison. It touched my heart. I think I'm going to really like Madison's teacher this year. No one can every replace Mimi EVER but he seems like a very caring person and kind teacher. I'm hopeful for a very positive year.

Therapy is going VERY well! Madison's physical therapist, Sheila does such a good job with her! As John told in earlier blogs, madison is doing aquatherapy. She really does seem comfortable in the water. I watched it for the first time this week and survived it! I had a really yucky feeling in the pit of my stomach, but honestly seeing how comfortable she was in the water, eased my mind and my nerves. Her head control is improving so mcuh as well as her head movents! Be on the lookout for movies to uploaded soon!

Sunday I leave to Corpus for Madison's procedure on Monday morning. The doctor will be giving the tendon on the top of her leg and foot some length to give the ankle more movement which will hopefully help flatten out her foot some. Please keep Madison in your prayers for a quick recovery and successful surgery!

I am in the process of possibly moving Madison's website to a facebook page. I think it will be easier and allow me to have videos and pictures all in one place. Keep an eye out for this possible change!

B+ for Madison

Well, my Summer with Madison is over as I start Summer Band on Monday. I just wanted to let everyone know that Madison had a great week. I think the combination of pool therapy and the stimulation she's getting from the chiropractic neurologist has her ready to make some progress this fall. Her neck muscles are getting stronger, and she can hold her head up and look around for 30 second or more at a time.

She is going to Corpus on August 31st for the procedure on her feet to help flatten out her arches. This will allow her to even out the weight distribution on her feet when we have her in the stander.

John

Well, it turned out that the standing Madison was doing in the pool was rubbing a blister on her heal last week. So, on Monday, Daddy and Madison went shoe shopping at Academy. Sure, enough, as we looked, we came to the Crocs shelf, and there they were...the last pair, just the right size, and PINK!!!!! Yep, perhaps the coolest Crocs ever made, they are extra wide, and have shoe strings! you can see where her toes are, and even stick your finger in and adjust them. We looked at other swim shoes and couldn't find any that fit. I know these Crocs are not really swim shoes, but they get the job done...and they fit her feet.

I think we are going to have a procedure done on her feet to help lesson the arch in her feet. We will post more details about that. Thanks, John

Madison had another good week of therapy. She did some more standing in the pool and even wore a blister on her heel. We might be shopping for some Princess swim shoes.

I'll see if I can take the camera again next week and try to get some more video.

Thanks, John

Here is a link you will have to copy and paste into your browser. It's a Youtube video of Madison at her new physical Therapy in the pool. www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0S8fjTgbDI

Once you get to Youtube, you can click on my user name "IJohnrand" and see a few other Madison videos.

Madison has been working real hard this Summer. She has just completed two weeks of physical therepy. We had stopped taking Madison to P.T. two years ago because we wanted to focus on the treatment from the chiropractic neurologist. The approaches were different and I felt the stimulation she was getting at P.T. was going against our other efforts. Madison has done well without it, but we felt this Summer that she might benefit again from having physical therepy.

We found a place thanks to a recommendation from a good friend and we took her there a few weeks back. Two of the employees already knew Madison from visits to her school last year. They were excited to actually get to work with her, and signed her up for pool time 3 days a week. Madison has been doing great. Yesterday and today, she even tried to stand up on her own strength with help balancing. I will try to post video for you to see.

We still see the chiropracter Monday thru Friday. Madison has not had any of the episodes which might have been seizures. She is getting good eye movements both horizontal and vertical with the optikinetic strip. The doctor found that she responded more to a ruler he had with faces of U.S. presidents on it. But, it was small. I made one with 7 rows of 20 kids from a couple of old band pictures I had, and she seems to try to look at it. The vertical eye movements are cool because according to the doctor, you don't have spontaneous ones...so she is seeing something.

