Logan and Preschool

(I started typing this in April.  Sorry..but this Mama is more than overwhelmed.)
At the end of February Logan was evaluated by our local school systems to see about receiving preschool services through them.
We could send him to private preschool like we do with Aidan however, he will not receive his occupational therapy or speech in class and also we may need to have an aide be with him.  That would mean finding and hiring someone to be with him during the school day and increasing the cost of school.  At this time this is not anywhere near an option.
We met the other week to review the results of his evaluation.  At times the therapists would almost cringe while telling you the results.  I know at times they receive backlash from Parents.   The things they told us were not anything we did not already know.  We don't rate him a number on a scale or an age on a scale but the information of what he appears to know/understand and not to know/understand was not a shocker.
He "qualifies" for services (Duh) and they were very attentive to his needs.  They had the same concerns we do and wanted to make sure that all of the therapies he needs and may need in the future were covered in his IEP.  (Individualized Education Plan)
We were very pleased with the Occupational Therapist.  She really understood Logan's needs.  It was very nice to see someone show as much care and concern as we feel especially since she had only met him once.  At the end of the meeting they said they wanted him in a Autism Class versus a Mixed Needs and they wanted him in 5 days a week (all day.)
 In the beginning we made it clear that a full day was not an option.  He is a little man and at freshly three we think those are very extreme hours.  We also stated 5 days was too much.  Aidan is still only in school 3 half days a week.  Why on earth would we send Logan in for more?!  They told us there was no room in any Autism classes and the only school with an opening (this was only because it was a NEW class) would be at a school over 25 minutes away from us.  We were overwhelmed.  Two incredibly non-ideal situations.  They googled the directions and saw exactly how far it was from us.  They told us that nothing was set in stone and it wasn't up to them in the end where he could go.
 Fast forward to the week before Logan turned 3 and we get a call from his Teacher.  Logan is enrolled at the school closest to us and in the Autism class!!
We met with Ms. Patty and checked out the classroom.
We were set for the his first day of school.

  Walking in.  One day we will get a camera that can focus while moving.

Logan was in school for 6 weeks and the changes in our Child were dramatic.  He loves school and started saying so many more words!  Communication is still a large challenge but he is learning more words and using some of them appropriately.  He really loves it and our experience could not have been better!
Fast forward and we are now at the end of Summer.  Tomorrow is Open House at his school and we will meet with Ms. Patty again.
We can't even imagine how much our Bitty will change after a "full" school year.  Of course he will only go half days and still 3 days a week.  We still will maintain his Private Therapies too.
He is still wildly changing and more often than not the things he does (good and bad) overwhelm us with emotion.
Just the other day he ran up next to me.  (Not looking at me, but he WAS next to me.) He said, "Hi Mom! It's me, Whoa-Ghan!"
I know this can seem silly, but really truly in our home this is AMAZING!  I know some Parent's are not lucky enough to hear their children speak or they wait 5 or more years.  We are so very happy that he has only taken just over 3 years to start with some words and at times now very appropriate to the situation.
Here's to another school year!!

In dire need of updates.

There are a lot of owed updates on here.
One post I started writing before Logan started preschool.  His short time at school has ended and he will start a new full school year soon.
Then Logan turned 3.
I turned 30 and my Husband had a plan for my birthday.  :)
We had more things happen but at this point I can't remember it right now.
 We met with the Developmental pediatrician for Logan.  
Then came the posts you probably saw regarding the stupid tumor, results and second opinions.
The school years ended.  Aidan turned 4.5.  Daniel turned 1.5 years.  Father's Day came and went.  My Dad turned 60.  4th of July.  A trip to Ohio.  And more shenanigans at the end of last week.  I hope to update with everything but it seems overwhelming.  I hope to catch up if not, I will catch up from here.

Until later!

A Break..

On Thursday, I mustered up the energy to call and ask a few more questions regarding the biopsy. 

Friday afternoon Dr. Grossi called me back. 

He had talked with his colleagues at The Duke Brain Tumor Center and after much deliberation they are now thinking the tumor is more possibly something called a DNET.  

A DNET is something you are born with.  

They want to hold off on the biopsy for now  (THANK GOODNESS!) and possibly never do one. 

They decided I can wait until Jan/Feb time to repeat the MRI.  

The hopes is to continue to agree it is a DNET and as long as no symptoms arise nothing will be done. 

He said as long as the scans look good then they will do MRI's annually until they become bored with the tumor. 

Of course, if any seizures, memory or speech issues arise then I need to call ASAP. 

We are relieved and happy to follow this course of action. 

The headaches will continue but are related to the change in barometric pressure and not the tumor. I know my triggers so I avoid them when the headaches are present and so far that has helped keep them only headaches and not migraines.  

Thank you everyone for your prayers.
I am sure we will be a little nervous come Jan/Feb time. 

Dr. Grossi told me that for now push the thoughts of this out of my head for now and just enjoy everything. 

Sounds like a plan to us. 

How the cards fell...

I owe a lot of updates on the blog.

I hope to find the time soon.

Tuesday's MRI came back how I thought.

The neurosurgeon was running behind and we waited for quite some time.

We got there at 10:30a and did not leave until 2:15p.

The neurosurgeon ended up speaking with the neuro-radiologist prior to speaking with us.

Dr. Grossi (neurosurgeon) will review my MRI with his Boss. He will also be sharing the MRI with another neuro-radiologist and colleagues at The Duke Brain Tumor Center.

The radiologist he spoke with on Tuesday he was is #2 and the one at the Brain Tumor Center is #1 and no one else come close to them.

