our doctor's visit

Well, we had a pediatric neurology appointment for Gabe on Tuesday, and as can be expected it was long, and a bit overwhelming. The neurologist was very nice, but as Hasbro is a teaching hospital she had a student with her, so Gabe got a full work up since he is such an amiable patient. The student got to do a full cardio/pulmonary exam, and hear some interesting things in little G, possibly constriction of a vein, and it will be checked out in another month or two in an MRI, fun fun fun!!
It is hard at the doctors to not be able to answer many of the required questions, and not know his birth history. We can only answer by guesses and inferences, social norms for the area, and scant bits of info from M(their birth mother). It is hard, since his problems appear to stem from birth, so now we need to know more about why, clotting issue versus one time trauma. But here and now I will announce it to the world(that reads this blog!)
Gabriel has HemiPlegic Cerebral Palsy, a large portion of his left temporal lobe is damaged beyond his bodies ability to repair. His CP is a mild form, and not particularly noticeable to those who do not watch him closely, but evident just the same. Since his CP occurred shortly before or after birth we surmise his right brain took over the left rain function, causing his delays in many areas, his right brain had to build new bridges to accommodate this info that flowed by, so all brain function that would be normal in the left temporal lobe, like gross and fine motor for the right side especially, was shifted, but never fully developed the neural pathways. So G has right side weakness, muscle inattention, and motor delays, but with his PT, OT and other T's he will develop the neural paths to make these problems much less evident and bothersome.
G's neurologist is not too concerned about his development, she is certain that he will be quite fine with therapy, and that he will be able to do anything from play sports to paint with no appreciable problems, she just needs to know why this brain trauma occurred, so more tests;( !
If I had been asked two years ago when we put in our application if we would consider a child with CP or other brain development problems I am not sure I would have said "yes", but now, having G the answer is a resounding "YES!!!!!". What God has put in his pathway he is learning to overcome, and along with the medical problems God gave to him, He also gave G a huge dose of sweetness, tolerance, and loveability that draws people in like moths, he captures your heart, and I cannot imagine him any other way!! Hearing our Ped. the first time she said CP was strange, I did not really get it, I was over tired, stressed and trying to adjust, so I am not sure I really understood what she meant. Later on when i remembered those two letter I did some research, and nearly scared myself to death with the info I came up with!! I had no idea what could come of our neurology appointment, I had just been running on the assumption that we could handle it, and that God would take care of G, and so far this assumption has proved true!!
I am totally and whole heartedly relieved that the neurologist in ET never wrote in his report the letters CP, I have been blessed to have this little man in my life, and no two letters can change the depth of feeling I have for him. When I think about the pictures of his brain, I almost break down, his poor brain is so bruised, it must have been so painful for him in his first days of life, and so terrifying for M, she must have known something was wrong with her baby boy, and must have given him everything she had to keep him safe. I will always been eternally grateful for her for the excess of care she lavished on him, at her own expense quite probably to ensure his survival. She most certainly prayed to God to spare her son and protect him as well, and her prayers were answered, as were ours!!
Okay I have to stop writing now before I ruin the laptop with tears!! love and hugs to all, Jamie