Thanks for cheking in on us. ...John

My mother called today and gave me a reminder. She said that people still ask her about Madison and why I am not writing in the blog. I was actually surprised because I guess in my own little world it feels like people just move on with their own busy lives and we are left in our own daily life. But, once again I was proven wrong. I am so touched that people still remember, care and follow her journey. Hopefully this summer will be a time of new awakenings and I will have lots to blog about.

The end of the year ended for the kids and Madison graduated from her PPCD program. It was a very bittersweet day for all of us. Pictures will be posted today! Her teachers really feel that madison has made a lot of progress over the past 3 years and especially the past 6 months. We did get a "diagnosis" of seizures in madison, but I still am not 100% sure that is what they are. She was put on a very low dose of Neurontin and the doctor said it was so small, we probably wouldn't see any change. But, we have.....they are basically gone. The thing is, over the past 3 years, she has gone through what I like to call phases of different activity. She will do things that look like seizures for a few months and then just stop. I don't know if it's the neurons making their connections or not, but it seems to be a more positive thing. However, we are keeping her on the low dose of neurontin for now. Ultimately, I would like to get her off of it again but the neurologist is going to fight me on that.

Other than the seizures, Madison has been doing really well. Her level of awareness seems to be better and her trunk and head support are getting better. It's a slow process, but we are going in the right direction!

B+ for Madison!

The past couple of weeks have been busy ones. As you know Madison had been struggling with a stye for about 6 months. Well, last week we finally had surgery to remove it. She did so well!!! The last surgery Madison had was about 2 months after her accident. She was in an "open eyed coma" at that point and although I know she had to have woken up in pain, she did not cry coming out of anesthesia or in recovery at all. This surgery was so different! The pain from removing the stye was nothing big at all....in fact we didn't even have to give her Tylenol. But, even so she CRIED coming out of the anesthesia!!! This shows us how much more aware she is than before. Sometimes since the steps are so small and so slow, it's hard to remember where she came from and when something like this happens, it shows that there indeed has been progress! Praise God!
We are winding down to the end of the school year. Madison will graduate from her class this year and go on to another school next year. I wish she could stay with her teacher forever, but I know that's not possible. So, anyway....until next time B+ for Madison!!!

Yesterday, John took Madison to Houston to see the pediatric neuro ophthalmologist. I was really worried that this trip was going to end in disappointment like the other times. But, I had a lot of faith in this doctor. She has written a book on cortical visual impairment in children and visual impairments like Madison are her specialty. The visit went very well. The doctor was positive and knowledgeable. She explained that when all children are born, they all have the same cortical visual impairment as Madison. The difference is, babies develop the brain and connections very quickly and in a matter of months, they have full vision. However, in a brain injury circumstance like Madison's it is a much slower process. It takes 8-10 years to develop. The good news though, is that it DOES improve. I have had so many regular ophthalmologists say that she cannot see and never will. Well, the expert does not agree. She feels that Madison DOES see, although not as well as she did before her accident. She was very positive about the visual therapies we have been doing at the chiropractic neurologist and feels certain that if we continue and be patient, that her vision is going to continue to improve. She also wants us to find a visual therapist that we can get therapies from once a week. So, all in all it was a very positive experience.

On a side note, the doctor did say that if we continue to have problems with Madison's stye, she will take care of it surgically for us as well. So there you have it....a good report! B+ for Madison!!

Well, we made it through the 3rd anniversary of Madison's accident! John handles the pain so much better than I do. In a way I sometimes feel like he has more faith than me. But, I think he is just better and giving it up to God. I have faith, but the emotions are sometimes stronger. The serenity prayer is something I pray and I just wish God would change my heart and take away that worry. I had a few crying spells on the 22nd, but I am blessed with such wonderful friends. First of all, I want to thank everyone for all the emails and facebook messages of support. They mean so much to me. It's nice to know that people have not forgotten about my princess. As far as the actual 22nd, I have a core group of friends that took me to San Antonio for 2 days to get me away from thinking about things. They made the 22nd so much easier and I love them dearly.

