Zane went to the Developmental Pediatrician yesterday and the Neurologist today. The pediatrician isn't concerned about Zane's lack of interest in potty training at this point. He said the epilepsy may be playing a role in that if Zane is having any undetectable seizure activity it is perfectly normal to lose bladder and bowel control afterwards so he may not have control for that reason. Now that may or may not be the case here, but even without the epilepsy being a factor the doctor said some boys don't potty train until 4 1/2 - 5 years of age. We are due to see him again in 6 months if Zane is still in diapers at that point. He suggested Abe and Zane go shopping for identical underwear. Then when Zane sees Daddy wearing the underwear and using the toilet we can tell him that once his diaper is dry for an entire day he gets to wear underwear just like Daddy's. I'm not too sure Zane will care too much about that, but we will certainly give it a shot.
Today's appointment was fun because Zane wore his Spiderman suit to the appointment. He was wearing it at the house when it was time to go. He wasn't quite ready to take it off so I asked him if he wanted to wear it to the appointment and of course he said yes. So he got lots of looks, most of which were accompanied by smiles. The silliness brightened my day.
Let me back up a little bit before I get into today's appointment. Over the past couple of weeks Zane has been having random involuntary jerks. We seem to notice them mostly at the table while eating. He can be taking a drink and suddenly the cup flies out of his hand and his arms jerk once and his eyes dialate. It totally looks as though he is starting to have a seizure except it lasts for a second or less then he recovers completely and doesn't know anything happened. And if we aren't looking at him as it happens we wouldn't even know anything happened. This occured as recently as last night while we were having dinner. He has also appeared to just buckle at the knees a couple of times but immediately gets back up as if nothing happened. This one is harder to detect because he is a 3 year old boy and we don't know for sure if it is involuntary or him just playing around. But I am pretty sure this has been involuntary on 2 occassions. Now as far as I can tell none of this was happening prior to the Trileptal.
I discussed all of this with Dr. Crisp today and he said we may still be in the adjustment phase with the medication. We are going to keep an eye on these myoclonic seizures over the next couple of weeks to see if they continue. If they do, he may very well need to try a different medication. Now I'm not real clear whether the doctor thinks the current medication could be causing these seizures or if this is just a new development. Zane will go for his MRI on the 25th and they will do a blood test at that time to check the Trileptal levels in his system.
And lastly, I called Kidz Therapeze to schedule Zane's first appointment only to find out that he is number 67 on their waiting list. They have quite a few therapists but they can't keep up with the number of referrals they have coming in right now. She estimated the wait could be 2-3 months. Apparently speech therapy is in high demand right now in Killeen.
5 comments:
I was going to talk for awhile but I can't stop crying. I miss you! I'm so glad you're doing well.
Jackie
Beth - I firmly believe Zane is going to be o.k. as he matures. This is just my gut feeling. So many concerns seem to be happening at the same time and you & Abe will persevere. Thoughts & prayers are sent your way. mb from tc
Thats an interesting technique for potty training that I have never heard before...keep us updated. I think everything around here is in high demand...too many people and not enough accommodations in this area.
Beth & Abe, You are teaching me things that I never knew before. But what I DO know is that you two are GREAT parents and Zane is an adorable little boy!! I think it is good that Zane went in costume to see the doctor!! Isn't that fantastic that he takes this all in his stride? He's taking his cues from the two of you and I'm so proud of all of you!! I always have been...but more and more every day as you work through this. My friend said that medications are mostly "trial and error" until the doctors can see what kind of effects the medication is having but that once you get through this trial period...you'll see a big difference. Thanks from the heart for the updates. My love surrounds each of you, Granny
Hey, Beth - you might check with the universities in your area to see if any have a speech and hearing clinic. If so, they would have graduate students doing speech therapy for free, I think. Abe's grandpa worked in that department at UNT and I had speech therapy for a few years for a lisp.
- Chris
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