It has been one year since Dominic Loperena was hit by a car while riding his bike at the intersection of Hale and Kalana Ave in Morgan Hill CA (July 29, 2008).
Today marks the one year anniversary of the accident that changed everyone's life. Dominic has made such a wonderful recovery. So much of our little boy has come back and we look forward to more recovery and discovery along the way. Over the year he has started back to school, joined his friends at summer camp, moved to a new house, made new friends, played at the park, playing video games and of course gone swimming. He is a little fish and loves to play and swim. Every day is a new joy and a new challenge. Dominic still misses biking riding, skateboarding, and riding the scooter but is working toward being able to do it once again. He is fully walking on his own (he does have 2 braces on his legs/feet), eating on his own, and writing again. We hope that you enjoy some of the pictures that are posted here and continue to keep him in your thoughts. They have worked a miracle and so has he.
On Monday February 2nd, Dominic started back to school. He is now attending Los Paseos Elementary School and is in Mrs. Rebollar's day class. He was so very happy to be getting back to school, looking forward to getting hot lunch and riding the bus. He had a great week and even seemed to enjoy doing some of his homework. (I don't expect that to continue for long. He is a kid after all. ☺) Overall he had a wonderful week until Friday when he got sick on the bus and had to come home. He seemed like he had a little tummy issue and than on Friday night at about 8:15 ish he had his first seizure ever. It seems like he had what they call a focal or absence seizure. We took him into Good Samaritian Hospital and he was seen in the ER.
They released us at about 10 pm and we were back in at about 10:30/11:00 pm as he had another seizure in the car on the way home. Good Sam decided to keep us there overnight for observation. We were released on Saturday afternoon with seizure medicine and instructions to see his doctors on Monday. Dominic had a great weekend and seemed back to his normal self.
Monday afternoon we saw his neurologist and he has ordered a EEG for Dominic. The EEG is done to see if there have been any seizures and also to see if there are any unusual brain waves that would point to the predisposition to seizures. He will be taking this test on Thursday morning. (Cross your fingers and hope he passes.) Next we saw his primary doctor and were let know that Dominic had lost a little bit of weight, but otherwise looked healthy. We need to help encourage him to eat a little bit more but the weight loss can be a side effect of the different medicines. Both doctors will be keeping an eye on his weight and adjusting the medicine as needed. Although, I have to say that on Tuesday night he sure was hungry and had two large servings of beans and franks.
A huge thank you to everyone for all the prayers, well wishes and your continued support. We will continue posting updates and pictures as new events happen.
For those of you still following Dominic's recovery, we've been in the process of trying to find a program suited to help get him up to speed with his academics so he can eventually transition back into Charter School with his old friends and classmates. It was very difficult at first. The classes we visited early on were structured for severely impaired children. Many of the kids were unable to communicate verbally and were confined to wheelchairs. It was a sobering reminder of just how lucky Dominic is to be walking and talking so soon after his accident.
Ultimately, we felt this was not the proper environment for Dominic. While he is physically impaired to a degree, his mind is clear. His speech is still a bit labored, but he has no problem communicating his thoughts and feelings. We're finding that Dominic is just as sharp as he ever was (and that's pretty sharp). However, he's still contending with some of the same academic obstacles he was attempting to overcome prior to his accident.
Yesterday, Kim and Grandma Loperena visited a class that seemed like a much better fit. Dominic even made a couple of new friends during his visit. He will likely be attending this class for a 30 day evaluation period. After which we will decide whether this program is "the one" for him.
Dominic's Christmas was a happy one. He really enjoyed his presents (almost as much as we enjoyed watching him open them). 2008 is finally behind us. While it was a tough year for us, we have not overlooked the fact that we were fortunate enough to end it with our family intact and whole again. Dominic continues to make strides towards his recovery. Over the Christmas break, he told me he had something he wanted to show me. I sat and watched as he steadied himself and then... jumped! It was a little jump, but it meant so much to him. He was so proud of himself. He stood there grinning from ear to ear. It was amazing. Less than 6 months ago we were unsure if he would ever regain consciousness. To see him jump was like watching Neil Armstrong walk on the moon. It's a moment I will never forget. I'll try to get some new photos posted in the days to come. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday.
Thank you to one and all for this past year and your love........
The Loperena Family would like to send a huge "Thank you" to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center and staff, CCS (California Children's Services) staff, Dr. Cirone and staff, The Parrot Heads, The Community of Morgan Hill, The A Children's Garden Community, all our extended family far and wide and all those that have sent their prayers, well wishes and help. You all helped make this miracle happen. Dominic has now made the year milestone from his accident and is doing well. He still has a road to travel but he is moving down it at a decent pace.
Dominic, Age 8
The Loperena Family
David and Kimberly with (from left) Donovan, Dominic, & Dalen
I like chocolate! I'll be 8 soon and I am the youngest of 3 brothers. My older brothers are Dalen - - he's 11 and Donovan - - he's 13. They are super cool. We all like playing outside, playing video games and listening to loud music with my dad, David. My mom, Kimberly is really nice. She likes to wear shiny flip flops and gives me hugs whenever I need it. I'm really excited to be a Second grader at Los Paseos in Morgan Hill, and to be at the after school program at A Children's Garden. I am so lucky to have my family, my friends, my cat (Zoey), my two dogs (Noelle and Mauzer), and all the people that have been helping me get better.
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