School!

There just hasn't been a whole lot to report lately. I suppose that is a good thing! Peyton went to the elementary school nearby this morning. They have an audiology program. When we received her new ear molds for her hearing aids a week or so ago, for the second time in a row, they had a bad fit and were squealing all the time. I decided not to go back to her own audiologist, but to take advantage of the one at this school. I had to pay for the ear molds instead of being able to run them through my insurance, but they don't cost too much. It's close to half what the hospital charges. I got to see the classrooms for the hearing impaired kids. One is oral communication and the other is oral and signed communication. We won't know for a couple years if Peyton will wind up at that school. She may do well enough to take part in a special needs class in her regular school.

We're signed up for Peyton's sleep study for Sept. 6th. In the first week, they called me twice with cancellations but we couldn't make it either time. I think we'll likely get it done before Sept. though. We'll see.

Not too much else is new. I'm on my third throat infection in just over a month. Moira's getting over a cold but doing well. I wish I had a fraction of her energy!! Ron is also doing well.

Not much longer til my baby turns 1!! I don't know where the time has gone.

Zoo!

Well, the weather held for us to go to the Zoo this morning. It was still a little chilly and very windy, but we went. We were met by a group of 4 or 5 of the hearing teachers, Peyton's teacher's sister and a few of the teachers kids. ALL of the other families backed out. We were the only ones. Oh well. We still had a great time. It was nice to meet some of the other teachers. Peyton slept through most of the visit to the Zoo, but Moira was up and raring to go the whole time. She had a great time. She slept most of the way home and for a while once we got home. I think Ron and I could use a nap right about now after having gotten all that fresh air!!

Neurology and Second Opinions

I took Peyton to see her Neurologist yesterday. It was a rather uneventful visit. It was nearly an hour each way to get there and back. I had to wait in the waiting room for nearly an hour before getting in. The doctor actually comes to the waiting room himself to get you when he's ready, so when you go back into an exam room, you don't have to wait for him. That is, except for when he spends ages reviewing Peyton's file, realizes something is amiss and gets up, leaves the room, corrects a letter he sent to Peyton's Pediatrician, comes back, reviews the file some more, realizes another typo on the same letter, goes back......you get the idea. It was a long visit. It was a 3:00 appointment. I left the house at 2:00 pm and was home at 6:00 pm. Fun!

In terms of how Peyton's progress is going. Well, that too is a bit of a mystery. You have to understand this doctor is probably an absolute genius. He tends to think out loud sometimes. Except for this time. I think he thought a lot in his head, reviewed his notes, raised his head to ask me a question or to, thought some more....and that was pretty much it. He didn't comment a whole lot. He did say he wanted to order an MRI. I brought up the second opinion we had with the Neurosurgeon earlier in the week and how that doctor has already ordered and scheduled one. We briefly discussed this doctor visit and the upcoming MRI.

He is just stumped, really. It was an odd visit. I guess no news is good news in this case?? I know he is concerned about Peyton judging by the number of research articles he has in her file. I think he must always be thinking about her case and wondering what this could possibly be in terms of a general diagnosis. I guess he just didn't have much to say.

Peyton's rolling over now pretty well. She scoots a bit on her back - not too far - by digging in her heels to the floor. She's trying a little here and there to raise herself with her arms when she's on her tummy. It's a very difficult process for her as she has little strength in her arms right now.

We finally got properly fitting ear molds for Peyton's hearing aids in the mail yesterday. We were so grateful to have these so she can be wearing both aids all the time. The right was was so ill-fitting that it screeched all the time and it was very irritating to one and all, and probably to Peyton as well. So, now that they fit and are no longer screeching, Peyton has discovered she can grab her hearing aids, pull and yank them out. Once she's accomplished that, she thinks it's kind of fun to try to eat them. Not sure how to break that habit!! That could turn into an awfully expensive snack!!

Our Zoo trip is in the morning tomorrow. I wonder how that will go. I wonder if it will go. It's supposed to be kind of stormy overnight in some areas and possibly rain in the morning. I hope not. We were really looking forward to it. Maybe it will be clear over by the Zoo. Keep your fingers crossed!!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Second Opinions

Ron and I took Peyton for a second opinion from a Neurosurgeon with Texas Children's Hospital today. She had previously seen a Neurosurgeon with Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital on three separate occasions. She saw him in the hospital after she was born and we followed up with him after a couple months just for a consultation. She saw him a second time when her Neurologist had concerns about the possibility of the bones of her skull fusing prematurely. She saw him the third time after she had her 11/30/06 MRI and CT Scan which showed a disturbing unexpected finding - there is a tightening at the cranial-cervical junction with decreased flow of cerebral spinal fluid. On each visit, the Neurosurgeon stated she didn't require surgery and probably would never but he was happy to be used for consultations as needed.

The 11/30/06 findings were disturbing enough to Peyton's pediatrician for her to recommend that we get a second opinion from a Neurosurgeon at Texas Childrens Hospital. While the first doctor tends to be more conservative, this one is apparently more aggressive.

I was quite worried going in to this appointment, fearing that she would have to have surgery after all. Fortunately, that is not the case. That said, the doctor is not without his concerns. He is concerned about the stability of her neck. He sent us for x-rays on her neck in normal position, tilted back, and chin tucked to her chest. If everything seems stable, we'll watch it to make sure it stays stable. If it is not, then that will require something to be done. However, the surgery to fuse the bones could not be done in her case because she is too young. The bones are just cartiledge right now and would not fuse. She'd have to be fitted with some sort of brace. Hopefully it doesn't get to that point. The Neurosurgeon ordered another MRI to be done at Texas Children's Hospital in 4-6 weeks. He'd like to see how Peyton brain development is progressing (or not progressing).

In other news...Peyton is going to have a sleep study done. I'm waiting for the call to set up that appointment. In the past couple weeks, we've been noticing that when she is sleeping, she will take a few really deep breaths and then just not breathe for several seconds. Then she repeats that pattern. She doesn't do it the whole time she is asleep or even every time she falls asleep, but it's a new thing we've noticed. I called her Pediatrician and she said it can be normal for babies her age to pause for up to 10 seconds, but with Peyton, you just can't be sure that that is what it is. She wants to be sure it isn't the progression of some neurological problem, so she has ordered a sleep study. I'm not sure at all when that will take place.

We've been invited to the Zoo this Saturday. Peyton's hearing teacher mentioned that the itinerant teachers (hearing and vision) are having a family day at the Zoo for their kids. It sounded like a good opportunity to maybe meet some people who at least know what it's like to have a child with hearing and/or vision problems. I'm sure no one there will be in Peyton's specific situation, but it'll be nice to finally meet some people here who know what it's like to have a special needs child.

As always, life is an adventure and we're just never quite sure where it's going to lead us!! We hope you are all well and that you had a wonderful Easter.