Back at it

Josie was back in action today at therapy. Liz and she worked really well..as they do. We have just had to focus for so many months on walking for the runway that we had to push aside some other important components that now we can get back to. Jos's legs were like spaghetti at the end of her session. She was actually joyful in the car about this on the way home commenting that she worked so hard her legs couldn't stand any more. Good to watch her be proud of her hard work. She does know that it works.

She has been so much fun and so playful lately. We have had a great time laughing and being together. We usually do, she is just older and able to have more sophisticated conversations.

Cute story...Every morning when I drop her off at school, as I pull away I roll down the window and she yells at me good bye and I love you and I yell back and this goes on until she is out of ear shot. So cute. Well today I had a meeting to attend after I dropped her and she knew that is where I was going. As I rolled down the window I hear her usual, "hey mom". Today she pumps her fist in the air and shouts, "Mom, go make us some money!!" She just cracks me up. Always thinking that little one. Off to bed we go so we can tackle Friday tomorrow. Happy spring day to all. Jenny and Josie

The Lord's Supper

As we enter the last of days of Holy week, we get to remember and celebrate the Lord's Last Supper. Tonight is Josie's favorite church event of the whole year. It is tho night that the priest does the washing of the feet as Jesus did to his disciple's at the Last Supper. This important ritual for us started about 5 or 6 years ago. All the parishioners can go into these certain lines in church and the person in front of them washes their feet and then they do the next person, etc. Well, Josie want to do this and was the first one in the line. Back up a sec, let me set the stage for her to get prepared to get her feet washed. This was back in the day where she had huge leg braces on with A LOT of velcro. Just as the church gets completely quite, she decided to start the removal process of all of her shoe paraphernalia. Rip went one piece of velcro after the next. It was so loud yet she was so excited. She went prancing up to participate. The most wonderful thing is that the person who's feet she washed was Margaret Mortimore, her very first physical therapist. Do you know who we got Margaret?? The first Sunday I had Josie we went to church. After church, Margaret, who I had never met before, approached us and told us she was a pediatric physical therapist and she would love to help us out. Well, she did beyond words. She took us under her wing and guided us to where we needed to be. She worked with both girls for a very long time. We give her all the credit for getting us to Children's Hospital Los Angeles, to the best care we could ever have hoped to receive and more specifically to the orthopedic surgeons and the rehab department. Margaret's friendship and guidance has blessed us in so many ways and this all started by a kind stranger that happened to be sitting in church with us one day. We are eternally grateful to Margaret and she is truly a gift from God. So fast forwarding to the first washing of the feet, it was extra special that Josie was the one that washed Margaret's feet. The event was moving that after the ritual concluded the priest actually commented to the whole church on it. We have continued this tradition with Margaret every year since. It is a special and glorious night.

Tonight Josie just beemed as she sat up on the alter with Margaret once again by her side. We so blessed in so many ways by so many people.

I wish all of you the best as we enter the Passion and Resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Love, Jenny and Josie

Dear Przemek....

OK here goes my dear Przemek (Liz and Sylwia)letter...

Dear Przemek,

I have to confess that the past month has been undoubtedly the worst walking month that Josie has had in the 3 years she has been with you. My excuses are miles long, some legitimate like practically a month long of migraines where it was all I could do to get her to school and pick her up on the good days. Burn out after the fashion show was more than I thought we would encounter. And Hawaii...well, it just didn't get done. Great Grandma hurt her knee there so at least Rita got used by someone.

With that being said and the guilt a mile long, I knew after dinner tonight that I needed desperately to get her on her canes even for a short 15 foot walk. I knew she would be all over the place and I was prepared to begin the hard work up like never before. I have had her in the stander a lot in hopes that would give her passive muscle strengthening of some sort over the past month.

I set up the canes, expecting a huge argument and trying to wheel and deal her way out of it, instead she grabbed her canes and RAN, yes RAN, down the hallway. I didn't touch her once. There wasn't a wobble to be seen. I could have left the room and she would have been steady Eddy. There weren't even corrections to be made. We were both giddy with laughter. It was one of the first times I actually saw her enjoy her canes. She walked down the hall and went to get the towel out of the closet that cousin Jeanie made for her in Michigan. She balanced while she got the matching wash cloth out. She walked from there into her room and went over to the bed to check something out that was sitting there. Over to her dresser from there. When we got to the bump between rooms, I went to help her over it and she pushed me away saying that she could handle it and she did. On into my room where she got all the way to the bed and with holding one cane started to take her own clothes off to get in bed. As I picked her up to help her she said, "boy that was really fun." I thought my ears had deceived me. She then put her hands together, glanced upward and said thank you God, well and Przemek too. Priceless.

So I end my letter to you with apologies for the past month but with gratitude on always sticking by us. The 3 of you, Przemek, Slywia and Liz, have been our walking saviors. I wish you could be here in person to withness the fruits of your labors.

Gratefully yours,

Jenny and my wonderful sidekick, Josie.

Aloha!!

Wow, just when I thought I couldn't get any worse with lack of posting, this month occurred. It has been so crazy in so many ways. With 21 days of migraines, I just wasn't able to turn on the computer to blog.

