What a week! Doctor's appointments, school starts, and PCAs

Alex at school!

Alex in his borrowed walker with his teacher, Ms. Monica.

Walking in the front doors--yes, we said walking!

Hi everyone, Susan here.

Alex has had a big week, to say the least.  And if we hadn't had thunderhail and flash flooding Thursday morning, it would have been bigger, but on to that in a minute.

Last week we returned to the International Adoption Clinic at the University of Minnesota.  The short version: they were amazed.  Remember they saw Alex two weeks after we returned to Minnesota.  I read the write up we received later, and in hindsight, I can see: they were concerned on many levels.  We got there, he weighed in at an ounce short of 30 lbs.  He had come into the country at 25, so a 5 lbs gain in three months--which they thought was brilliant.  He also grew a little and even his head circumference grew (which is a big deal, since he has microcephaly--the implication is that his brain is growing/healing at age 6, which they said was not typical but very good news).  They were really impressed at his language acquisition and noted he was very interactive and curious, which is a good sign for being able to learn, had better posture/arm control, etc. 

We asked at this point about the whole "is this developmental delay from the CP or growing up in institutionalized care," and the doctor we've seen thinks it is both, the question is how much from each (she thought 50/50).  The reality is we can't know and time will tell on this.  But Alex is making good gains, better than they expected, and they see a lot of newly adopted kids.

If anything, the child psychologist there was even more affirming, and was clearly happy that Alex was attaching well.

He's doing better in the nutrition department but after an xray is likely going to have to be hospitalized for megacolon to "clean it out"--Miralax isn't doing the trick.  Sigh.

That would be enough for a week, but no!, Alex also started attending a local preschool, which has a mix of special needs kids and kids developing typically.  On the whole, this has gone really well.  Our family friend and now PCA Laurie has stayed with him all week at school (2.5 hrs a day), and they are hiring a paraprofessional to shadow him.  We have an extensive IEP that is geared toward increasing his physical abilities and some occupational therapy as well.  He happily says "school!" occasionally when he gets home, and when we tell him in the morning he is going to school, he smiles again.  We've had a couple of separation anxiety incidents, but the staff and Alex worked through it.  This little preschool is quite remarkable and he is lucky to be going to it.  I think it is clear he is going to enjoy it, and it will prepare him for kindergarten next year.

Finally, all the PCA (personal care attendant) paperwork that Alex qualifies for via the state is done, and our first week of PCA coverage has started.  We have four--two primary PCAs, with another two as backup--they are friends of the family who were looking for part time work anyway, and all of them have some background in this, which is amazing.  They come to the house and help with Alex between school time (done at 11am) and when I get home (4:30-5pm).  We can tell this is going to be a big, big help overall.

And yes, we were supposed to take him to PMandR and Neurology appointments on Thursday at Gillette (Twin Cities), but awful weather in the morning preventing me from making the 2.5 hr trek.  Bleah.  Rescheduled for a month from now....

But overall: Go Alex go!  It's a testament to how far he has come that he is taking a lot of these changes well (not without occasional breakdowns!  But well nonetheless!).