Calendar Stats and Purchasing Details

Calendar Stats:
Measures 30×24cm folded and 30×48cm opened out.
Matte finish
Card stock (not too thin, not too thick; think normal calendar feel)
$20 each, $4.95 flat rate shipping, regardless of quantity

We have 500 calendars to sell. We pay up front for the calendars and have to sell a certain number to break even, then the additional to raise the funds.

Contact me if you would like to order a large number of calendars to sell on.

If you live in an area where several of you and your friends would like a calendar, get together and purchase them and I can send them to one location to be passed out. You could even have a Seb Can Do Calendar party!

I will be taking calendars to Australia in December, so if you are there you can purchase one then, no need to pay for shipping.

If you would like to pay by check or money order, please contact me at sebcando [at] gmail.com or leave a message on the group wall. You can post the check to my mom’s address in Mi, payable to Kara Sharp. I will provide that address individually. If you pay by check or money order, you can have reduced shipping to $2.95.

I’ve created a group on Facebook (Seb Can Do) and am trying to get the word out there. Join the group, invite others to join!

Calendars will be sold in Cairo at the CSA and Maadi Christmas Bazaar. Hoping to sell at a couple local book shops as well.

 

Seb Can Do 2010 Calendar

It’s that time of year again! Time to get your 2010 calendar! When shopping for yourself or a friend, please consider adding our Seb Can Do 2010 calendar to your holiday list. Inside you will find photos from the  photo raffle showcased. We’ve even added some new photos by the photographers and a new photographer. So while some of the scenes from around the world will be familiar, some will be new too.

What people are saying about the Seb Can Do 2010 Calendar:

“Wow, it looks like a Lonely Planet travel calendar… I can’t wait to get my own!”

“It’s really beautiful.  I love the layout and the design.”

“Once you are ready to take orders, I want 3!”

You will be happy to know you can pre-order your calendar now. Calendars will be available for shipping and arrive at your home before Christmas.

Calendars are printed on card stock with a center fold for easy hanging on your wall or your refrigerator. Exact size measurements: 30×24cm folded, 30×48cm opened out.

Price: $20 each plus shipping and handling (4.95 flat rate)

Full details and purchasing options (PayPal, Google Checkout, Check or money orders). (Currently finalizing these, fully available by Sun. evening)

Details to follow.

Below you will find a sneak peak at what is inside the 2010 Seb Can Do Calendar. For the full calendar, please order today!

DECEMBER Himalayas, Nepal by Darryl Anderson

AUGUST Butterfly Orange, Washington DC by Sara Richmond

JANUARY Cairo, Egypt by Matthew Cassel

 

Seb Can Do Calendar 2010

Introducing, the latest fund raising event for Sebastian Sharp. Thanks to my friend Alex, we will be selling 2010 calendars to raise funds towards equipment for Sebastian. Featured in these calendars will be photos from some of your favorite photographers who donated their work for the photo raffle. You will also notice some new photos included with some of the originals included in the raffle.

I will be meeting with the printer this week to decide on all the fun stuff and will let you know when the calendars are available for purchase online. I will also be selling them at a couple local shops in Maadi, Cairo and at the Maadi Christmas Bazaar on Dec. 4. AND I will be bringing a good size pile to Melbourne to sell there, just in time for the holidays. Price will be confirmed after meeting with the printer.

Details and photos to follow. Sneak peak tomorrow. Having internet issues so uploading photos is not an option at the moment!

 

 

Equipment for Sebastian

As Sebastian gets older, the need for him to become more independent and mobile becomes increasingly obvious. Sebastian enjoys jumping and taking small steps forward with the help of his mama or daddy, but he cannot do these things on his own. Sitting and playing with toys is also a challenge, as he cannot sit up or manipulate toys on his own. There are certain types of equipment that can help Sebastian achieve these things while building up his strength. Unfortunately such equipment is not covered by our insurance. As we raised money this past summer for Sebastian’s alternative therapies, we are back at it again with a new fundraiser (details to follow).

When Sebastian was 6 months old, his therapists from London recommended we get a special seating system to help him sit in a stable position to allow him to learn to use his arms and hands to eat and play. Had we still been living in London, we would have been able to get that equipment paid for through the NHS. Because we are living in Cairo, this is not an option. The cost of purchasing and shipping the equipment was impossible for us.