Josie is doing great and moving along in life so happily. Well it helps that we just returned late last night from a 10 day family trip to Maui. The whole family went including Grams and Gramps. It was a trip of a lifetime. Giggles could probably be heard all the way back on the mainland. Josie spent the majority of her time in the water which I know comes as no surprise. She is a little fish and now a very brown berry fish. What incredible skin she has. There was hours of digging in the sand and great water slide that on the last day she even went on all by herself. We got a picture, but it isn't digital. I will try to scan and post it. She was so proud to finally do it by herself. We went whale watching one morning which was a highlight for Jos. All the cousins were great together. We stayed in the most incredible places that allowed us to cook almost every night together and eat together. We are so thankful to have this time together. When it comes to family, I truly feel blessed to have won the family lottery.

Back to school and therapy tomorrow. It might be a rude awakening (literally) to get up and out the door instead of sitting on the balcony whale watching while eating breakfast. Happy Palm Sunday to all and enjoy this glorious Holy Week. Blessings, Jenny and Josie

PS. I still have to post pictures and video from the fashion show which I will hopefully do this week barring the fact that I can keep these migraines away.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Cutest Little Leprechaun!

O'Noonan Clan

Gramps and Josie

May the luck O' the Irish be with you today, Love the O'Noonan Clan!

We had a nice celebration tonight at grandma and grandpa's house with Steph and the boys and Grams and Gramps. Gramp's side of the family are from Ireland, the O'Noonans. We always have such a great celebration every year.


Josie and some of her model friends at rehearsal

Josie and Teresa at therapy

Teresa loved holding Josie's American Girl doll

In other parts of our lives, Josie has been putting the finishing touches on her fashion show debut happening this weekend. She is so excited and a bit nervous. It seemed so far away in August when we started talking about it. Now it is here and real. SO sad that Przemek and Sylwia won't be here in person to see it...and many others. I will post video of it. The hardest part is going to be to focus with 300 people looking at you. You know her, she will want to try to talk to them from 3 feet up on the runway. Good luck Liz. You definitely have your work cut out for you. She did make her 4 minute timed trial today at therapy. Whatever it is it will be incredible. The fact that she is upright on 2 feet is amazing. Better yet, the spirit that little girl has is amazing. I am so proud of her. It is a great grand finale of all your hard work since you were rolled out of the operating room on August 6, 2002. More to come after the show. Love, J and J

Message dictated by Josie

I am joining the fashion show for Children's Hospital Los Angeles. I can't wait for everyone to see it. I got a new dress for it. Bye, Josie.

PS. My mom will write more later.

Catch Up

We have had 2 glorious weeks. Glorious may be a weird word when almost one of them Josie was sick. Glorious in that when she was sick we slowed our life way down and could just be together while she got well. Right before she got sick she got to have her very first slumber party. This slumber party had been planned, talked about and highly anticipated. She was ecstatic. I know normal parents let their child have one friend spend the night the first time. But think about it, when has normal and Jenny ever collided in the same sentence...yeah almost never. Josie got to have 4 of her friends. I figured that if I was going to do it and forgo what I thought would be a night without sleep, let's just knock it out all at once. She had Audrey, Hailey, Tara and Caroline. Such sweet little friends. When they got here, I piled them all into my parents suburban. Off we went to Chinatown in LA for Dim Sum. Silly me to not realize that Dim Sum is only served at breakfast and lunch. Needless to say, we had a very authentic and somewhat unusual Chinese meal. Back at home we made the family room into one giant bed with air mattresses and Josie's mattress from her bed. The girls watched a movie from our "bedroom" and ate warm rice crispy treats. They were just bound and determined to stay up all night, yeah right. We made a deal, they could stay up to make a wish at 11:11. At 11:12 I turned out the lights and at 11:13 they were all sound asleep. They actually slept until 7:30. Not bad. After a picnic in the front yard of chocolate chip pancakes they were off to play with the bunnies before they went home. I love the sweet innocence in how they see the world, experience life, and treat each other with such kindness. Everyone of them offers to push Josie around. In fact they don't even offer they just do it. They include her in everything. There has to be a special place in Heaven for these wonderful souls. Josie couldn't be more blessed with friends between here and Michigan. She definitely won the friend lottery.

Well as soon as be said goodbye to the girls, Josie's cough had really picked up and her little body all of a sudden started burning up. Straight into bed she went where she stayed until Tuesday. Poor baby. She made it through her first sleep over and luckily no one else got it, including me..phew.

More big news is that she got her bottom braces on. She is doing a good job with them. They were sore at first but better now. Today she got her top expander put back on. This has hurt her all day. She even went to bed by 7:45 tonight. That nagging teeth pain wears you out. Unfortunately, she has to get braces. We have to get those bucky beavers (as her Uncle Brian calls them) need to be put in their place.

We are really gearing up for the fashion show. Of course the illness didn't help our progress, but we are back at it. She walked better then I thought she would today with Liz. She felt awful because her teeth hurt so much so I was worried that we would get her to do anything. She complained through most of her workout, which is so unlike her these days, but she pulled it together during her walking. Now I REALLY have to get her to do a lot of it this weekend when we go to the desert. She is so excited for the fashion show and I want it to be a success for her. Anyone who wants to see it can get tickets at www.flintridgeguildchildrenshospital.org. She is modeling on Saturday, March 19th at all 3 shows. The 10 AM show is already sold out and the others will go quickly.

Thanks for checking in. I know more has happened but I can't think of what right now. Ciao for now, Jenny and Josie