The Past Few Weeks...

Nolan has been to a lot of appointments the last two weeks. He had an EEG, went to the physiatrist, hematologist and ophthalmologist, along with therapy twice a week. He got his orthotics and was casted for his night splint. There was mostly good news. His EEG showed no seizure activity. The hematologist said that he did not test positive for any blood clotting disorders. This is wonderful in that we don't believe he will have a stroke again. He did test positive for a gene mutation. The doctor said that this did not cause the stroke, but I have found some research online that shows this gene mutation can cause neural tube defects in fetuses. So, there is no definitive answer. The ophthalmologist said that the health and structure of his eye is good. His eyes are wandering out. He will check Nolan again in four months to see if his eye muscles have strengthened. There is nothing to correct at this time. The physiatrist said that although Nolan has made huge progress in his development, the contracture in his right leg did not improve over the last three months. We are increasing his physical therapy and including intense stretching and ultrasound. We feel that his new leg braces will help him. The physiatrist will re-evaluate in two more months and we may take another course of action at that point that would include serial casting. We are holding off for now, as Nolan has been through a lot and we want to try other things first. Nolan has remained his wonderful self through all of this. It is amazing to me how God blessed us with such a little trooper. The only time he cried through all of these appointments was when his blood was drawn. He does cry at therapy, but we're not sure if it's because the work is hard or he is stubborn. His stubbornness is probably genetic...