Wyatt James Koger, A Fighter from Birth: Ortho appointment and weekend update.

Monday, September 21, 2009

Ortho appointment and weekend update.

We had a productive and busy weekend! Benji and I actually had a date! We had dinner and listened to a speaker talk about the The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman. Benji was a great sport about it:)) Do you know your language? Take the quick 30 second assessment and leave a comment! I think mine is words affirmation and Benji's is quality time:) Afterwards, we went to a wine bar and enjoyed a glass a wine in a quiet, cool atmosphere. It surely was a rare evening out for the both of us!! The next day we took the kids outside and while they played on the driveway, Benji and I took everything out of our garage and cleaned it out. Now I just have to figure out where everything will go!! Then I cleaned out my car... then I went through all the toys and re-organized them and took out the toys the kids do not play with anymore. It was a very productive day! It's so nice that Wyatt is acting more like a toddler than a baby now. Wyatt and Chloe play together, take things from each other, tell on each other, etc... They are acting like true brother and sister! On Sunday, while Benji was at band practice, I took the kids to a butterfly festival called Monarch Madness. It was an adventure to take both kids by myself. When I arrived, I realized I put Wyatt's oxygen tank and food and the car and forgot his nasal cannulas!!! So we were only at the festival for a short time.

Today we ventured to Hopkins for an Orthopedic Surgery appointment that lasted several hours (total 11-4pm)... When we arrived they took an x-ray of his back, then we waited some more before he was seen by the doctor in training, then the Chef doctor, Dr. S. He was very thorough with Wyatt. Our main concern is that he is not walking or even wanting to stand yet. I wanted to make sure from a medical standpoint that Wyatt's bone structure was ok and that we could continue with PT. Also, CDH babies are known to develop sclerosis so I wanted his spine checked too. He looked at Wyatt's MRI, his back x-ray and moved Wyatt's legs and hips in a million different directions. In the end, he determined that Wyatt is GREAT!!! Everything from a medical standpoint is normal and Wyatt is just being stubborn about not walking!! Wyatt does have low muscle tone and he said that he has seen kids not walk until the age of seven. I told Wyatt that if he wants to chase his sister around, to not wait until age seven. On a serious note, I do see progress in therapy and he is using his legs and feet more... so I think we are headed in the right direction!! Leave comments if your CDH babies were late walkers...

3 comments:

Jen said...: Sofie is a late walker too. She also has low tone from being on ECMO and the vent for her first several weeks of life. She's much weaker than her healthy peers due to that and due to her three recurrences and mutiple abdominal surgeries. She took her first few unassisted steps at 16 months of age, and still at 18 months of age will only take steps on her own very rarely (a handful of times over the last 2 months). None of Sofie's medical caregivers - OT, Ped, PT, Dietitian are concerned. They say this is to be expected after all she's been through, and she'll take off and walk like a pro someday soon.

Glad to hear Wyatt and Chloe are playing like brothers and sisters should!! I'm sure it's a wonderful sight to see!; September 22, 2009 at 12:01 PM
Anonymous said...: Hannah started walking independently around 19 months, but at almost three she isn't doing much talking (thank goodness for all the sign language she knows). Our developmental pediatrician says it is common for kids like Hannah to focus on catching up in one area of development and lag behind in another. So, she was focused on motor, but not speech. It sounds like Wyatt is doing some talking, but not as much from a motor standpoint. I know when time is right and on her terms she will become a chatterbox. When Wyatt is reading he'll be chasing Chloe all over the house!!! I love reading about Wyatt's journey and pray he will continue to improve with each passing day!
Rebecca; September 22, 2009 at 4:22 PM
Vicki Jensen said...: Glad to hear the ortho appt went well. Jack saw Dr. Sponseller at JHH too. He was great.

Great that you and Benji enjoyed an evening out.

Vic; September 23, 2009 at 1:20 AM

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Hurdles that I faced and achieved!

After birth, I was placed on ECMO at Johns Hopkins Hospital for 13 days. On day 13, I had a surgery to repair my hernia and was removed from ECMO, but my organs would not fit in my abdomen. I had a silo for a week and then surgery to place the organs back in the abdomen. Then, part of my intestines re-herniated into my chest cavity two months later and I had another surgery to repair that. After my first surgery, I experienced an intraventricular hemorrhage in my brain and at four months old I received a VP shunt. After I was extubated, I learned that I have right vocal cord paralysis. Then I had g-tube surgery and after I finally got to go home after 5 longs months at Johns Hopkins and Mt. Washington Hospital! Only for a few weeks, though. In mid-April my intestines reherniated again and sent me into surgery. I came home, and had a long run before my THIRD reherniation in the beginning of September on Labor Day weekend in 2008. Then I was hospitalized for twice during the winter 2009 for two respiratory infections. Well, I almost lasted a year until my next surgery! Just this past June, in 2009, I had surgery to wrap my stomach around the esophagus, a nissen. This has helped with my reflux and my hiatal hernia. I will be 2 in October, I love scooting around but refuse to stand up and walk. I am a little miracle and thank God, my doctors, my nurses, family, and friends for my strength, my fight and a happy life.