Using adaptive equipment is a philosophy for some. His physical therapist thought we could modify a high chair for Sebastian rather than get him this special seat. As Sebastian was only 6 months old, I will be honest and say that I did not want to believe that my baby needed a special seat to do things. I was not ready to accept that so early.

Looking back, I think that there are still pros and cons to the adaptive seating system. Giving him secure, supportive seating for eating and playing would perhaps enable him to use his arms and hands more confidently. But if this seat supported him so well, would it enable him to build up those trunk muscles that he needs to sit and play on his own on the floor? I wasn’t willing to place Sebastian in this seat from the beginning. Sometimes now I wish we had a seat like this because as he is getting bigger, the high chair we have is not supportive enough, even with modifications on our part. I think partially this is because we only have access to certain things in Cairo. While we were in the US, we used a high chair that was very supportive with the modifications we made.

We believe that Sebastian is full of potential. Through research and discussion with other professionals, we work to find the best ways to help him reach his potential.

Here are some pieces of equipment we would like to get for Sebastian now: click on the links to see photos and more information.

Gait trainer: wheeled walking frame with armrests and upper body support.

Seat to Go: lightweight, padded positioning seat for children that need support while sitting on the floor, at the table or at play. Can be used at home or when traveling (which is very important for us since we need to travel long distances to see our families).

Second Skin: custom-made medical pressure garments and splinting.

The reason I think the gait trainer is so wonderful is because Sebastian can already stand, jump and take steps forward, but with upper body support.  And these are things that he finds very fun. I do them as much as I can with he but they are hard on my back and my arms get tired. I also want him to gain more independence from me. I want to see him walking towards me with a smile on his face rather than always looking back at me through the mirror we do our exercises in front of. Developmentally, he is at that age where he really wants to move around but his body is keeping him from doing that. I believe he will be able to walk, at least with the help of a walker. But I see the gait trainer as a step towards that independence as he continues to improve his upper body strength and posture.

As for the seat to go, this is a more affordable and transportable option for independent seating for floor play and possible eating while out and about. I don’t know if it is right for Sebastian. We will be taking a trip over the holidays which will allow us to try one of these seats out and see if it would work for him. If not, then back to the drawing board.

I learned about Second Skin from a blogging friend whose son uses one of the suits. He has a similar kind of CP as Sebastian. I have contacted the company and am working towards when we can be in one of the locations for a full assessment to see if Sebastian would benefit from wearing one of these. It would build strength in his trunk and help him with more purposeful movement.

Sebastian’s needs will change as he grows and his abilities develop. With that will come modifications or new equipment. But we will take it one step at a time.

 

HBOT Collage

Please check out more photos from HBOT in the Therapy set on flickr. I will be posting a short video of Sebastian and I in the chamber as well. Above you can see the view of the chamber from the outside as well as the fun Sebastian and I had inside. Sometimes he would get air bubbles from swallowing the water too fast and it was pretty challenging to get those out without tears. We watched The Wiggles, Barney and Winnie the Pooh Sing-Along (but it was mostly the Wiggles) for part of the time while in the chamber and did some stretches and games for the other half. It took some time to get our groove, but once we did there were minimal to no tears and lots of laughter and singing!

 

Anat Baniel Method Videos Featuring Sebastian

While we were in Michigan we were able to see Claire seven times for ABM sessions with Sebastian. She was fantastic and we miss her!

Below are some short videos my mom took while we were in Michigan at Sebastian’s ABM sessions. Just little snipits so you can see some of the exercises as well as Sebastian’s reactions. You will see that he is pretty happy and enjoys what he is learning how to do.

Thankfully, we have found a woman who does ABM here in Cairo and have had one session a week for the last three weeks. Ali has been able to go with us which is really exciting since he can see both Sebastian and the therapist in action. He is a big fan of this type of therapy. Although our insurance doesn’t cover ABM we are going to go once a week because we can really see how well Sebastian responds to it. You can see the ‘wheels turning’ as Sebastian listens to the therapist, looking at her intently as she explains what she is doing to his arms, legs, etc.

 

Photo Raffle Wrap Up

Sebastian and I have been back in Cairo for almost three weeks now. We started physical therapy last week and are waiting for our occupational therapist to get back to town (visa issues). We also started weekly sessions with a woman who does ABM downtown, which is very exciting! Ali has been able to go with us for the past two sessions. It costs a little less than in Michigan, at $65 a session. We’ve decided to only go to PT once a week since we are able to do ABM and will still have OT and soon Speech and Language. We are slowly getting back into the routine and it feels good after such a rigorous routine while in Michigan. Ali has been able to take some time off so it’s been great for Sebastian to spend some quality time with his daddy (me too!).

