Terrible Palsy

The past few days I've submerged myself into CP blogs. The best idea? Probably not. But sometimes I think the best research that can be done is the kind you find through blogging. You get to see in a way first hand, the good, the bad, and the ugly.

I can see why so many people refer to this diagnosis as "terrible palsy". There are kids on all ends of the spectrum, all with varying ability levels and all struggling for their own "normal". On one hand these blogs make me so thankful that Cooper's CP is so mild. 90% of people who saw him on a good day would never know anything was wrong. I will admit, I've even tricked my mind into thinking "Wow, why am I worried? He's got it so easy! He can walk, talk, and play!"

And then he trips, or chokes on a drink, or tries desperately to tell me something I can't understand. He doesn't have it easy at all. Mild is in the eye of the beholder. Even at it's mildest he still struggles with so much more than his siblings and friends have too, and that in itself is enough to make the whole thing simply unfair. What makes this all even worse? I've never once heard this little boy complain about what he can't do. If he falls off of a kitchen stool because of balance (which happens about once a day) he gets right back up.

I normally try not to think about the things Cooper can't do or the things he's struggles with. There is so much that he CAN do that overshadows everything else. Unfortunately the past week has been a real challenge. When he falls, he falls hard. If there is an uneven surface, he does trip over it. Today at lunch he chocked on his Cars 2 Mater juice box 4 times which is pretty unusual for him (normally he chokes once or twice and then slows down). I'm not really sure what's going on. Maybe he's tired from traveling, maybe he's growing, maybe it's simply just a bad week. Whatever the deal is, it needs to end. Selfishly I'm enjoying the extra snuggle time, but I'm ready for him to be back to his happy-go-lucky "hiya" self.

So everyone please say a little prayer for my favorite "yellow" loving boy. He needs one this week.