Recent posts have detailed the couple of respiratory illnesses that Verity had in March and April, so now it's time for a general update on the slew of other appointments we've had over the past few months! October was our busy month in the fall as the referrals finally went through and we started seeing her specialty providers, and April of course was the 6-month mark for follow-up. So here is the list of what all we've been up to!
March 22: Pulmonology
The pulmonology follow-up was scheduled even before Verity's first illness struck, but it was timed well as she had been out of the hospital about 10 days or so. At that time her lungs sounded amazingly good, and since we had never had any lung issues before, the doctor said she would leave it up to the Sleep Clinic doctor as to whether or not she would continue to follow Verity. Of course, little did we know that Verity would have pneumonia about a month later! Sleep clinic is scheduled for May 25...
April 2: Ophthalmology
We drove 45 minutes to get to Ft. Carson to spend a whopping 5 minutes with Dr. B, who assured us Verity's eyes are looking great and he doesn't need to dilate them again until our fall appointment. Okie dokie then.
April 17: Orthopedics
At this follow-up appointment we got another hip X-ray, which indicated her left hip is still stiff but not any worse than in the fall. Her feet are looking good and we are to continue using the bar (supposedly naps and nighttime but in reality more like 2-3 hour chunks a couple of times a day).
April 19: Pediatric Visit
We needed a doctor to look at Verity's umbilical hernia, which was repaired with her G-tube surgery May 2017 but has been flaring up again recently. She ordered an abdominal ultrasound. (This is the day we realized Verity was getting sick, and at 3am the next morning we took her to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with aspiration pneumonia.)
April 24: Renal ultrasound and barium enema
The ultrasound looked normal (per the follow-up the next day), and the barium enema did not reveal any particular reason for Verity's difficulty pooping, although it did show a "tortuous" pathway. (Once she gets started going she does pretty well, but we frequently have to give her a liquid suppository to start the process.)
April 25: BAHA fitting
Verity got her Bone-Assisted Hearing Aid, which fits on a headband! We learned lots of details about how to use this device and have a whole bag of STUFF to go along with it. She wears it in stints, as it is very overwhelming for her to have it on all the time at this point. Slowly we are working up to it! She isn't terribly responsive, although we know for sure when she is DONE!
April 30: Adaptive Stroller Shopping
We went to an equipment provider that we know of through The Resource Exchange (our home therapy program) to look at and take measurements for an adaptive stroller for Verity.
May 3: Echocardiogram
Our cardiologist is very optimistic about the way Verity's heart looks right now. Her large VSD has completely patched up! She still has a teeny tiny one that causes her heart murmur, but everything is balanced, and he does not think PH will be a problem. Whew! He feels comfortable waiting another year before we do another echo.
May 4: Post-hospital follow-up with PCM
Verity had been off oxygen for some time before we had this appointment, and she looked quite well. Her PCM was pleased.
May 7: Abdominal ultrasound
This was a pretty quick appointment, but we didn't hear anything about the results until I asked a week later. We have a referral to see a pediatric surgeon since clearly the hernia is there.
May 15: Dietitian assessment
Our Verity weighed in at 14 pounds, 14 ounces!! And she is 26 inches long now!! In less than 2 weeks, she will be 15 months old...15 pounds by 15 months!!! Clearly she is growing and thriving on the Nourish formula. Now that she is 100% on this whole-foods mixture (plus plenty of water), our next step is to meet with the GI doc and formulate a plan for compressing her feeds so that she can get on more of a bolus feeding schedule. Her vomiting can still be a problem, particularly when she is bearing down to poo or pass gas, but it is much less frequently to be sure. I'm not going to lie...I would LOVE for her to not be hooked to the feeding pump 24/7. But...counting my blessings. Our baby is growing and thriving and becoming SO much stronger and sturdier!
In between all the above listed appointments were nearly weekly visits to the chiropractor as well as nearly weekly occupational and physical therapy sessions in our home.
COMING UP:
May 25: GI follow-up and Sleep Clinic
May 31: Surgery consult
June 6: Speech evaluation
June 7: BAHA check
Whew. That's all for now, folks!!!
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