Tommy update...

by Jenny McBrien Romano on Thursday, April 21, 2011 at 4:09pm

Wow...can you believe how time flies? Tommy has been an American citizen for 3 weeks! I cannot believe how wonderfully adjusted he is. The first week and a half were really tough but we have come a long way. He throws a few fits a day and can really hold a pouty face/grudge for a while. But when he is happy he is smiling and laughing. He loves to kiss and play with his siblings. They love to read to him and put him to bed at night. Tommy has even gone to child watch a couple of hours a day so I can work in the gymnastics center at the Y. He is a very resilient boy!

Tommy has undergone a ton of testing, etc to figure out what care he needs. Found out yesterday from his MRI last week that he suffered a stroke in the lower left quadrant of his brain sometime in utero or soon after birth. It affected his ride side mobility and speech ability (no kidding!). The doc said he will be golden with speech come 1st or 2nd grade and that he may have some defecits concerning spatial awareness...His foot and hand are a whole different story. He needs serial casting for 4 weeks with Botox injections to extend his heel chord and make it so his heel can strike the ground to build muscle. His tone is low and his right leg is 3cm shorter than his left. So after the 4 wk serial casting he will need a brace to help with his gait and a lift in that shoe to level his legs. The doc insures us it will be an amazing transformation when all is done. I cannot wait. For his right hand they would like cast his left arm (working arm) like if he had broken it. The idea is to force him to use the arm that is lazy. He has some control using it but the doc said he is really just being lazy and forgetful about it.

So all in all a very good prognosis. We are very thankful and wish you all well and blessings galore! Have a wonderful Easter!