Cathy and Maria visited a couple of preschool classes at the public school yesterday. In once class a couple of the kids were being a little rambunctious and Maria was obviously overwhelmed. She did her withdrawal thing where she sucks her thumb, hunches her shoulders, and shuts out the world. The other class was a little calmer and Maria was leaning forward trying to see everything. Cathy was concerned at how much further advanced the kids are, but they were all 1-2 years older than Maria so I’m sure she’ll do fine.
Cathy talked to the PT about Maria’s next round of medical equipment. In addition to the specialized stroller, she needs a bath chair, a walker, and possibly a small treadmill and another stander. The bath chair is because the nanny is diabetic and has had a couple of incidents of light-headedness, both when Maria was in the bath. That’s a bad time to faint.
The walker would be one that holds Maria in a suspended seat so she still has to exert trunk and head control. It fits over a small treadmill and the treadmill’s movement, as slow as 0.1 mph, helps stimulate the walking action. Apparently Sears used to have one a few years back that was perfect and only about $200. That’s been discontinued so now the only pediatric treadmills are available from medical supply places for about ten to twenty times the cost.
Then we took Maria to the pediatrician. The doctor wasn’t concerned about Maria’s weight since she has a history of erratic weight gain. She was a bit concerned about the gagging thing we’ve talked about. She thought it might be reflux, but the fact that Maria does it even when sitting up means that might not be it. Basically, she’s stumped just like everyone else.
Maria developed a scaly reddish-yellowish patch on her chin that the doctor thinks is impetigo – *sigh* another new word. It’s a fairly benign skin infection but the doctor neglected to mention that it’s apparently very contagious! Even touching her clothes where the sore touched can spread it. Lots of hand washing will be going on in the near future.
This morning she had her preschool evaluation. She qualifies for the program and all the therapies they offer, no big surprise. There is still the meeting for her IEP (Individualized Education Plan) and possibly other evaluations before then.
Today she gets her new glasses and has her first session with the temporary nanny. One of the school people knows her and said she was very good so that’s comforting.
Manolis got a job very quickly so he’s working now. Interestingly, his blood pressure is down! The fact that he went from an hour-long commute through heavy traffic to smell paint fumes all day, to a minute’s walk along the beach to board a ship and tour the Greek islands every day probably has something to do with it. However he’s pretty much miserable there and can’t wait to come back.