Today was MRI day. We got up early and headed out of the house at 7:30am to get to the hospital on time.
We were admitted and escorted up to the Pediatric ICU. Kiya was at this point a little quiet and still a little tired since we had to wake her up. After about 30 minutes of waiting, Kiya was Kiya. She was playing peek a boo with her blanket and being silly. Then they put the pulse ox monitor on her big toe....yeah she wasn't a fan and kept trying to pull it off. She got over it and went back to being silly.
We had a great nurse and a great doctor. Kiya wasn't afraid of either of them. She was so brave. She was a real charmer. She had the whole PICU coming in to see her and say hi and catch a glimpse of that smile.
The worst part hands down was the IV. We left the room but they wrapped her up like a burrito and put the IV in her foot. She hated being held down and boy did she let everyone know it. She was a trooper and recovered fairly quickly. We came back in the room to cheer her up.
So now we had to wait for the actual MRI. We were told there was a delay as they were waiting on another patient. They gave us a wagon so we could pull Kiya around the hallways as she couldn't stand up and walk with the IV in her foot. We stopped in the playroom but didn't last long as she wanted to stand up. We took more laps around the Peds wing than I can remember waiting for the go ahead.
We got the go ahead a little after 10am. The nurse took Kiya and laid her down on the gurney and Kiya got upset so the nurse carried her and the doctor pushed the gurney. They were so good with her. She calmed down right away and they even let her keep her blanket and bunny with her all the way up until it was time for the scan and even then the nurse set her bunny at the end of the bed so it was watching her. Too sweet.
We were initially told that it was going to be like 2 hours so Dave and I headed to the cafeteria to get some food and some coffee. After a little over an hour, while finishing up our snack, the PICU doctor found us and told us that they were all done. We quick hurried out of there and back up stairs so we could be with her when she woke up.
She was still pretty out of it when we got up there but within 2o minutes or so she was sitting on my lap. Then a few minutes later she was back in the wagon ready for some juice and crackers. Boy did she like that apple juice....a little too much after the diaper I had to change a couple hours later :( The whole time she was eating her snack she was again charming the whole staff. Her nurse was just so impressed with Kiya and how smart and silly and brave she was. She even commented that we should keep raising kids cause we are obviously doing it well :)
Overall, Kiya did great and we are so proud of her. We are still waiting for results but the nurse told us that the radiologist who did the scan saw just a curvy spine and nothing else. Now this isn't official but it is preliminary good news. The nurse also told me I should call and check about results on Friday if I haven't heard anything. I sure hope we get some good news before going away this weekend but I was originally told a week so we shall see.
Thanks to all our online friends out there for the prayers, good vibes and private messages. It helped keep me sane for sure. You all are amazing and I am so looking forward to meeting some of you this weekend.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Shoes, Carseats and MRI's--oh my
I will start with the easy stuff.
Shoes:
We took Kiya to have her feet measured today. Since she tends to roll inwards on her ankles we wanted to get her some better shoes. She was wearing solely stride rite shoes but we wanted a more higher top shoe. Turns out that Miss Kiya has been wearing shoes that are too small. She went into the store wearing 4 1/2's and she left with one pair of size 5 1/2 sandals and a high top walker that is size 6. We had no clue that she had out grown her shoes. They appeared to still fit but so didn't. So these shoes will get us hopefully to fall and then it will be new shoes again. This new mommy learned a lot today about the world of children's shoes and feet. Anyone need girl shoes size 4 and 5? I have perfectly new shoes that Miss Kiya cannot wear. Let me know.
Carseats:
On a recent dinner outing with the in-laws we were putting Kiya in their carseat and low and behold my tall little one is too tall to sit rear facing in their carseat. She needs to be moved up to the top level for the shoulder straps which per the manufacturer means she has to go forward. So this weekend all carseats will be turned around. A whole new car ride is in the future for Kiya. We had hoped to wait until she was two but we figure once one of her three carseats needs to go forward we might as well turn the others around too. I know it is safer to keep her rear facing but we have reached the point where that just isn't possible anymore.
Ok, here is the tough part of this post.
