Cassidy Lyn was born on October 11, 2003, weighing 6 pounds, 6 ounces. I had an uneventful pregnancy and a normal labor. Cassidy was jaundice, caused by ABO incompatibility, meaning my blood and her blood didn't work very well together. She was very tired and slept a lot, not wanting to nurse. It got so bad that the night we came home from the hospital, her pediatrician wanted to admit her to the hospital because she had lost so much weight. At the last minute, Cass drank a little bit of formula and gained 3/4 of an ounce, and that's what kept her out of the hospital. I hated to give her formula, but since she was a lazy nurser and not eating a lot, this was what was best for her.
  
            I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary with Cassidy's development. She didn't roll over until she was 7 months old, and didn't walk until she was almost 17 months old, but since she was my third child, I didn't worry too much about it. She got chicken pox when she was 6 months old, which was horrible. By the time she was 11 months old, I knew something was wrong. She wasn't crawling or even picking up food and feeding herself. Lawrence and I had noticed that Cass wasn't putting any weight on her right leg, always keeping her knee bent. The toes on her right foot were always curled under, like she was trying to pick something up with them. And when she did stand or put any weight on her leg, her ankle bent inward so that her big toe was digging into the ground. She never cried in pain when putting weight on that leg, but just preferred not to use it. Also, she had just recently opened her right fist to clap her hands together. By her first birthday, she still wasn't crawling, walking, pulling herself up, or holding her own bottle or cup. She was always an easy going baby, and with 2 older siblings, why did she need to do anything for herself? Her pediatrician referred us to a specialist, who told us that Cassidy was probably laying in my stomach wrong, with her ankle in a weird position, and that it would heal on its own in 6 months to a year. She was fitted for 2 foot braces to help straighten her ankle out and she was also seeing a physical therapist every other week. After 6 months of being in the brace, there was no difference in her ankle. Moreover, her physical therapist started noticing that Cassidy was not using her right hand a lot, that it was very tight. We were referred to a neurologist at Cincinnati Children's Hospital.
           
            Shortly after that we went on vacation back to our hometown of Omaha, Nebraska. Cassidy caught a cold, so we took her to her old pediatrician for a check-up. This was in July of 2005. We mentioned to the doctor what we had been going through with Cassidy, and it was then that the doctor first mentioned Cerebral Palsy. Two weeks later, back in Kentucky, the neurologist confirmed it-a diagnosis of cerebral palsy. The date was July 18, 2005. The doctor was very matter-of-fact, to the point, and not at all sympathetic. She told us that we should be happy that Cassidy has such a mild case, and to focus on her future, not her past. On August 9th of that year, Cass went in for her MRI. Sitting in the hospital room, waiting for the medicine to make Cass fall asleep, is when it all hit me. I cried and cried, not knowing what to expect. Why was this happening to us? The test results came back a day later-a stroke. We were told it happened some time during my pregnancy, that it affected the left side of Cassidy's brain, and would affect her speech. I was told that Cass would most likely not have another stroke, but was more prone to having seizures during her life.         
            In November 2005, Cassidy was accepted into a study in San Diego for kids who have had strokes-the study focused on how strokes affected kids' language. Lawrence, Cassidy and I flew out there for 4 days to have another MRI and other, more fun testing done for Cass. The neurologist there was amazing, telling us more in one night than Cassidy's neurologist had in 4 months. She was very nice and talked to us in normal-person talk, not doctor language. She told us that Cassidy's brain didn't have as much scarring as we were once told and that the stroke affected her motor skills, not her language. That made sense to me because even though Cassidy was a late talker, she now had a very good vocabulary. During this time, Cassidy was receiving physical therapy once a week and occupational therapy every other week. It was amazing to me to see the therapists use every day toys as part of Cassidy's therapy. They made it fun for her all the time.
         
            Right after her 3rd birthday, Cassidy started receiving Botox injections in her right calf and right arm. She will get them every 3 or 4 months. The injections seem to help loosen her muscles. She is getting her heel down when she walks and isn't keeping her arm so close to her side as much. Cassidy also recently just started preschool. It's a special education preschool, where they take kids with some type of disability, whether it be physical, emotional, or a language barrier. She is thriving! She loves playing with her friends and has learned so much. She sees a physical therapist and occupational therapist through the school, as well as through Cincinnati Children's Hospital. Cassidy wears her brace almost every day, and has a night brace that she wears while she's sleeping. Her physical therapist gave me an electronic muscle stimulator to use at home, so we do that every day. We also do therapy at home every day, just by playing outside and doing normal things. Cassidy has come a long way in 3 years. When I look back at her baby pictures, I can't help but look at her foot and arm and wonder why I didn't notice anything sooner than I did. Should I have worried more when, in my 35th week of pregnancy, I hadn't felt the baby move in awhile? My OB assured me that everything was fine, but I will always wonder if that was the time Cassidy was struggling. I still have bad days where I get sad-I see cute flip flops that I know Cass can't wear right now, or when she trips and falls for the hundredth time because she's tired and dragging her foot. Nevertheless, Cassidy won't let me stay down for a long time-her sweet smile and laugh makes all my sadness goes away. I know she can do anything she wants to do, and I will support her in anything she does. She truly is my hero.