Hi friends and family! We really haven't posted any updates in a long time, as Sophiah has been doing so well, but today she turned 1, so it seems right and appropriate to share a bit about how our sweet girl is doing. 

It has been quite a journey so far, and despite Sophiah doing so well, it has been a remarkably hard year for us all. We are all still processing and working through the trauma we experienced around her birth, and wrestling with the continued angst and uncertainty that comes with not knowing exactly what happened or exactly how much brain injury she may have experienced. It's hard to not be overly worried about her when we have been following her development with a fine toothed come for this whole year. We have seen how the scary start to her life effected Asher, and have had some really sweet moments of using art to process those with him. All of that said, the more time we spend with her and watch her grown and engage with us and life with fire and energy; and the more appointments we have in which experts say "yah, it sure seems like she is doing really well and healing", the more these fears slowly fade.

And then what is even more bizarre is the confusing feeling that comes with her doing well that goes something like: "wait... she seems fine. Maybe that wasn't that bad after all. Maybe this shouldn't still be affecting me so much? Why does this till feel so tender and hard?"

But, how is Sophiah actually doing? Well, we have so much to be thankful for and are overjoyed to see her growing stronger, faster, smarter and sassier by the day! She is full of life and mischievous playfulness. She has bright blue sparkly eyes and is constantly on the move! About a month ago she was discharged from physical therapy and occupational therapy. Both therapists felt that she had caught up sufficiently in the ways she was behind (mostly in gross motor skills), to be discharged! This was a huge relief and wonderful to not be shuttling her to appointments 1-2 times a week. 

Yesterday we had her big 1 year assessment with the HIE experts (HIE = fancy science acronym for: "brain damage by lack of oxygen to the brain"). The punchline from about 2 hours of testing and assessments is that she is doing fantastically well. However, one of the tests of her reflexes does indicate that she has had a brain injury. This was a surprisingly relieving thing to hear. It feels as if it takes some of the mystery out of it and validates the severity of what happened. So, in short, she does/did have a brain injury, but she is also healing phenomenally well! Currently she is testing above average in all cognitive, communication and fine motor skills, while being slightly behind average in gross motor skills. We are overjoyed that she is healing and will very very likely have no lasting effects from this! 

Now we keep enjoying Sophiah and loving on her, treating her like a normal kid, and watch as she grows! We have another full assessment in 6 months, another 6 months after that, and then maybe one last checkup when she is 3. We and the doctors will be paying close attention to how she develops as she learns to walk and run and speak. We haven't fully come through this journey, but we are doing really well over- all, overjoyed at how well Sophiah is doing, and enjoying growing as a family of 4! 

Thank you for all your love and support throughout this year. It has truly carried us and we still gladly receive your love, thoughts and prayers as we continue to heal from the trauma.