Tuesday, October 04, 2005

Poor Elisabeth

The speech therapist seems to think that my two-year-old daughter Elisabeth may not be able to use her velum, which closes off the mouth from the nose during speech. Which is probably why she can't say "g" and "k" sounds and coughs a lot when she eats and drinks, and her speech is very delayed. It may be related to her low muscle tone and being tube-fed for her first seven months.

Damn, damn, damn.

Poor girl.

We can look forward to (probably) another long round of doctor appointments and examinations which she will HATE and possibly more surgeries for her (she's already endured open heart surgery and surgery on both eyes), and lots of followup therapy.

BAH!!

I had really hoped we were through with most of that.... we still have two to three therapist visits per week now, mostly for the delays the girls experienced due to their extreme prematurity (28 weeks), but the therapists come to our home, fortunately. But we had daily hospital visits for their first six months, then tons of medical appointments the next six months. It got REALLY old. I thought we had been freed from all that. :-(

9 comments:

TriZilla said...

Oh, I'm so sorry to hear this. I hope and pray that you will be able to find the answers that will help your little one.

Recovering Alumni said...

I'm so sorry to hear that, Nancy. May the Lord give your family grace, patience, and very speedy recovery.

Dr. Iron TriFeist :) said...

Poor thing and poor you. You are totally dedicated to your girls. This is a big challenge for everyone.

Nancy Toby said...

Ack! I really prefer those challenges that I get to CHOOSE!

Oh well, so much for that illusion of control....

Comm's said...

we have had our similiar circumstance conversations before and I really understand what your going through.

At this point you only hope the better days get better and the worse days become numb.

Its not normal for a toddler to know their doctor(s) by face. Its not natural for a two year old to know how to take a shot, or use a nebulizer or be completely immune to examiniations and poking and prodding.

I could say "Keep your head up Nancy". But you have no choice, its up no matter what. Its the reality. The kids are getting to the point at least that they can better express their issues.

Anonymous said...

Poor baby! I hope she can get over this very quickly... she looks like a little cherub! so pretty <3 <3

Ellie Hamilton said...

Ouch. This is really hard news. There's not much I can say that the others here haven't said. However, my impression is that it's not a done deal... the therapist just "suspects," right? And even if her suspicions are right, well... I guess we deal with what is, any way we can. One way Elizabeth deals is with signing... she knows a lot of words and and can express herself. We really don't know yet how Abbie's physical ability to speak is going to go either... thank God for signing. And thank God that Elisabeth has such strong parents.

Lynne said...

Your girls have a great mom, and for that they will flower! Hang in, hang on... and keep your positive attitude! Elizabeth will find her way through all that life throws at her!

:) said...

I hate this...she is precious and deserves to have it good for awhile. I will be praying for her!