Friday, August 7, 2009

Making Progress



Our little Kate is making progress and we are so thrilled to watch it all happen. Her muscle tone has been improving some and she is trying to put her hands in her mouth quite often. Her feeding has improved some and at times, she can suck on her bottle with very little help from mommy. So watch out daddy, it is going to be your turn to feed her soon! The feeding/speech therapist told us today that she won't need to see us again until next month...hooray! Lifting her head is still a big struggle for her, but her physical therapist is teaching us new exercises every week to help her strengthen these muscles.

We met with the Geneticist last week, and had a great 1 1/2 hour conversation with him. He was very positive with us, which helped us walk away feeling positive. He basically told us that even if she ends up being diagnosed with something down the road, that it is not a "sentence," but rather some insight to help her. He told us that we need to focus on the progress she is making and gave us many examples of patients who have exceeded the dignosis' expectations. So, with that said, we are still a little nervous about our appointment with the Neurologist this coming Wednesday, where we should find out the results of the Myotonic Dystrophy DNA test, but are hopeful that she continues to improve.

The orthopedic doctor had us try some special shoes attached by a metal bar to help correct her positional club foot, but they gave her a bad blister. So, at our visit last Thursday to Nemours, the doctor casted her left leg/foot. She will wear this cast for the next three weeks. We are hopeful this will do the job!



Grandma (my mom) and Glamma (Dave's mom) have been helping out SO MUCH with Charlie during all of these appointments for Kate, and we are so grateful that they live near and have flexible schedules. Last Thursday, we all got to go to Chik-fil-A together.



Thank you all for your love, support and prayers!

4 comments:

Susan T. Phillips said...

Gosh - what a beautiful baby! I am so glad to hear of the progress she is making. She couldn't have two better parents!

dayle timmons said...

So glad to see the progress with little Kate and Charlie seems to be thriving too! We love you! dayle

Melanie Holtsman said...

Elizabeth, so glad to hear your sweet girl is continuing to improve. Maggie had to wear that bar and special shoes too and you can see she turned out just fine! I will continue to pray for your family. I enjoy getting to see your photos on facebook too! What a great big family have have! It must be a blessing to have that kind of support system. Love you guys!

Julia Lewis said...

The picture of Charlie and Kate is sooo adorable! Glad to hear things are improving. :)