Spina Bifida Clinic

Wow... that was a busy morning and afternoon!!! Katelyn had her first Spina Bifida Clinic this morning. Then we went to Andrew's school and Jacob's school to meet their teachers (both of which are really nice).

The Clinic went very well. Here's a sum-up of everything...

Everyone at the Clinic was very pleased with how well she is doing. The neurosurgeon said that she does have repaired lipomyelomeningocele and said her MRI looked good. The syrinx (cyst in the spinal cord) that she still has is very small, and they're not concerned with it at this time. He said that she probably has a 30% chance of needing a tethered cord surgery in the future... if so, it would probably be around age 8 (growth spurt, I'm guessing?). He didn't give a specific age as to when hydrocephalus becomes a non-issue, but in Katelyn's case, she's pretty much in the clear.

The orthopedic surgeon recommended PT (physical therapy) to strengthen her ankles and surrounding muscles. He and the orthotic specialist said there's a possibility she may need braces on her feet in the future, but they both agree that PT is the way to go right now, and that it might be all she needs.

The urologist said the ultrasound does show that she has a neurogenic bladder, but we don't know exactly what that means at this point since she is so young and is not potty trained yet. She may or may not have bladder control as she gets older (or bowel control). Her report from China said that she had a rectal prolapse, but we've only seen it once... and that was shortly after we returned home. Now that she is eating more than just rice and formula (drinking lots of water and juice and eating things with fiber), she is not constipated and has frequent regular bowel movements... which should hopefully prevent the prolapse from happening again.

We also saw a pulmonology specialist. There was something on her MRI that suggested sinus issues, so Katelyn will be taking Claritin for a while to see if it "clears" her up... It really has nothing to do with SB, but hey, if we can make her a happy camper by helping her feel better, I'm all for it! The PT (physical therapy) and OT (occupational therapy) people were there as well and were pleased with her progress since we saw them last month.

Overall, Katelyn did very well. She got slightly fussy when they were taking her blood pressure and when the urologist wanted to check her, but otherwise she did great!

Here are some pics from this week...

The kids love to climb on each other...

Couldn't resist taking pics when she climbed up on the piano bench!!

Baby on the front and back... practicing for twins, huh???

She wanted her pic taken with the bunny... cute!