Cary Lynn has been on the road. She had a stellar rock out PT and Speech session. OT comes after speech and she did OK with that as well, but the first session takes a lot out of her. Her glasses made a big difference. Now if I could convince her of that.
We visited a new and less exciting specialist this week. We took a trip to genetics and wasted three hours of our lives. It took 30 minutes to park, then they got us in a room and promptly forgot about us for 45 minutes. When my nurse and I tracked down people they were like, "oh yeah, we forgot." Gee, makes you feel warm and fuzzy all over. Then they took 10 minutes to look at her said, "we don't think we will find anything, she is disabled." Wow. That was an epiphany. So we went to blood work and they took some blood. We will probably never hear from them again and that is OK with me.
The highlight of this visit was the parking people. It took four attendant to argue over parking a car, one was busy showing his tattoos to people and the lady who cut in the parking line and proceeded to have a fight with another attendant. A big one. Then we waited for over 30 minutes for the car. Sigh.
But we did make it home (I had my doubts, but we made it). Then on Tuesday we saw our Vision Person and Cary Lynn made her first art project:).
Mama is proud. I think that she has a future in the arts:). OK, maybe I'm getting a little carried away, but I do love it. And she loved doing it.
Yesterday was a big day. We went to see another new Dr. When Cary Lynn was discharged from the hospital she came home with an NG tube. An NG tube runs from your nose to tummy. Since the tube insertion she has gained nearly 3 pounds. That is a big deal when you are considered failure to thrive. But an NG tube is not a permanent solution. It is uncomfortable and Cary likes to tug it out. And chew on it. Ew.
So we had to make a hard choice. We had a bunch of Doctors, consultations, and opinions. It basically boils down to this. Eating is a challenge. And when you have CP, slow digestion, and chronic constipation, and DI you need some extra support. Not necessarily forever, but if you had to use all your energy and strength eating all day long that's energy you can't use for rolling, sitting, that sort of thing. Plus you can be weakened so easily. So we are going with a G-Tube.
This is sort of an idea of what will happen to Cary Lynn. Hers will look like a button but it is the same idea. This tube is less invasive (believe it or not) than an NG. It also gives direct access to her tummy which will open up a whole lot of other issues (can you say stomach bile stains five times fast) but the pros outweigh the cons at this time so we are set for surgery next week. I am pretty darn nervous that it is happening so fast, but I am hoping that once it is done and Cary Lynn is on the mend that she will continue with getting stronger.
Now make no mistakes. She still has to eat and drink orally, but this is a good back up for days when the eating and drinking don't happen. And because she has so many GI issues and complications right now she is 50 percent orally and 50 percent tube fed. It is working for us. It is not my perfect solution, but she is doing better than ever. Sometimes when you live this life you have to let your dreams of your perfect life solutions die. When you do that, amazingly your kids seem to do so much better.
Now on to American history. Bet you didn't know that Betsy Ross was the reason we celebrated President's Day. Neither did I.
Marvin has been struggling in school. It seems that he just has a harder time of some things. It is almost like we need to pre-teach him, teach him, and post teach him. We got study guides to American Holidays and Presidents. I sat him down. We went through the information. He got it. Then he took two tests. His teacher said he didn't do well. I'm not sure if he failed both tests, but it looks like he may have. When I asked him about it he claims he never learned the materials. Ugh.
I keep reminding myself when I am about to loose all of my patience and sanity that my son is a miracle. He got his brains beat and scrambled and he lived. He lived and is growing and making it day to day. He processes slower. It takes him more time to understand things. To do things. To learn.
We won a major front for him. We are getting him an IEP. This will help him at school. He needs more support than most kids. He needs more time. He needs more.
In the process of the IEP I am also working with a developmental opthamologist, getting him tested for dyslexia, and finding ways to compensate for auditory and visual processing disorders. It is enough stuff to test the patience of a saint and I am no saint.
But it is not the milestones we celebrate around here. It is the inch stones. Those precious moments that shed a little light on places that can be dark and scary. The moment when Marvin understands a concept and it sticks in his head. When Cary Lynn pulls a cotton ball with little hands that will not always do what they should. When Marvin reads a book becasue he wants to, not because I make him. When Cary Lynn does a half roll in bed and gets tangled up in her tubing.
Those moments make it worth it. Those moments tell me that we are doing something right around here. They bring light and make me stand in awe of my children who have survived and are thriving despite it all.
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