During our last month in Michigan we had several doctors’ appointments as well as the HBOT daily, ABM twice a week, and Early On services once a week. We did not anticipate all of the doctors visits so were really pushed to the limit with time and energy. This is why the blog has not been updated as regularly as I had planned. I will be posting past events, stories, photos and videos of the therapy and development from that last month over the next couple of weeks. Some posts will be cross posted with Free As Trees.

We received donations until our departure from Michigan. We raised about $5500 which covered the full cost of HBOT and half the cost of the ABM. We did have some fees for Pay Pal as well as preparing and mailing the prizes which came to somewhere between $400-$500. Subtracting the fees paid, we were able to raise the full amount for HBOT, which was indeed the main goal of the fundraiser. You helped make it happen! Thank you!

Please come back to visit over the next few weeks to check out photos and videos from the therapy in Michigan. I also have another project in the works, so stay tuned for that too!

 

Seb Can Do Update

This past week we received a donation which brought us up above $5000. Thanks to all of you we have now raised the full amount needed for the 40 HBOT dives. Money raised above the $5000 goes towards the ABM therapy, we are scheduled for 10 sessions so need a total of $800 for this. We have most of the money saved for this ourselves. We are so blessed and thankful to all of you who have helped support us and make these therapies possible for Sebastian.

Sebastian has been doing so well. We are seeing changes in him from these therapies. His hands are open all the time now, he rarely puts them into fists, except when leaning on them in a sitting position. His hands are relaxed and he is reaching for toys and bringing them to his mouth easily. He is sitting/standing in a baby walker and pushing himself back and enjoying that movement. His is scooting on his back when his feet are placed flat and his knees up. He is rolling to the side to reach for toys. His body is more relaxed, his back is straighter. He is reaching for my mom when he gets out of HBOT. When he reaches for me and I take him in my arms his face lights up into the most beautiful smile.

He is doing things much easier which took him many tries to do before. Last week while he was eating, he reached for his cup of water and grabbed onto the handle and pulled it to his mouth. He missed a bit and the water when over his shoulder, but he initiated the action! We have been doing a lot of tongue work with him and he is mimicing us when we stick our tongue out, close our lips together, basically working on mouth movement to get ready for talking. He is making more sounds and laughing out loud all the time. He is also smiling with his mouth closed sometimes, which is new. Life is beautiful!

One new addition which is not related to his CP or therapies are his glasses. He had to get them last week to strengthen his eye muscles. When he tries to focus on something up close in front of him, one of his eyes move in, especially the left one. So the glasses will strengthen these muscles and then he won’t have to wear them anymore. He’s doing well with them, and smiled immediately when we put them on. He sure is a cutie pie!

 

A Rigorous Schedule

After finally finding a place not too far from us that has hippotherapy, I learned that Sebastian isn’t quite old enough for it. I found an excellent place that is probably an hours drive from my mom’s: The Right Step. They recommend you don’t travel much more than an hour for the therapy. The woman who runs the therapy said Sebastian needed to be close to 24 months old. So the next time we come to Michigan we will have to try it out. I can’t wait.

As excited as I was about hippotherapy, I also can’t imagine adding another therapy into the mix right now. As it is we spend three hours every morning doing HBOT, this includes the 1 hour 2o minutes in the chamber and the rest of the time diving. We do this every morning from 9am to 12pm. On the days we have ABM, we go home for lunch and try to squeeze a nap in for Sebastian and if he needs to or can, he sleeps some more in the car on the way to the session. So far we’ve just had one a week the past two weeks, but this week we have two. Each session is an hour and the driving is about 40 minutes each way. So that’s another three hours for our afternoon. So on the days we have two therapies, that’s our day.

We’ve also added doctors appointments into the mix. Getting things checked while we are here and have access to a variety of specialists like a neurologist, pediatric ophthalmologist, pediatric GI and pediatric ENT. The doctors that take our insurance and don’t have a copay at the appointment are all in Southfield or Detroit, which is a 50 to 60 minute drive. So aside from all the sessions and appointments, there is a lot of driving involved.

