Our Journey with Conjoined Twins
Abby & Erin
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28
Romans 8:28
I didn't realize how long it has been since I have blogged. It's amazing how time flies but feel so slow at the same time. We have been going through a lot as a family since I last blogged. COVID-19 has changed a lot as I am sure that it has done the same for each of you in so many different ways. We have been in quarantine as a family since right around Rileys birthday which was March 10th. We were battling sickness for the month leading up to everything shutting down so we have been home a little longer than most. Our quarantine doesn't look a whole lot different than what our normal life was. We have always been super careful with the girls because they seems to get sick very easily. But now with COVID-19 we haven't left home very much at all. The only places we have gone are my moms, and Riley's moms houses. Other than that we don't go anywhere. The girls receive all of their therapies via tele-health. Tele-health is wonderful, and we are so grateful for patient therapists who I am sure cringe when I am trying to get the girls to do certain things. But tele-health is tough. It's a lot of time that I am not used to have to devote myself too. Yes, we would go to therapy a lot during the week. But we could go, and I would "check out". I would scroll facebook and be able to take some time to relax. But now those times I have to be 100% engaged and working. And the girls aren't the best for me when I am trying to get them to do things that they don't want to do. At least at therapy they do what their therapists are trying to do (Most of the time). But it's been a huge adjustment. Thankfully the girls are still progressing well and haven't regressed at all. And thankfully we are going to be starting to go back to the clinic once a week soon so that we can start trying to get a little normalcy back. Another thing that happened with COVID-19 is that Riley again is not working. He had gotten a new job right before all of this happened. Between his work slowing down a ton, his step-dad passing away, and our family being sick he hadn't worked many days, so when everything slowed down he was basically let go. So he is back on the hunt for a job. So please pray that something comes up that he will be able to have as a career. Something that he enjoys and that he can have long term. We can't wait for life to go back to normal. Having a child with special needs can be isolating. Not many people understand the daily struggles. And I feel like a lot of the time the friends we do have thing we are a lot of work. Because when we hang out with people a lot of times I need help on and off because the girls are just a lot of work. So now being stuck at home things are even more isolating. Which I know everyone is dealing with, but it has just been a lot on me mentally. I am just tired and want to feel normal again. The girls have been handling quarantine fairly well. Besides therapy they stay pretty busy during the day. They play with their toys and get into everything. Erin is a climbing maniac and gets herself into some pickles. We have to constantly been watching her. She will climb on the couch and end up on the coffee tables. It's a lot. She is also testing her boundaries. We are thinking with the new developmental leap of walking that she is testing her independence and dominance. She has been biting and thinks it's funny to get yelled at. It's hard for everyone involved. She's bit Abby several times, she's bit me twice, and she attempts to try and bite others. It is not something I enjoy having to tell people when they go to work with my child to "watch out she bites". Her biting used to be more of a sensory thing, but now it happens when you take something away from her and she's mad, or when you're dancing with her and she gets over excited. Sometimes she crawls over to Abby and pulls her down and then bites her. So we have been talking to her therapists trying to decide the best way to correct this behavior since we aren't able to fully tell what she can understand when it comes to being reprimanded. Abby is doing so good. She is crawling all over trying to keep up with Erin. She is working on pulling to stand. She also LOVES to sing. It is the absolute cutest thing ever. We say "abby do you want to sing" and we start singing her favorite song (let it go from frozen) and she starts singing with us. She doesn't sing words, but she definitely sings. She also sings in the car every time we go for a drive and she will yell if the music isn't on. It's so sweet to see her enjoy music, since that is something the Riley and I also really enjoy. When I was in high school I competed in voice competitions through our church called Fine Arts Festival and went to the national level with a solo. So to see my child love singing brings me so much joy. The girls do get bored pretty easy now a days though and they get really whiny and cranky. They were used to going out every day of the week between therapy and appointments. So just being home is a lot for them. So anytime my mom or their Nonna comes over they get so happy to see a new face. It's interesting to see how all this affects them even though they don't really know what is going on. On another note we are also having to move yet again. Our lease is almost up and we are not able to renew it due to the owners moving into this house. She we are trying to find something that we can stay in long term until we are able to buy a house. I have told Riley I don't want to move again after this till we are buying something. I moved once when I was a kid and that was it. So this whole moving every year or so is not my thing. So please pray that we find the right house at the right price in the right place. It's a lot of stress. We have a couple months, but we know that will go very fast. And to end on a happy note the girls will celebrate being separated for 3 years on June 6th. We are so incredibly blessed by them. I know we have said it before, that despite all the struggle, we are so humbled by the fact that we have a front row seat to this incredible miracle. Everyday is a celebration of new skills and sweet smiles and giggles. We wouldn't trade our girls for anything, they make everything we go through worth it and we can't wait to keep watching them thrive and flourish! We hope and pray that your families have been safe during this time. We know how crazy things are. We love all of you and are so grateful for you.
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AuthorMy name is Heather Delaney. I married the love of my life Riley on 10/02/15 and we now have two beautiful girls Abby & Erin, who are conjoined twins, that were born 07/24/16. We are trusting that God is going to work all this out for his good! Archives
March 2021
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