Yesterday we had a most excellent appointment with a top-notch doctor in the neurology division at the Phoenix Children's Hospital. This guy was great! Really top-tier. When I watched him evaluate baby, I got the same feeling that I get when I watch Michael Gambon (sp?) act in "Wives & Daughters" - this is the touch of a master craftsman. Someone who has knowledge, skill, and the expertise that comes only from years upon years upon years of experience - this guy really knew his stuff. And to make it even better, he carried a traditional "doctor's black bag"! Is that neat, or what?
Anyway, this was a very cheering visit, because he confirmed what I've been thinking - yes, there is something wrong, but no, it's not serious or life-threatening or anything requiring surgery. Because of the physical symptoms (facial morphology, clinodactyly of the 5th digit, simian crease), he believes that the final diagnosis will be some sort of genetic syndrome (i.e. chromosomal error), though he didn't give any guesses. However, he does not believe (as doctor #3 did) that this is undiagnosed Downs Syndrome - he says that baby does not have enough symptoms pointing in that direction.
Dr. K told us that in neurology, there are two things a doctor does not like to see - progress that regresses, or non-progress. Glenn's style, that is, progress that is steady though extremely slow, is not too worrisome - it just means that he's going to be behind/slow/etc. He may need extra help, but it isn't going to be too terribly serious.
He told us that our geneticist, whom we see in one month, will most likely order the chromosome micro-array test, and will be able to give us a definite diagnosis using that. She can then tell us what, if any, conditions/symptoms are associated with the condition and give us insight as to what treatment/therapy/other help we will need to deal with this thing.
So, all in one visit we got (1) confirmation of a problem, (2) reassurance that it's not serious, and (3) direction on where to go from here (we wait till our geneticist's appointment). Good stuff.
And if you ever need a pediatric neurology recommendation in Phoenix, I know where to send you! :)
Today is day #1 of preschool for our eldest, so we shall see what we shall see.... As I've said, this quarter is a test. Do we see good results? Or bad results? Our future direction will depend on our observations from the next three months. Should be interesting.
Cheers, all! I'm off to enjoy my first official free time in four years!!! (Baby is napping.)
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