A Very Big Thank You

Well, it's been about 3 weeks since Noah and I have been back from NapaCenter. And now that I've had a chance to catch up on everything at home, and get our family back into a daily routine, I wanted to take the opportunity to share my experience at NapaCenter.

But first, I want to extend my arms out to all of you with a giant hug and thank you all so much for your support and help. This blog and fundraising effort was not an easy thing for us to do. But you all have truly brought tears to my eyes with your amazing outpouring of heartwarming sentiments and generous contributions for Noah.

NapaCenter was a wonderful place for Noah. It was literally a therapy "bootcamp" for him. He worked so hard and was so motivated - even when he was tired and crying he was still trying his best. The intense therapy has definitely made him stronger - he has better head control and is bearing weight better with his arms and legs. NapaCenter is an amazing place; from the advanced technology and equipment, to the family friendly (yet very hardworking) therapists - it is truly a goldmine for special needs children like Noah. Thank you all!!!!!

Our last night in L.A.

The last week up in L.A. we stayed at the Westin Hotel. Check out Noah in the "Heavenly Beds"! (Napa Center had a great discount program with them and they were right across the street from the center).

Napa Center Graduation Ceremony

Did I mention what an amazing staff Napa Center has??? At the end of the 3 week session the group of children gather to form a band, each playing a different instrument (Noah on the bongos). All the kids and parents sang together. Then the therapists congratulated each student and shared their greatest accomplishments throughout the 3 weeks. So beautiful! (Note: even though Noah missed the second week they allowed him to participate in the ceremony b/c they knew he was going to finish two weeks later). Noah also received a Certificate of Completion for the Intensive Therapy and a Certificate of Recognition for the Tomatis Program for his efforts.

Magical Hands

Noah also had the priviledge of seeing Dr. Charlie Martone (http://www.dedicatedwellness.com/ ) at NapaCenter. Dr. Charlie is a chiropractor but specializes in cranial sacral techniques. Noah was in heaven with him!!!

Tomatis Based Auditory Program

Noah spent 1 1/2 hours a day participating in this program (in addition to the 4 hours of therapy). You can see he has head phones on - listening to either music or myself (mom) reading stories and singing. But the Tomatis program enables the sounds to come into the ears in such a way to specifically strengthen the inner ears. The inner ear stimlates the vestibule which controls balance, muscle tone, coordination...... very fascinating. While Noah is wearing the headphones he is usually also participating in some type of sensory or motor play which you see in the pictures (Check out the Didgeridoo!!!!!)

Not So Happy Moments

Just had to show a few of these....

The Monkey Cage

Here Noah is in the Monkey Cage. The therapist is working to strengthen targeted muscles in his legs using 2 lb. weights with pulleys. To learn more about all this equipment, see NapaCenter's website: www.napacenter.org

The Exercise Ball

Here Noah is standing at the exercise ball (in his NeuroSuit) and doing alot of weight-bearing on his arms and legs. He loves the ball (we have one at home also) so this is his favorite activity even though it is alot of work for him.

The NeuroSuit

This is Noah in the NeuroSuit. This is one of the various forms of cutting technology Napa Center is known for in the Intensive Model of Therapy. The suit is heavy and has hooks throughout so the therapists can attach bungee cords to whatever area they want. The Suit can provide support and resistance simultaneously. It can reduce undesired reflexes, facilitate proper movement, and provides additional weight bearing.

"Spider Cage"

This is Noah in the Spider Cage at Napa (part of the MultiFunctional Therapy Unit - MTU). You can see 4 bungee cords attached to him (at a belt around his waist) and the cage. The cords help keep him positioned correctly while the therapist works with him on sitting, head control, and weight-bearing on his arms and shoulders. Looks simple but is a lot of work for Noah and very tiring. BTW - This is referred to as the spider cage due to 8 bungees usually being used to assist the patient.

Morning Stretches at Napa

Every morning the therapists would start Noah off with stretches. This would relax his tight muscles and reduce the occurance of injury and ATNR (asymmetrical tonic neck reflex) - a primitive reflex that Noah still elicits.

Quick Update

Just a quick update, I have a bunch of pictures to add soon though.

Noah is back at the NAPA center this week! They were happy to have Noah make up his missed time, and went out of their way to get him scheduled. He'll be there for 4 days this week to finish up his therapy.

Just wanted to share that information, and I'll try to have the pictures up soon!

Bump in the Road

I'll put up some more pictures from the first week soon, but things were a bit crazy this last week. Benji and I did get up on the weekend and had a great time with the family all together, but then Monday Noah started looking a little under the weather.

Robin kept him out of therapy on Tuesday and he continued to get worse. By Wednesday morning they were in Urgent Care, where they diagnosed him with borderline pneumonia! So she took him to the hospital where he was poked and prodded, but finally released (feeling much better) that night. Thursday she drove home to San Diego so I could help.

