Alexander had his first visit with a consultant today to see what sort of rehabilitation program will be put into place for him now that he’s hit the six month mark where presumably brain function has migrated from the brain stem into the brain itself.
There weren’t a whole lot of surprises in the results, particularly concerning the left side. Stiffness was noted in both the left arm and leg (the arm seems more affected than the leg) and his range of neck motion facing toward the right is apparently not quite what they expected. He does tire easily after exerting himself and obviously favors the right side. This isn’t really a surprise considering that the right side of the brain was the location of the dysplasia and as we remember from our anatomy classes, the right side of the brain affects the left side of the body and vice versa.
Next week, he will start receiving physical therapy at home. These exercises will help him develop range of motion and hopefully overcome the stiffness on the left side and get him back on track developmentally. The good news is that there isn’t anything in the assessment that can’t be fixed with a good deal of therapy and patience and only time will tell what sort of effects may be permanent as it’s still too early to make that call.
But compared to what we were facing prior to surgery, we’ll will gladly take this any day of the week and twice on Sunday!
