Macy is Coming Home

The time has come for our little girl to come home.  I leave the end of the month to begin our short transition. We are all really excited and have been busy making the preparations.  Macy's only request was that we paint her room pink.  It is definitely pink!  She doesn't know when the transition is taking place, but she knows it is coming up. We don't want to cause her the stress of the waiting.  It could be too stimulating for her and cause a set back.

Macy is doing really well.  Our phone visits are very pleasant.  The last one nearly lasted a hour.  She asked a lot about each of the family members and spoke of the things she would like to do when she is home.  She is really into everyone birthdays.  We just celebrated Tray's 10th, so Macy decided to make everyone cards.  She asked if I would make 400 cupcakes for her birthday.  She had remembered that I had made 600 to raise money for her.  She thought I had gone onto Cupcake Wars to make the 600 cupcakes.  She is so funny the way she thinks.  In our conversation this week, in the middle of one of her subjects she stopped to tell me that she loves me and then continued on with what she was saying.  So sweet!

I can't thank K enough for all she has done to help our little girl.  She still has much to work on, but is attached and happy.  She will always have RAD, but now can live as healthy, sweet, little girl.  Thank you all for your love, prayers and support.

March 15th

It has been a long time since I have posted.  Our visit with Macy was a reality that she will still have RAD when she comes home.  Her desire to have control of everything is stronger then her desire to come home.  Good news is that she is attaching to us and sincerely misses us, but she still has a lot of work to do.  She has been doing better the past month and we believe is finally making big changes.  We hope that she will keep it up.   The past 6 weeks  have been busy.  We had a fundraiser over Valentines that was a enormous success.  I baked 51 dozen cupcakes.  Took all weekend prior to V day to bake them.  Big thanks to my good friend Nanete who helped me frost all 600+ cupcakes.  Thanks Nanete!  I have also been busy helping other RAD moms, giving them a break.  There is something about the change in season that brings the worst out of these kids.  The family is doing well.  We are all healing and preparing for Macy's return.  We are loving the warm weather finally and getting ready for evenings of lacrosse and soccer.  Thanks for your support and friendship.  Happy Spring!

Another Visit

I can't believe it has been a month since my last post.  I guess I can blame recuperating from surgery on that.  I am doing much better now.  Well, Scott and I are leaving tomorrow for another visit with Macy.  I got a email from K last night saying now might not be the best time, but the tickets are paid for and we are on our way.  Macy has gone back to some of her old bad habits and is struggling.  Luckily these issues are being addressed in therapy.  I am excited to see her.  At least I know what to expect this time. I will post pictures when I get home.
We are doing a fundraiser for Macy's care.  Valentines Cupcakes!  So if you live in the South East part of Salt Lake Valley we would be happy to take your order.  Just send me a email if your interested.  We have enough money to get Macy through til the end of February then it is in the Lord's hands.  We are hoping to make it til the end of April and transition at RAD camp.  We think that should give her enough time to address and work through her struggles.  Thank you everyone for all your support.  corrie.sorensen@gmail.com

Just Talked with K

Macy has regressed in the past week.  She is stealing, defiante and peeing again.  This was a heart breaker to hear.  K hopes that she will come out of it soon, but obviously has some things to work through.  Her neuro showed no improvement in her birthing development.  Which makes her get stuck when she regresses.  K doesn't feel like Macy will be ready to come home til earliest March.  We need your help, after January we have no money to pay for Macy's treatment.  Please if you can any donation would help. You can donate on the link or send me a email for our address. Thank you. corrie.sorensen@gmail.com