Madison's stye has still not gone away and we have gone back to the eye doctor. She will be scheduled for surgery to remove the stye probably this next week. The thought of putting her to sleep scares me, but I know it will all be ok.

That's about it for the update. Thank you again everyone for the well wishes and the prayers. They are appreciated more than you will ever know! B+ for Madison!

I don't know how a month has gone by already! my daily life is so hectic that it seems like I just do an update and then the next thing I know, it's been a month. There hasn't really been anything huge to report, but Madison consistently is making small strides. Her eye movements are better and better, her head control is improving. She just overall is a happy little girl. She knows she is loved, even if she can't communicate that to us.

Monday, we go back to the eye doctor to HOPEFULLY get her stye taken care of. This is something we have been fighting for 3 months now. We've tried the warm compresses, antibiotics, ointments, etc and have not been able to get it to go away. So, Monday we are hoping the doctor will decide to take it out. The whole thing makes me nervous, but I'm sure having that stye is pretty bothersome to her.

Madison also continues to have these little episodes where she turns her head and starts crying. The Chiropractic neurologist here locally and the one in Amsterdam both do not feel they are seizures. They feel that something triggers it in the brain and makes her posture and she gets "stuck" in that posture. She then starts crying out which they feel is an emotional response to what is happening to her. I am still not sure myself what exactly it is, but they definitely don't follow the usual "rules" of seizures. Hopefully, this is just a phase that will pass like others she has had. This could be a good thing!

As you all know, we are coming up on the 3 year anniversary of Madison's accident. This is such a hard time for me and unfortunately I have been so moody and emotional just knowing the date is around the corner. As an ironic slap in the face, last night I walked into Starbucks and there was a big sign about "world water day" which is being celebrated on....you guessed it....March 22nd. I think my heart flipped inside of my chest. It's just ironic cruelty. ::sigh:: Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers that I will be able to find some peace with this date and continue to pray for Madison's full recovery! God is good! I want to thank all of the wonderful friends and family and complete strangers that show their love to our family on a daily basis. I know that God is hugging us through your arms and that makes me smile. I want to thank God also for the wonderful friends I have that love me unconditionally and the core group of friends that make my daily life a little more pleasant. Thank you for being the shoulder I need to cry on and the ear I need to listen. This 3rd anniversary will be a little easier thanks to you all. I love you!

B+

OK I uploaded about 8 months worth of pictures to Madison's website so check them out!!

Is it truly mid February?? I cannot believe how the weeks fly by. I apologize for being absent from this blog. I know I say it all the time, but I just don't even realize so much time has gone by in between. I need to put a sticky note up on my screen to remind myself to do it every week. LOL

Madison was pretty sick last week. She had the virus that seems to be going around all over South Texas right now. She had a fever for about 4 days and was just wiped out. Madison never naps....never! Well, the days she was sick, I kept her home from school and she would pass out for about 4 hours everyday. Poor baby, the sleep probably did her good. She is doing much better this week and people who see her keep commenting on her eyes. They all seem to think she is more aware. It's very hard for me to see, but even though I don't always see what others see, I still BELIEVE she is in there. I KNOW she understands and will be able to break through one of these days. We are not giving up!

Madison is growing well and is now almost 45 inches long! She keeps losing teeth and unfortunately because her gums are overgrown from seizure meds she was on, we don't know they are loose until they are out. We think she has swallowed about 3 teeth so far. ::sigh:: Currently, she has only one adult tooth on top so it looks pretty funny to see her. She's still beautiful though.

I guess there really isn't too much more to update on. We have another appointment with the eye specialist in Houston in April so we are awaiting that. The anniversary of her accident is also coming up, so I ask for prayers. Please pray that God will give me a sense of peace and help me through the coming weeks. The weeks leading up to her accident are always the hardest time of the year for me. Until next time...and I promise it won't be THAT long LOL....B+ for Madison!

