Daily/Weekly Thoughts

June 2017

Up! Up! Up!

Up! Up! Up!

IMPORTANT UPDATE:

Health Canada APPROVED Spinraza today - June 30, 2017.

Up! What a common word for a little one around the age of two. It is used so often. To get mommy or daddy to pick them up. Perhaps to describe what needs to happen to a toy that has fallen. Maybe to express the feeling of making their way up the stairs ... or being carried up the stairs. After going down a slide it is very appropriate for Up! Up! Up! to describe the need to go back up and down the slide again. Emmett and I used to have the routine of reaching up to the ceiling (sort of like in the Lion King) so that Emmett could touch his ceiling airplane light in his bedroom. It was a must happen ritual when I had the opportunity to put him in bed for his afternoon nap or to sleep for the night. It was repeated for many days ... but Emmett has moved on from that. So when I heard this refrain as he was in bed and I was setting up his equipment for nap time, I wondered if he wanted to reclaim this ritual that has passed by the wayside. But then quickly set that aside with the realization that this two year old simply wanted to get up out of bed to continue playing. Imagine my surprise to turn and see him smiling at me, repeating Up! Up! Up! and touching his knee, which was raised up towards his chest as he was lying on his back. Very proud of himself and wanting me to see it. Maintaining his raised knee, with his foot off of the mattress, he then followed suit with his left leg. He's done this before, of course, and his mom and dad have observed it many times. Pam and I have seen it in water, but not like this. It was pretty exciting. To top it off Emmett raised both hands up into the air in a form of celebration and pure enjoyment of life. [Normally we do not show diaper pics, but this was such an amazing moment that we hope you will pardon the additional exposure that we are sharing in these photos.]

Enjoyment of life ... Emmett truly enjoys life. The drug that provides Emmett with these new pathways for the messages to traverse the nerves in his spinal column is still experimental in Canada. We hope that it is passed soon. That is a major hurdle. It may pale beside the next hurdle which is finding out how this extremely expensive drug, the only one that works on this rare genetic disease, will be funded to allow Emmett to continue to receive it. The trial he is a part of continues through to 2018. What happens after that? Will the drug be approved in Canada? Will there be funding for it? We don't know. There are no answers to those questions yet. 

What we do know is that this drug, Spinraza, is life changing for those afflicted with Spinal Muscular Atrophy. Emmett was diagnosed with this genetic disease at five months of age. Between four and six months Emmett had lost a huge amount of muscle control with only minimal ability to turn his head while lying down or raise one arm. Before his diagnosis Emmett was a 'floppy' baby with weak muscle tone. He was a tummy breather and had a bell shaped body - his abdomen was much larger looking than his chest. The seriousness of this disease was evident when Emmett began having issues with choking on his own saliva. You see, it isn't just limbs that this disease affects. The muscles that enable swallowing.  The ability of the lungs to function so breathing can take place. If a child gets this far, the formation of words and speech. Spinal Muscular Atrophy is the number one genetic killer of children. Period.

Spinraza is the first drug proven to affect positive change in those afflicted by SMA. Emmett has been enrolled in a trial program for this drug (which has had at least three names during this time) since the fall of 2015. Earlier this spring our assumptions that he was getting the real drug all along and not the placebo were confirmed (we were sort of in suspense for over 16 months waiting to hear). The changes have been small and have taken place slowly but cumulatively the changes are absolutely incredible. This drug has been approved in the United States. This drug has been approved in Europe. This drug currently has a special access program in Canada as Biogen, the drug company that owns this wonder drug,  seeks for Health Canada approval and that provides hope. Hope for a medical treatment that was not available when Emmett was born. Except, of course, this trial study in which he was one of 124 children worldwide participating. A study in which only 2 out of 3 of the participating children received the drug; 1 out of 3 got a placebo.

