Arwen Bookhout, Warrior Girl!

Arwen Bookhout, eldest child of Dan and Jenny Bookhout of Florida, recently underwent some corrective surgery.  Here's the skinny, from her grandmother, Diane Bookhout, whose hubby is Will Bookhout, and what a story!

Arwen has had an alternating strabismus, which means that she would alternate which eye she was using to see. Since her eyes were seeing everything at different angles, her brain was getting different pictures of the world from each eye, which causes double vision - and makes it even hard to learn!

To accommodate for this, she would use the picture from one eye and the other eye would turn in because she wasn’t using it at that moment, and then vice versa. The doctor had us try on glasses that mimic how Arwen was seeing the world with her eyes turned in, it was very confusing - everything had a double, and I almost instantly had a headache.

Arwen's eyes are and always have been fine, but her brain wasn’t communicating to her eyes typically.  Also we’ve been to two different ophthalmologists since Arwen was born in Jacksonville, but over time it was clear that they doubted if Arwen could even see.  Her MRI from a week old shows that her vision center in her brain was damaged very badly, it’s almost non-existent. But it’s always been clear to us that Arwen can see.

Over the last year  Arwen was using her vision more and more consistently, and not just at home. When we got the Tobii Eye Gaze device, I didn’t even have to question myself any longer! She was using her eyes to play games and identify pictures of her family to say hi!

A video of her playing and using her eye gaze (failed to convince) her ophthalmologist locally, and that’s how we found Dr. (Lawrence) Tychsen in St. Louis.  He specializes in correcting strabismus in children with cortical vision impairment. 

From the moment we were in his office he said, “Well, of course she can see. That’s not even in question in my opinion.” And after her diagnostic testing he concluded she actually sees really well!

During surgery, the doctor loosened her inner medial rectus muscles on both eyes to position them straight on. This will help her binocular vision develop so her eyes can work and see together.  She doesn’t need glasses anymore, and her processing time is only slightly slower than normal. Typically when you see something, it takes about 1 millisecond from the time the image hits your optic nerve to when it’s processed in the visual center of your brain. Arwen’s processing time is about 70% of that. (It) will probably start to get faster as her visual world is less confusing.

 
Her dental work was easy in comparison. Her enamel was gone on her four front teeth (due to) high doses of steroids for infantile spasms, which are rare seizures seen only in infants, for three months as an infant. She’s also been on seizure meds since 8 months old, so her front four teeth were stained and had some pits as well. Since she was already going to be under anesthesia (for the eye surgery), we arranged with a dentist at St. Louis Children’s to do four crowns on her front teeth and then preventatively seal all her back teeth. Kids with Cerebral Palsy are prone to dental issues, so hopefully the sealing will prevent future problems.

Through our whole journey thus far, God has really directed our steps and opened and closed the right doors. It’s often overwhelming to manage and need to educate yourself on so many new therapies, surgeries, but it gives me such peace knowing God is in control.

Arwen Charlotte June Bookhout - betcha can't keep from smiling!!

#superarwen #cpwarrior #corticalvisionimpairment

Roger Silliman, Last Surviving Employee of L. Fieg, Builder, Dies in California

Word has been received of Oneonta native and career Air Force officer Clifford Roger Silliman, recipient of the Bronze Star and Purple Heart, and survivor of a harrowing air crash at sea during World War II, has died at his home on the Pacific Coast, two and a half weeks shy of his 98^th birthday.

The news of his passing was delayed due to the remoteness of his location from Oneonta, his advancing age and infirmity, and the passing of most of his contemporaries.  Roger, as he was known to his childhood friends and immediate family, passed away on Jan. 28, 2018, in the beachside community of Lompoc, Calif.  

He was born on Feb. 15, 1920, the eldest of three children. His parents, Clifford and Velma (Beach) Silliman, and his wife, Bernadette, preceded him in death.  Silliman was the last surviving member of the L. Fieg, Builder construction crew in Oneonta.

His father, Clifford, for decades operated a filling station and auto repair business in the 400 block of Main Street in Oneonta. It was there that the younger Silliman, teaming with another adolescent, Lothar “Bud” Fieg, opened a shop where they produced, serviced and sold complete bicycles assembled wholly from metal tubing, salvage and various mechanical parts. 

This skill presaged Silliman’s mechanical aptitude later in life.  He received Bachelors Degrees in both aeronautical and civil engineering, and enjoyed a thirty-three year career in the military and the aerospace industry.

During World War II, Silliman saw action in the military theatres of Western Europe and in the Balkans.   He was also a veteran of the Army Air Corps’ North African campaign, engaged in vanquishing German and Italian units under the command of Nazi Field Marshall Erwin Rommel.  Silliman was the executive officer for the P-38 fighter maintenance depot there.  

En route to take this position, Silliman and the crew of the C-46 on which he was a passenger narrowly escaped with their lives when the plane developed difficulties in a storm over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Gibraltar.  

The pilot had declared that all aboard should parachute to supposed safety, but Silliman, as senior officer aboard, was able to persuade him that this would be foolhardy, and possibly suicidal, especially as it was night time, and that because the aircraft was well-built and very sturdy, it would remain intact on splashdown.  After the plane hit the water, the crew launched an inflatable raft, drifting for many hours before being rescued.  Silliman called it the worst experience of his life.

In the 1950s, Silliman was in charge of directing the multi-million dollar design and construction of the Far East Air Force Base on Guam.  From 1957 to 1961, he was responsible for the development, construction, testing and acquisition of the ground segment of the hardened Titan ballistic missile system.  

Colonel Silliman topped his career in the mid-1960s as Chief, Technical Requirements and Standards Office, Space and Missile Systems Organization.  The Legion of Merit Award marks his exceptional service.

Roger and Bernadette finally retired to a life of travel to sunny southern climes and hiking in the Rockies, until her death in 2002.

Silliman was likely among the few remaining, perhaps one of even the last two, from the Oneonta High School Class of 1937, along with former mayor Albert S. "Sam" Nader.

Silliman was nothing if not an exceptionally amiable friend and acquaintance to all who knew him, offering a snappy salute, a ready smile and a meaty handshake.

"I remember Roger as being a very nice guy," recalled Nader.

Clifford Roger Silliman’s survivors include Bernadette’s son, Barry Welker (Lynn), his nephews George Sidney Silliman (Rachel); Bruce Silliman (Michiko); David Silliman (Saundra) and his niece Wendy Silliman Creel (Richard).  Donations in his name may be made to Lompoc Meals-on Wheels.