6 Months of a Miracle

Well here we are - already half way through Meagan's first year. It feels so crazy to be at this point already! Meagan had her 6 month check up today. She has gained 3oz (yippee) and is now in the .6% (yep.. that says POINT 6%)  for weight! Hey, the way I see it, at least she is on the chart :)  We go back in 6 weeks for another weight check to make sure she's staying steady.  She is weighing in these days at 11 1/2 pounds.  She is still wearing 3 month clothes and is by far my smallest baby at this point ... but she is just a little fighter - a peanut.

Enjoying some time with my girl

 

She did grow 3/4 of an inch.. she is 25.1 inches long.  Her head circumference has stayed the same at 43cm.  We will keep watching that closely.. if it doesn't change again by her next appointment we are going to double check on her sutures because even though her head is larger than a normal 6 month old, she should still experience normal head growth. (about 1/4 of an inch per month from this point on).  So we'll see what happens with that in the next 3 months.

She also got her 6 month vaccines... and a dose of Advil at my request.  Last time, she was really irritable afterwards, so this time we're going to keep the Advil in her for the first 24 hours and hopefully it'll help the pain and muscle swelling from the shots. 

Sleeping it off

*****

As I mentioned before, Meagan received her second dose of stem cells a few weeks ago.  We have been working with her for 5 months now on head control and neck strength.  To be honest, we've seen no improvement.  Meagan had her initial evaluation last week with our new PT (who is wonderful). Her PT talked about head control being one of the first things we'd work on.  I agreed because even with all our exercises we were doing on our own we saw no progress.   She gave me a few new exercises to do and we made an appointment for 6 days later to start her therapy.  I worked with Meagan at home still, and was excited to get back to therapy because I saw little improvement.  Meagan was still "jello" in her neck.  The PT had put Meagan on a large ball and Meagan conformed exactly to the ball and hung over the side.  She then tried to put her elbows underneath her body and Meagan flopped over the top.  I tried this at home too with the same results.

Thursday came and we went back to therapy.  Meagan had been miserable the night before - she cried from 9pm to 3:32am.. literally.... it was awful! (In hindsight, I believe it was because a storm system was coming in... several Hydro kids have a lot of trouble when new rainstorms or pressure systems come through because of all the atmospheric changes.  And we did have thunderstorms and rain the following day). 
Meagan was tired and so she started off very fussy at therapy.  She cried and cried through the first few exercises.  Meagan's therapist put her up on the ball and started to roll the ball away. Out of nowhere... Meagan's head just stayed in position.. it didn't flop down on to the ball!! It bobbed for about 5 seconds, and then it landed on the ball.  But I was shocked...she held it a whole centimeter off the ball in a sidelaying position! Even the PT said... wow, from last week that is a huge difference.  You must have been seeing great progress this week.......
And that's the funny thing.  I really hadn't.  I had seen a few of my other kids in Physical Therapy... I had seen the progression... the strength that gradually comes and the improvements you see happen.  I had not seen any progression in Meagan's head or neck strength........ I was confused....


....Then I got to thinking about those good ol' stem cells.  How amazing would it be if they had worked their way into Meagan's neck and started to help her be strong in that area.  The more I thought about it, and the more I pieced together the timeline, it just HAD to be the case.  I got goosebumps just thinking about it.... "was I seeing the real and obvious sign of Meagn's stem cells working?"  I know some may say no... but I truly believe so. And even if it sounds like wishful thinking, I'm going to say so.  I believe those cells are in there working little miracles daily with God's help.... in her muscles and brain. I know it's part science (the cells) and part faith (prayer).  I know those two elements are working hand in hand to help Meagan keep growing in to her best self possible, and that is all I want for her. Just to be the best she is supposed to be.

Meagan knows who to root for in college basketball...has her "X" up with a little help from Mommy...... Go Xavier!

So here we are at 6 months old. Some terms I have read in Meagan's medical notes were:  An underweight body.  Head size still large for age. Eye misalignment. Spastic and unctrolled muscular movement. Overlapping sutures. Seizures. Developmentally delayed. Motor skills assessed at 1 month old.

I think, point by point, my report would read: A delicate petite little body.  A head with a lot of room for brain growth!  Eyes that are finally seeing me and other things.  Arm muscles trying to work on grabbing.  A shunt that is working.  Less seizures than we've ever seen.  Finally smiling, cooing, and playing with her hands. A 6 month old who is extremely cuddly.


In other words..... 6 months of miracles.

Love you Megs. Your life in and of itself is truly a miracle to me in so many ways.  Can't wait to see what the next 6 months brings us! Good days or bad, you are a miracle my peanut!