MRI
Kiya met with the Peds Ortho doctor yesterday. Not surprisingly she has scoliosis which by definition is a curvature of the spine. Currently her curve is in the moderate range at 36%. That said the doctor cannot and would not say that is all that is going on unless we get at MRI of Kiya's entire spine. The purpose is to rule out spinal cysts and a variety of other horribly scary sounding things that I can't remember the name of.
Kiya will have her MRI next Tuesday under sedation. She needs to report to the hospital at 8:15am and her actual scan will begin at 9:45. We were told it would take 2-2.5 hours to complete the scan. Then Kiya will need to eat and drink something before she will be released. We likely won't be home until close to 1pm.
Needless to say this Mama is secretly freaking out. I am doing much better today but yesterday was rough. My worst case scenario going into the appointment was a back brace and possible leg cast for her ankle/foot issues. Never in my wildest dreams did I think we would be headed to the hospital for an MRI to rule out stuff. It was a tough moment. I hate the idea of Kiya being sedated. I am holding on to hope that there is an 80% chance that the MRI will come back negative. We won't know the results for up to a week after the scan. That is going to be a LONG week.
No matter what we will get through. Kiya is a fighter and we will deal with whatever the MRI shows. In the meantime we are going to enjoy our sassy little girl and her new shoes and hopefully some cool fireworks this weekend.
If you are the praying type we would appreciate prayers for a negative MRI. If not we will take fingers crossed, good vibes, positive mojo, anything really. This parenting stuff is tough on a regular basis but when you hit these speed bumps it gets a little tougher.
Shoes:
We took Kiya to have her feet measured today. Since she tends to roll inwards on her ankles we wanted to get her some better shoes. She was wearing solely stride rite shoes but we wanted a more higher top shoe. Turns out that Miss Kiya has been wearing shoes that are too small. She went into the store wearing 4 1/2's and she left with one pair of size 5 1/2 sandals and a high top walker that is size 6. We had no clue that she had out grown her shoes. They appeared to still fit but so didn't. So these shoes will get us hopefully to fall and then it will be new shoes again. This new mommy learned a lot today about the world of children's shoes and feet. Anyone need girl shoes size 4 and 5? I have perfectly new shoes that Miss Kiya cannot wear. Let me know.
Carseats:
On a recent dinner outing with the in-laws we were putting Kiya in their carseat and low and behold my tall little one is too tall to sit rear facing in their carseat. She needs to be moved up to the top level for the shoulder straps which per the manufacturer means she has to go forward. So this weekend all carseats will be turned around. A whole new car ride is in the future for Kiya. We had hoped to wait until she was two but we figure once one of her three carseats needs to go forward we might as well turn the others around too. I know it is safer to keep her rear facing but we have reached the point where that just isn't possible anymore.
Ok, here is the tough part of this post.
MRI
Kiya met with the Peds Ortho doctor yesterday. Not surprisingly she has scoliosis which by definition is a curvature of the spine. Currently her curve is in the moderate range at 36%. That said the doctor cannot and would not say that is all that is going on unless we get at MRI of Kiya's entire spine. The purpose is to rule out spinal cysts and a variety of other horribly scary sounding things that I can't remember the name of.
Kiya will have her MRI next Tuesday under sedation. She needs to report to the hospital at 8:15am and her actual scan will begin at 9:45. We were told it would take 2-2.5 hours to complete the scan. Then Kiya will need to eat and drink something before she will be released. We likely won't be home until close to 1pm.
Needless to say this Mama is secretly freaking out. I am doing much better today but yesterday was rough. My worst case scenario going into the appointment was a back brace and possible leg cast for her ankle/foot issues. Never in my wildest dreams did I think we would be headed to the hospital for an MRI to rule out stuff. It was a tough moment. I hate the idea of Kiya being sedated. I am holding on to hope that there is an 80% chance that the MRI will come back negative. We won't know the results for up to a week after the scan. That is going to be a LONG week.
No matter what we will get through. Kiya is a fighter and we will deal with whatever the MRI shows. In the meantime we are going to enjoy our sassy little girl and her new shoes and hopefully some cool fireworks this weekend.
