The Silcock Family Newsletter

June 2008

Hello!

We have been really busy lately and we've had some good news and not so good news with the family.  The good news is we added 7-year-old Rishi to our family in mid-June.  Rishi was originally adopted from India.  His first adoptive family is from Texas.  They worked very hard with Rishi on his English, his medical issues, his academics, and his behavioral challenges.  It was ultimately decided that Rishi would do better in a family where he would not be the oldest child.  After a flurry of e-mails and phone calls we were finally selected to be Rishi's new and "forever" family!  In less than a week Rishi has started Tae Kwon Do lessons and has signed up to participate in our local children's theater. We are very excited to add Rishi to the family and so far he is fitting in quite well.

Earlier in June we had to make the painful decision to place Max in a residential treatment center out of state.  After some episodes of very challenging behavior as well as our discovery of Max's beginning substance abuse we felt we had very few options.  We had tried weekly counseling, medication management and a change in school programs to no avail. We are keeping in contact with Max and his therapists and hope that he will be able to return home soon.   

On the same day as Max's out-of-home placement both Parker and Val had to be hospitalized for medical concerns.  Parker was discharged after several days and Val was discharged after almost a week.  Thankfully, both boys are feeling much better now.

On June 15th our 15-year-old son, Phillip, was riding his bike recklessly and was hit by a van.  Phillip suffered a skull fracture and a severe concussion. He spent three days in ICU and was recently transferred to another hospital.  The doctors say that Phillip has a chance to make a full recovery but it might be a slow process.  At the moment, our once active and athletic son is bed ridden and in and out of consciousness.  There are times when he recognizes us and other times when he is unresponsive.  He is able to answer simple questions occasionally and respond periodically to simple commands. Phillip is now incontinent and has lots of random and what seems to be uncontrolled movements.  Right now it is just a waiting game.  We are all hoping for a full recovery and are committed to supporting Phillip in any way we can.

Despite all of these family issues we have already started the summer camp season with gusto.  The boys will be participating in a variety for summer camp programs. Almost all of the boys will have at least one camp experience.  The camps range from the standard YMCA program to specialized camps such as Catalina Sea Camp and Sports Camp. Three of the guys are also going on a East Coast and Canada cruise  with Grandma Sue.  We always try to use summer as a time to burn off some off the boys excess energy and to give the guys some new and interesting experiences. At the end of summer the boys will go back to the recording studio to start recording their parts of our third CD.  We are thrilled that this CD will feature some guitar and drum work by  the boys as well as vocals.  Watch for updates as we plan to complete this CD before the new year.

Thanks for your e-mails and encouraging words.  We love hearing from friends around the world!  More later...

Ann