Stehle's third birthday has come and gone, it's very hard to believe! And every birthday is a milestone and a reminder of what a wonderful and strong little girl she is. But also right after her birthday is when we do a ton of check ups with all kinds of specialists. The best one by far was her cardiologist check up, Stehle doesn't have to go back and see him for another 2 years! Her ticker is doing great and for that we are thankful!
At Stehle's cleft palate check up she was given the diagnosis of velopharyngeal dysfunction/insufficiency (it seems every thing in the medical world has different names depending on who you talk to). And to fix it she will need surgery to build her a pharyngeal flap, this will help with speech and hopefully help some with her ongoing ear drainage. Surgery is currently scheduled for June 29. Earlier this month she went in for fluoroscopy, which is done by her snorting barium up her nose and then doing a sort of x-ray video. (atleast that's how it is in mommy terms) So we could then get a good look at what was causing her speech to be so nasal and "airy". And that is what we are hoping the surgery will fix.
Stehle is still doing speech therapy every week, as well as recieving speech services and occupational therapy through her school. But by far her favorite thing to do is TREAT which is a
program ran by Tarleton State University that provides equine therapy. Stehle has fallen in love with a little white horse named Ladybug that she rides. If Ladybug only knew how much Stehle talks about her, which is great for her speech. And enjoys riding her which has been great for her balance and muscle strengthening.
This week we are revisiting Stehle's infectious disease specialist due to ongoing illnesses. So we are going to take another look at her immune system. We are also visiting a optometrist this week because one of her eyes is "floating", it is not following the other so we are expecting either glasses or maybe just a patch for a while.
And last Stehle is in school now and she LOVES it! She has tons of new friends, she loves her teacher and begs for school on the weekends. I'm sure she is not nearly as excited about summer break as some kids.
And as for mom and dad we are always hopeful and very proud of Stehle. Baby Hartleigh will just be glad when she out grows her carseat, she is very sick of driving to all these appointments. And big sister Landry is Stehle's hero as always.
And last I would like to encourage anyone reading this to please educate your self about DiGeorge Syndrome/Velo cardio facial Syndrome, it IS the number 2 syndrome in the world under Down Syndrome. Every 3 hours a baby is born with it, but all too often children go undiagnosed and in turn do not recieve the help they need. Maybe you have noticed a child struggling in school and has had ongoing illnesses. You could be the one to possibly help a child.
Just taking a moment to update on Stehle's amazing progress! June 29 she had her V flap surgery that was every bit as hard as all VCFS moms warned me. But the good news is that recovery happens fast with her. The surgery was to hopefully help with her speech and give her some improved equipment to work with. Everything went as planned, her flap was built and is working well for her. She has never been able to say "B", "P" or "D" sounds and 5 hours out of surgery she asked for "DADDY" and it was clear as could be. We are so proud of her! Speech therapy is going well, she is now going twice a week as well as starting school next week where she will recieve additional speech services.
