Manolis’ 3rd full-fledged Father’s Day (Maria was still in my tummy for his first Father’s Day), and he wasn’t with his baby. We called him, of course, and they chatted–well, Manolis talked and Maria licked the phone and pushed buttons. Maria and I did the same for Father’s Day that we did for Mother’s Day–went shopping. I think we hung out at Barnes & Noble for Mom’s Day; for Dad’s day we bought her some leopard sheets and a very soft blanket. She’s growing out of her baby blankets and the blanket I’ve been using for her is a dry clean only one–pretty silly for a baby who likes to vomit periodically! So now she’s really stylin! And actually, she’s been sleeping better. She kicks a lot at night and often kicks the covers off and gets cold, so now she’s staying toasty warm on these cool (air-conditioned) Phoenix summer nights…
Maria & I went to the neurologist today. Pediatric neurologists are notoriously negative, from what I hear, and ours is no exception. I didn’t “make” Andy come with us, and the appointments seem to go a bit rougher when he’s not there. She (the doc) had an intern with her and she was telling him Maria was born with a Grade 4 hemorrhage (Andy & I agreed that that was news to us); she talked about all of Maria’s problems and issues (quite blunt, wouldn’t you say?); suggested the option of Maria getting a trachaeotomy (to protect her lungs from her latest choking spells); oh yea, and said at two different times in two different ways that Maria could die at any moment from choking to death. Yes, it was a lovely appointment. She also thought Maria seemed out of it (she was tired), and kept clapping near Maria’s face to see if she’d react, and kept poking her. Yes, literally poking her in the arms, the face, the legs, to see what she’d do, I guess. She was not at all current with Maria or what’s been going on with her the last 3 years. It was a bit irritating.
I suppose one bit of good news is that Maria had an episode (wide open mouth, eyes rolled back, gasping for air) while undergoing the EEG a few weeks back, and there were no “epileptiform discharges noted with this event”. However, the report does say “this EEG demonstrates moderate to severe slow background mainly in the 4-5 cycles/sec with the left hemisphere being mildly slower when compared to the right.” Sounds kinda serious to me, but according to the report, “The EKG monitor was unremarkable” and “There were no electrographic seizures captured.” yippee. Makes me want to drink to celebrate, she said wryly. And, of course, the neurologist thought Maria had a seizure during our appointment (Maria clenched her fists and looked intense. We think she’s being an almost 3 year old who wants to walk, talk, run, play, and can’t so she gets frustrated.)
The neurologist wants us to see a pulmonologist for Maria’s episodes, which is ok. She also wants Maria to spend 24 hours in the PEMU (Pediatric Epilepsy Monitoring Unit), a new unit at Phoenix Children’s Hospital, which is also ok. It’s not such a bad idea to have her hooked up to see if they can figure out what’s causing her episodes–the scariest part is when her lips turn blue (Maria’s, not the neurologist’s), which she did for the doc today. But a trachaeotomy? I don’t think so!
So since I’m not much of a drinker, after the appointment, I went to a bakery and bought a bunch of small cakes and other sweet treats. (THAT’ll show ‘em!). Wednesday the construction (destruction?) begins in my kitchen. Maria’s birthday is Saturday, not sure what we’ll do, since our place won’t be in any shape to entertain or bake. I’ve been trying to find a place that serves cake and beer, no luck so far…