Unbelievable News!

Today I took A to the neurologist. She goes every 6 months, as a follow-up to the prenatal stroke she had. Even though we see no effects from the stroke (thank God!) our neurologist still likes to see her.

Until today.

Today, after his questioning of me, and examining of A, he told me that he no longer needs to see her. In effect, we are discharged from neurology. Or, as he put it, "graduated".

I cannot tell you how happy this makes me. First, we are slowly getting rid of the long list of specialists that A has seen since being born. Last year our pulmonologist discharged her...even though she has a tracheostomy, he declared her lungs healthy enough to discharge (her trach is more airway-related, as in her trachea, vs. lung-related.) And now, no more neurology. In a few months her feeding tube will be removed, and our visits to the nutritionist will stop as well.

But more than just getting rid of the specialists, this one pleased me so much. When A was in the NICU for 12 weeks, we received a long list of her medical issues. Of everything on the list, the prenatal stroke scared me the most. More than the possibility of having a 100% deaf child, more than the possibility of having a blind child, more than the possibility of having a child who would never walk (all of these things, of course, didn't come true), I was afraid of what type of brain damage she had sustained. Mild? Profound? I had no way of knowing, and anyone who has ever has been in the NICU, or someplace similar, can tell you that the NOT KNOWING is the worst. Not knowing, when it comes to any issue, especially medical, can send you in a really dark place. At least it did for me. The day the doctors told me about her prenatal stroke was literally the worst day of my life.

So A getting discharged from seeing her neurologist? Amazing. Miraculous. Music to my ears. And to me, a great indicator for her future.

Another specialist checked off our list....more will be checked off as time goes by, some we will always see....but it's nice to see the list get smaller!

Neurology--DISCHARGED!!!
Genetics
Audiology
Ophthalmology
ENT
Pulmonology--DISCHARGED!!!
GI
Nutrition
Cardiology
Developmental Specialist--DISCHARGED!!!
Renal--DISCHARGED!!!
Pediatrician
Plastic Surgery
Dentist
Physical Therapy
Occupational Therapy--DISCHARGED!!!
Speech Therapy
Adapted P.E.