Neonatal Follow-Up

     Last Thursday, we had a follow up appointment through CHOP at the Harrisburg Pike Health Campus. We didn't know what to expect going in, but it turned out being a pretty encouraging visit. The doctor told us at the beginning of the appointment that she was there to assess his development and make sure we were connected to the right and necessary resources. She ended up encouraging both of us, as well. 

    It was so nice for someone with her expertise to get their hands on him and assess where he's at. This was similar to what Early Intervention would do for an evaluation; however, early intervention did a video evaluation with us due to covid procedures. She had also seen Leo and evaluated him while he was in the Women's and Babies' nicu on the cooling mat. It felt comforting to know that she knew Leo's beginning very well. 

    So how's he doing developmentally? I will answer this to the best of my understanding, but please understand that will be somewhat lacking. I am not a medical expert, but I am a mother. 

    First, Leo is gaining weight well since we switched back to the bottle. We are so thankful for that. We do have an appointment with a speech therapist to check in and evaluate how he's doing with sucking and swallowing. There's a lot more there than I realized. He seems to have a weak suck sometimes and also some "going down the wrong tube" deal so we want to make sure we're on top of that. 

    As far as his muscles, it wasn't anything new except for the official "high risk for cerebral palsy." She looked at his limb movement as well as core stuff. She gave us ways to help him work on evening out the muscle tone. I continue to do very intentional things during tummy/play time. She suggested that we get started with occupational therapy through Early Intervention. Especially now that he is on bottles, they can help with his feeding as well (I'm pretty sure). And as he develops, OT will work on fine motor skills with him. 

    The last big area is his vision. She confirmed that his right eye is a bit more turned in than his left. They move differently sometimes. And he isn't tracking. That's clearly something he's behind in. We have an appointment coming up next week. From there we will move forward with whatever appointments and vision therapy we decide on for him. We are hoping that this first appointment with an eye doctor will give us a bit more clarity than we've gotten yet. 

    Brad was very encouraged by the clarity that she brought. She answered all of our questions, put some of our knowledge into clear terms, and offered clear next steps. I was very encouraged by her words to us outside of just the medical. She was just very clear that loving and engaging parents can really make a difference. And that therapy can really help and give Leo the best chance. She said we were well educated and giving Leo every opportunity. It was encouraging to me to hear that we are doing what we can, and by us simply trying to keep up with everything we're doing more than if we didn't even try at all. 

    Some prayer requests:

-for all the therapies we will most likely be starting, a lot more regular appointments

-for my sanity as we increase appointments and necessity to stay organized and on top of everything (allowing for grace at the same time)

-for Brad, starting a new job on the 2nd and wisdom in knowing how to split his energy between that transition and things at home

-for Leo's eyes, muscles, and feeds 

-that God would just have his hand over all of Leo's progress and healing, for continued healing, and always praying for miracles

-that Leo and many others would know God and trust in Jesus Christ