July 6th Update

The past couple of weeks have been a little challenging for our sweet Lemon.

The smoke from the Utah wildfires has been especially hard on her little lungs. Even though the worst air quality days have passed, she's still feeling the lingering effects, and we've had to spend a lot more time focusing on keeping her breathing comfortable and supporting her respiratory health at home.

One bright spot has been seeing Lemon become more interested in moving her body again. She's been showing us little moments where she's trying to participate more, which gives us so much hope as we get closer to her therapy intensive in California at the end of this month. Every tiny effort is worth celebrating.

At the same time, her spasticity has become increasingly difficult. The tightness in her arms and legs takes an incredible amount of energy just to manage, making it hard for her to rest comfortably and limiting the movement she's working so hard to achieve.

Normally, this is the point where we would schedule another round of Botox and alcohol injections. Unfortunately, Lemon isn't healthy enough right now to safely undergo the anesthesia those procedures require. Even beyond that, we've walked this road many times over the past few years, and while we've occasionally seen a few weeks of improvement, the benefits have always faded quickly. We know it's time to keep searching for something that offers her more lasting comfort.

We're incredibly hopeful that the combination of hyaluronidase injections and stem cell therapy may offer a different path forward. Our biggest wish isn't perfection or a cure, it's simply more comfort, more ease, and more opportunities for Lemon to move, play, learn, and just be a little girl.

This week will also look a little different for our family. Mama is having surgery on Thursday and will be stepping back from many of her usual caregiving responsibilities for a few days while she recovers. Thankfully, we have two amazing new nurses helping us make sure Lemon continues to receive all the love and care she needs while mama focuses on healing.

As always, thank you for following along with our journey, celebrating the little victories with us, and carrying hope for Lemon right alongside our family. We are so grateful you're here.