So, we got back home from Houston. The trip didn't turn out as I had expected. I had these daydreams that we would meet the new doctor and he would be so much nicer than the other ophthalmologists we had met and just fill us with good news. Well, it wasn't that he wasn't nice. The entire 5 minutes we saw him he was very nice. But, we got no answers. The resident working with the doctor spent the most time with us. They dilated Madison's eyes and did the normal "eye doctor" stuff. He then comes in and says "well there is no eye reason for the vision loss. It's a brain problem." He ignored the dumbfounded look on my face and continued: "She needs to see a neuro-ophthalmologist. Come back in 2 months to see Dr. Edmond who is a pediatric neuro-ophthalmologist." Umm....aren't YOU a neuro-ophthalmologist??? Can't YOU tell me the same thing???? We were referred to him, obviously by someone who didn't know there was a pediatric one in Houston as well. I tried to tactfully ask why he couldn't just do the tests since he is the same kind of doctor, but I stumbled over my words. All this.....a 6 hour trip with the kids to be told we have to come back??? So, with that we leave, but not before he charges me $25.00 to fill out a form for the school that took two minutes tops to complete.

When I got home, I went to the website for the doctor he is referring us to. I must say that I think this may be a good thing that he didn't see Madison! This new doctor looks sooo nice and her credentials are amazing. And get this.....she wrote a book on Cortical Visual impairement in children!!! This is what Madison has and if she wrote a book on it, she HAS to know her stuff right?? The other doctor actually said she can probably give us quite a bit of information just by looking at her MRI. I'm feeling very optomistic that we WILL have some answers in a few months.

Madison survived the trip fairly well. It was kind of hard to travel with her at times but nothing we couldn't handle. She's been crying a bit at night before she goes to sleep. It's something that started a couple months ago. She doesn't seem to be in pain and when I go in and start talking to her, she stops and seems to just listen. Seems like maybe she is more aware?? It's hard to say. She has not had huge strides this year and to focus on the past just makes it harder on me. So, for this reason I am choosing not to look back at 2008 but instead look forward to 2009 with hopeful anticipation. I got the following in email today and boy was this perfect timing!

Today is Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Joshua 5:11. And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the Passover, unleavened cakes, and parched corn in the selfsame day. 12. And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.

Thought for the Day: You Have Been Prepared To Be Blessed

Reflection for the Day: Why Not Anticipate A Breakthrough?

For forty years the children of Israel ate the manna which the Lord provided for them in the wilderness. They learned to trust Him for their provisions and to give thanks for what He provided. They knew, however, that they were being prepared to eat the fruit of Canaan. As they crossed the Jordan and celebrated the Passover, it was now time for their breakthrough. They were now ready to enjoy their blessing.

As God prepares you for a breakthrough, don't resent your time of preparation or accept the preparation time as forever. As you go through the challenging times, anticipate what God has for your future. Why not enter 2009 anticipating a breakthrough? You have been prepared to be blessed!

what else can I say that could top that? Amen!!! Happy New Year to all!

Merry Christmas to all from our family! I hope that everyone had a joyous and fulfilling Christmas! We had a great one ourselves. But, now we pack up and are heading to Houston. Monday, we are taking Madison to see a Neuro-Ophthalmologist in hopes that we will have a better understanding of what she is seeing and what the hopes are for her future in terms of eyesight. We decided to leave a few days early and make it a family trip to go to NASA and some museums. The boys are excited about our little road trip. Hopefully, Madison will be excited too even if she can't express that she is excited. So, pray for our safe travels and I hope to post with good news when we get back! B+ for Madison!!

