Happy (late) Easter

hello all, ive been putting off updating, there is so much information to update on and i guess i havent had the energy to update, so i will attempt to do so now....

since the last update, Zach has seen the eye dr, the spine dr, and was suppose to have his ECHO done for cardiology. we have also been doing some discussing on possibly obtaining a few other diagnosis'.

first before i forget in the heap of all of the information, i hope everyone had a wonderful Easter and enjoyed being together as a family if possible. hope everyone was healthy and safe!

Eye dr... well since zach is a "special" kiddo, the boys eye dr wanted to see zach on a day when the doc's brother, another eye dr would also be in office, so we got that scheduled and he was seen by 2 docs on the same day. they were very patient and did a good job of checking what they could. his eyes appear healthy, no cataracts (one possible issue with the gene he is missing) and he appears to see well, its hard to say what he sees and how perfect at this point since he cant communicate that to us. we will go back in 6 months for another check. the worst part of this exam was the dialation of zach's eyes, he HATED being held down for that! overall it was a good visit.

the next day we saw the spine doc. zach has had a consistant curve of his spine ( the scoliosis) so far of 25 degrees, this time they went from a laying down xray to a sitting xray(not sure if that makes a difference) and said that in the last 6 months his curve has gone from 25 to 35 degrees...so thats a big jump. like i said i dont know if the new way of doing the xray had something to do with the change, but we were told we need to go to san antonio to see some specialists there and get a consult for a possible titanium rib surgery to help with the curve. im still waiting to hear back on the status of this referral. but i guess in the next coming months we will be headed there to find out what our next step is. (insert nervesness here)

we were suppose to have zach's 6 month ECHO follow up last week, but last minute it was cancelled until the middle of may, sigh.

next week zach will have his followup with neurologist, this is probably where we will also seek out answers to see if we need or should get some new diagnosis' for him. these new ones are cerebral palsy ( the definition of this is ANY brain damage done from conception to the first 2-3 years of life) with zach's brain bleed, brain atrophy, and a copy of his eeg report from less than a week old where it states (a diffuse disturbance in cerebral function was noted) to me says it plain and clear... ive had one doc agree with me on this and tell me that it would be hard to get someone to diagnosis this simply because no one wants the "blame" on them. sigh. blame is the last thing we have in mind. if he has this then he needs it noted so that he can recieve any additional help. and the other diagnosis' is a bit harder for me to swallow, i know its because of the "stigma" attached to it, and that NO lable changes Zach, but at the same time, no no no no no, mommy denial maybe? its, mental retardation, there i said it. why cant they call it cognitive impairment? so many other states do, but not Texas, sigh. the "R" word. bleh. but truthfully he is at less than a year old mentally, in some areas probably much less, so for the time being the lable is "severe global developmentally delay" and according to therapists, thats more than enough given his actual ability to communicate and act and do age appropriate things for him to recieve this diagnosis. the only reason i am even considering it is for zach, for his future, for extra help we may be entitled to to help him gain more ground. i will not believe for a moment there is any stopping zach, and that he WILL do it ALL, in his time. i dont want the stigma attached to him. i dont want people to see the "R" word before they even see zach. im torn. im at a crosswords and dont know what path to take.

we have also put in a referral for zach to see the psychologist that the boys are now seeing, for his self abusive habits, his hitting and punching of himself, he now does this and laughs about it :( and his biting himself. we will see if she has any experience in this and has any tips.

the boys have both been evaulated with this psychologist last week for their possible autistic traits. Chance was on the boarder for being diagnosed on the spectrum, but missed it barely, he will be seeing her (hopefully soon ) for behavior therapy, as of now she is calling it a conduct disorder i believe and will re-evaluate him in about 6 months. Mikey was also tested, however he did meet criteria, he is boardering between asperger's and ppd-nos, for the time being since she will be meeting with him 1-2 times a week for therapy she wants to call it ppd-nos, and may later change this. he will also be evaulated in about a year. mikey will begin his therapy on his 8th birthday, april 13th. its hard to believe his birthday is so close and we havent had a chance to do much of anything in means of planning anything. im waiting on my clone....

therapy wise here is how things are looking for zach

ocupational-she hasnt had much luck getting zach to try to do much, he has been "busy" doing his own thing...hitting his toys, hitting himself, or crawling to new spots on the wall to hit! she is still working on his feeding.....slow and steady wins the race i guess. 2x a week she comes out to do therapy, there is progress made, zach has just become difficult lately.

physical-she is also coming out 2x weekly. he is now pulling up to EVERY surface. she hasnt gottan him to cruise much on his own, or to let go of the surfaces. we will be picking up his SMO's (new foot braces) this thursday and hopefully that will help give better support for him.

speech-2 times a month. working on sign language, zach has no intrest. working on verbal communication...again no intrest. working on feeding...no intrest. sigh. slow and steady.

developmental-3 times a month, she works on a mixture of everything with him and helps us obtain sources for support, ideas, and so forth.

i dont know where we would be without all our wonderful therapists! they work wonders.

mikey is still in ocupational therapy 2 times a week, and chance has joined him, still unsure if it will be 1 or 2 times a week for him. mikey has been scheduled for his first psychological therapy, were hopeful to get 2 in a week, and im unsure yet for chance. like i said im waiting on my clone! :)

wwhhheeewww there you have it...thats the reason i was putting off the update, its just so much to type. thanks for reading, hope you all have a wonderful week!