Be-lated Happy Holidays

I am sorry I haven't posted to update you all on Macy and to wish you all Happy Holidays.  It has been a crazy month after getting home from my visit with Macy.  We had to get ready for the holidays and for me going into thyroid surgery on the 28th.  So now that they are both over and the kids are back in school I can get this updated. 
I have talked with Macy  weekly since my visit.  I wanted to keep that softness in her heart.  It only lasted a couple of days after I left.  She wanted to do anything and everything that K needed done so she could come home the first few days after I left. Then she found the card we gave her for her birthday that had the whole families voice and she shut down.  K said she wasn't raging, but yelling at K like a teenager would and would show no respect or emotion. This wasn't normal for Macy.  We realized after speaking on the phone that what brought this out was Macy hearing her siblings voices.  She realized that when she came home that it won't be just Mommy and her, but the whole family.  She wanted it to be like our visit. I spoke with her some and got her emotions out and she seemed to transition back to where she was before. 
Christmas weekend was a nice weekend with Macy.  Scott and I spoke with Macy on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day as she opened up our gifts.  Christmas Eve was about tradition.  She got her new PJ's and a book with Scott's recorded voice reading "Twas the Night Before Christmas."  She seemed to really enjoy that.  On Christmas Day she was so cute and sweet.  She opened up two gifts, one was a pillow case that had a picture of Mom and Dad that said "For Awhile We Are Out of Sight...At Least We are In Your Arms Tonight" and the other was a recorded voice book done by myself that talks about how much I love her wherever she is at.  It was so sweet, as soon as she opened up the book and heard my voice she started to cry, which got Scott and I crying.  She said she really missed us.  Those were such sweet and sincere words to hear.  After we got our emotions in control she started sharing with us what Santa gave her, from every little bit of candy to her jewelery and Micky Mouse watch.  It was fun to hear her excitement in her voice.  She expressed over and over how much she loved and missed us and wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas.  I told her to listen to what she is saying. She has never felt love like this for us and I wanted her to see that her heart was healing. We are so proud of her. 
The plan now is to make plans.  I am going to try to talk to K today and see what she is thinking for the transition.  Macy still has some things to work through, but we are hoping to see her home in the next couple of months. It can sneak up on us soon and I want to have both me and Macy emotionally ready for her to come home.  I am excited to have her back, but scared to death of what may happen.  I feel stronger that if she relapsed some that I can help her, but I am so scared to go back to where we were before.  Your prayers have been heard and we thank you all.  I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and hope this year brings many great things to you.

I'm Home

I was hoping to update my blog daily, but really didn't have the time.  I wanted to cherish as much time with Macy that I could.  As I posted before, the first day went well with a little struggles.  Macy had some stress and anxiety having both K and myself there.  The next day went really well for the most part.  K had taken the other kids for the day and Macy and I got to spend the day toghether just the two of us.  We spent about 4 hours talking and singing while doing her hair.  Her hair has always been so important to her.  She loved earning a special style that I had learned to do.  I told her Wednesday morning that I was going to do it the way she likes.  She got real excited and gave me a big hug.  It really did take 4 hours undoing the braids she had and then twisting and untwisting  her spirals.  The reaction after it was done wasn't quite what I had hoped for, but over a short time she began to love it.  She wasn't used to it this way.  K kept telling her that she looked like a Sorensen.  I think that helped her like it better.  That day I really saw the transition in her.  She expressed a lot of emotion.  This was a side of Macy that I have never seen.  Our time together was full of cuddling, crying, laughing and loving.  It really couldn't have gone better.  In the pictures you can see the transition in her eyes.  The pictures with the braids are of the first day and with the beautiful curls the second and third day.  You can see those last two days the light in her eyes. 
The last day Macy and I went for a walk before leaving for the airport.  We talked about how things used to be with the raging and the yucky stuff she used to do.  She told me "I don't do that anymore, Mommy."  It was so sweet to hear.  We talked about what she needed to work on before coming home and she promised that she will keep working hard.  I fell in love with my little girl again.  I really had a hard time being home on Friday.  I missed my family very much, but someone was missing when I got home.  I haven't felt that way in a long time.  This time that Macy has been away has been healing time for me too. I'm feeling so much love for her and feeling emotionally stronger.  I can't wait for her to come home.

K thinks that Macy will be able to come home sooner then we first thought.  It is up to Macy and how well she heals over the next couple of months, but we are hoping it will be mid to end of February.  We could still use your help for her treatment for the next couple of months.  So if you would like to make a donation it would be very much appreciated. I want to thank all of you for your love, support and prayers.  Happy Holidays!

Our 1st Day Together

Macy was a little hesitent to come to me when I walked in. She wasn't sure what to do. I told her she should give me a hug. The night we spent looking at pictures on my phone and talking about them. She seems to forget about our pets names and people who are close to us. I'm not sure if I believe that she forgot, but I'm letting it go. Today I can see she is happy to have me here. We did a lot of shopping with K, holding hands the whole time. She has been very talkative with me. When she is close she stares at me. When we got home she was supposed to do school work and has been struggling with it with me near by, so I have distanced myself a bit so she can get things accomplished. Tomorrow will be a new day.