Two and a Half Years

The last six months for Emma have come with many changes. She has increased her vocabulary by leaps and bounds (saying her ABCs, counting to twenty, and spelling her name to name a few) and is picking up new words daily. She has continued to show improvement in all of her therapy work and made all of her therapists so proud. We are currently in transition for a three of her four therapies (OT, VI, and Speech) and are still waiting for a new PT to be hired so she can start receiving those services again. I will miss the therapists that we've had, especially her OT that has been with us since Emma was two months old, but I'm excited to see what the future holds.

New Big Girl Bike
7/14/13

Yesterday, Emma had her first check up with her neurologist since she had her first seizure back on May 3rd. She weighed in just under twenty-five and a half pounds and measured thirty-seven and three quarters inches long! So while she really hasn't gained any weight, she has grown almost two inches in six months!!! I can't believe how tall she is getting.

During the appointment, her neurologist reviewed her case and asked questions about how Emma had been doing the last three months since she was diagnosed with epilepsy. I was pleased to report that she has been seizure free with no signs of any side effects from her daily preventative medication she had been put on. The recommendation by her doctor was to keep her on the medication for two years before we consider taking her off. During that time, she will have a natural tapering off of the medication due to growth provided we do not have to increase her dosage.

While preforming the physical part of the exam, he noticed that her back showed signs of secondary scoliosis. When sitting, the left side of her back stuck out further than the right side of her back no matter the position she was in or which way she turned. This was something I hadn't noticed, but once he pointed it out, I could see it. Children like Emma who have a low muscle tone are susceptible to developing scoliosis since their muscles do not provide enough support to their bone structure. He set her up to be evaluated and asked to see her back in three to four months. We checked out and made a follow up appointment with him in November.

Later this month, Emma has check-ups with her ophthalmologist and developmental pediatrician. We'll be looking at how the eye patching treatment has been going over the last five months. She recently figured out how to take them off on her own, but thankfully it has not become an issue so far. I am really looking forward to seeing the face of her developmental pediatrician when she sees how much progress Emma has made. This will be a great month for Emma!

Emma said "off" with such pride after removing her eye patch all by herself.