PT Clinic

We had Graham's 3.5-month PT clinic downtown this morning and the doctor said he does not feel the need to refer Graham on to a neurosurgeon. Yay! There are still a couple of things that he would have liked to see more of an improvement on - moving the left arm out and above his head while sitting - but Graham has made it to the point where surgery most likely won't help him. With this, since he is past the 3 month mark, the things that he still needs improvement on could continue to get better but the chance of him having lasting effects are much greater. Knowing this is pretty discouraging but the doctor followed by saying that by the time he’s 15 we may only be able to tell that he has lasting effects through a physician’s assessment. And, playing sports should not be an issue for Graham.


Though we heard exactly what we wanted this morning, Nate and I are discussing getting a second opinion from Children's Mercy in KC just to be safe. We've been told all along that if we want to meet with another doctor then our PTs in Des Moines would get us an appointment in KC but up until this time we haven't felt the need. Because the window for surgery is so short - has to happen before Graham turns one or most surgeons won't perform the procedure because the improvement rate drops significantly - we can't wait very long to make an appointment. Ultimately, we just want to ensure Graham is getting the best care possible.


Like most of my PT posts, we still have some work to do but we are so proud of our little guy! He has come a long way in his 3.5 months of life!!


Here's a cute picture from after Graham's bath tonight - unrelated to my post, but he's so cute in his monkey towel!