and things get complicated...

Monday I finally brought Jason to the pediatrician to discuss some "tremors" (for lack of a better word) that I had been noticing. I had first seen some shaking in his hands on Christmas morning, but he had been playing with his new easel so I thought his arms were tired from reaching above him or perhaps he had just needed to eat breakfast. I didn't see anything like that again for a while but recently it had resurfaced. I noticed it again at the playground, and thought maybe it was some sort of muscle fatigue. A few other times I questioned whether I was seeing it or whether I was just imagining things. Then it happened during occupational therapy one time and she had me stop and give him a snack, so I thought maybe it was a blood sugar issue. So that next day I called for an appointment...which finally occurred on Monday. The pediatrician took things very seriously (I had been afraid they would think I was nuts) and decided that we should do a fasting blood work to rule out any type of blood sugar issues. She also wrote a referral for Jason to see a neurologist, due to his "delays" in combination with the "tremors". I immediately called CHOP (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia) and they got me in for an appointment that Wednesday. Very thankful for that.

I finally got a picture of the baby bunny that had been hanging out in our yard recently.

That evening, after karate, we met up with a friend at Bob Meyer for a little "party".


On Tuesday I took Jason, yet again, to the laboratory. Poor kid has had more blood drawn than many adults. He was a trooper as usual. It still breaks my heart though.

Later that morning, after speech, we recovered with a little outdoor play. I finally broke out Jason's tricycle with the push handle. He couldn't quite reach the pedals enough to get any control, but he had fun. It didn't take him too long to revert to using his more trusty scooter.



As you can see, i wore him out (or maybe it was that bloodwork). No, he didn't actually sleep.

After Tyler's painting club and some dinner a gorgeous evening was spent at the lake.

Later that evening we went to my grandparents and finally got the bulk of our little garden planted. Well, I should say that my dad. We really just watched. The kids "helped".





Poor little baby had quite a big bruise from his earlier blood work. This bothered him greatly because he couldn't wash it away. He's a little obsessed with not being messy.

I didn't sleep much before the 11th, when Jason saw the neurologist. The appointment was longer than I expected and very thorough. They took a lot of history and spent time examining his reflexes, strength, running skills, etc. In the end the neurologist decided to recommend an evaluation by an ENT (due to balance issues he's had in past and still somewhat currently, in addition to his "vestibular" issues they address in his OT sessions). They also recommended a PT evaluation. And, most alarmingly, he recommended a brain MRI. It was not very comforting to hear him say that my "baby" was exhibiting many signs that "may be nothing" but also could be due to a brain tumor. So, back home and back on the phone with insurance, pediatrician, doctors. Didn't matter, cause I had plenty of time, cause lord knows I was not sleeping.

On Friday I sent Tyler off to school for his first grade field trip. He was very excited to be taking the bus "all the way to Philadelphia" without me. My little boy is growing up. I felt bad that I couldn't attend, but he didn't seem to mind one bit. Thanks to Julie for sending me along the pictures!


That morning while Ty was off on his field trip I was up at his school with Jason for his school PT evaluation (scheduled way before the neurologist also recommended it). I was surprised to hear the PT talk about all the things "wrong" with him. His ankles are weak and turn in, his hips are tight, his one leg is weaker than the other, he leads with one leg while walking steps or jumping, he runs slow, he can't walk on steps properly, etc (I'm sure there was more). I knew some of this, but I guess I didn't realize it was as significant as it was. She even asked if he had ever been fitted for orthotics! I never asked, but she offered that he "absolutely qualified" so I guess we'll see what she actually writes in her report for the school. Having worked in the school system myself I know that it is very rare for a child to have PT services within the school, so I guess we shall see.

Of course after your bombarded with information about brain MRI's and such you spend way too much time over analyzing everything your child does, or has done in the past. You question what you see, what you hear, etc. It didn't help that Jason was particularly clingy and frequently complained of his head/neck/tummy hurting. And he spent a lot of time lying around. As you can see, by Friday he was still seeming out of sorts. Often wanting to just lie on the floor or have me hold him. Poor guy.

On the late afternoon of the 13th, Bob took off work a little early and picked me up on a little get-away for my birthday. My mom had a comp room in Atlantic City and offered to watch the boys overnight. I had debating on cancelling due to everything going on with Jason, but in the end I decided I really did need to get away. We ended up having beautiful weather. We walked on the boardwalk for a bit and enjoyed a yummy dinner at Hard Rock Cafe. Learned I'm apparently now too old to enjoy loud music while I'm trying to eat. The band was insanely loud. After all, I am now 33. We gambled a bit, but mostly we hung out and talked and relaxed. I need it, as I had been exhausted!