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Aladdin’s Journey

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Aladdin’s Journey

This is a page about Aladdin’s journey. He was born on 12/29/21 with rare brain disorders, ACC, hy

Operating as usual

11/21/2022

When Aladdin was first born they told us outside of eating and sleeping, there wouldn’t be much he could do. They said he would have very low quality life due to the severity of his Schizencephaly (how much brain he had missing) combined with his Hydrocephalus (fluid on the brain) and ACC (missing his part of the brain that lets the right and left communicate)

All 3 of these were working against him.

As soon as we got home. We started therapy 3 times a week. We were told it was gonna be a long road. There was already a plan in place when he graduated from early intervention to have him on a waiting list with a PT and OT for older kids.

Here we are, he is 10 months old. And he just got discharged from therapy today. We went through the checklist today and he has checked off all of the 12 month old things on the list.

I don’t make this post to brag, or to rub it in the faces of families who have had a hard road with their medically complex babies.

I make this post to let you know there is hope. This is nothing other than the hand of God working in Aladdins life. This can’t be explained by doctors, therapists, surgeons, or specialists. Most of all I make this post to bring glory to God.

Your road may be longer, it may be harder, but there is hope. When there is absolutely no way possible, God says “Let me show you what I can do” 💙

11/16/2022

My boy did SO good at his checkup today. His shots always make him sleepy so he’s taking a good nap now 💙

His pediatrician said we must’ve had a lot of people praying because Aladdin is a miracle baby! I told him we had a lot of prayers going up!

He’s very healthy! He is 96th percentile in weight, and 93rd percentile in height! 😊

11/03/2022

It has been awhile since I’ve made an update on here! Life has been so busy chasing Aladdin around on all his new adventures I can hardly keep up!

By the grace of God he has been doing extremely well! He’s made leaps and bounds in his therapy, they’ve moved him down to therapy one time a month! They, as well as we, are amazed at how God has moved in his life! It is so evident every single day and I can’t thank Him enough!

With the part of the brain Aladdin was born without (which scans show is growing now) he shouldn’t be able to talk. But he is on the level of a one year old in his vocabulary! He is very vocal and loves to use his voice. He has tons of personality. 😊

He LOVES to eat. His food, my food, and your food too. 😂 he’s a whopping 25 pounds! And boy this pregnant mamas back feels it. 😂

We always say thank you to everybody who has prayed for Aladdin. We know your prayers made a difference in his life. We are forever grateful. 🤍

08/25/2022

Update on Aladdin:

We just left from Aladdin’s MRI. They said his brain is GROWING and the fluid has gone down! He’s getting more brain, and less fluid. His head hasn’t grown any (which is good) and he doesn’t have to go back for 6 months! And not another MRI for a year! Also enjoy this picture of him eating a rib 😂

06/23/2022

It’s been awhile since we posted! Aladdin is doing so good! He is currently getting over a double ear infection, but he is getting stronger and smarter everyday. 💙

05/27/2022

Aladdin had his first, and last appointment with Neurology today!

“Reading his papers and his history, this is not what I expected to walk into. I don’t see a reason for him to follow up unless you have concerns. He is right on track like any normal 4 month old, I’d actually say he is a little advanced.” -Aladdin’s Neurologist

These are the people who told us when he was first born that he would have low quality life, and that he would be unable to function like a normal kid.

Just another praise report of how faithful God is. 🙌🏼

05/25/2022

Oh you know, Aladdin thinking about all the ways God is allowing him to prove the Doctors wrong. 🤔

We have an ARMY CRAWLER! He made huge progress in therapy today and his therapist was in absolute shock!

The therapist’s exact words were “you gotta stop making so much progress! I have 3 kids in college and I need to keep this job! This is huge!”

