Hi, sorry its taken me so long to get back to you. James is so adorable...I hate to say it, but Dean wasn't that handsome as an infant. He has really had to grow into his looks, but he is now a total hottie (LOL!). You were asking about the cataracts, I honestly don't know if the cataracts bother Dean or not. He never says anything one way or the other about his vision getting better or worse. Dean knows that he needs his glasses and wears them religiously. Just this morning he couldn't find his glasses and was standing at the foot of my bed looking completely lost. He stood there bewildered for about 2 minutes and then says very calmly, "Mom, I can't find my glasses." We don't talk about his disabilities to him because I don't ever want him to use his disabilities as a crutch. He knows that he is
different than all of his friends at school, but he is still just a normal rambunctious little boy. Dean rides a bike (we just took off the training wheels a few weeks ago!), he rides his scooter like a little stunt double and is doing his best to master a skateboard (against my better judgement). He likes to climb on top of the dog house (which is about 4 feet tall and built with a fairly steep roof) and jump off or play tarzan with a chain left over from a swing that used to be there. I used to try to keep him "in a bubble" so to speak and was afraid to let him do anything, but I've given that notion up over the years. I do pray every night that he doesn't break any bones or get too crazy in his mission to scare me senseless with his antics. Our latest situation was that at school he pinned another little boy down and was punching him because the other boy said he wanted to marry Dean's girlfriend...I just shake my head
and laugh now because I know that God made up for his problems with too much charm. Everyone loves Dean and Dean gets away with EVERYTHING! Dean sees a pediatric opthamologist (Dr. Redmond in Pensacola) and is seen every 6 months. Dean is severly nearsighted (myopia). When the doc found the cataracts he moved him up to being seen every 3 months. We did this 3 times and because the cataracts haven't grown at all, we are back to every six months. Where do you live? I go to Gainseville for Deans craniofacial team to see him every 6 months. I don't know if that would be a possibility for you, there is a Ronald McDonald house there where you can stay overnight or longer if necessary for appointments. The drive for me is 5 hours and in fact we are going on thursday. We see about 15 doctors in 4 hours. This way Dean can be closely monitored by every type of doctor he will need to see throughout
his lifetime. We see plastic surgery, a pediatrician, maxiofacial surgeons, pediatric dentists, a genetics team, a psychologist, a social worker, a speech language pathologist (the best in the country in my opinion (she trains all the sp. therapists that are graduates of Univ. of Florida) and various other specialists. Dean got to go to speech camp last summer for 5 days in Panama City Beach...he had a ball and there was a therapist and counselor and teen counselor for each camper! It was amazing and Dean learned SO much...and it was free. I was more than willing to pay for him to go but there was a private donor who paid for the entire event...it was absolutely amazing. If your insurance will cover it and you can make the trip, I strongly suggest that you go to Gainseville for James treatment. Their craniofacial team is the best in the country. The plastic surgeon that fixed Dean's palate this last time goes to 3rd
world countries and repairs clefts when he isn't training med school graduates to specialize in clefts. Dr. Seagall only does plastic surgery on people who truly need plastic surgery (clefts, burn patients and things like that) which is EXACTLY the type of doctor we want working on our babies. Dean's first plastic surgeon had a horrible disposition towards fixing clefts and things like that because there isn't much money in helping people who truly need the help. I guess the money for a plastic surgeon lies in boob and nose jobs. I'm sorry for complaining, it just really gets me upset when doctors let their greed for money override their supposed compassion and caring for the health of people.
I'm glad James b-day party went so well...I remember Dean's first birthday. We had a big party the week before and then his palate repair was actually on his birthday.
Well, we will talk to you again soon!
Mandy
--- On Tue, 10/21/08, Deborah Hatfield <debhat70@...> wrote: From: Deborah Hatfield <debhat70@...> |
