clinic update.

justin had spina bifida clinic yesterday and it went great!! we met with a pediatrician first, and he was happy with justin. he said he's a big boy, but it's nothing to be worried about. it's good to hear that from more than one doctor. i know justin's big (20 lbs, 6 oz, 27 1/2 inches!), but it's just a scary thought knowing he might not walk because of his weight. i would hate to have that be the one thing that would hold him back. then we met with the coordinator and she was really impressed with everything about him! she said that he looks great, has great head control so far, and he seems to be moving right along. after the coordinator, we met with a physical therapist and she was SO happy to see the progress justin has made. she said that she thinks he will only need the short ankle braces when it's time for him to have braces.. don't really know what that means, but i'll take it. they still haven't given us an exact diagnosis of where the lesion is, they just keep saying it's lumbar/sacral, but they think right now he is functioning around L3-L4.. no idea what that really means either, but they were positive, so i'm positive!

it was a happy visit with the clinic and then we went to neurosurgery.. we met with the nurse practitioner there and she said all of justin's scars were healing wonderfully. she told us that his fontanel is starting to close, so it's going to be kind of difficult to tell if he's having a shunt problem unless he's showing symptoms. justin does everything backwards, so this kid is all about keeping us on point. he had no symptoms that they told us to look for when it was time for the shunt and now they're saying he's still making it difficult for us! i know for sure that the shunt drama has been the hardest part of having a spina bifida baby. i can take it on, but man, it keeps me on my toes! all in all, that was a good review too. just a little more stressful than clinic.

we will have to return to clinic in 3 months, so hopefully they're just as happy with him then as they were yesterday. he has an appointment with physical therapy this afternoon, so i hope she has good things to say too.

side note, for my family members - not sure if all of you are aware, but there is a benefit being held for aunt bev and uncle steve to pay for stevie's funeral. they're holding a dinner and dance (no alcohol) on nov. 14. i made a flyer to post online.. but i know aunt bev has given a few out to those of us that she's seen. i hope everyone can make it!