"Doctor, doctor, give me the news I've got a bad case of lovin' you"

Posted Aug 27, 2009 7:17pm
I’m happy to report that for the past two days, we haven’t made a single wrong turn! I think Adam has finally figured out how to use a GPS. ; )

We got up really early today to meet with the developmental neurologist from the University of North Carolina, Dr. Escolar. She was amazing! After 10 years of research, she’s developed a test which details developmental milestones for babies before they would even have been born. Basically, we’ve been told by everyone in NY that we won’t know what to expect from Sarai until she starts to meet milestones like rolling over, walking, etc., which of course won’t come for months from now. Dr. Escolar has been working with infants for years and can say what a baby at 35 weeks gestation should be doing, 36 weeks, and so on. Believe it or not, she’s the first one to do this. She did a thorough exam on Sarai and said that she’s a bit delayed physically, functioning more like a 36 or 37 week gestation baby, and she’s now 39 weeks. So that’s not bad. She noted that Sarai is advanced in tracking objects with her eyes, makes good eye contact and recognizes the sound of my voice. I feel like I could go on and on about this appointment. She was not concerned after examining Sarai and told us to be optimistic. She said that, if she’s learned anything after all these years, it’s not to look at an MRI, it’s to look at the child, and Sarai looks great. They did an MRI after this appointment and Dr. Escolar will compare it to the one at Westchester and make some predictions. With special software, she can see not only the white matter that is damaged (what PVL is) but how the pathways in the brain have been affected (which will tell us more about how she will be affected physically). She was a really neat woman who was just a wealth of knowledge. I feel so lucky that Sarai was able to meet with her!

Sarai has been so restless at night, I can’t wait to get her home and try to establish some kind of schedule. I’m looking forward to the train ride tomorrow and just relaxing for a while. Cindy and Justin have been the BEST hosts! I don’t know if anyone really knows this: Cindy and I went to high school together, but she’s really a friend of Katie’s. It means so much that they invited us to stay with them. It’s really been a home away from home here and we’ve all been so comfortable. We’ve had great dinners, talks and laughs. Thanks so much guys!

(Remember, probably won't be a post tomorrow night. But don't be shy about comments! I check all the time to see them! (You're included, Bunny!))