He strongly recommends that a biopsy be done.

There is a change in the MRI. We don't have the official written report.

The most likely options are a developmental cyst or a low-grade neoplasm.

The MRI is showing it more consistent with the low-grade neoplasm, a glioma.

More specifically a Level 2 Glioma.

The Biopsy comes with risks.

There is a 20-30% chance they will not be able to identify it.

There is a 1% chance of a bleed and 3-5% chance of seizure with the procedure.

We have a few more questions for the Doctor and then will schedule the biopsy.

Depending on what the biopsy shows will determine the next step.

If it is a Glioma I will be sent to The Duke Brain Tumor Center to have it removed.

We thoroughly appreciate all prayers anyone is willing to say for Our Family.

Grand Plans

I have grand plans to actually update the blog a few posts saved as drafts.  Life just seems to get in the way.  We had Logan's Meet the Teacher Day, Logan's Third Birthday, Logan's Well Child Check, My 30th Birthday, My Uncle Jack passed away, Logan started school, Aidan and I went to Ohio for the funeral, Andrew stayed home with Logan and D, Daniel turned 16 months on my Birthday.  I took a while to get used to the two carpools, Grandpa P turned 81.  Then it turned May.  Logan met with the developmental pediatrician again, we changed Aidan and Logan's OT schedules to accommodate Logan's schools schedule.  My Brother turned 33, Mother's Day, Daniel turned 17 months, Logan went to the eye doctor, and now here we are with my follow up MRI tomorrow.  The imaging place called this morning and told me I will be scanned for 45-60 minutes.  They will start with a scan (that I did not have before) that takes very small slices and it is very important even more than with the others to lay still, then they will proceed with the pre-contrast and contrast scans.  After that is done we need to head straight to the neurosurgeon and he will read it and tell us what he sees.  Then formulate the plan from there.  It could be still there the same size, changed shape, gotten bigger, heck, maybe it will get smaller?!
Anyways, I have been so incredibly overwhelmed that I have not sat down to try and write out some posts.  I want to make them coherent, I want to make them detailed enough (for us to remember) and incorporate photos too.
We have had a field trip, some parties, and other fun things mixed in too..not just all work.  Today Aidan's class met at a playground for a pizza party.  It was stressful.  Aidan was very out of sorts this morning and did great when we got there.  30 minutes into being at the playground he took a spill and never really recovered.  Daniel had a blast but got pretty upset when I would need to tend to Aidan and if he thought there was even a remote possibility that I was leaving him with someone else.

So...time to go take that rest I promised I would take with Aidan...

15 Months!

DHR is 15 months!  Wow!

He is trouble.  He learned to climb the other month.  One day I walk into the kitchen to find him standing at the table in a chair.  Of course the next step is standing on the table.  Every time we turn around he is climbing something.  He is getting very good at climbing the ladder on the play set.

He loves to point at everything and say something that sounds like "I see it!"

I am pretty sure last week he told me, "Hold you!" while raising his arms for me to pick him up. 

He is currently expressing his frustration with us by growling/yell screaming.  Also when he wants your attention he pushes on your legs repeatedly.  He is quite strong and can push you backwards.  

He still enjoys getting reactions out of his Big Brothers and quite often is finding ways to make them mad.  

Baby D is getting taller and slimming some.  

The more we go the more we are learning our pediatricians office is not the most helpful with Kids that are not "by the book".  They are getting one last try for Logan's 3 year and depending on how that goes we may be looking for a new basic pediatrician.  We have met with a couple and researched a lot.  We thought for one last try we would try out another Doctor in the practice.  He was better than the other one we have seen however, still looked at us like we had four heads when we explained Daniel's food troubles. 

He was not a fan of DHR having Rice Milk and knew nothing of it's nutritional value.  He preferred we put him on Soy even though it used to make him vomit and caused horrible eczema.  By eliminating dairy, soy and nuts we no longer have horrible screaming pain from gas, reflux and only a little eczema.  

We also avoid food dyes with him since the other two have issues with it.  

This makes your grocery bill much more expensive and we now make even more things from scratch.  

DHR still has reflux issues.  You can hear it splashing in his throat but he doesn't seem to have much pain from it anymore.  

Most Kids outgrow their food issues and reflux by this age but so far it has not proven so.  The Doctors always scratch their head and say, "Hmm that's weird."  Well it's true and we are just sort of sleeping through the night.  What I mean by that is..we have a good chance of sleeping through the night.  We still have some rough patches but can get maybe 4 nights in a row or more most weeks.  

DHR was my middle sized Babe at birth and it is still holding true. 

He is almost as tall as Bitty and currently feels heavier than Logan but I think that is due to the difference in their body builds. 

 The Stats on Our Sweet Active Wild Baby D: 

Height: 32 in (75%)

Weight: 23 lb 13 oz (45%)

Head Circum.: 19.25 in (90%)

Neurologist Appointment

Last Tuesday, I headed to the appointment with the neurologist.  That went very well and she concluded that the migraines are typical aura migraines (just that my aura changed).  There is no evidence that the growth in my brain is causing the migraine activity.  She gave us more information about what to look for if it grows and begins to cause trouble.  She was not there to push migraine meds and I expressed my concern with taking medications.  I take what I need.  Unless what I am doing completely stops working then I am to call back.  If any seizure like activity (which is possible) then call the neurosurgeon.
Bottom line it was by chance we found the lesion/tumor/growth (whatever word you choose) and luckily we can keep an eye on it and if it starts to cause problems we will know what is causing them!  A blessing in disguise.