Sorry that I have not been keeping you all up to date on Calleigh's status. Things are going very well and Calleigh seems to be making progress. Here are some updates as of today 8/20/2006.
NEUROLOGY: We first met with Cal's neurologist at the end of July. His name is Dr. Crisp and he is a very nice doctor. Our first visit was just for him to gather information. He then decided that he wanted Calleigh to have an EEG. An EEG is an Electroencephalogram and measures brain waves. This EEG was on August 9th, lasted four hours and was also video taped. Trying to keep a 4 1/2 month old calm, still and entertained for a four hour procedure is almost impossible, but Cal did great! On August 17th we met with Dr. Crisp again for the results. Her EEG results were normal and he also reviewed Cal's MRI and informed us that he could not find any brain defects! We were so very happy! This does not however tell us how she will develop, how severe her mental retardation will be and what neurological problems she will have. As the Army says..."Hurry up and wait!" That is what we will have to do with Calleigh. We meet with Dr. Crisp again on October 20th.
GASTROENDONOLOGY: We met Calleigh's GI doctor on August 9th. His name is Dr. Easley and Chris and I loved him! He is so down to earth and definitely gives it to us straight. This meeting was for us to meet him and for him to get some information. He talked to us about things that we have to look for with Calleigh's weight gain. It is a known fact that children with 4p- are smaller. Dr. Easley will closely watch Calleigh's weight gain vs. her length. Right now, her weight and length are very compatible. However, if she starts to grow longer and her weight does not increase, then we will implement a feeding tube. Dr. Easley talked with us a little bit about the different feeding tubes and he let us know that a feeding tube will not ever be a last resort. He believes that it is very important to address the situation before it gets out of our control. Chris and I felt more comfortable with feeding tubes after meeting with him and we are willing to try anything to keep our little princess healthy. We meet with Dr. Easley again on September 6th.
OPHTHALMOLOGY: In July we met with the ophthalmologist. He checked her eyes and said that everything looked normal as of right now. Since she is slightly behind developmentally, he said that we were expecting her to do to much in terms of tracking and making eye contact. He checked the pressure in both of her eyes because Glaucoma is a common factor in 4p-, and her pressure was good. We will meet with him again in 6 months.GENETICS: On August 17th we met with a geneticist named Dr. McClain. He is going to help Chris and I learn about chromosomes so that we can maximize our knowledge about Calleigh's abnormalities. He is also going to run a special test to find out how much of Calleigh's 4th and 8th chromosomes are affected. This means that one day we will know if most, all or only part are affected by these abnormalities. ENT: We just recently received our referral to see the ENT at Scott & White Hospital. As soon as the office calls, we will make our first appointment. At that appointment we will schedule her surgery for PE Tubes. This will be done sometime after she turns six months. Which means either the end of September or sometime in October. I will keep you updated!OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY: OT is going great! Cal's therapist's name is Paula and she is very good with Cal. Calleigh is making progress at every session. She is starting to open her hands more and grasp toys, she is starting to really develop some great head control and she is trying very hard to roll over. We see a difference every time we go and it is just so exciting. We go to OT Tuesdays and Thursdays 11-11:30. Those are all the updates for now. I will start to be better about keeping you all updated. Things are looking up everyday. Calleigh is such a wonderful baby and we could never have asked for more!
