Doctors Visits Recap

Our doctor blitz is over. Here's the run down...

PT/Brace Eval - Not as bad as I thought. They fitted Abby for some FPO's - not sure what that stands for, but basically, braces. But, they weren't nearly as bad as I imagined. I was thinking something like "Forest Gump", and they are really this molded plastic. Because her problems are mild, they didn't actually cast her for custom braces, but are going to go with the generic type. The therapist, Julie, wasn't even sure if she needed them. She thought they might be able to correct it with PT. Even if she needs them, she may just get shoe inserts instead of the kind that come up to mid-calf. Their purpose is mostly to prevent her from walking on the ball of her feet.

We set up weekly PT for Tuesdays. So, we had our first one yesterday. Abby seemed to love it. PT at this age is cleverly disguised as play therapy. Climbing, playing, throwing, etc. It's an hour at an inside park! Julie is wonderful as well. Abby took right to her.

You may be asking what Natalie is doing during this time. Well, she is actually supposed to sit and watch. It's really my job to keep her entertained and out of the way with books or a toy. It is relaxed enough that she can join in every now and then, but the time is really for Abby. Fortunately, Natalie is pretty agreeable. If the situation were reversed, Abby would be freaking out trying to play too.

Speech eval: This was actually moved to Thursday, but went great. They therapist, Melissa, was very interesting and we actually spent a good bit of time discussing their eating issues and newly discussed milk issues. She talked about the "ecology" of a child and how if you fix that, many other things fall into place. For instance, the girls have gotten sick numerous times since January. Each time, they experienced significant weight loss. If you think about it and they've had this milk protein allergy all this time, it means that their immune system has been working overtime ALL the time trying to attack and deal with the milk. So, they have basically been immune compromised all this time. It's no wonder they have had problems fighting off simple colds. It was very interesting and she gave me a lot to think about.

Oh, and they qualified for speech as well:-) She thought they would respond very well. Already in the past few days they've added the words off and on. They add new words almost every day. We are still waiting on the details of when we start.

Pulmonology and X-Ray - A waste of time. Natalie and Abby did a PFT(Pulmonary Function Test). They had to blow in a tube to test their lung capacity and they tracked their blood oxygen level. It was pretty useless. I don't think they actually hit the number they were supposed to, but they are TWO. They don't even know how to blow. What breath they emitted had more to do with how hard they were crying. The X-ray was easy and it looked good, so Natalie's lungs are fine, too.

The only good thing I can say is that we were actually in and out of Duke in under an hour and a half!

Ear Appointment and Hearing Tests - Also a waste of time - and a waste of $40. Their hearing is perfect, and their ears looked perfect. The doctor was not at all concerned with only a couple of ear infections. He said if they start getting 6 a year, to come back. On the bright side, the doctor, Dr. Hulka at NC EENT, was wonderful. Very, very nice, and also a father of 3 year old twins.

and finally, 2 Year Peds Check-up - I have mixed feelings about this visit. Mostly, I think I'd like my $40 back on this one too. On the up side, the doctor was very pleased with their weight gain and I didn't hear anything else about g-tubes. Natalie weighed in at 21# 12oz and Abby 21#14oz and both were 33 inches tall. I kind-of expected them to weigh more, really, especially since at home that morning Natalie weighed 22#3oz and Abby 21#15oz. But, it was enough for the doctor to be happy. On the flip side, I was a little miffed with her blase' attitude over the milk issue. I wanted to know why no one had suggested we try dairy-free in the past two years. She sort of shrugged and said they didn't have the classic signs, like blood in the stool or severe Esma. I took a moment to point out the bumps that covered their arms and legs - which have improved in the past three weeks. I'm quite sure I had pointed them out to various doctors during all our visits since January. Her response was to ask me what we were putting on it. I guess difficulty gaining weight, daily vomiting, and my observations that they sometimes threw up partially digested pedisure 8-12 hours later didn't spark any fires that something might be going on.

Of course, they are doing fine in every other way. She ordered a blood draw to go ahead and test for allergies to milk, soy and eggs. That wasn't fun at all. They missed Abby's vein in her arm and were rooting around for it while she cried and cried. They finally tried a different vein in her wrist. Poor thing was so upset her nose bleed a little. Natalie's draw was much less traumatic. In a way, it was unnecessary since they can only test those three things and I plan on seeing a pediatric allergist for a full panel. So, they'll have to do it again anyway.

So, it's been busy. We now have PT on Tuesdays, Feeding on Wednesday, and Play Therapy on Thursdays. Once we add Speech, we will really have a party!