No pictures, just news

I'm not so good at reading my own blogs, which means that sometimes I leave everyone hanging. Last time I mentioned Philip's doctor appointment. His visit to the cardiologist went very well, other than the hour and a half trip to Gettysburg (for followup visits they said they have an office only 25 minutes away in Shrewsbury--wish we knew about that before this visit!). The doctor did an EKG and some other tests and said everything looks good so far. There is some constricting of an artery that leads to the lungs, but she said that is frequently found in babies who grow quickly (he has gone from 7 lb 7 oz to 11lb 8 oz in less than two months, praise God!).



But as we thank God for that good news, we have other matters in the works that leave us a bit concerned--not fretful, but thinking. Since Jacob was a baby, he has always been a bit slower to develop physically than other kids. He was always "floppy" as a baby, and even into toddlerhood and beyond has not had good muscle strength. We had him evaluated several times over the years and were told he had hypotonia, which is low muscle tone. He has continued to progress, although not at par with those his age. He can run now, but not normally; his hips look very loose when he runs. He can jump a little bit, but only get an inch or so off the floor. I think the hardest thing is watching him go up a flight of stairs. He still has to go one step at a time (both feet on one step before stepping up to the next), and often uses the handrail to help pull himself up.

We have been saddened at times to watch him fall a lot and not be able to keep up with his friends. And now, as younger children are able to run past him in the hall or on the steps, he is starting to realize that he is a little different. He can't keep up with Sarah Beth as they run through our yard. But he can pedal a bike quite well, and often takes initiative and drags the trash cans to the street. We have known he is behind, but have pushed him (healthfully, we believe) to do what he can do.

He just went for his 6 year appointmet. We had recently changed doctors because we found one much closer. But in God's good providence, we stumbled upon a very good doctor. Sharon liked her the first time she met her. She takes a real personal interest in the family and even remembers the siblings names. She had Jacob do various things to see his development level. She noticed that he still can't get up from sitting on the floor without pushing off the floor with his hands. She was very surprised that no one thus far had sent him for any kind of testing. (Others had sent him to orthopedic specialists for evaluation, but no tests have been done.) She feels the problem is more nerve/muscle than bone, which makes sense. We were sent for a blood test on Wednesday--he was very brave and didn't even cry. Today we got a personal call from the doctor that something unusual showed up in the results. There is a certain enzyme that is found in most people at levels between 30 and 200. Jacob's level was 22,000. We aren't sure quite what that means yet, but we are to take him to a neurologist on Monday.

It seems that most were saying hypotonia was a description of his problem, but it may be that hypotnia is only a symptom of something else. I mentioned to Sharon when she called me that I am grateful we have a biblical framework to put all this information in. We know Jacob was made exactly the way God wanted him to be made. We've heard others say before that God doesn't make mistakes, but now I am starting to appreciate that firsthand.

Please pray with us as we continue with the testing. Perhaps God will show us something we can do that will help him improve in his abilities. We just don't know much at this point other than he seems to be a pretty normal kid who is developing a little slower and a little more "imperfectly" than others. We continue to need wisdom to help push him to his limits and not beyond, and to help him develop a biblical way of thinking about how God has made him. We are glad at this point that he isn't in school, where his challenges no doubt would be played upon by other kids. That time may come, but for now he is still a (mostly) happy little 6 year old.

Thanks for reading and caring.