Cathy was gone all week at a class and Maria was definitely not happy about it. When I had her Thursday, she spent the whole day in her double-fisted-thumb-suck mode. Cathy got home late Thursday (actually very early Friday) and Maria was very happy to see her and is all smiles now. It’s great when we see such clear signs that she knows what’s going on around her.
We got the report from the audiologist in San Diego and I noted a couple of things Cathy didn’t mention in her other post. They “strongly” disagreed with the conclusions that the audiologists in Phoenix had reached. They also said her hearing loss is in the mild-moderate range rather than the severe-profound, there is no neuropathy, hearing aids and a cochlear implant would be no help, and her hearing profile seems typical for hydrocephalus.
It’s all fairly encouraging. We are now trying to find a speech therapist for Maria but everyone is on the east side, which is a common story for everything in Phoenix. We’d prefer finding someone who will make home visits or who is at least close since the alternative is three hours per session – an hour drive over, an hour in session, and an hour drive back.
Maria’s chest stuff is still there but not as bad as before. It’s just that residual phlegm that hangs on after a cold. She took her last dose of antibiotic today and we are glad. She’s had diarrhea from that and as a result REALLY terrible diaper rash. That should all clear up now.
Cathy’s still trying to get the hippotherapy approved and the clock is ticking. Because they do it outside, they stop in May and don’t resume until November. We’d like to get a few sessions in before summer but it’s mired in the usual bureaucracy.
Next week Maria has spring break (no school) and no major appointments. The week after she has her last two Vitalstim sessions then her next swallow study. Things should be quiet for a while (knock wood).