Well, just a little over 2 weeks ago, we took the boys to Doernbecher to have their big preemie check up. Several different specialists looked at the boys and did various tests to assess how well they are doing. It sure was a busy day...we spent over half the day at the hospital.
Dr. R came in and was ready to check the boys out. He asked us which boy should go first. I thought since I had more concerns about Kory, that we should start with him to be sure that all the concerns were addressed. He did an exam on Kory and I mentioned the concerns that I had about his eyes, and his development compared to Kaden.
I could tell with the physical exam that he was performing on Kory, that he was checking him for Cerebral Palsy. Previously, I have asked our pediatrician and Kory's physical therapists, if they saw any signs of CP and they have always said that they haven't seen any. But I was still nervous to ask the question of Dr. R, sort of afraid to hear some difficult news. I knew that being in denial about it wouldn't help Kory, so I thought I would just be brave and ask him. So Dr. R, said that he too didn't see any signs of CP. I knew this was amazing, and we are so thankful. I didn't realize until the following week, while meeting with one of Kory's physical therapists, just how amazing this is...she asked me if I realized that 85-90% of 25 week preemies have CP. Of course I didn't remember the statistics, but just sat there crying happy tears. I am in constant amazement that our wonderful sons are both alive and so healthy. The odds of them both living was only 25%. So just getting over that hurdle is amazing. Then for both boys to avoid CP, all together...
simply a miracle!!.
While Dr R. finished testing Kory, the audiologist came and took Kaden for a hearing test. Kraig went with him and about 10 minutes later came back with both ears testing out perfectly!!!
In so many ways, Kory has really caught up with Kaden in the last few months, except in the vision development area. Kory is very nearsighted. He had 2 eye surgeries while in the NICU. Kory doesn't make eye contact like most babies do, and has lazy eyes. First, his right eye was lazy, so we put a patch on his left eye for 1 hour per day, to force the right eye to work. Four months later, his right eye is now the strong eye and the left eye is lazy, so now we patch the right eye. We know that some of his outer peripheral vision was damaged during his first ROP surgery, but the surgery was a must to save as much vision as we could. Dr. R gave us a referral to see a vision specialist. With Kory's vision being poorer, he is further behind in his development. So I pressed Dr. R to find out what should be done with Kory's eyes, and he suggested that we see a vision specialist.
Then Dr. R checked Kaden out and he tested out pretty well. He is a little behind in most areas, but nothing that a little extra time and energy won't fix. Kaden does not qualify for any services from Willamette Educational Service District right now, as they adjust his age for his prematurity until the age of 2 years. After the boys turn 2, they will reassess Kaden's development and he will likely qualify for services then to help him catch up.
Kory and Kaden were also evaluated by a speech and language pathologist. She gave us a great list of things to help the boys catch up as they are behind in this area too.
Wow, that post was much longer than I had intended it to be. Have a great day!!!
