Friday, September 9, 2011

Updates and Some Good News






It has been a rather long week. Matt started going to school full-time this week, which means he boards the bus at 8:15am and gets home at 4:10pm. His days are very long, and he is only five years old, which means he is one tired little boy by the time bedtime arrives! Nolan's days are definitely more manageable (8:15am-11:35am), but we've had several appointments this week.

Monday was supposed to be his sleep clinic appointment (yes, the person scheduled it for Labor Day). Unfortunately, the entire office was out from September 5-September 13 and failed to notify us of the cancellation. I tried to call to confirm the appointment prior to making the drive up to Dunkirk, but their office phone simply rang (no one had heard of an answering machine, I suppose). We ended up driving to Dunkirk and finding a note pinned to the window stating the office was closed for the entire week. There's nothing like spending 2 hours in the car for no reason! We're going back to the sleep clinic on Tuesday the 13th.

Tuesday was the Cleveland Clinic appointment, which went well and we obtained some direction regarding the fundoplication decision. On Wednesday, Nolan started his weekly visits with a Teacher of the Deaf (TOD) to help with identifying any gaps in his langauge development. Nolan is able to rhyme and is working on "A" level reading worksheets (a kindergarten level), so we aren't really too worried about his progress. He does have some random vocabulary gaps, though, so we are working to fill those in.

Thursday was the ophthalmology appointment in Erie - we weren't sure if we would have to patch or not. With his falling issues lately, I was concerned that his vision might not be improving well enough. As it turns out, he is doing VERY well with his glasses. He is not correcting to 20/20 yet, but the improvement is continuing and he is gaining a line of vision at every appointment. As long as he continues this trend, we don't have to patch. This is great news!

I also mentioned a connective tissue disorder that had been casually mentioned by the geneticist. I wanted to make absolutely sure that Nolan's eyes didn't carry the "vitreous changes" that occur with that disorder, and we reviewed his records. His eye jelly looks great, so there is no way he could have that particular issue. To absolutely rule it out, they are going to do a full eye exam at his next appointment in December. It is good to absolutely rule it out, because that particular disorder can result in blindness if certain preventive measures aren't taken. I am relieved to rule this one out, but also concerned at the continuing development of new issues over time. Sometimes, it would be nice to have a name (and a prognosis) for all the apparently random developments.

It is now Friday, and the boys are decompressing after a long week at school. Nolan's classroom is doing a caterpillar unit, and hearing him say "chrysalis" is about the cutest thing on the planet. They have been sequencing the caterpillar life cycle, reading the Very Hungry Caterpillar with props and puppets, and they had a music class today, where Nolan's favorite Slipper Fish song was sung. Show and Tell was also today: he decided to bring a Giant Frog. There was some stress this morning, as finding a Giant Frog at the last minute is a rather difficult task. We finally settled on a large stuffed animal given to him by his beloved SLP last Christmas. He talked about his frog and told the class that it can "hop hop hop." He absolutely loves Pre-K. His teacher is absolutely fabulous.

Next week is much less busy, with school and only one doctor appointment. Thank goodness!

5 comments:

tammy said...

Wow. A very busy week indeed. It's too bad the clinic didn't take the time to call you, you know, because you don't have enough road trips to take. ugh. Sounds like the rest of the appts went well though, good to hear, and even better, that both boys are enjoying school so much! I LOVE the Very Hungry Caterpillar, one of our favorites! Hope this week slows down a bit for you.

Herding Grasshoppers said...

That IS busy, and what a long day for Matthew! (Does he fall asleep on the bus, coming home?!)

Glad you got good news about Nolan :D

Julie

Kyla said...

I know exactly how you feel. I do like crossing off yucky possibilities, but I wish we knew SOMETHING so when issues would crop up we'd have a better idea of what to do with them.

How frustrating that they didn't call you, especially for such a long trip!

leah said...

Kyla, I feel your pain. We are increasingly worried by new "symptoms" as they pop up - the heart murmur is entirely new, because his echo last year was completely normal. We just never know what is coming next... we are REALLY happy about his eyes, though - no patching and healthy vitreous fluid is good news.

rouchi6 said...

Busy busy mom!!! How our kids just take up all our time and we do it with all passion.Good news that Nolan's eyes are doing good.