If you are the praying type we would appreciate prayers for a negative MRI. If not we will take fingers crossed, good vibes, positive mojo, anything really. This parenting stuff is tough on a regular basis but when you hit these speed bumps it gets a little tougher.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
19 months old
Miss Kiya is officially 19 months old today. I can hardly believe it. My little Peanut looks like such a big girl.
Here are some things the fabulous Miss Kiya has learned in the last month:
1) To use a cup holder. She places her sippy cup in the cup holder on the high chair and in the car. We have come a long way from her sippy cup throwing days :)
2) She has learned 5 almost 6 animal sounds. She can do cow, sheep, dog, cat, lion and we are teaching her snake :)
3) She has learned to say "yes" or "yeah" in response to questions. We don't get no all the time anymore which is so nice. And she is using it in the right context too.
4) When we ask Kiya if she is sassy, she responds with "sassy". So cute and so true.
5) She learned a little girl's name in daycare, Kylie. The sad part is that little girl is aging out of the room next week. Think she can say Donovan...that's the boy that is replacing Kylie.
6) She is learning how to pull up her pants. She can't quite get it but she is close.
7) She is learning (slowly) how to ask nicely for her music or a book. She has heard her CD's so much that she anticipates which song is up next or will ask for certain songs. Example: if she is clapping her hands she wants "If you're happy and you know it" and if she says "oe oe oe" she wants "Old MacDonald had a farm".
8) She has kicked a ball.
9) She has started asking, "What's this?"
10) Kiya has always been fascinated with garbage trucks but she can accurately point to the garbage truck in a puzzle my MIL gave her.
11) She is really quite good at brushing her teeth. I still help A LOT but she really likes to do it.
12) At bedtime, she gives us both hugs and kisses and then points to her crib.
13) She has learned to climb up the slide :)
14) She has decided that the big kids playground is way more fun than the little kids playground. She likes the big slides. Even the big curvy slides. She is such a daredevil.
So as you can see Miss Kiya is busy, busy learning new things all the time. We are so proud of her and all she has accomplished. We can't wait to see what she does next. We are hoping it is walk but you know we can't force her we can only encourage her. We have gotten up to 3 or 4 steps walking alone between Mom and Dad before she dives forward in a fit of laughter. Oh silly girl....we shall see what the ortho doc thinks tomorrow.
Here are some things the fabulous Miss Kiya has learned in the last month:
1) To use a cup holder. She places her sippy cup in the cup holder on the high chair and in the car. We have come a long way from her sippy cup throwing days :)
2) She has learned 5 almost 6 animal sounds. She can do cow, sheep, dog, cat, lion and we are teaching her snake :)
3) She has learned to say "yes" or "yeah" in response to questions. We don't get no all the time anymore which is so nice. And she is using it in the right context too.
4) When we ask Kiya if she is sassy, she responds with "sassy". So cute and so true.
5) She learned a little girl's name in daycare, Kylie. The sad part is that little girl is aging out of the room next week. Think she can say Donovan...that's the boy that is replacing Kylie.
6) She is learning how to pull up her pants. She can't quite get it but she is close.
7) She is learning (slowly) how to ask nicely for her music or a book. She has heard her CD's so much that she anticipates which song is up next or will ask for certain songs. Example: if she is clapping her hands she wants "If you're happy and you know it" and if she says "oe oe oe" she wants "Old MacDonald had a farm".
8) She has kicked a ball.
9) She has started asking, "What's this?"
10) Kiya has always been fascinated with garbage trucks but she can accurately point to the garbage truck in a puzzle my MIL gave her.
11) She is really quite good at brushing her teeth. I still help A LOT but she really likes to do it.
12) At bedtime, she gives us both hugs and kisses and then points to her crib.
13) She has learned to climb up the slide :)
14) She has decided that the big kids playground is way more fun than the little kids playground. She likes the big slides. Even the big curvy slides. She is such a daredevil.
