Definite Progress

Before I get into the nitty gritty of Isaac's condition and how he's progressing, I must apologize for leaving the nose picking picture as the top post for so long. I'm sure that grossed some of you out!

Isaac is doing remarkably well....all things considered. We are hearing more words, he's recognizing people, he is focusing and his attention span is becoming longer. We are still working with PT every day and they are helping with his coordination, trying to get him to follow direction and assessing his progress. He is playing with his trucks and cars a lot! We have a play mat we put on the floor of his room and try to spend a bit of time down there just having fun.

He's been eating pretty much everything in sight. On Thursday the speech therapist came to assess his swallowing. They did an x-ray while he was swallowing some barium/chocolate concoction and it was found that when he drinks water, milk, juice, he is aspirating into his lungs a little bit. The therapist said they see this often with brain injury patients and it's because their reflex isn't fast enough for the muscle (the epiglottis) to block the airway. This has resulted in him being put on a restrictive diet which includes nectar-thick liquids (yuck) and some other random restrictions. They said this will improve with time.

We are definitely seeing the effects of the nerve damage. Although it has yet to be confirmed that he is unable to hear in his left ear, we are assuming this to be the case. His facial nerve damage is very pronounced now as the left corner of his mouth sort of turns down and his right side is becoming more animated. However - I keep reminding myself this is purely cosmetic and is nothing compared to what we originally thought the long term effects may be! And truly, his half-smile is kinda cute. We have heard of situations where the nerves can rewire and reconnect, however doctors here are definitely pessimistic.

The balance nerves damage is very evident as he is unable to walk or even crawl without tipping. He actually looks like someone who's had WAY too much to drink. We are holding him up and working on this but we're pretty sure this may take some time.

It still sounds as though we will be going to Children's for rehabilitation sometime next week. The medical doctors here want to keep him here at Mary Bridge until he has his hearing test on Wednesday but the rehabilitation specialists think he's in prime learning mode and could benefit from the rehab therapy as soon as possible. There was an inpatient vs. outpatient discussion on Friday and although he's progressing, they think a good intensive treatment program would be best.

We continue to be amazed by this boy. He is truly a miracle!!

The amount of support, love and prayers we have received has been remarkable. It is humbling and we are so grateful. Thank you!