Doctor, Doctor

This past Friday, Sophie attended her annual Cleft Palate Clinic at Children's Mercy Hospital. It really is a blessing to have such a great resource in our own backyard! The clinic visit is set up so that we can see multiple doctors at the same time, rather than making separate appointments on separate days - genius! We are happy to report that Sophie did amazing this year. Her hearing test came back with all normal results (which made me cry a little remembering those early tests that were "less than impressive") and we just have to attribute that to the tubes being placed in her ears, getting all of that fluid out of there. The speech pathologist said that she is very advanced for a child with cleft palate in her speech comprehension and practice. We may need to start early with some more aggressive therapy to help with the nasal qualities in her speech, but that's only because Sophie is so willing to learn and seems to be ahead of where she should be. The nutritionist just spoke to us about adding more fat and calories to her 17.5 lb figure - all of which we know, of course...but it will just be a constant battle to keep weight on this child. What a problem to have! The dentist reported that her molars have already broken through - ouch! Finally, her cleft palate surgeon is pleased with her healing and is hopeful that we can combine future surgeries into one big one around 6-7 years old. That was music to our ears - the least amount of surgeries, the better!

It was a busy morning, but well worth our time. Sophie enjoyed playing with the other kids and saying "hi" to all of the adults in the waiting room - there is nothing shy about her! She did an excellent job of letting the doctors poke and prod her and was her usual cheerful, fun-loving self - we are so proud!

It's wonderful to see the progress she is making...so different from even just a year ago when we went to our first clinic. We won't need to see this team of specialists again until next year...hurray!