This is not an instant cure. Emmett is still a 'floppy' child. He cannot crawl, stand, or walk. He has trouble picking up heavy objects but he is picking up all kinds of things that at one time we never thought would happen!  As we've already said in previous blogs, he is sitting with limited support. He's going to be moving from his car bed to a car seat (well, not for long trips). And he can lift his knees up to his chest! Wonder what will be next? Believe me, so do we! What we do know is that as long as Emmett is able to continue treatments, then Up! Up! Up! is the long term view.

And yes, Emmett has watched the video "Up".

Visit Cure SMA Canada to stay up to date on the approval process of this amazing drug, Spinraza, here in Canada.

IMPORTANT UPDATE:

Health Canada APPROVED Spinraza today - June 30, 2017.

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Guest Comment 6 years ago
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PTL! Great news. S exciting to see the progress that Emmett has made!

Father's Day

Father's Day

One of Emmett’s first words was ‘Da-da’. When Emmett sees family photos – even now – the first thing he sees and says is ‘Da-da’. If a white car coes down the street, ‘Da-da’ comes out of Emmett’s mouth. When a car pulls in the driveway and Emmett hears it inside the house, ‘Da-da’ is his first thought and expression.

Emmett loves his daddy. Emmett also loves his mommy and there is no question about that. No reason for mommy insecurities with this little boy. The reason for this focus upon Daddy is that daddy leaves for work … and church … and other activities. Mommy almost never leaves so the security is there. But Emmett's daddy has to leave! And all of us surrounding Josh, Alisha, and Emmett know how very hard it is on him to be away from his little boy. We also know how hard he works to arrange and rearrange his work schedule so that he can be there for as many of Emmett's crucial moments as he can be!

 

Josh is a fantastic daddy and when you see the two of them together you will recognize that. Josh reads stories and allows Emmett to get out of some stretching exercises. Emmett and Josh play catch and explore the back yard and neighbourhood. And they go swimming together in the big local pool. There are so many things that they do together! It is, however, tough to watch hockey together as Emmett so far chants 'Off!', 'Off!', 'Off!', 'Off!', 'Off!', 'Off!', 'Off!', 'Off!', 'Off!', over and over again.  He will learn, but right now hockey is simply not as good as Paw Patrol!

What is the sign of a great daddy? I am not qualified to answer that question, but according to Emmett, it is his daddy!

Josh, thanks for being a fantastic daddy. 

Love from Alisha, Rhonda & Roger, Pamela & Frank

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Lovely tribute. We enjoy hearing about Emmett and his progress. xo John, CarolAnn Bender

Let's Go To The ZOO!

Emmett is a thinker!

You can see it in his every move as he contemplates life and then acts upon it. I wonder if any of his actions are random - or if all of them are for a purpose. For example, the other day Alisha was putting him down for a nap. He had a fish, his favourite toy of the day, in his hand (I say that because his favourite toy of the last couple of months is still a soft, pliable plastic hippopotamus). Emmett was waving it around while Alisha was getting him ready for his sleep time when Emmett started fussing. Looking to see what was wrong it was obvious that the toy was missing. Emmett pointed to the wall side of the crib - a place similar to the Bermuda triangle that has swallowed up innumerable soothers, toys, and syringes. (Yes, syringes! Emmett is surrounded by syringes on a daily basis so of course he wants to play with them. That's what little kids do. None of them ever have needles attached - just the blunt plastic end. Emmett doesn't need daily injections but the syringes are used multiple times a day to flush his G-tube, which is his feeding tube). Well, Alisha got down on her hands and knees to search under the crib for the toy - but no sign of that fish within easy reach. A moment later when she was fully committed to the task of crawling under the crib to get the fish, she heard Emmett giggling. Not finding the fish, she popped back up to see Emmett into a full on giggle and waving the plastic fish which was now tightly held in his fist! The little turkey had pulled a fast one on his mommy! So smart and so funny.

