Doctors and stuff

So this last few weeks have been filled with more doctors visits.

I went to the ER near the end of the kids school year. I had tried everything the doctors have recommended that has helped before, but found no relief. My tremors were okay if I was laying down. I was proud that I was able to advocate for myself. I told the nurse I was not going to wait for a room to lay down but that I had to lay down then and she could tell me where or I would find a place on the floor. It worked. I got a bed in the hall. I really didn't care I just had to lay down. The nurses were nice, but had no idea of what I was dealing with. Many of them offered to help me sit up and get more comfortable. It was a nice idea, but defeats the point of me laying down. The doctor actually looked at my history before making any decisions. He said it looked like I had had every test they might do in my file already and asked me what I thought was needed. He took me seriously when I said I needed fluids to help up my blood volume. I was shocked when he said that it sounded like a good idea. He still wanted to run it by my physician and do some quick blood tests. Basic blood test was relatively normal and so I got my IV and felt much better.

 I finally went in to see the oral surgeon. As expected I am a routine, but complicated case. When my wisdom teeth are taken out it will have to be done at the hospital. Of course it wouldn't be the hospital near my house. We have to get it done soon before school starting in the fall messes with everything. Now we await approval from the insurance. It just may be my birthday gift to me. Yipee?

I took Athena in to meet her new PCP. They were very accommodating to my long list of things I wanted to go over about her care and plans for testing. When I talked about behavior issues they surprised me in a good way. Over the years I have done many things to adapt for Athena at home and there are even some things the school has done with me. I cannot do this forever and she will have to learn for herself how to work in the environments that overwhelm her so much. So the doctor said they would normally refer to a pediatric psychiatrist for testing but they have found that too many patients are put on medications in hopes of resolving something. Knowing that I have been able to work with her they wanted to try a different approach with Athena. So they asked if I would be okay with a referral for occupational therapist.  I was thrilled with this as I know how much an OT can help and it would be really good for her handwriting as well. (She did not meet expectation on her report card for handwriting.)

So this week we went to the first OT appointment. Athena was nervous and shy, but well behaved. They did the overall assessment and testing of her grip and pinch strength. Most of the assessment was quite familiar to me and I knew they would go back and score it after we left. What I didn't expect was to be shown the results of the grip tests right away. She was right at the bottom of the range for her current age for two of the tests. For the other test she was right on target if she was half her age. The OT said that this is likely where most of the work would be done and that this could be a big factor in her struggle to do homework. It was an epiphany for me. If you are struggling just to hold on to the pencil then doing all those math facts is overwhelming in the amount of writing ahead of you without even doing the actual math! Lacking the hand strength would also be a major factor in not yet knowing how to tie her shoes, close snaps, and button small buttons. She was trying but when she couldn't make things work she would act out. Her current grip/pinch strength is closer to that of her cousin Lydia (assuming Lydia is on track) than to most of her peers. I am so glad I decided to push this with the new doctor. I was sick of being told she will grow out of it eventually. We will keep going each week to see the OT and work throughout the summer. When August comes we will make a plan for the school year. I know that we can make things better for Athena by simply helping her gain the muscle strength needed to write and type.

In all I am learning to be a better advocate. It is about time it worked out for us!