Appointments

I have come to realize that not only is being a mother my full time job, but taking Emma to all her appointments is also a full time job! Luckily, the two jobs are not mutually exclusive. Since Emma has been home, we have had AT LEAST one doctor's appointment every week. We will continue this until the end of October at the earliest. I don't really mind though. It gets us out of the house and, as I've said before, each time we go, it's an extra set of eyes on Emma. Hopefully, if Jeremy and I were to miss something or be unsure of something, whoever we were seeing that week would catch it.

This week, we have 3 appointments. Today's was a hearing test. The NICU recommended that she have her hearing tested beyond the routine newborn screen. She passed the initial screening, but both the meningitis and one of the antibiotics she was on put her at risk for hearing loss. For today's test, they did a few different things, but the main part was a test in which the doctor sent 6 different sounds into each ear at different pitches and monitored the brain wave responses to the sounds. She had to be in a deep sleep for the test. I fed her while the doctor hooked her up to the brain wave monitors, swaddled her and held her while she fell sleep. The test was supposed to take about an hour and a half which I was dreading. While Emma was asleep, I'd have to sit there in the dark holding her, but sitting very still so as not to interfere with the monitors or wake her up. I was sure she would squirm and keep the test going longer than it needed to, but just as I settled in and started dozing off myself, the doctor came in and said she was done. She said Emma slept very well, the waves were very clear and that it was one of the fastest she'd ever done! What a relief!

The good news is her hearing is normal! She heard the full range of sounds and pitches. The doctor did say she wanted to follow her closely for at least the first year. Apparently, the meningitis and the antibiotic don't necessarily cause hearing loss immediately, so while it's a good sign that all is well now, she's not in the clear yet so she will continue being tested about every 3 months.

Thursday's appointment is with Early Intervention. Luckily, they will come to our house and for this appointment we will just be filling out paperwork. At another appointment, they will evaluate her to see if she needs the physical/occupational therapy that they provide. On the one hand, we hope she doesn't have a need for therapy. On the other hand, we're open to it because she favors one side of her head due to her shunt. We need to work on getting her more comfortable with her shunt. Besides, it can't hurt!

Finally, we have a pre-op appointment on Friday morning. They will just make sure that she isn't sick before she has surgery and go over all the information we need since for her first surgery, she was coming from another hospital. Her surgery will be next Monday although we don't know what time yet. She should be back at home on Tueday or Wednesday.

On an unrelate note, I would like to express my sorrow for the loss of Mario Melodia. My brother and I both spent many summers going to Musical Theatre Arts Camp where he was a director/coreographer. We also both took ballroom dancing from him. My brother and I babysat his granddaughters when we were too old for camp. He and his family have been a part of our lives for many years. He was well known and loved by many in our community. He will be greatly missed. His family is in my thoughts and prayers. Goodbye, Mario. We'll always remember you.