First, Z'anna is a gorgeous name!

Second, even if it takes 5 different medical opinions, get them. The stress we have over worrying about our SN children is already enough to tear you down. If you have added worry because you feel she has a problem that isn't being addressed properly, get as many opinions as it takes to calm your fear or get something done about it. Doctors are not always right.

My daughter was born 5 weeks early with a birth defect called an omphalocele. It's where her stomach, liver, bladder, intestines, and kidneys were out of her abdomen and protruded into her umbilical cord. The entire reduction, including two surgeries to close her belly, should have taken, "at the most", 4 weeks. 4 weeks in the NICU for a baby with a 1 in 4000 birth defect? Of course I was excited and amazed by what they can do medically these days.

She was in the NICU for 17 weeks. The surgeon that "fixed" her abdomen admitted that he nicked her diaphragm and lungs during surgery-- 3 weeks later! The nick in her lungs sealed itself. The diaphragm was permanently paralyzed, requiring ANOTHER surgery to tack it down so that her lungs don't collapse when she tries to breathe. They tried to take my daughter off the vent 5 different times before they realized something wasn't right. And the surgeon just smiled politely and said how beautiful she was for THREE WEEKS before telling me what he had done.

Now, even after she miraculously didn't have Downs or SB (which is usually the case with omphaloceles), she has to deal with respiratory issues. And she breathes so rapidly that it burns all her calories and she can't gain weight properly. She's 10 1/2 months and just 15 lbs. None of this would have been the case had the surgeon not screwed up.

So, doctors are NOT always right. They're not going to catch every little thing. Spiderman has spidey-sense. You have mommy-sense. If you feel something's not right, please, do what you have to do to either get it recognized or set your mind at ease about it.

I have two special needs boys: My 11-yr-old has Asperger's syndrome and
my 15-yr-old has PDD/NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder/Not Otherwise
Specified). Both of these are autism spectrum disorders, or in layman's
terms - high functioning autism. They also have other associated
problems, for instance my 11-yr-old also has severe ADHD and my
15-yr-old also is borderline bipolar.

I love my children with all my heart and would not trade either one of
them for a "normal child" any day! They are so special and so precious
just the way they are...they are my life and my joy! Everything that I
have been through with them has been so worth it...all the hardships,
the misunderstandings, the fighting with society concerning them, the
emotional struggles...have been so worth every single minute. These are
my babies and I love them!

Hey Njmom05,
Will put you and little one on the top of the prayer list tonight. My Dad just had eye surgery Monday and the results on the Lens surgerys are really great. Will be watching the tread to see how you are doing. Try to rest as best you can. The stress takes a lot of energy so be good to yourself...(((((HUGS)))))

BZMom have you talked to Habitat for Humanity about building you and accessible home to address your kids' special needs? I would think a lot of Mingle people would show up to do a weekend build.

Well we had the EUA on Thursday, the doctor said that Christopher's eyes looked great, no glaucoma - the pressures were normal. They said that he is able to get the lens implants however they have to be stitched in place rather than just doing them the traditional way. The first doctor said that he feels its a risk worth taking because the improvement in his vision would benefits him greatly. The other doctor said that she is confident in stitching the implants in place, BUT its a very invasive and very involved procedure. There are risks of them falling off, there is risk of blindness (this is what scares me the most) and any hits or blows to the face can knock them off which would require additional surgeries. He has a habit of hitting his face, but what I am wondering is if that will decrease when he can see properly, maybe its some sort of stimulation due to the vision impairment.

I have been playing the 'what if' game with myself since Thursday afternoon. He is screaming coming out of the anesthesia and probably feeling like a zombie and the doc is trying to talk to me, I am sure I missed parts of what she said. I have decided to write down all my questions and try for a consult with the docs when Christopher is in school so I can actually listen and ask what I need to ask.

Cool he gets the surgery. You said they're stitching the lens on right. Now with time will his eyes grow over the stitching, kinda like what the skin does with skin graphs or is there always going to be that chance of them coming off? If you're not sure that might be something for you to ask. Anyway I'll keep y'all in my prayers.

That is a great question and one I hadn't thought of myself. The only thing I can remember the doc telling me was that the way he hits his face (and I think that is part of his autism) is what will make the stitching come off. But his hitting is mostly only when he is agitated about something, its not a 24/7 issue that he has.

Hi Mirror, how ya doin??

excellent