Talking the Talk

Charlie's verbal skills have been severely delayed due to his perinatal stroke. And while we know that he understands more than he can express, this verbal delay can sometimes prevent Charlie from interacting with people outside of his immediate circle. As of September 2014, Charlie could say between 10 and 15 words. As of June 2015, that number has risen to over 80. Needless to say, this year of school and therapy was instrumental for Charlie Greenman's speech.

Just for fun, we've included a list of all Charlie's words to date. Most of these words are not intelligible to the average listener, but Charlie's teachers, therapists and family can see that he is using these words with consistency with a growing level of accuracy. Keep up the good work Charlie!

Charlie's Word List June 2015:

Charlie

Greenman

Walker

Mommy 

Daddy

hi

hello

How are you?

good

great

eat

yogurt

oatmeal

cheese

muffin

apple

water

bowl

table

chair

bed

night night

pillow

light

on

off

walk

up

down

bye bye

be back

name

my

I

want

Griffin

doggie

cat

sheep

cow
baby

outside

swing

wind

rain

thunder

run

friend

white

yellow

red

purple
orange
green

happy

grumpy

hungry

bear

house

home

car

bus

school

teacher

more

bite

wiggle

signing time

street

Elmo

cookie

bonk

hat

glasses

ear

eye
chin

cheek

hair

head

shoulder

knee

toe

quiet
sleep

help

nice

sun

moon

star

sky

rainbow
tree
bug
grass

day

show

word
shoe
sock
boot
pants
shirt
shorts

bird
creep

clap

Leah

Rachel

Michelle

Alexis

Katy

Jessica

kitchen

room

bath

go 

delicious

me

tickle

crunchy

please

thank you

all done

no

yes / yeah
twist
spin
sing
twinkle
round
wheel
shut
where
what

Registration is Open for the 2015 Kenna Cup

The 8th Annual Kenna Cup is here!

Friday, June 26th 2015
Saturday, June 27th 2015

at the Golf Club at Frisco Lakes
7170 Anthem Dr, Frisco, TX

The format is an 18 hole 2-man scramble.

$125 per player / $250 per team
-includes golf, range balls, goodie bag, tournament t-shirt,
multiple hole-in-one contests, 1 mulligan, food & drinks on the course
and BBQ from Randy White's after the round!

Register HERE

Kenna's Kids is a fantastic nonprofit organization that reaches out to individual families with children experiencing life's medical challenges at a young age. Charlie Greenman was a beneficiary in 2012 and Kenna's Kids continues to be a big part of his life. Please support this organization. There are lots of ways to participate. Visit their website for more information!

www.kennaskids.org

Last Semester of Pre-School

Hi Charlie fans, its been a while since I last posted, but I thought I'd check in with an update about our teeny-little-super-guy. Charlie is just starting his last semester of preschool. He loves riding the bus, seeing his friends, working with his therapists and playing games with his teacher. He still adores music and all manner of books.

The biggest growth for Charlie this fall and winter has been in the verbal category. He is attempting any and all words. His mimicry is getting a lot more accurate and we can tell that parts of his throat and tongue are loosening up. When Charlie first arrived, his brain MRIs showed extensive damage to his language center and our doctors gave us grim forecasts as to his future ability to comprehend language and make words. But in the past few months, Charlie has shown us all that he is ready to talk talk talk. Besides, he has to keep up with his chatty brother.

In December, Charlie had two seizures, which were both small and contained. A recent visit with our neurologist helped us to understand that as Charlie's brain changes and adapts, especially when he's in the throes of rapid skill acquisition, seizures are normal. Still, we're going to have another MRI in the spring to take a look at Charlie's brain again. We're mostly interested in seeing how the scar tissue from the stroke site has changed as his brain has grown.

As always, thank you so much for all of your support and love. We couldn't do it without you! We have some exciting developments in the coming months; we'll be welcoming a therapy dog into our home and we'll also be buying a used wheelchair accessible van for Charlie! So we'll keep you updated as we know more!

Preschool & Charlie's Gait Trainer

Charlie has been enjoying his second year in preschool. His teachers and therapists are all so heart-centered, so educated, so enthusiastic - a perfect match of Charlie Fighting Bear. One of the physical goals this year is to get Charlie comfortable in the gait trainer. We would like for him to be mobile by the time he starts kindergarten. This will aid in his ability to participate, play and interact with the children in class and the world around him. It also allows him some autonomy and choice making.

Here is a video of Charlie in his gait trainer. Only 6 weeks into the semester and he's already reaching his physical goals for the school year!

Charlie's Upsee

Charlie received his Upsee harness last week! Sarah, Jack and Charlie have spent the past days getting to know their new equipment and learning how to move together.

Like most new adaptive equipment, Charlie was apprehensive at first. His initial try was uncomfortable and ended in tears with lots of bucking and kicking and hanging in the harness. The second try was more successful resulting in a two minute walk around the house. By the third try, Charlie was ready to head outside.

This morning was Charlie's fifth day in the Upsee. He and his dad, Jack, took a spin around the neighborhood and through a nearby parking lot. Charlie is becoming more confident and eager the more he uses the Upsee. After his first few attempts, it was clear that Charlie didn't need the shoes that came with the package. Charlie is already able to move his feet and bear weight without assistance. Charlie's issue is one of balance and stamina, which the Upsee addresses beautifully.

And as for Charlie's walking partners, Jack and Sarah are able to stand up strait and bear their own weight while still assisting Charlie. No more back aches and pulled muscles from bending over to hold all of Charlie's weight.

Here are some photos from this morning's walk:

Learn more about the Upsee HERE.

May is Pediatric Stroke Awareness Month

Hi dear readers. As most of you know, Charlie had a stroke before he was born. About a week before I delivered, Charlie had a massive hemorrhage on the right side of his brain. The stroke affected his motor skills, cognitive and language development. He has since been diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy, Hemiplegia and Epilepsy.

But we were lucky. Charlie presented signs of his stroke immediately and we were able to locate the bleed and begin the hard work of helping him attempt some kind of recovery. Many children who have strokes at such a young age go undiagnosed for months, even years. Why is this? The answer is simple. People don't think that babies and little children can have strokes. The fact is that 1 in 4,000 children will suffer from a stroke.

So, in honor of Pediatric Stroke Awareness Month, 

Charlie would like to remind you that...

Lear more about pediatric stroke by visiting the Children's Hemiplegia and Stroke Association.

The 2014 Kenna Cup Needs our Support!

As most of you know, Kenna's Kids has been a GODSEND for our family in helping us face Charlie's medical bills. This astounding organization is now in need of our assistance. Please read on to learn how you can help out:

The 7th Annual Kenna Cup Golf tournament is going to be awesome this year. There are only a handful of spots left for players so act fast if you're interested. Register HERE. Kenna's Kids has five amazing beneficiaries this year and we want to do all we can to help them and their families with the soaring cost of medical care.

Meet the 2014 Kenna's Kids: 

Breana, Bryce, Caleb, Jackson and Thomas.

SPONSOR the KENNA CUP

The Kenna Cup needs more than just players for it's tournament. Kenna's Kids needs sponsors. If you or someone you know has a business interested in participating, please contact Jeremy Pigott for information at JBP@kennaskids.org. We need you!

THE BALL DROP

If you are not in the DFW area, please consider participating in the Ball Drop!  

Balls are only 10 dollars a piece and can be purchased HERE.

Let's show these kids how very much we love them!

Support the 2014 Kenna's Kids by 

visiting their website and donating to the cause.