Physical Therapy Evaluation

Today we had another physical therapy evaluation. The therapist, Cole, really took his time and he was great to answer all of our questions. He was very honest but he was much more positive than the therapists from Easter Seals were. He did say that there definitely seems to be a problem - it is just hard to say how involved it will be at this point. He said his main concerns were that there is a definite difference between how he moves his left and right sides, he has trouble tracking, and he doesn't play (grasp for toys, etc) like he should be at this point. According to the test he did, his head control is about a month behind where it should be on some tasks. One area of the test was to see if he could hold his head up when laying on the floor on his tummy. He said it was encouraging that he just mastered that yesterday, that is a skill a 2 month old should be able to perform. He also said that the fact that he just started doing that shows that he is making progress. Max doesn't have some of the reflexes that he should have. There were times when he showed some asymmetry when he smiled and sometimes when he smiled it looked completely normal. His left eye also looks a little droopy sometimes, which he said could either mean that he is sleepy or could go along with how the left side of his body acts differently than the right side. Cole did mention that we could be looking at some degree of cerebral palsy but he said it could be very minor. I asked him if the tone on his right side was high like Easter Seals had said. He said that he thinks just the opposite - that the right side is probably normal and the left side may be a little low. He also said that he doesn't like to speculate this early on about high/low tone - he just knows that there is a difference in the 2 sides and that is a concern. He observed that the left side didn't move as well as the right. He did say that it is possible that by age 2 he could be doing things age appropriately and that some of his deficits at this time could very well be caused from the trauma of having a brain bleed then going through the surgery to place the shunt, not to mention laying in a hospital bed for nearly the first month of his life. He said that Max is certainly not the worst case scenario but not the best either. He did not feel that Max was showing signs at this time that indicated that he wouldn't be able to play sports, etc. and he said he expects to see only progress from this point forward. He recommended starting therapy definitely before he is 6 months old. He said some encouraging things and John and I are really trying to focus on those things. We continue to pray that as the blood leaves Max's brain that only healthy brain tissue will remain. We pray that he will have no deficits and that he will make progress that shows that he is developing as he should. Tomorrow is Max's 2 month appointment with the pediatrician. I have a lot of questions for her and I will try to post about the appointment tomorrow. John and I are thankful for your continued prayers. Please pray specifically that Max will not have any damage to his brain from all that he has been through and that he will grow up to be healthy and strong in mind and body and that most of all he will grow up to love God. Please pray that John and I will make the right decisions for Max, that we will continue to look to God for strength, and that we will not worry about the future.

We keep praying,
Kelly