~~~ RICKY'S 6 MONTH UPDATE ~~~
December 4, 2004
(was 6 months on November 13)
~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Alot of news this month for my sweet prince.
Well for starters, the good news...
as there is alot more bad than good :(
Here are is basic stats from his 6 month checkup:
Weight..... 21 pounds, 10 ounces!! *Yikes!*
Height.....28.5 inches!!! *Upcomming Basketball Pro?!*
Eyes... still blue! (ok... that is MY thing to point out!)
Socially he is great - smiling, cooing, laughing, etc.
Developmentally though, not so great.
Ricky has moderate-severe global delays.
Meaning he is at a 3-4 month old range rather than
at six months in terms of fine & gross motor skills.
Ricky's neck is still tilting (though as of Dec. is improving),
he cannot sit up, he is not rolling over either way,
he cannot grasp toys and switch hands with the toy,
he cannot put his weight onto his legs to stand on them,
and more but I cannot think right now...
So the doctor gave me a referral for physio
and occupational therapy for his delays and tortocolis,
as well at my request gave me a referral for a
hearing test as I mentioned my concern that he
does not seem to hear with loud sounds in a room.
I also had a eye doctor referal, we saw the eye
doctor the following day and also had a requisition
for general blood work to rule out some things.
THE EYE APPOINTMENT
At the Childrens Hospital on Nov. 16th
we had his blood work done before the eye appointment.
He was a trooper for that, did not cry till half way threw!
Then we went to the eye doc. Again what a trooper Ricky was!
The doctor acknowledged that one eye appeared bigger than the
other and that there was some assemetry there (misalignment of the head).
The actual eye exam went well, he has excellent eye sight.
He had a bit of near sight (cant see far) but he was not concerned.
He told us he would advise my pediatrician to refer us to a
neurosurgeon to rule out craniosyntosis due to his "mishapen head".
THE NEUROSURGEON, AUDIOLOGY TEST AND BLOOD TEST RESULTS
Ok the easiest one first, the blood test results.
All came back ok except for one where it was discovered Ricky
has a blood "disorder" called hemoglobinopathy (small red blood cells).
Apparently its not a big issue but have to look at more later
as it is apparently genetic, so we all have to be tested eventually.
The Neuorsurgeon was very nice. We had xrays done to rule out
the craniosyntosis but upon examination the doctor did confirm
he had plagio (too lazy to spell out the whole word).
He wants to see Ricky go for "aggressive PT and OT" for the
tort and the plagio as well as his developmental delays.
I go back to the neurosugeon in March to re-assess it all and
see if we need to do a MRI and/or CT Scan and if we have to
get fitted for a "helmet" to help his head shape.
THE AUDIOLOGIST
The same day as the neurosurgon we did the hearing test.
Bad news..."severe blockage", he did not respond well to the
two tests he did and so he had a abnormal OAE. They referred
us to a ENT for assesment then to go back for further testing.
ANOTHER DOCTOR - THIS TIME A NEUROLOGIST
OK well after all the above results came in my doctor wanted
me to consult with another doctor in her own clinic, a
pediatric neurologist. She was very nice......
she confirmed he is closer to 3-4 month old in development,
and that she wanted him to do a CT scan (which we are on Dec. 16th)
to see what is going on and determine a diagnosis.
She put this instrament to his ear... no reaction at all...
she put it to my ear... it was a LOUD PEIRCING SOUND!!
I asked her if he was deaf, she said no but likely has
a form of NeuroSensory Hearing Loss. Another blow...
By this point I had pretty much had it.......
BUT ON A GOOD NOTE..........
Ricky touched his toes earlier this week!!!!!!!! Yeah!!
And....he is able to hold his head up more and be more
straight for longer periods! Yay Ricky!!!!!!!!!!!!
Anyway that is it for now, will update for his 7 month
checkup soon with a update on the CT scan and ENT appointments.