We are so thankful that God is going above and beyond in Aladdin’s life. Even though He doesn’t owe it to us to prove Himself, He keeps doing just that. 💙

05/13/2022

Schizencephaly (second rarest brain defect)

We had never heard this word until they told us that Aladdin had it. It’s sounded like straight up jibber to me. All I knew is that the NICU doctor told me 3 parts of my baby’s brain was missing and that he would have low quality life due to the severity of his schizencephaly. The 2 major parts of his brain that are missing which was most concerning to the neurologist, are most of both of the Frontal lobes (front part of the brain). That controls things like voluntary movement, personality, social interaction, emotions, behavior control, learning etc. Aladdin has one of the biggest personalities, he is super social, he LOVES people, he can voluntarily grab his toys, roll over, hold his head up, sit for a few seconds (this is new), push up all his weight with his legs, he can self soothe, and he is one of the best natured babies I know. (I know I’m biased but ask ANYBODY that knows him, it’s true) he has learned this all in a few short months! I know that it’s nothing other than the hand of God. He has 100% proven the Drs wrong and I know He will continue to because Aladdin absolutely is thriving in all that he does. That being said, this month is schizencephaly awareness on May the 19th! Join us that day in wearing purple or green (or both) with the hashtag . 💜💚

05/10/2022

We found Aladdin’s favorite way to pass tummy time, on mommy!

Aladdin is doing so good and getting SO strong! You may see just a baby holding up his head, I see a strong boy who has worked hard to get here. 😭💙

04/30/2022

Someone turned 4️⃣ months yesterday! 🥳

This is the first month that he hasn’t been in the hospital/sick when he has turned a month older!🙌🏼

Aladdin is crushing the odds that were placed on him in the NICU so far in his therapy and everyday life! We know it’s nothing short of an answered prayer and God’s hand at work.

We got mommy a family photo session for Mother’s Day since she has been wanting one since he came out of the womb🤣

Aladdin loves:
•His mommy
•Sleeping next to his mommy🙄
•His pacifier
•People
•Being nosey (like his mom)
•Apparently the camera as of yesterday🤷🏼‍♂️

04/25/2022

All smiles in therapy today. 🧡

04/23/2022

Apparently we hold our head up for long periods of time for Winnie the Pooh 👀😂

04/21/2022

Straight chillin 😎

Love this romper from Ready Set Romper! ☀️🌴

04/19/2022

Aladdin is super excited about his toys today 🤣💙

04/16/2022

No babies consumed popcorn in the making of these pictures 🍿😂

We ADORE this super soft and cute romper from Ready Set Romper 😍 love that it has no zippers or buttons! Quick and easy to put on and take off for all of the mid-night diaper changes 👏🏼

04/14/2022

We had a fun evening at the park with all the kids from church. 💙
You can’t tell from the video but Aladdin enjoyed the swing. 🤩
Look at how strong Aladdin’s neck is getting!! Not too long ago he couldn’t hold his head up very well at all! His therapist told me I was doing a good job practicing with him because he has gotten a lot stronger, but I give all the glory to God for every step Aladdin takes in life. 🙌🏼

04/09/2022

Raw moment:
I’ve tried to downplay, if you will, the miracle and healing God has preformed thus far in Aladdin.

It’s not the healing we planned. The shunt is not the miracle I wanted. It’s not the path we chose.

But it still is a miracle.

Whether God would’ve chose to speak the word and the fluid disappear. Whether He would’ve chose to do it own His own, or like He did and used the doctors to put a shunt in….

It still is a miracle.

Looking at these pictures I will not short hand Gods miracle.

It may not be how you planned, but His hand is still working for your good!

04/05/2022

Update‼️9:35PM

Thank you all for the prayers. His incision doesn’t have an infection… but he was running a fever. Therefore they are running test on Aladdin to see what is causing his fever and make sure it’s nothing with his shunt.

•••••••••••••

Asking for prayers for this sweet boy who can’t seem to catch a break. We are having to go right now to get one of his incisions checked, it looks infected. We will update as soon as we know if it’s infected or not

04/04/2022

Aladdin is having fun talking to his leap frog puppy. 🥰

04/04/2022

I’ve felt led to start a blog for awhile now, but like a lot of us do I’ve doubted myself about it. I decided to go ahead and take a leap of faith and start it! I want to keep this page strictly for updates on Aladdin so the page I’ll be posting my blogs on is The Shunammite Mother

Feel free to give it a follow! 💙

04/01/2022

Had to bring little man back to the Dr today cause he can’t seem to kick this upper respiratory stuff!! He spiked a fever of 100.4 and is back to having a hard time with his bottles. They gave him a steroid shot to hopefully knock this out! Prayers he gets better soon. 💙 if he isn’t better by Monday they want us to bring him back in to make sure this isn’t progressing into pneumonia. Please be believing with us that, that won’t be the case.

