Medical Records

Over the holidays, Alex and I began the daunting task of organizing the girls' medical records into binders. We started with Adeline first, hoping to get the worst part over. It was a shock to the system when we were done organizing the paperwork into piles of separate disciplines. She has seen geneticists, feeding specialists, cardiologists etc. The list goes on and on. I had forgotten that I took her to the top doc in our area for orthopedics. He is nationally recognized and is the "it" guy for Cerebral Palsy.

When reviewing his summary report I found this:

I feel this is a girl who has developmental delay and does have some very mild increased tone. It is not clear to me that this girl will have a substantial motor palsy, and with the progress she has made, I have told the mother that it is very difficult to predict and that the range may be from her not being able to develop independent walking ability, meaning she will have to use crutches or walker. However, I feel more likely she will develop excellent independent walking ability and may be close to normal.

The summary then goes on to state that he would need to see her at two years of age to have a reasonable prediction. Although he backed a very disturbing outcome with that of a more favorable one, you don't have to ask which one lurks in the back of a parent's mind.

My point in bringing this to light is recognize how far we ALL have come. I almost don't remember the pain of being on pins and needles EVERY day while I wondered if Adeline would walk. I must admit that the above appointment was a blow to my optimism because I was looking for a "she will walk!" I was very frustrated that after being in the field for 50 years, this doctor couldn't give me a definitive answer. Those were such dark days. Dark with worry.

While at the pool tonight, I thought of this report and my heart sang. My girls were jumping in the pool, going underwater and for the first time, Adeline was learning to glide - a precursor to swimming. Walk she does, run she does (albeit slow), and swim she will.

My girls rock!

I didn't get the glides on video but here is a clip of Alex trying to teach Adeline to jump up and out off of the bench. I still can't believe she goes underwater.