My name is Lisa Denise Jiminez. I live in Santa Fe, Texas, with my husband, Marco, and our three children: Brandon Ricardo (8 years old; he will be nine years old in April 2012), Javier Diego (6), and Ismarelda Marie (3). I am a housewife; my husband, meanwhile, works for the city of Santa Fe.
I last wrote back in April of 2003, when our oldest child had been born. It was not an easy time: Brandon was born four months premature: he wasn't due until August of that same year. Nobody knows why he has born so early: it just happened.
Brandon weighed an incredible 12 ounces, as much as a can of soda pop and he was less than a foot long: he was teeny-tiny. Doctors didn't give him any hope of surviving his early entrance into the world. He had a lot of crises, but through God's grace and mercy, Brandon miraculously survived!
He didn't get out of the hospital until June of 2003, but he came home on oxygen. He didn't get weaned off of it until a year later. He was diagnosed with having brain damage, which, in turn, led to a diagnosis of spastic cerebral palsy of the lower limbs). He had the signs when he was still in the hospital, fighting for his very life.
Brandon didn't learn to walk until he was four and a half. He first used a walker with wheels, but by the time he started shool a year later, he was ambulating on crutches clamped to his forearms and was wearing braces on his legs. Ever since, there hasn't been any slowing him down: Brandon is as fast as a little cheetah and even falls don't stop him. He just climbs back up on his crutches like a little monkey and pulls himself up and soon he's on his merry way again!
Brandon is in a class for students with special needs/learning disabilities, but is doing great. He loves to learn and he loves all of his friends (and his teachers). He is one of the more popular kids at his school because he is so nice and friendly with everybody.
Then after Brandon came Javier and Ismarelda. Happily, both kids were born at term and are perfectly healthy. They adore their big brother and love playing with him. They have been very accepting of his physical limitations, but Ismarelda sometimes gets mad at him because he isn't able to do some things that she can and it upsets her.
We are in the throes of getting ready for Christmas. Yesterday, Marco took the children to see Santa Claus at the mall, where they whispered their Christmas wishes into the Jolly Old Elf's ear. It was a magic moment, save for Ismarelda throwing a tizzy because she wanted to bring Santa Claus home so he could have lunch with us! LOL While the children visited with Santa, Marco and I did our shopping and quickly got the packages to the car before the children could suspect a thing.
Of course, my Mami was with us; she kept an eye on the kids and took pictures. Lots and lots of pictures. I am sure she will be uploading them on Facebook for all the world to see; she is very good at that sort of thing! LOL
Today after church, Marco and I will be decorating the house for Christmas. Mami will again have the children, so we can get the work done without them running underneath our feet and getting in the way. I know they will be excited when they see the decorations (and the tree) later on this evening, when they get back!
Well, I am going to feed the children their breakfasts, then get them ready for church. We will then be on our merry way. Mami will meet us there and will take Brandon, Javier, and Ismarelda with her after church is overwith. I will write in here again with another update soon; I figured it was high time to let our Internet friends know how we were doing. Now you know. I hop you enjoyed reading about our family, especially Brandon! He is doing so well; Marco and I couldn't be more blessed!
Merry Christmas to each and every one of you and God bless!
~Lisa Jiminez. :)
