It has been several months since our last posting and your little conqueror is growing and developing by leaps and bounds. We have had a couple of different bouts with some illnesses and allergies; Ella had some coughing and runny nose, but nothing that has lasted more than a week. We have gotten a lot more aggressive with her treatments the minute she exhibits any symptoms. Our day time nurse, Nikki, is a real blessing and Ella loves her dearly. Nikki has done a great job of keeping our baby healthy and also challenging her to do more and function independently.
A couple of quick updates and then you can check out all the videos and pics below. Last week Ariella had a swallow study to provide the medical team at Yale New Have a current picture of exactly how her swallow is functioning and if she is still at significant risk for aspirating. The results of the study were good. Ella’s swallow is still intact, but not as strong as we would like, however we could see on the x-ray that when she swallows she does protect her airway, which means she is not getting food down her trachea and ultimately in her lungs. The doctor and speech pathologist conducting the study could see that Ella was protecting her airway when she swallowed and even though she does have a tendency to pool her food at the bottom of her throat, when we tell her to cough or “clear your throat” she is able to get the food down her esophagus. She is still at risk for aspiration, but it is lower than it was previously which means we can continue to try and give her small quantities of food by mouth until she is able to get stronger and do more.
Additionally we doing more work with her team of therapist to get her to function independently. She has specialty leg braces that she wears once or twice a day for about 30-60 mins at a time to help to encourage her to bend her knees when she walks and keep her feet from pronating. The braces also encourage her to walk more heel to toe as opposed to flat footed. We are working even more on transitioning from laying down to sitting up and from sitting up to standing up. All of this will help Ella to function more independently as we prepare for next year.
And so you may be asking yourself what happens next year. Well Rachel and I have started to have conversation and begin to do research on preschool options for next year. Can you believe that – Milagros will be in school next year, THANK YOU JESUS. We have come such a long way team. Keep praying, keep believing and know that GOD is always in control.
