Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Owen says "Yes for SB9!"

Owen needs some help everyone. Currently, the laws that say that the food Owen eats (called "medical foods") are covered by insurance are set to expire very soon. When that happens, Owen and all of his friends with PKU might have a very difficult time getting the food they need to keep their brains healthy. That's the last thing we need.

A bill is before the Oregon Senate sponsored by Senator Courtney. Senate Bill 9 can be read by clicking this link. Thank you Sen. Courtney! As you can see above, we've got 9 Owens for Senate Bill 9.

Insurance companies are difficult enough to deal with. Owen is just shy of 15 months old now, and we've gone 3 rounds with insurance companies to get them to understand that this is not just a nice thing, but rather absolutely essential for Owen's growth and development. Each time has been a struggle, and that's with current laws backing the cause. I fear the fight when we don't have state laws backing our efforts.

This sort of item will never get major media attention. But, how many Senate Bills have such a cute face attached to it?

Call. Write. Pester. Direct all of those things toward your elected representatives. Please.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

We made it through...


Well, we made it through Owen's first illness. Boy oh boy, did he get sick. Two Wednesdays ago, Owen showed some stomach problems. By Friday, Andrea and Mimi took Owen to the emergency room for some fluids via IV. At this point, he hadn't really had anything since Wednesday. Saturday showed a touch of improvement, then he slid back downhill until he hit the pit of his illness on Monday, when we headed back to the ER. This time, after the second IV, we had a plan in place and by Wednesday (one week in with barely any food and hardly any liquid.) we were turning around a touch. It's now Saturday and Owen is back to his normal rambunctious self.

We learned a lot from this. First off, Owen can get really sick, really fast. And, second... we now have some neat tricks up our sleeves to help keep Owen energized with proper nutrition even when he can't take his normal Phenex formula.

The photo above is Owen waiting with his mom for IV #2. At this point he was really not feeling well, and now we know why.

But, we're all past this. (Dad, Mimi and Gramps got the crud too) and we're all enjoying a little guy with vibrant eyes and energy... even if it means we've got to spend more time chasing him around again.
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Monday, January 12, 2009

Ready for battle!

Owen is ready for battle. He's got a helmet, and he's got ramming speed all figured out. Watch out world, here comes the Owenator!

And, when the seas come into play, Owen is ready to go as well with the Owen Naval Force. With his personal water craft, he'll be able to survive treacherous waters, build a fort once he establishes a beach head, and will dominate any defensive maneuvers with his precision implementation of the spoon-chilla
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Sunday, January 4, 2009

Owen eats his broc!

For a while, Owen wouldn't eat anything green. Now, he eats asparagus AND broccoli. Check it out:


Thursday, January 1, 2009

There are parties, then there's PARTAYS!

Everyone under 3 feet tall decided to have a party at Schreiner's place last Sunday. This was the first party where the kids really played with eachother... no help needed from parents.

The big kids even got in on the fun...

The scooter was the real winner of the day. Several different combinations of riding and pushing happened throughout the afternoon, with big smiles all around.

Thanks to Carl for these photos. Dad decided to leave the camera behind for once.

And, a bit of news: Owen will be a big brother late this summer! yay!
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