"Whatever you give a woman, she will make greater. If you give her sperm, she'll give you a baby. (Granted, this woman needs medical intervention for this, but still.) If you give her a house, she'll give you a home. If you give her groceries, she'll give you a meal. If you give her a smile, she'll give you her heart. She multiplies and enlarges what is given to her. So, if you give her any crap, be ready to receive a ton of shit." --unknown

Why mention this little quote, you ask?

Why because I am all for shoveling tons of shit! I think I'll leave it in the cute little sports car driven by the therapists who continually freak me out about how much my children are not doing.

Today was the neurologist appointment. It took us 2 hours of waiting before actually walking into an exam room, but it wasn't like we could just leave. So we waited and waited some more to finally talk to the doctor.

What did we learn?

The boys are actual age of almost 16 months old. Their adjusted age is 13 1/2 months.

Ja.son:

gross motor: 10-12 month range
fine motor: 15-18 month range
social/emotional: 15-18 month range
cognitive/developmental: 15-18 month range
prognosis: normal development expected, limited need for Early Intervention if 18 month eval shows developmental growth consistent with actual age as expected.

Sh.awn:

gross motor: 6-8 month range (ouch)
fine motor: 6-8 month range (double ouch)
social/emotional: 12 month range (right on little guy)
cognitive/developmental: 12 month range (right on little guy)
prognosis: presenting with markers consistent with monoplegia/diplegia cerebral palsy. expectation for long term effect mild. may have difficulty walking and other gross motor skills to start, but at present time expect child to master these skills after initial delay.

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Sh.awn's diagnosis is not unexpected, and while hard to hear, I can see what the neurologist means. It is evident that Sh.awn doesn't aggressively use his right arm. He can, and will, but not unless prompted. It is getting slightly better (and I have high hopes about how he'll use it in the future), but it will take time. That much is clear.

The diplegia comes into play because he was a little tight when he was being manipulated by the doctor. He is not always tight, and I believe a lot of the tightness he exhibits when he is examined is because he is afraid of doctors now, so I don't totally buy this part of the report. We shall see if this really comes into play.

The neurologist is worried about the strength of Sh.awn's back and wants us to possibly brace it while he is learning to sit and walk. That will come in the weeks/months to come. Until then, we are to place him in hard backed seating (like the bum.bo chair or a sturdy highchair). We'll need to find a firm backed stroller for him, too. I already have ideas on how to support him to ensure he sits totally upright without leaning while he practices his sitting now.

We WILL make sure that the next time we see the neurologist, his back is strengthened and straight. OH, YES, WE WILL. Just watch us.

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And Ja.son? The little boy who scared me so much during his first days in the NICU while he slept and shook continually due to the oscillating machine he was on for weeks, is just flourishing. I am beyond excited to walk away with such a nice report for him. The only thing that brought his gross motor number down was his refusal to walk. He is perfectly content to stand, sit, crawl, or ride his little bike. But walk? He just isn't into that. He is nothing if not stubborn, that's for sure. (I do believe he inherited that from his father.)

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So, all in all, the day went as well as could be expected. If you would kindly say a few prayers or whatever it is you do, for Sh.awn while we work on the motor skills he needs to master, I would greatly appreciate it. I would just love for Sh.awn to flip the neurologist the bird (with his right hand of course) as he walks into his office next time.

Hey, you gotta dream big, right? :-)