Since Madison's accident, the joy has been sucked out of holidays, birthdays, etc for me. But, recently I have gotten a sense of peace and this is the first Thanksgiving that didn't make me sad. Actually, I SHOULD have been sad because our van broke down and is in the shop so we are stuck at home instead of going to spend time with the family. But, that's ok....I made a ham and all the side dishes and we sat down at the table and went around to say what we were thankful for this year. We really have a lot to be thankful for. Here is a list just off the top of my head:

long hair that is fun to fix (because at the time of her accident, she didn't have much!)
wonderful nurses and provider
my WONDERFUL friends here locally and all over the country that love and care unconditionally for my family and are always just a phone call away.
reductions in medications
good health (for the most part) LOL
caring strangers

actually, the list will go on and on and on. I feel so blessed to be so loved by so many. Thank you to all those who STILL pray for Madison and our family daily and still check the website. It touches my heart to meet new people who confirm that Madison has NOT been forgotten.

Thank you God for blessing my family and thank you for keeping Madison here with us. I know that you are working on her and through her and know that good will come from all of this. I trust you, Lord and raise Madison up to you. Thank you for taking the burden from me!

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Always give thanks....everyday because you just never know when your life is going to change. My love to all....

Madison's Mommy...B+ for Madison!

I cannot believe how quickly these weeks are flying by. Things have been so hectic, but we are all doing well. Let's see....over the past few weeks Madison has really struggled with excess mucous and spasticity. I talked with the doctor about putting Madison on an allergy med and that has seemed to help. She still has congestion but she is not drowning in mucous as much anymore. Her tightness seems to be a bit worse. I have been struggling with whether or not to up her Baclofen to help combat this. Part of me feels that when she feels better, she will loosen up again, but it's been very hard to even do the cross crawl due to the tightness in her muscles. So, that is a decision I must make in the next week and a half.

Last week, Madison had her yearly check up with the orthopedic specialist to check her scoliosis. I thought the spinal xray looked worse, but the doctor thought that the spine itself looked about the same but the muscles looked a bit better. She does seem to have better trunk support and he said if she improves her trunk support, the spine could get better on its own. HOORAY Let's hope those muscles get better and better!

I am in the process of setting up a photo album on this server (which would keep everything on one website instead of using a seperate site) so i will be posting soon to let you know there are new pictures. Madison doesn't seem to smile as much, but she does seem to be more aware. Praise God....I know he is working on her! He has never left our sides! Thanks to all of you as well for never leaving our sides. Until next time...B+ for Madison!

Six years ago today my life changed......of course at that time, I had no idea of the horrendous day that would change my life again, but my life changed because I went from being a mommy of two boys to a mommy of four children. I have been blessed. My prayers for a little girl were answered. Since I was a little girl myself, I always knew I wanted to be a mommy. And, with that dream, I knew that I wanted a little girl. I have always wanted a little girl. After having two boys, I thought that my dream of having a daughter would have to be forgotten but no.....God blessed me with a beautiful princess. We named her Madison Peyton Randolph. Such a beautiful name for a beautiful little girl.

I always thought that after having boys, that MY little girl would be a little sweet, quiet girl that would play quietly with dolls and love to read books. Instead, I was given a boy in girl's clothing! Madison had such personality. She could be rough and tumble with the boys. She would come in dirtier than her twin brother and definitely ruled the roost. But, at the same time, she loved pink, dolls, dresses and could be the cuddliest little girl around. I had the best of both words. A daughter full of life and the ying to her yang....her twin brother Jason who is awesome in his own right.

Nowadays of course our lives are very different. But, one thing has not changed. The amount of pride I have to be lucky enough to be the mommy of Madison Peyton Randolph is overwhelming. Words cannot express the love I have for my daughter. I love her with every ounce of my being and I will continue to devote my life to her and her recovery.

Baby girl, I love you so much!!! I am so happy that you are here to celebrate your 6th birthday with us. You are loved by so many and most importantly, God. He has not forgotten you and will continue to heal you. Happy Birthday sweet princess! Your 7th year is going to be one of many awakenings and I am so honored that I will be there to witness it.