The driving has proven more challenging than we anticipated. Although I can drive, my mom has been taking us everywhere. She is awesome. She is also getting as tired as we are because she still has to work in between, before and after appointments. The fuel efficient car we were planning to use and that I would drive on my own broke down just before Sebastian and I arrived in Michigan. So now we have the very fuel inefficient truck that also has to take my mom and Jerry to work. It’s been challenging, and expensive (gas).

These are the things that make us tired at the end of the day. And sometimes during the day. These are the things that makes it difficult to get much done in the evening after Sebastian has gone to bed. Because I just want to go to bed too. But I also need some time to unwind so I don’t go to bed right away even on the days I probably should.

BUT. It’s all worth it. When Sebastian reaches for things and grasps things with open hands that are not too tight. When Sebastian laughs when playing a game with his hands with his grandma. When Sebastian scoots on his back. When Sebastian is relaxed and enjoying life around him after his therapy sessions. It’s worth it. Every moment, even when we miss his daddy soooo much.  We know the things we are doing are so good for him and helping. Bit by bit. One moment at a time.

And we couldn’t have done it without your support.

 

ABM Update and Video

abm videos: Sebastian and scooting back

Originally uploaded by kara melissa

So far we have done two sessions with Claire, our Anat Baniel/Feldenkrais practioner. She is fabulous. Sebastian loves her. I believe I mentioned this before, but it makes me so happy it’s worth mentioning again. We drive to Okemos which is about a forty minute drive from where my mom lives. The sessions are for an hour.

Her room is very calm and relaxed. She has some toys to use as needed for entertainment. Or else I sing for Sebastian. The goal is to keep him happy so that he is processing the information going to his brain. The belief is that if he is unhappy he will shut down and not take in as much as he is capable of doing. Also when he gets upset, his muscles tense up, so being relaxed and happy is key.

Claire is wonderful with Sebastian. She talks to him, makes faces and noises, all the things that make him smile and even laugh. It’s really amazing. As she is working with him I am right there on the mat. He starts out looking at her and then looks at me as if to say, ‘Look what I am doing Mama!’ I love it. She moves him around, massages him, helps him make connections with his body parts so he can learn what they are for and how to use them. Some of the exercises she does are similar to what he has in his physical therapy sessions in Cairo, and some are different. When he is tired of working with her, I can also hold him and she can continue to stretch and massage him.

You can see his brain ticking while we are in the sessions. I look into his eyes and I see that he is learning and trying and enjoying what he can do and begin to think about doing.

We have two sessions this week and one the week after. Claire has a full schedule but she is trying to see us as much as she can because she can see how well Sebastian is responding to it. The video above shows him scooting back while lying on his back.

 

Anat Baniel Method (ABM)

Sebastian was so happy during the entire session. That was my favorite part. At first. And then he did something he never did before. The practitioner put his feet down and knees up and once his feet hit the mat he lifted his pelvis and scooted back. Again and again. Each time looking at me and smiling. He knew what he was doing and he was loving it.  We were all crying tears of happiness. It was the most amazing thing for him to choose to do something with his body and do it all on his own. The first steps to mobility!

We have our second session on Thursday. I will be sure to write about that immediately so I can add details about the therapy and practioner (she’s fabulous and Sebastian loves her) and hopefully add a video. Just haven’t had enough time in the day or night so far. As it is, it’s way past my bedtime.

 

And the WINNERS are…

We would like to thank everyone for their donations. The photography raffle is now closed. We sold 549 tickets and raised $4220!

The winning ticket numbers are:
80717
80583
80701
80775
81029
80788
80549
80642
80685
80768

Winners were chosen from one of Sebastian’s hats by my mom. I cut and each number after she mixed them up in the excel document. I gave them a big shake and then picked ten out of the hat. I had hoped to get my nephews involved but they weren’t around.

Each winner has been notified by email. The winners will have their choice of one print from the prizes page. The photo will be printed to 8×10, matted, framed and posted. Please allow two weeks for this process.

We came so close to reaching our goal of $5000 which covers the cost of all 40 dives of HBOT. I know some of you were planning to donate but weren’t able to get your donation in before the end of the raffle. We are thankful for any further donations made beyond the fundraiser which would help us reach our goal of $5000. The donation button will remain until we have completed all 40 dives.

We are so blessed by all of you who have helped to share in this amazing opportunity to provide Sebastian with potentially life changing therapies. Please continue to check back here to see photos, videos and stories about Sebastian’s journey with the therapies he is receiving while we are in Michigan, until September 21st.