So as you can see Miss Kiya is busy, busy learning new things all the time. We are so proud of her and all she has accomplished. We can't wait to see what she does next. We are hoping it is walk but you know we can't force her we can only encourage her. We have gotten up to 3 or 4 steps walking alone between Mom and Dad before she dives forward in a fit of laughter. Oh silly girl....we shall see what the ortho doc thinks tomorrow.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Friday, June 25, 2010
Summer Fun in pictures
This isn't really a summer fun picture but really, can she get any cuter?
Since we aren't doing swim lessons, I brought out the kiddie pool...
I am pretty sure she is loving it :)
Yep, she is having a blast...
Since we aren't doing swim lessons, I brought out the kiddie pool...
I am pretty sure she is loving it :)
Yep, she is having a blast...
In fact she had so much fun that after 45 minutes, it was time to go inside and I am pretty sure the entire neighborhood heard her scream.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Birth to 3 visits again
So it has been 1 year since our initial evaluations with Birth to 3. To refresh your memory, Kiya at that time only qualified for speech therapy. At 7 months of age, she showed a 36% delay in her speech. We opted to not pursue therapy at that time and go with a wait and see approach. We always felt that in a year we would have Kiya re-evaluated so here we are.
I had called them with concerns about Kiya not walking independently yet and her speech. Kiya has been replacing the letter m in her words with the letter b. So Mommy is Bobby, Moo is Boo etc. She still says the letter m in words like yummy and vroom so it was just weird.
We had our initial screening this morning. The evaluator asked a bunch of questions and just watched Kiya play and scream. Kiya wasn't in the best of moods this morning.
The questions covered Kiya's speech and communication, fine motor skills, gross motor skills and problem solving skills. The goal by asking the questions was to determine if there were areas in Kiya's development that needed some additional attention.
Based on observation and the answers I gave, the evaluator determined that Kiya is slightly above average in speech and problem solving skills. In fine motor she was well above average and as to be expected her gross motor skills fell short of average. So we fully expected that.
So now what? Well, I will be waiting to hear from an Early Education teacher and a physical therapist to set up a more thorough screening. From there we will determine if Kiya qualifies for services.
Yes, Kiya has been seeing a PT already. However, we were seeing her maybe once a month and we were focusing on her neck muscle issue and her back issue. Sure her walking came up but it doesn't appear to be a concern for our current therapist. My mommy instincts told me to get another opinion. So hence we called Birth to 3.
We shall see what lies ahead. I do feel Kiya is very close to walking on her own. She did take 2-3 steps between Dave and I last night all on her own so we are going to keep working on that. Kiya does tend to roll inward on her ankles and turn her right foot out so between our Birth to 3 screening and our appointment with the Peds Ortho doctor we are hoping to get some answers and some things to work on to improve this.
I had called them with concerns about Kiya not walking independently yet and her speech. Kiya has been replacing the letter m in her words with the letter b. So Mommy is Bobby, Moo is Boo etc. She still says the letter m in words like yummy and vroom so it was just weird.
We had our initial screening this morning. The evaluator asked a bunch of questions and just watched Kiya play and scream. Kiya wasn't in the best of moods this morning.
The questions covered Kiya's speech and communication, fine motor skills, gross motor skills and problem solving skills. The goal by asking the questions was to determine if there were areas in Kiya's development that needed some additional attention.
Based on observation and the answers I gave, the evaluator determined that Kiya is slightly above average in speech and problem solving skills. In fine motor she was well above average and as to be expected her gross motor skills fell short of average. So we fully expected that.
So now what? Well, I will be waiting to hear from an Early Education teacher and a physical therapist to set up a more thorough screening. From there we will determine if Kiya qualifies for services.
Yes, Kiya has been seeing a PT already. However, we were seeing her maybe once a month and we were focusing on her neck muscle issue and her back issue. Sure her walking came up but it doesn't appear to be a concern for our current therapist. My mommy instincts told me to get another opinion. So hence we called Birth to 3.
We shall see what lies ahead. I do feel Kiya is very close to walking on her own. She did take 2-3 steps between Dave and I last night all on her own so we are going to keep working on that. Kiya does tend to roll inward on her ankles and turn her right foot out so between our Birth to 3 screening and our appointment with the Peds Ortho doctor we are hoping to get some answers and some things to work on to improve this.
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