I'll be taking him back up tomorrow (Robin and Benji went up today for some Mommy/Son time), and hopefully he'll be back in therapy on Monday.

This was just really frustrating. Most of all, knowing he was that sick and not being there was painful for me. Also, now he can't get the 3 weeks in a row of therapy that we planned, so we really don't know if we'll be able to tell how much it helped. Robin is pretty impressed by the whole thing though, so hopefully we will be able to do this again in a few months (probably early next year).

Thanks for all the emails and good wishes! Hopefully this coming week will go a whole lot more smoothly.

And They're Off!

So we packed up last weekend and on Sunday drove Robin and Noah up to Woodland Hills to their home away from home for the next three weeks. Meanwhile Benji hung out with friends in San Diego and went to a birthday party and spent most of the rest of the day swimming at a friends house... so he is doing ok :)

Noah seemed quite content in the new digs, and we're really thankful to cousin Karen for letting Robin stay with her for three weeks.

On Monday Noah went in for his evaluation. Even that was some pretty hard work, and he was exhausted. On Tuesday, the real work began as he started his therapy in earnest. Robin sounds quite impressed with what is going on, so I'm happy that she's happy. She sent some pictures that I can hopefully add here...





Here he is working with the Neurosuit, which Robin tells me is quite cool. You can see that even though he is working hard, he is still in good spirits!

Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and prayers. Feel free to send questions or comments!

Coupon Code for Todd Warshaw Creative

Our good friend Todd from Todd Warshaw Creative has graciously set up a special coupon code that you can use on his site. Using the code Noah2009 will not only take 15% off of the purchase price of any print, but a full 25% of that purchase will go directly to Noah's therapy!

For those of you in San Diego, you can actually see some of Todd's work in person at The Leaping Lotus in Solana Beach.

And I have a quick favor to ask of everyone... Todd is also going to let us auction off one or two of his prints to help with Noah's cause. So please take a second to look at some of the prints available on his website and let me know what your favorite one or two are (just describe it in the comments section here), even if you don't plan on bidding. Once we know which one it should be, we'll probably set it up on eBay or somewhere similar, and I'll let everyone know when that starts.

So if you, or anyone you know, is looking for some unique and beautiful artwork, please check out Todd's website -- and remember to use the coupon code Noah2009!

Happy 4th of July!

Ok, so I'm a few minutes late for it to be the fourth, but you get the idea, right?

It's days like today that really make you appreciate the little things in life. Our big plan was to set up the slip 'n slide for it's inaugural run. I forgot what a kid magnet those things are! Soon Benji was joined by a half dozen or so neighborhood kids sliding, splashing, and laughing together. Some of the parents invited us to join their bar-b-que, and we spent an incredibly enjoyable day eating, talking, and just hanging out with good people.

I think Noah enjoyed the chocolate fudge he sampled the most, while Archie was more than happy with all the "dropped" burgers and hot dogs. Meanwhile Benji definitely enjoyed hanging out with all the little girls (it starts so young)! I was just thrilled that Robin enjoyed a beer that she couldn't see through :)

So I just wanted to remind everyone to take the time to enjoy the simple things in life. You never know what's around the corner, so be sure to live for the moment and don't let it slip by.

Lord, I must be tired, I sound like a Hallmark card :)

First Poker Game in the Books

So a big thank you is in order to Pete Devito for hosting the first poker game for Noah. I'd like to thank everyone that came out to play. Mostly I need to thank Robin Rosenfeld... even though she mowed through the competition (including destroying me head to head when we were down to the final two), she graciously gave all her winnings to Noah's cause! In return she will receive an original piece of artwork from none other than Noah's big brother Benjamin!

I believe Pete has another game in the works, so if anyone is interested you can let me know -- at pete.budic(at)gmail.com -- and I'll get you the details. I'll also be having at least one game here at home, but still working out the date and time.

If anyone else wants to host a poker game, feel free to give me a yell and I can explain how we've done it in the past (not that you have to do it the same way). It's a great way to have some fun with friends and help out a great little boy at the same time!

A Little Background

Noah Budic was born on September 9th, 2007, and our lives immediately changed in so many ways. I will be updating this blog with a bit of history of what has happened to us in the last few years, as well as letting you know what Noah is up to today.

While originally we were only going to point family members at this blog and the associated website, we decided to open it up to friends for a number of reasons. Mainly, we wanted to explain why we pretty much dropped off the face of the planet for the last few years. I don't think I'll be able to explain fully what we've gone through, words themselves can't really convey the emotional highs and lows we've experienced... but I'll see what I can do.

We're about two weeks away from the big three week intensive therapy session at the NAPA Center. While we are running this blog and the site as a fundraiser for this effort, I want everyone to know that simple good wishes, thoughts, and prayers are just as valuable as any financial contribution.

So thank you for visiting, and I will be adding information as time (and caffeine ) permits.

-Pete