Blimey, haven't kept this terribly uptodate, have I
I was saying above that I took Andrew to A&E with severe diawoo, and they sent us home with dialoryte?
We were back in the next day, as the Epilepsy Nurse was scared about his high heartrate when she came to visit. So this time A&E admitted us, and Andrew spent 48 hours on the ward (including 24hrs on a drip). They did various tests, but concluded it was simply a gastric virus. He was discharged on the Sunday, the same day as his Daddy! His diawoo cleared up about 4 days later.
A week later (two weeks on the steroids), Andrew returned for an EEG which showed marked improvement to the hypsarrythmia that was causing his spasms. His last spasm was still the Friday morning at the end of his hospital stay, so he had been clear for almost two weeks by the EEG. Because he responded so well to the medication, the Neurologist agreed that he could be weaned off the steroids.
A few days later, Andrew returned to the hospital again (he's such a frequent visitor) for the first of the behavioural tests on his hearing. Alas he was grumpy from the steroids and teething by this point, so he was not playing ball at all. The test has been rescheduled for 4 weeks time.
We then went on holiday! One week in a caravan on the Costa del North Wales. During this time Andrew cut his first tooth and weaned off the steroids. The difference in his behaviour was amazing - he was rolling around all over the place, laughing and smiling, playing independently. And the biggest difference was that he started babbling properly, making consonant noises. We were sooooooooooooo happy
To bring this totally uptodate ... He has now cut a second tooth (the first upper tooth). He's had a final EEG which showed even further improvement, and has been signed off by the Neuro team, they hope that he won't return (unfortunately it's a possibility). He's booked in for an ECG because of the high heartrate picked up during all his illnesses.
He has said goodbye to the Neuro team and the Epilepsy Nurse, but has said hello to three new people interested in his development: Pre-School Special Needs, who are monitoring his development through play; a Peripatetic Teacher for the Deaf, who will work with him all the way through pre-school and school; and a Dietician, as he is still only maintaining his growth curve and not climbing up the percentiles.
Phew!
It's his birthday in just over 6 weeks, and we're not sure what to get as he is only now playing with toys that we got at Christmas (he's 8m actual, but about 6m development). OH is getting a rainforest soother for his cot, and I'm toying with the idea of a toddler swing for the garden, as he loves to swing and he loves the outdoors. Any other ideas?
She's not crawling or sitting well so we are waiting for her next review in a couple of weeks to see if it's an indicator of a problem or not.
