september2000

Although Becky's life continues to be affected by the damage caused from her prematurity, she is a happy and intellegent child. The joy she has brought to my life far outweighs the struggles. She is quick to smile, slow to cry, and can throw a temper-tantrum with the best of them. Becky's delays seem more like an inconvenience than a disability, until I see another child the same age as her and realize how many things she is unable to do. I prefer to emphasize the things she CAN do instead of dwelling on the things she can't. Becky plays "house" and "doctor" and loves to play with her babies and Barbie dolls. During the summer I took Becky and Jessi to the playland at Burger King, and they had lots of fun. Becky was able to crawl around in the tubes and play in the balls - the slide was too scary, though. She had a lot of fun, and I enjoyed watching her - marveling over how far she has come in the past few years.
   Jessi continues to be a child who is wise beyond her years. She is a wonderful big sister and has a heart full of love for Becky. I give Jessi a lot of credit for the things Becky is able to do - Jessi is constantly showing her little sister how to do new things and encouraging her when the going gets tough. There are times when she tries to "help" her sister too much, but now that Jessi is in kindergarten, Becky will have a few hours each day that she needs to do things on her own. The past few years, there have been many, MANY times when Jessi needed to go to a baby-sitter while I took Becky to different doctor visits or therapy sessions. Through it all, Jessi has remained patient and understanding about Becky's need for more of my time and attention. The past few months, Jessi has started noticing that Becky is different from other children, and she has begun to ask questions. "Why does Becky go to therapy?" "Why does Becky need a walker?" "Why does Becky have cerebral palsy?" I use Jessi's questions as a way to teach her about God and explain that each person is made different and unique. This is how He made Becky. I truly believe Becky would have cerebral palsy even if she had been born full-term.
   Becky has numerous doctors and specialists that she sees, including a pediatrician, orthopedic surgeon, physiatrist (rehabilitation medicine), gastroenterologist, pulmonologist, ENT (ears) and ophthalmologist. She receives physical therapy one day a week and goes to school two days a week (where she also receives physical and occupational therapy). Currently, she is only on medicine for her reflux (prevacid) and her lungs (flovent and albuterol). Although Becky was discharged from the feeding clinic this past March, her weight gain continues to be slow but steady. We supplement calories by giving her pediasure instead of milk (and even add heavy whipping cream on the days she doesn't eat much). At 2 1/2 years old, she weighs 23 lb. 11 oz. and is 35 inches long.
   Becky had her first surgery in August 2000 - she had her adductor tendons and muscles cut and lengthened, and she had tubes put in her ears. Her hips were 30% dislocated (subluxed), so the orthopedic surgeon lengthened the tendons and muscles on the inside of Becky's legs (groin area) to lessen their tightness. Hopefully the hips will go back into the correct position now that there isn't as much tension pulling on them. Her recovery went extremely well - she wanted to get down on the floor and play with her Barbie dolls less than 12 hours after surgery. Within one week, she was back to her normal activities. Her next hip x-ray is in January, and we will find out if the surgery was successful.