My Delightful David

A big thank-you to everyone out there who has been reading this blog the last few days. The response to “I Am Not Ashamed” is overwhelmingly positive, and somewhat humbling – I guess a lot of people are continuing to re-post on facebook because I have continued to get four or five (or more) times as many page hits as usual. That’s great. Please feel free to look around the site a bit – some entries are more polished, on-target and succinct than others, but I think most of them are pretty good, especially the Pages (the list of titles is to your right). The main target audience of this site is our family and other parents of young children, but I will modestly assert that other folks would enjoy it. If anyone, but especially the parents of a child with special needs, finds something here that is helpful and encouraging, then I have succeeded.

Quick departure from the topic at hand, to make a David Update. He saw his pediatric endocrinologist on Tuesday, for a 6-month follow-up. David has very mild hypothyroidism, which is easily controlled with medication once per day. The office visit was short, but the doctor really engaged with David and he showed off his new walking skills for her. Since his disastrous cardiology appointment in March (see “Mr. Uncooperative”) we have been practicing with Simon’s toy doctor kit, especially listening to his heart with the stethoscope. This practice has paid off – as soon as he sat in the doc’s lap he reached for her stethoscope and began to stick it down the front of his shirt. Hooray!

 Getting lab work drawn was a nightmare – from all the IVs David’s had in life, his veins are nearly impossible to stick, even for folks who do nothing but pediatric sticks all day. Nothing was coming out and he was so miserable I told them to stop, and then when the tech loosened the tourniquet the blood finally flowed. Someone from the office called today and said the results were fine, no medication changes, and we’ll go back in six months.

David is really becoming a champion walker. He walks nearly everywhere and rarely scoots any more. His balance, coordination and strength are all improving rapidly, and I’m impressed with how well he can turn, and how well he can squat or bend over to pick up something, and then keep on going. I think the end of physical therapy is on the horizon.

We wrote David’s outpatient cardiologist, Dr. Aaron, a letter last week, thanking him for all his efforts on David’s behalf. We also included a collage photo from Snapfish, with all the really great shots my sister took in March and April. We received his reply today, saying he has likewise enjoyed working with us, and he loved the photos. So I’ve written three letters: Dr. Aaron, Dr. Paul (heart surgeon), and Dr. Jennifer (my high-risk OB) and they have all replied promptly and graciously. We are thankful to every member of our extensive medical team – doctors, nurses, social workers, everyone. We’ve felt supported the whole way.