Surprises from September

I know that I have mentioned how amazing and lucky we are to be where we are, but that feeling keeps getting stronger and stronger with each day of living here in good ol' Omaha.  Although it seems a little crazy that Cody decided to completely change careers and Omaha is definitely not our first choice of "nice" places to live, I am sure that it was meant to be.

It is really hard to be down on your situation or be sad about ANYTHING when you have such great people living near you.  I seriously love our neighbors and have so much fun hanging out with them.  They are very aware of our situation and have gone up and beyond to help us out whenever we need it.  I feel unworthy sometimes to receive such great support!

Case in point…

Meet the Winterholler's.  They are an amazing couple with the cutest twins you've ever seen.  Anyway, they showed up one night and surprised us with a painting for Jett.  Are you kidding me?!  Besides this being the coolest painting ever, it also matches Jett's room perfectly.  We now proudly display it right above his crib.  

Yup…cutest twins ever.

THANKS you guys!

Another awesome surprise this month came from Cody's cousins.  They are moving cross country from California to Virginia.  Even though it was a short visit, we were SO happy to see them.  Jett was being exceptionally good and let Dayna and Erin hold him for a few minutes.  They got a rare glimpse of the comfortable, peaceful Jett!

The next surprise really isn't a surprise at all…but Jett is cute.

This is "happy" Jett before his 48-hour EEG that occurred at the beginning of the month.  Jett's neurologists wanted to know once and for all if he is experiencing seizures.  It was all done in the comfort of our own home, which was nice.  The not-so-nice thing is that Jett had to have 23 leads stuck to his head with super glue and then had to stay in front of a video camera for 48 hours.  Ugh. 

 It was horrible!!  

I did not play by the rules.  I snuck him outside twice and actually ended the study at 26 hours.  I felt that Jett had exhibited all of his "seizure-like" behavior…and he was soooo uncomfortable.  Poor baby. It took me about two hours to take the leads off of his head, but once I finished, we rushed outside to enjoy the wind in our face and the sunshine overhead.  Jett even gave me some smiles.

We finally received the results this week.  Jett is NOT having seizures!!  However, his brain activity is very abnormal.  Even while Jett sleeps, his brain is incorrectly misfiring all over the place. 

 The constant activity in his brain is to blame for Jett's dystonia and chorea (stiffness/rigidity and involuntary movements).  The doctors didn't have to change any medication, however, which was nice for a change.  

The last surprise of the month came courtesy of a friendly goat at the Omaha Zoo.  First off, if you know me well, you are probably very aware that I am obsessed with goats.  I really would like to have one as a pet someday.  Now, I'm not so sure!  

The goat tried to EAT Jett's feeding tube.

Umm…not okay, goat.

Jett gave the goat a swift kick in retaliation.  Besides that, the zoo was so much fun!  The weather was beautiful and Cody got to come with.  It is rare to have time with Cody due to his crazy dental school schedule. 

And the best surprise of all??  Uploading the pictures from my camera and realizing that Jett is SMILING in this pic!!  This is a very rare occurrence people.  I hope you are as excited as I am.

Not Ready...

Today, Jett and I had an appointment with his physical therapist.  She had us come to discuss future equipment options.  I have to say that I wasn't too excited to go to this appointment for obvious reasons.   It just became too real for me. It absolutely breaks my heart that my son won't ever walk.  As other kids are outside running around in the sunshine, we were inside a hospital picking out the "best" wheelchair.  The physical therapist could tell that I was a little shaken, although I was trying to stay upbeat. Jett, however, seems to always know when to lighten the mood.  As tears began to well up in my eyes, he had the BIGGEST blow-out I have ever witnessed.  I don't think any of it even made it in the diaper!  Immediately my attention was on him and not the wheelchairs.  Thank you Jett!  He knew that I needed to be distracted at that exact moment.  I can't say that it was fun cleaning poo off of his entire body, but it at least gave me a good laugh.

The picture below is what we'll most likely be getting for Jett.  For right now, however, I'm not ready for it.  He's still my baby and I want to keep it that way for as long as I can.  I'll slowly come to grips with the reality of the situation, but for now I'll continue to dream of him running up and down a soccer field, or playing hockey, or throwing a football.  That day will come and I can't wait.

We've come a long way

I was just deleting some stuff on my computer and ran into some old pictures.  Although we still aren't in the clear, have many hurdles yet to come, and still have many daily reality checks, I realized for the first time how much our little Jett really has grown.

He hasn't put on much weight in 9 months of life but who cares (we were so concerned with this for a long time) He has accomplished so much in his inspired short life so far. Here is what he has accomplished so far:

-He dealt with us as 1st time parents, and not knowing his specific needs the first 8 weeks of life before we knew that he had some special things that we needed to do for him.
-Against all odds (PCH and cleft lip/palate) he learned how to eat out of a bottle for the first 2 months of life (he was never supposed to be able to do this)
-He dealt with a nasal feeding tube and an oxygen tube for 2.5 months
-He has taught doctors, nurses, techs, parents and pretty much anyone that encounters him, that size is NO indicator of strength… He is one strong little guy
-He is the first Boseman to EVER have an 8 pack, and the youngest Boseman to grow a mustache (loved his stache)
-He experienced his first of many surgeries by having his cleft lip repaired by an amazing surgeon (Dr. Morales) (although the lip repair was incredible, this is what ultimately ruined his mustache...)
-2 weeks after his 1st surgery he had his feeding tube installed into his tummy
-He made his 1st cross country move, and had the opportunity to go on his first airplane ride (thanks to some amazing friends)
-He endured a doctor making a stupid mistake, so he had his tummy button installed 2 times instead of 1.
-He has doubled in size and now weighs in at 13 pounds
-He has traveled the world (see his blog for all those details)
-He visited with his buddy Glenn Beck
-He has inspired many people world wide.  We have heard many of the inspiring stories but I know there are many I haven't heard. Secondarily to this, we have learned that there are really some incredible people out there that are filled with compassion.
-He has taught us about the world of raising a special needs child, and introduced us to some equally amazing angel babies.
-He has solidified the fact that prayers are heard and answered

-He has grown, fought, inspired, and learned with such an amazing little attitude over the last few months.  We are so proud of him.

Here are a couple pics I just found from when he was younger:

And here are some more recent ones.  Growing up:

If you have any more accomplishments that I didn't cover, Please feel free to remind us of them!  Thanks