Assessment

This morning we took Magnus to be assessed by a doctor to see if he was eligible for a state program that provides therapies (physical, occupational, language, etc.) to babies with developmental delays.

This was actually the second stage of evaluation...last week a social worker came to our house to do what they called an "intake assessment." She'd confirmed what we suspected to be the case, which was that he was doing fine with everything except eating and his gross motor skills. And then today, the doctor he saw pretty much confirmed that assessment.

I suppose this is both good and bad. It's good to hear that given all the abuses his nervous system has been through (heart bypass, general anesthesia, chronically low oxygen saturations), he appears to either be on track or even advanced in his fine motor skills, language skills, social interaction and cognition, at least to the extent that these things can be assessed in a 7-month-old. The finding that he is delayed in his gross motor skills was not really bad news, since we already knew it, and we're glad that this qualifies him to get some extra help, although working another weekly appointment into our schedule is going to be a pain.

We are still waiting to hear back about where he will receive services, but we're hoping it will be at a particular center where they have an integrated therapy program that includes a feeding clinic. It's obvious to everyone that Magnus's gross motor skill delays are directly related to his feeding problems. He's too skinny, thus he has poor muscle tone, thus he's not strong enough to sit up or start to crawl. The eventual G tube placement should certainly help to bulk him up, but I definitely would love it for him also to have therapy that could possibly help him take more by mouth, since the goal is to try to get him off the tube as soon as possible.

Speaking of the G tube, progress there has been slow. Apparently, our insurance company has been dragging their feet in granting approval for the imaging study that needs to be done in order for the process to be initiated. In the meantime, Magnus has been eating pretty well for him, but only gaining weight at about half the rate we would like for him to achieve.

Basically, other than that, life has been pretty normal! Iggy's mom is in town visiting, so Magnus has been happy to have lots of grandma time. This weekend, we took him to a party at the beach, and while he seemed a little overwhelmed by all the people, he eventually got over it and made a few new friends.

So now we just have to wait to hear about the G tube and figure out how we're going to fit his therapy into our schedule. I guess we'll manage somehow!