 

Sebastian and HBOT

We started HBOT on Tuesday after a long consultation and tour of the facility on Monday evening. We felt welcome and comfortable right away. The couple that runs the center is certified and knowledgeable about everything they need to be. We are in good hands. Sebastian looked so cute in his little scrubs. We both have to change into 100% cotton scrubs before getting into the chamber. Each session is called a dive because you are going down to a certain pressure and then breathing in pure oxygen. I was nervous at first because it is an enclosed space and you can’t just get out when you want because of the pressure you are at. They have to take you back up again which takes about ten minutes.

It’s like scuba diving except you aren’t in water and you watch dvd’s rather than fish swim by. [There is a tv screen atop the chamber to watch, although we are limited to kids videos, mainly sing-a-longs because that's what Sebastian prefers. Although he doesn't watch more than a few minutes at a time.] Back to the diving part. Once I got in, I was ok. I don’t feel trapped or afraid. I suppose breathing in the oxygen helps keep me calm. But I am also focused on taking care of Sebastian. So far, he’s not a huge fan of the chamber.

The first two days were really tough. There was a lot of crying. Sebastian may feel a bit uneasy being in a new environment, but he was also getting air bubbles from breathing in too fast. When he cries, his stridor brings in a lot of air and causes bubbles in his belly. It was very painful for him and I was limited in what I could do since we can’t get up and walk around. I found some creative ways and he eventually would burp, but because he was so upset it was taking a long time. At the end of the second day I was feeling pretty bad about putting the little guy through all of it.

Today was more successful with my mom sitting outside of the chamber with books and toys for him to look at while I read them through the glass. I was also able to get him to do some exercises. I can just sit up when I crouch over, and there is enough room for me to move his body a bit, which he enjoys. He still had a short crying session today, but it was so much better than the first two days, I feel confident that he will get used to it and it will be like physical therapy sessions. [Which he abhorred in the beginning and shed many tears but now enjoys and works very hard.] I don’t see us lying in the bed together watching movies for the hour and twenty minutes we are in there but I see us working towards having a little fun or at least shedding as little tears as possible.

We are in the tank for an hour and twenty minutes because it takes about ten minutes to get to the pressure we need to be at and then to come back up from that pressure. They keep us at the pressure for a full hour. We go every day at 10am and it takes us 45 minutes to get there and 45 minutes to get home. We go Monday through Friday and will be going until we leave Michigan at the end of September because that’s how long it will take to do the forty dives at one a day. We will have the weekends off but will probably do a couple weekend days to give us some weekdays off to take a trip up to Holland to see friends. It’s a rigorous schedule and we haven’t even started the other therapy yet. We get home for lunch and then Sebastian naps. Since he isn’t taking a short morning nap with the schedule, he’s pretty tired by lunch time and has even fallen asleep in the car a couple of times.

Of course the owner of the center told us not to expect anything after the first dive, but it feels like there is already a difference in his muscle tone when he is relaxed. I did take a video of him sitting on the couch and making sounds (‘talking’) to me before the first treatment and am planning to make one of him jumping, sitting up, taking steps and eating this weekend. After just four days into the treatment, I think we can still show accurately how he is at the beginning and then do videos at the end to show the difference.

We have raised just under $4000 which is such a blessing. We still have to come up with $1000 as the 40 dives will cost us $5000. The raffle ends tomorrow, but we will be thankful for donations if you were not able to participate in the raffle as we are able to pay for the therapy in two payments.

 

Introducing Tony D’Andrea

Tony D’Andrea is a Canadian, model-turned-photographer introduced to the world of photography in his early twenties. Shooting in a fashion-photojournalistic style, his images utilize composition to emphasize beauty and convey mood. Sharing his unique point of view of the world with others attracted Tony to photography in the beginning. It is this notion that continues to be the primary focus of his photos.

Tree-n-house: Canon EOS A2E SLR 400 Fujifilm Tv: 250 F5.6

Bridge: Canon EOS 5D SLR monochrome ISO 800 Tv: 125 F4.0

 

Introducing Andrew Hinze

Andrew Hinze works as a graphic Designer for AT&T as well as freelance for the motosports industry. A third generation photographer, just getting back into the realm, enjoys shooting cars, Auto Racing and vacation locations. Living in Atlanta he finds the weather a huge plus for photography and outdoor sports.

Wave – Playa Del Carmen, Mexico