I can hardly believe how hard it is for me to grab computer time lately. I can do super-quick things on my phone but never seem to have time to sit down with a computer. Here's where things stand right now:
~ Noah's labs that were so worrisome were NOT a fluke. Labs redrawn the next day were equally worrisome. As Dr. B said, all we could do is wait and see what Noah is trying to tell us. Apparently he doesn't have much to tell us LOL because his labs look much, much better as of today. Whew!!!
~ Mary Faith does NOT need surgery on her collarbone (whew part two!). She's been freed from the detested sling for the most part although she still needs to wear it in higher-risk situations (church, outdoor play, crowds of children, etc.). Wearing it in those situations helps remind her to be careful and provides a visual reminder to others to be careful as well. She gets rechecked on the 29th which is her birthday and we are hoping to get the all-clear for riding her new bike and using her new swing!
~I guessed right about David's eyes. His vision is even worse than I thought. Glasses have been ordered and I can hardly wait to see how much clearer his world becomes for him.
~I guessed partly right about Noah's eyes. His strabismus is bad enough that he would probably benefit from surgery. We'd love to avoid that if possible so we are patching his "good" eye for part of each day and will have another visit in 3 months to revisit the topic of surgery. While our goal is to NOT need it, if he does need it, the ophthalmologist said it would be no problem to do it when he's already in the O.R. for one of his every-four-months supra-pubic changes. This would allow us to avoid an extra round of general anesthesia and an extra day spent at the hospital.
~I guessed partly wrong about Noah's eyes. His vision per se isn't actually any worse (still 20/30 with glasses, which is considered as good as it's going to get). The ophthalmologist said that the problem "isn't with his eyes, it's with what's behind his eyes." She wants us to get in with his neurologist to discuss what she described as visual processing issues. Here I was thinking that needing new glasses would be bad news . . . We don't have that appointment set yet.
~Jake continues to amaze us. We keep calling him Jake the Wonder Dog! When I get some time (hey, a girl can dream, right?) I want to write a post on how/why we are owner training him. Because he's such a young puppy (18 weeks) right now our focus is on getting absolutely rock solid behaviors from him. All the service dog behaviors in the world won't be any good if he's not perfectly behaved in public. While we aren't legally required to have him be well-behaved, we feel that impeccable behavior is essential both as a personal testimony and so that he can be a good ambassador for service dogs.
He just passed his AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy exam which is a precursor to the CGC title (Canine Good Citizen). The S.T.A.R. test was a breeze for him and he probably could have passed it several weeks ago. He knows all of his basic commands (sit, stay, down, "leave it," come, etc.) and now we are working on the 3 D's - distance, duration, and distraction. He is now working holding a sit-stay and/or down-stay with us leaving his sight and can do it probably 70% of the time. His "leave it" was a little rocky a few weeks ago and it's now beautiful. He'll leave bacon own his paw, a plate full of goodies, food dropped on the floor, favorite toys (even when they are tossed), etc. He's sleeping on Noah's bed for Noah's nap each day but we let him off the bed when he (Jake) wakes up after a couple of hours. Noah usually naps at least 5-6 hours at the very minimum and it's not age-appropriate for Jake to go without some potty breaks and some exercise for that long. We'll probably be getting Jake a "service dog in training" vest fairly soon so we can work on those 3 D's in a larger variety of public settings. (I know he doesn't legally need a vest, but again I just think it is a good example and should help avoid questions.) We couldn't possibly be more pleased with how mature, pleasant, and eager-to-please Jake is!!!
I'm hoping and hoping for no medical appointments other than in-home therapist visits until we go to Greenville on the 29th. Noah was due for an ortho check up so he and Mary Faith will both be seeing their ortho's that day. Please pray for Noah during physical therapy tomorrow morning. He's been working sooooo hard in P.T. lately and I'm hoping to have some exciting news to share after tomorrow's appointment.
Please also continue to pray for Noah's central line and for his body to be protected from the effects of these long-term I.V. antibiotics.
I have a huge backlog of F.B. messages and emails right now and I'm doing my level best to find some time to sit down and write replies. If you're one of the ones waiting, please understand that my silence isn't from unfriendliness, unthankfulness, or a lack of appreciation!!! I appreciate your patience and grace so much.
Blessings,
Kate
