by Manny (Angie’s Dad)
“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying.
There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
Rev. 21:4 (NKJV)
It has been a year since our last update, and
what a year it has been! We thank the Lord every single day for the miracle of
Angeline in our lives. She brings so much happiness into our every day
existence and she constantly reminds us what life is all about. She has grown
so much, both physically and intellectually; so much that at times I find
myself having “mature” conversations with my three-year-old daughter. What a
blessing has Angeline being to our lives!
She is now attending pre-school at Virginia Shuman Young
Elementary School, a Montessori
magnet program here in Broward County. She loves her new teachers and
classmates, although she misses her friends and teachers from the Family Center
Preschool, which she attended until June of this year. Angie faithfully attends
church every Sunday and Wednesday and is a proud member of the Pioneer Girls, a Christian
girl-scouts-like group held at our church, Calvary
Chapel Ft. Lauderdale. Cognitively she is an average to above average
little girl, still facing some gross and fine motor challenges due to her spina
bifida. Nonetheless, Angeline is now able to walk with and without her AFO’s
and is getting stronger every day. Praise the Lord!
Regarding Angeline’s health, the Lord
has blest us with an uneventful year. No surgeries, no illnesses, no hospitals,
no infections, no shunt problems. I don’t even remember the last time we took
her to the pediatrician (hopefully we didn’t forget any appointments). She
continues receiving OT and PT both in school and privately, as well as doing
Yoga once a week. We started using the TES machine, but we discontinued it
after a couple of months since we could not keep up with the consistency needed
to follow the TES program. Nonetheless, during the time we used it, I noticed
some increased muscle tone as well as marked increased sensation regarding
Angie’s bowel movements, to the extend that for four-five consecutive days she
was initiating going to the bathroom letting us know that she “had poops.” We
plan to start using the TES machine again later this year now that Angie is
older and hopefully she (we) will be able to use the program more consistently.
Emily and Angie have been busy
lobbying in Washington, DC for the Spina Bifida cause. Together with other
families living with Spina Bifida, they were instrumental in the formation of
the Spina Bifida Caucus in the U.S. Congress as well as in the formation and funding of
the National Program on Spina Bifida at the CDC in Atlanta. You can read more
about this on the September/October 2003 issue of the publication INSIGHTS Into Spina Bifida.
Angeline’s story was portrayed during this year’s 15th
Annual Spina Bifida Roast in Washington, DC, honoring Don Hewitt, producer of
the news show 60 Minutes. The Roasters were Tom Ridge (Sec- Dept
of Homeland Security), Leslie Stahl, Andy Card
(Chief of Staff -White House), and Senator Ted Kennedy. We had a great
time and that evening the event raised $350,000.00 destined to fund research to help those
living with Spina Bifida. Also, the South
Florida Sun-Sentinel published a story featuring Angeline and her mom
regarding the importance of folic acid in the prevention of Spina Bifida,
especially in Hispanic women.
We ask all of you to keep us in your
prayers and never loose faith, especially during your darkest hours. Thank you for checking in and we will keep
you posted.
God Bless You All,
Manny
