Life with The Leivas: All American Week

Saturday, May 21, 2011

All American Week

This past week we were very busy experiencing our first All American Week. Mike unit is part of the 82nd Airborne Division. The 82nd Airborne Division was created in 1917 and since it's members came from all 48 states it earned the nickname "All American". During our time at Ft. Bragg we've learned that people take being in the 82nd Airborne Division very seriously. All American Week was basically a week of activities designed to promote esprit de corps---picnics, soccer games, tug-of-war, volleyball games, baseball games, basketball games, wrestling, combatives, shooting demonstrations, paracuting demonstrations, etc. The week began with a division run that included over 20,000 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division. It was a 4 mile run and they ran at a pretty quick pace but there were so many soldiers participating that some of them haden't even started running by the time that the guys in the front finished.

Here's Mike leading his battery in the division run.

Our Battery FRG (Family Readiness Group) sold hotdogs during some of the intermural games. Peter was quite content to "supervise" and eat his way through bags full of potato chips.

The Division Review was quite impressive.

"The 82nd Airborne Division strategically deploys, conducts forcible entry parachute assault to secure key objectives for follow-on military operations in support of U.S. National Interests."
(Mission of the 82nd Airborne Division)

1 comment:

Kristin said...: Thanks for this awesome post that I think I wil steal and copy (if its ok w you!). You did all the work, Laurie! Did you take all those great pics?!; Sunday, May 22, 2011 11:14:00 PM

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MPS/Sanfilippo Syndrome

In October, 2008 Olivia was disgnosed with MPS III or Sanfilippo Syndrome, type B. MPS stands for: Mucopolysaccharidoses. It is a genetic lysosomal storage disease (LSD) caused by the body's inability to produce specific enzymes. Normally, the body uses enzymes to break down and recycle materials in cells. In individuals with MPS and related diseases, the missing or insufficient enzyme prevents the proper recycling process, resulting in the storage of materials in virtually every cell of the body. As a result, cells do not perform properly and may cause progressive damage throughout the body, including the heart, bones, joints, respiratory system and central nervous system. While the disease may not be apparent at birth, signs and symptoms develop with age as more cells become damaged by the accumulation of cell materials.

Babies and young children with Sanfilippo Syndrome appear normal, but symptoms begin to appear with age as more and GAGs build up in the cells of the body. There are 3 stages to the disease. Stage 1 the child begins to lag behind peers and begins to display difficult behaviors. Stage 2 the child losing his/her language, becomes hyperactive, chews on everything, and has sleeping difficulties. Stage 3 the child slows down, becomes dependant for all mobility and loses the ability to chew/swallow. There is no treatment or cure for Sanfilippo. Life expectancy varies.