He’s still happy as usual. Love my sweet baby. 😍

03/29/2022

Just realized we never posted a pic from Aladdin’s dedication. (He pooped all over his original outfit before the picture) He had a wonderful dedication where the presence of God came and filled the room🙌🏼
Big thank you to everyone who came and special thank you to Aladdin’s Great Uncle Jerry for doing his dedication and also to Uncle/Aunt Ryan, Emily & Caleb for singing his favorite song💙
-If anyone recorded the song please send it-

On other news Aladdin has been under the weather with his sinus/allergies and not feeling the best. Today he is eating normal but still coughing and has a lot of mucus. Praying he’s better soon.

Love you all

03/24/2022

We haven’t posted in awhile…

Aladdin had to go to Chattanooga to do a follow up post shunt surgery today. The doctor said everything looked great and that we wouldn’t have to come back until July!🙌🏼

Aladdin has been doing wonderful. He’s learned how use different types of voices to get our attention. He’s also constantly trying to roll over.

We thank you all for the continued prayers for Aladdin.

03/16/2022

5 days left to order your Aladdin Shirt. We appreciate everyone who has aldready ordered and has prayed for our little man.🙏🏼

03/09/2022

This Sunday is Aladdin’s dedication! It will be @ Aldrich Assembly in Montevallo, AL. We know not everyone can attend but want everyone who has prayed, supported him and those who have even even been following his story to be a part. So this Sunday if you’d like, we are asking people to wear blue (any shade) and tag us and use the hashtag

Also, the shirts are still on sale at the moment, you have 15 or so days left if you’d like to purchase! 👕

As of right now no new updates on Aladdin. He’s has been well (besides teething 😅) and has been such a happy baby!

03/05/2022

Sunny days call for strolls in the park. ❤️ Aladdin is doing so good thanks to everybody who reached heaven. Gods been so good! 🙌🏼

03/04/2022

We’re breaking out of here!! Aladdin got discharged this morning! 🙌🏼 he’ll still need prayers as he recovers, thank everybody SO SO much for every prayer you’ve prayed for our baby boy! ❤️

03/03/2022

Aladdin is out of surgery and doing well! They said he did great and he’s already taken 2 pedialyte bottles and is now getting his first formula bottle. Thank y’all for the prayers! We can tell he is in a little pain so please keep the prayers coming as he recovers! ❤️ they said if he does well today and through the night that they would let us go home tomorrow! Pray that be the case for us! We’d all be more comfortable at home

03/02/2022

First and foremost we have no words, for we are so grateful to each and everyone of you who are praying and showing support for our strong boy just in lastnight alone(&this whole journey). We could never thank all of you enough. We are so blessed to have so many people lifting Aladdin up. We truly feel your prayers and will need them in the days to come. As we already do feel them on the tough days.

With that being said, several people have asked us if we are going to sell more shirts. So we are relaunching the shirts for those of you who want to purchase a shirt. This batch will last 20 days. We appreciate the MANY people who have already purchased a shirt, we are truly grateful.

Once again “thank you’s” simply aren’t enough for all the support. We truly covet your prayers and love y’all.

https://www.bonfire.com/aladdin-block-letter/

https://www.bonfire.com/aladdin-rainbow/

03/01/2022

We come to you broken, not understanding, but trusting that this is all part of Gods plan. I am thankful for the month God has allowed us to have Aladdin home and healthy, but Aladdin’s surgery has failed once again. He is scheduled for his 3rd brain surgery Thursday morning. He will be getting a shunt. Pray for our sweet boy that he comes through this without any complications and that he recovers quickly. And pray for me and Christopher. Thank y’all for all the prayers, we know they haven’t gone unheard.

02/28/2022

Aladdin’s Dedication will be March 13th at Aldrich Assembly in Montevallo, AL.