If you have been following the blog you know that a visit to the Vancouver Zoo has been in the works for months - well, it finally has happened. Lions, Tigers, and Bears! Oh My. And most important of all - a hippopotamus! Of course, it was a hot day so the hippo's just sat in the water and stared. But, ask Emmett if he saw them and he will respond with a resounding yes. Of course, the photo to our left where Emmett is obviously enthralled by some exotic animal ... it was a squirrel! LOL!

Too often people assume - incorrectly - that since Emmett has Spinal Muscular Atrophy that his mental capacity is limited. That is absolutely not the case and he is an extremely intelligent little one. SMA traps these little ones' bright minds inside bodies that simply don't respond. This disease has limited him in so many ways, but certainly not his ability to think. And with the help of Spinraza, his medical team, and his mom and dad - Emmett is working hard to regain the abilities that he lost. He has a new speech therapist who, after just meeting Emmett, commented that if it weren't for his disease he felt that Emmett would be chatting a mile a minute. Words are coming out more and more often. Grandma and Grandpa are quite clear! We are looking forward to even more chattering taking place.

We take so much for granted. We've said before that what happens with little ones with SMA, Type 1 is that the nervous system in the spinal column is quickly being eroded just like a mountain road can be washed away during spring floods. Sometimes so severely that it can never be repaired. Except in this case Emmett is a wonderful miracle baby involved in the drug trial for what is now called Spinraza. Approved by the FDA in the USA and hopefully approved in Canada by the end of this summer. This drug allows the messages from the brain to travel the spinal column network and make their way to Emmett's muscles. And not just to his limbs - but that is most evident. This goes to the muscles that tell his lungs to work, that tell his throat to swallow or cough, that tell his lips and tongue how to form words. SMA is the #1 genetic killer of children because it is such a terrible disease. Spinraza is the first medical approach to REVERSE the impact of this disease. There are many who have survived through significant medical intervention and who have reached a point where their regression has halted and for a time plateaued, but this is a degenerative disease. There is no evidence of a child or adult with SMA (there are different levels depending upon the severity of the disease and the age at which it is discovered) have improved. Until this amazing drug and, hopefully, even more amazing drugs that are going to be discovered in the future.

A year ago Emmett was checked out to see if a power wheelchair was a viable option. In May 2016 (the photo on the left is from May 2016! Isn't he cute!) he was just starting to lift his own head but he could not support it at all. He fully needed the head support. Any seams in the floor would jostle the chair and cause his head to flop and an adult would need to support it for him. If his arms fell from the chair arm rest, he could not pick them back up. He used one finger to manipulate the extremely sensitive joy stick - because he could not grasp it in his hand. What a difference a year makes. What a difference! 

Emmett is getting ready to move back to a car seat from his car bed. He's meeting (so are Alisha and Josh) with part of his team of specialists to see if a car seat is an appropriate option. He cannot travel seated in the wheel chair yet - His neck strength is simply not strong enough - and he is outgrowing his car bed. Plus he cannot see anything from his car bed which is strapped to the floor.  Alisha has found a rear facing car seat that can handle Emmett's size and weight for a few more months - and then it can be forward mounted. The wheel chair van needs a new exhaust - just one of those things. That van has been in the family for almost a year and it is invaluable for transporting Emmett, his wheel chair, and all of his gear. Hmmm - maybe we should have a blog post about all of the stuff that must go with Emmett.

Enjoy this photos and video clips. We hope that, like us, you marvel when you see the movement that simply was not present just twelve months ago!

In this video clip you may watch and yet not realize what miracle you are seeing. Emmett is reaching straight out in front of himself to grab the tinfoil shells. It wasn't that long ago that Emmett had to lift his arm from the side and then attempt to move it to the front - often an impossible task. Yet here we see Emmett reaching out straight in front. Passing things from one hand to the other. Doing things we could barely dream of him doing a year ago. Things that in the fall of 2015 we couldn't even comprehend.

Okay, this next one is a longer one. Just so you're prepared before you start to watch in.

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This was wonderfully informative. May God continue to sustain you as Emmett continues to astound you. I loved the story of the 'lost' toy. Blessings from the Meighen