Holy Time Lapse Batman!

I have received a few requests for information on the Mimster.  And in answering those requests, discovered that it has been a year....nay.....over a year since I posted an update!  Yikes, another case of the Bad Mommas. 
So here is what is happening right now.  The past 14 months have really just been a holding pattern.  We focused on catching up in school, adjusting to regular PT, and learning more about future possibilities.  Obviously, we tried, failed, tried, and failed AGAIN to get some kind of insurance supplement for the braces, but we have come to terms that that just isn't in the cards.  So, knowing is being prepared, and we recognize that we just need to be able to set aside 6,000.00 every nine months/year for new orthodics and PT.  And we also have learned that there is no such thing as an impossible situation. Mimi couldn't be more positive.  She has been blessed with amazing friends and family who truly love her and support her. 
Here is what we have happening in the next few months........
First, she has started Hippotherapy.  What is this?  I am so glad you asked!  Hippotherapy, surprisingly has nothing whatsoever to do with Hippos!  It is the use of equines (aka horses) to help in the development of strengthening core muscles without feeling like one more doctors appointment.  Mimi is SO excited about taking "riding lessons."  She starts in October and will continue until she wants to stop.
Unfortunately, the last session of serial casts over this past winter were not as successful as we had hoped, and the bottom line is, unless we want to do some invasive surgeries, we are going to have to give Botox treatments a try.  What this means, is that she will go to Children's Hospital in Denver for these treatments.  She is going to be put under, and injected in both legs from the ankle to the hip, and then serial casted.  She will most likely be in the wheelchair a bit longer this time around, but her school has made her classrooms accessible to her, and she has a school nurse that she loves to help her.  The plan is for that to start in late November, early December and may continue until January/February.  Initially we really wanted to avoid Botox as we had heard some really terrible things regarding side affects. However, we have met with multiple doctors and specialists (including discussing it with Nelson's cousin Nathan who is an amazing doctor) who helped us make the decision to go for it.  Basically, what we want is for Mimi to have to do the harsher treatments now, before her bones are COMPLETELY set.
She is a little worried about this new regimen, but we believe that if we do it now, she will have a completely normal adulthood (physically, I can't vouch for the mental scarring Nelson and I are giving both the kids)!
Right now, she is comfortable with her life.  She answers the questions of curious adults and children with confidence, usually saying something like, "I have CP, that's why I get to wear these braces."  She has made the orthodic look a trend apparently, and I spent a good amount of time weeping when a mother of a friend of hers called me to tell me that her daughter was asking for a wheelchair like Mimi's from Santa this past winter.  She is rocking the CP!  With that, thank you for your continued prayers, support and love.  We would be adrift without you all.