On March 19th Kinley had another hearing test. Kinley is followed by an Audiologist at Children's Mercy for a couple of reasons. The first reason is that she is delayed in her speech, and the second reason is because of all the risk factors for hearing loss that go along with CDH and the treatments for it.
The first couple of times Kinley had her hearing tested the results were borderline, but within normal limits. This time Kinley showed some mild, low-frequency hearing loss. The good news is that structurally everything looks good with her ears and the Audiologist does not think that hearing, or even some mild hearing loss should be affecting Kinley's speech.
Kinley will need another follow-up appointment in 1 to 3 months to re-evaluate her hearing. In the meantime Kevin and I are supposed to work with Kinley and get her used to using either headphones or ear buds so that at her next appointment they can try to test each ear individually. Up until this point Kinley's hearing tests have been done in a sound proof room and they are only able to test overall hearing. The hope is that at the next appointment Kinley will be able to tolerate a hearing test with either the headphones or ear buds and that way they can test each ear individually for more accurate results.
Kevin and I have our work cut out for us as Kinley does not usually tolerate anything being put on her head. I am still working on getting her to keep bows in her hair or sunglasses on her face. As soon as I put anything on she just takes it right off. Wish us luck with this challenge.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
No Surgery For Kinley This Year!
Back on March 9th, Kinley had a check up with Dr. S, the surgeon who did her repair surgery. Kevin and I were expecting to hear that Dr. S would like to go in sometime this year and fix the hernia that was created during her repair surgery since Kinley has not had any major complications with her initial repair and has been fairly healthy.
Let me backtrack for just a moment to get everyone on the same page. When Kinley had her CDH repair surgery there was not enough room in her abdomen to accommodate her stomach and intestines since they had been growing in her chest cavity. Dr. S was able to bring her stomach and intestines down to her abdomen, but was not able to close all the layers of skin, just the top couple of layers. Hence a hernia was created during her CDH repair surgery. We were told that in time her abdomen would expand and sometime in the future she would need another surgery to close the innermost layers of skin in her abdomen.
We were surprised to hear that Dr. S was not in any hurry to correct that minor hernia. He said that since she is doing well and does not seem to be bothered by the hernia that we could wait until she was bigger and stronger before doing another surgery. He said that we could wait up until she was 7 years old as long as it does not seem to bother her. Seven years is the magic number since that is approximately how long lungs continue to develop. Kinley had a chest x-ray just to make sure everything was where it should be and then we were on our way. It was a short and sweet appointment and she does not have another appointment for a year.
Let me backtrack for just a moment to get everyone on the same page. When Kinley had her CDH repair surgery there was not enough room in her abdomen to accommodate her stomach and intestines since they had been growing in her chest cavity. Dr. S was able to bring her stomach and intestines down to her abdomen, but was not able to close all the layers of skin, just the top couple of layers. Hence a hernia was created during her CDH repair surgery. We were told that in time her abdomen would expand and sometime in the future she would need another surgery to close the innermost layers of skin in her abdomen.
We were surprised to hear that Dr. S was not in any hurry to correct that minor hernia. He said that since she is doing well and does not seem to be bothered by the hernia that we could wait until she was bigger and stronger before doing another surgery. He said that we could wait up until she was 7 years old as long as it does not seem to bother her. Seven years is the magic number since that is approximately how long lungs continue to develop. Kinley had a chest x-ray just to make sure everything was where it should be and then we were on our way. It was a short and sweet appointment and she does not have another appointment for a year.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Finally...Blood Drive Pics!
Well, it has been a while since we updated the blog and we have been getting a lot of requests for an update. Sorry to those of you who are out of town and have not been able to see any recent pics of Kinley, but we have actually been pretty busy around here with more details on that to follow. In the meantime, here are some pics from the blood drive for you to enjoy.
Kinley trying really hard not to smile
Kinley with her Baa Baa & Elie and Sofie with her Hoo Hoo
Kinley sharing her crackers as Sofie feeds Hoo Hoo
Sofie had a great time pushing Kinley around in her stroller
And here are some of our wonderful donors!! Notice all the turquoise!
Aunt Kate
Grandpa Seep multi-tasking a conference call while donating
Grandpa Melcher getting ready to donate
And of course...Daddy!
We had a great time at the blood drive and were able to collect 33 units of blood. Thanks to all our family and friends who came out to donate. We really appreciate your support and you really are life savers!
Kinley trying really hard not to smile
Kinley with her Baa Baa & Elie and Sofie with her Hoo Hoo
Kinley sharing her crackers as Sofie feeds Hoo Hoo
Sofie had a great time pushing Kinley around in her stroller
And here are some of our wonderful donors!! Notice all the turquoise!
Aunt Kate
Grandpa Seep multi-tasking a conference call while donating
Grandpa Melcher getting ready to donate
And of course...Daddy!
We had a great time at the blood drive and were able to collect 33 units of blood. Thanks to all our family and friends who came out to donate. We really appreciate your support and you really are life savers!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
