March of Dimes, Casting, G-Tube, Migraines

This year we are finally walking for the March of Dimes on May 8. I wanted our name to be Team Ellie but that was taken. So we are team "Warrior Princess". It's such a good cause. I am glad to be participating and feeling like we have the space in our life and the health to do so. If you are interested in joining us for the walk you can sign up on our site and we will see you there!

Serial Casting Update: Not so good
Ellie got through her first cast after one week of no sleep and with a cut/dent on her left ankle. This cut turned into a crater when the donut that they put to protect it in the second casts slipped. She made it through 4 days. The wound is still not healed. The gains she made - because it is clear that serial casting does work - are slipping away on that side. Her feet are becoming clubbed. It's upsetting. Ellie knows how to walk. She deserves feet that will hold her up. It's frustrating. We are reconsidering trying Botox one side at a time to see if the systemic reaction we got last time was a fluke. That may sound crazy, but check out these alternatives:

Phenol Block. Phenol in 1% of people it causes life long pins and needles at the block site....no thanks.

Baclofen: this relaxes tone systemically. Good bye head and trunk control.

Bacolfen pump inserted into the spine - forever. This delivers Baclofen to the nerves in the legs only but is 3+ inches in diameter and is a permanent implant....God that bums me out. It can still cause systemic side effects like fatigue....

Rhizotomies - where they cut the nerves that are effecting the muscles most. This works great for kids who are already walking because they can isolate the nerves most effected and the kid's brain is already wired up to walk, the muscles are there, etc. In kids that are not yet walking there is a good chance they never will with this treatment because what nerves do you cut? Which ones are the ones Ellie's body will self select to support her walking? Since it is in no way clear to me that she will not walk, this is a no go.

Her spine is ever so slightly curved too. I told the doctor that we had been doing less tummy time. I think he sensed my guilt. He was quick to point out that Ellie's tone on one side is much higher (her right side) and her left is weaker. He said it was the tone (the nerve signals flexing the muscles constantly) that is causing the spinal curve. He also said it is very hard to work the muscles on only one side of the body but that, that would help.

Her hip is the same amount effaced which is good because it didn't get any worse.

Other things we can try that there is no research to support they help or hurt:

Conductive Education

and

Feldenkrais

and

Hippotherapy

and

Start up again with TST

and

Hyperbaric O2 treatments

If we win the lotto I can quit my job to not only afford all of this but to get her there too...

Other things on the docket:

Dentist Visit: her first baby tooth is gone and I am not sure where...it's sad. There was nothing for the tooth fairy. I worry about how many teeth she can swallow...will those little baby teeth hurt her intestines? Then there is the obvious fear of her chocking on them.

G-tube revision: The good news is that she has gained back the weight she lost since September (can you imaging it taking that long to gain weight!) but now that she has, her g-tube is rubbing again and causing her pain.

Migraines: still a problem each month or sometimes every other month.

Adaptive Equipment needed: Potty seat, roll in shower for said Potty seat, hospital bed, stair lift, wheel chair van. Lovely things on our horizon that take months to get if they are covered under insurance and only half of them are.

It's a sea of medical issues and concerns in the murky land of brain injury recovery.

Let me tell you some good things too. She is eating up a storm and making progress on chewing soft things like banana. She is sipping slightly thickened liquids from a nosey cup! AND she is way, way into feeding herself! This is HUGE great news.

She is having success in Potty Training, we don't have a seat at home she can use which sucks and is the only thing holding her progress back.

School is going very well. She is being assessed for voice output devices FINALLY. I could sing! I can't wait till she shares with me any thought in her head that I don't have to muddy with my own interpretation! Right now I understand her much of the time, but sometimes she is communicating and I have to ask her questions to try to understand. Sometimes I ask her a question and in doing so influence her communication - that is what I mean by muddying.

Her fine motor is improving fast. And she is growing, growing, growing. She thinks it's funny when I tell her "Shhhhhhh let me listen to you grow!" And then I lean close and listen. She is way into They Might Be Giants which is the most age appropriate new thing she is into and what balm and relief from Signing Time and Baby Einstein! (No offense - but 7 years of those daily is a Looooooonnnnnnnngggggg time!).

She is maturing in her wants and needs. Her expressive language has taken a real leap forward increasing the need to give her better access to language. This is my favorite current problem to have. Also, as reported, the iPhone is still in favor and she is getting good at flipping between screens and tapping to make a video play. In the second picture up above, that is me and Ellie watching TMBG videos on the iPhone while taking advantage of a rare and lovely 65 degree day in the park.

Ellie is still such a sweetie who loves to laugh and laugh with you and include you in the fun. She is also, hands down, the cutest 7 year old I know. (not that I am biased). ;-)

I hope and think, when she is not in pain, she's a happy kid. Not as happy as she was last summer, because of all the pain on so many fronts right now, but hopefully we can stay on top of it and figure out how to move through this part of the story and get to a place where she is not in so much constant physical pain.