We know not everyone can come but we do know that many people have been a part of his story whether it’s praying, reaching out, or sending cards. We love y’all so much and with that being said the Hydrocephalus awareness color is Blue and we will be wearing blue for his dedication. It also has spiritual meaning that relates to his story. (we didn’t plan this it just kind of happened) with that being said we’d love for everyone that wants to wear blue to do so on March 13th. Tag this page and use the hashtag

We love y’all so much! Please please continue to keep our little man in your prayers. 🙏🏼

02/23/2022

Rainy days call for cozy PJ’s and snuggles ☔️🐻

Aladdin starts PT and OT next week! We’re gonna be working on neck strength. I’m very excited to start this with him! 💙

02/16/2022

Tony Hawk by day 🛹
John Wayne by night 🤠

No big new updates on Aladdin this far. He’s actually been doing really good and head size is staying stable.🙌🏼 Only major update is that our boy is going up on his ounces and growing so fast❤️

Keep Aladdin in your prayers for upcoming doctor visits & good reports🙏🏼

02/11/2022

While we were still in the NICU Aladdin had to do a car seat test for us to be able to go home. We were so sad when he failed it because we thought it would put us there longer. Our wonderful NICU doctor came in with a car bed for Aladdin so we could go home that day. I’m very thankful for that!

But today he moved to his regular car seat! It’s the little things. It’s a big accomplishment for my boy. 💙

02/10/2022

Even through the storm, God has been good. ❤️ He has taught me so many things through this time in our lives. I have to believe there is a purpose for this season.

Today we had a checkup with Aladdin’s neurosurgeon to see how his surgery is working. He was very pleased with the progress Aladdin’s soft spot has made. You’ll see in the first picture how much it had started bulging. You can also see how pale he had gotten and that he just didn’t feel good. That was the day before his surgery.
The second picture was from today right after his appointment, his soft spot has gone down tremendously and he has gotten his color back. He is definitely feeling much better! 🙌🏼

We do still ask for prayers that this continues to work. Last time it failed due to scarred tissue covering up the hole they made to make the fluid drain. Specifically pray that this hole stay open, and that the fluid regulate how it is designed to do! We know God is more than able! I believe He will! ❤️

02/09/2022

Thank you all who have purchased a shirt this far or donated. We greatly appreciate it!

We know many people have said that they are wanting to order one with that being said, this batch will end in 7 days. So if you want a shirt sooner than later you have 7 days. This order should ship out around the 24/25th of this month. Links below.

Thank you all.❤️

https://www.bonfire.com/aladdin-rainbow/

https://www.bonfire.com/aladdin-block-letter/

02/05/2022

They say a picture is a worth a thousand words.

This is the image I captured the other night. Aladdin was barely falling asleep while listening to his song (the story I’ll tell) when this happened. The song had already played once or twice and his hands remained lifted during the song.

I couldn’t help but think of the story the little raised hand would tell. What his calling would be and how the Lord would use him to tell about His faithfulness in Aladdin’s life. How he would use those lifted hands to spread hope to a hopeless situation. One day when he testifies about a God who has the final say. When he tells about how every step of the journey the Lord was with him.

Right now we may not fully understand. We may be weary on the journey. But one day when this is all over and Aladdin is telling his testimony we will say the journey was surely worth it.

••••••••••••

Thank you to all who have prayed for Aladdin after his second surgery. He’s been doing good. Continuously praying that this will work and the fluid will go down. 🙏🏼

02/03/2022

We’ve had a few ask about childrens sizes in these shirts! We’ve added boys and girls! 😊

Some had asked about baby sizes, but sadly we couldn’t do any smaller sizes than a xs in youth!

Links below for the shirts! ❤️

https://www.bonfire.com/aladdin-block-letter/

https://www.bonfire.com/aladdin-rainbow/

Address

Cookeville, TN

Telephone

+12053816965

Website

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Videos

It’s been awhile since we posted! Aladdin is doing so good! He is currently getting over a double ear infection, but he is getting stronger and smarter everyday. 💙

Aladdin is super excited about his toys today 🤣💙

We had a fun evening at the park with all the kids from church. 💙 You can’t tell from the video but Aladdin enjoyed the swing. 🤩 Look at how strong Aladdin’s neck is getting!! Not too long ago he couldn’t hold his head up very well at all! His therapist told me I was doing a good job practicing with him because he has gotten a lot stronger, but I give all the glory to God for every step Aladdin takes in life. 🙌🏼