We finally had our CT scan and appt with Dr. Jeter on July 28th. The scan went very quickly, it took all of about 5 minutes maybe. Kadin was very cooperative, too. I took ALL the kids, since it was only the day after Robbi returned from her summer with her dad. I think there were 7 of us on the trip that day. Very busy ... but anyway, we had the scan done and then went to visit with the cranial/facial surgeon. The wait in his office was FOREVER! It was unbelievable. I could write a very long "short" story on my wait in the waiting room and the 3 precious little children that were waiting with their mommy (bless the mommy's heart!!!!) Anyway, that Dr. said that he wanted to refer us to West TX Rehab and go ahead and see about Kadin being fitted for a cranial helmet. He put it all in perspective for me, saying that Kadin's head could continue to reshape itself, but then again, it could not ... it's a chance we would be taking by not going ahead and having him wear a helmet for a month or two. So I called and made an appt with the Rehab and we had the scan for that on August 3rd. Danny was home from work in time to go with us and to be there with any questions. If anyone has ever had to be without your spouse for any length of time so they can work, you know how much better it is when you have 2 parents taking care of the child instead of just one! I was and am so grateful that he was able to make it home to go to this with us. So, in short ... it should be about another week and we will have a helmet for Kadin. We don't know how long he will have to wear it, we will go back every week I think and have it tightened and re-fitted according to his growth. I am apprehensive because I don't want him to hate it, but the Dr. at the Rehab did tell us that the problems usually lie with the parents and the grandparents, and to take comfort in knowing that the children adapt fairly quickly to their change! He will be wearing it 23 hours out of the day and having it off only one hour for me to wash his head and clean the helmet. Summer is not going to be his friend, I'm thinking .... Guess we will see! We are excited to see the helmet though, it is supposed to be firetrucks! :)
After our visit was complete there, we decided to go to my OB clinic and see if, by chance, my OB Dr. was in her office. I had kept in touch with her some during the course of our stay in FW, but had not contacted her much since we returned home. Life just kinda got very busy ... It is safe to say that I absolutely adore my OB doc ... she is/was amazing to me in my desperate time of need. Frankly, she was amazing to me the entire time that I was in her care. I was sick quite a bit with Kadin, and she did everything she could to make sure that I was comfortable, healed, and progressing like I needed to be. Honestly, I could go on and on and on for days about her and what she means to me and my family. She saved not only my life, but the life of our child when she shipped us to FW on October 28, 2008. I remember vividly her sitting on the edge of my bed in labor and delivery, teary-eyed at what was unfolding before her eyes, and believing for the best for me, our baby, and our family. Anyway ... we made it to her office and asked the receptionist if she was in and if she had a minute to visit. I wish I had a camera the minute that we walked around the corner. Her eyes lit up, her draw hit the floor, she was very surprised, but quickly took Kadin from Danny's arms and marveled at God's miracle!!! The few minutes that we spent catching up on what we went thru will forever remain precious to us ... you just don't find Dr.'s like her any more. Even all of her staff remember us and shared in the joy of having such a precious baby boy. She still has Kadin's picture up on her baby board, the pic of him when he was just about 7 days old. It is hard to look at now sometimes. It is amazing how your body adapts to such trying circumstances just so you can make it thru them! That's truly what happened in our situation. I could never see Kadin as the frail, threatened, very critically ill baby that he was ..... I'm not really quite sure why I didn't, but I didn't see it until much later, when the odds had turned in his favor. So anyway, we were glad that we stopped by the OB's office and had that mini-reunion with her and her staff. She is such a blessing, and anyone that works for her is blessed.
I got a call the other day that I am a little concerned about but only maybe because I don't quite understand it all, but our Pediatrician said that he was going to refer us to a neurologist in FW to have Kadin checked out thoroughly. He said that his CT scan did not come back completely "normal" and that it indicated that he had some enlarged ventricles, which could be perfectly "normal" in a micro-preemie such as Kadin, or it could be a cause for concern. Either way, we are not able to get in to the Dr. in FW until around December probably. I have done a little research trying to understand what can happen with enlarged ventricles, and I just get frustrated. I know I shouldn't do that if the Dr. is saying that right now there is really no reason for concern, just something that need to monitor for now, but it is still one of those things where I would like to know what is going on and I just don't. All I heard him say was "shunt" waa waa waa waa and a few other words that I can't even bring myself to type and I refuse to accept. Kadin's progress and development is amazing, and it's all because of GOD, and I know he is going to be just fine ... I will still do the smart thing and have him checked out but I will not get down about any of it, especially because of how we see him interact and behave with us. There is nothing abnormal about the way that he interacts with us or behaves. He is truly a miracle and I will not give a foothold to anything that will tear that apart!!! Don't get me wrong, I adore our Pediatrician, and I respect his professionalism and his expertise, and that is why I will go along with his referral to FW to have things monitored. I just won't accept that this is anything except routine for what micro-preemies go thru ... especially because Kadin had six brain scans while he was still in the NICU and they all came back NEGATIVE for brain bleeds, which we understood was also to be a miracle in itself !!! YAY GOD !!!
He had his 9 month check up today and it was fantastic! He is now weighing 14 pounds 8 ounces, he is 25.5 inches long and is doing very well!!!!! We are also looking at scheduling an appt with his pediatric surgeon to have the one last surgery that he needs to be finished with all that. We also scheduled is one year check up while we were there and it is so hard to believe that in just 3 short months, Kadin will be one year old. We will celebrate November 3 ... February 23 ... and February 28th! You think I'm kidding ... I'm not, but at the friendly advice of my OB Doc, no, we will not make a brat out of the miracle baby !!!! ha ha ha ha
Thanks for sharing in our latest journey with Kadin. I know I have probably left out a bunch in this update, but it is late and I'm tired ... if I remember anything else I will add it. Going to bed now, long day tomorrow also. We will be retrieving our car from my husband's "job" since it's been sitting there for almost a month now !!!
G'night...
Leslie
