A busy week of doctor appointments over

Well last week was a busy week for us all. Two hospital consultant appointments for Uisneach coupled with a trip to his GP and all to be fitted in between his Mam and Dads work schedules.

The unplanned GP visit was necessitated because of a head cold Uisneach developed during the week which we didn't want turning in to a chest infection. The poor little fella was miserable. Extremely runny nose – off his food – very quiet and running a bit of a temperature. But he tries so hard to be in good form. He wants to play with his toys. He wants to eat his food. He wants to be happy. He just can't.

Thankfully it only lasted a couple of days and he's mostly over it now. It peaked on Thursday evening when his stomach decided to part company with everything that he'd managed to consume during the day. His Dad was holding him at the time and there was no escape. Both were covered with the contents. His Pjs and vest and his Dad's t-shirt and jeans - even inside his pockets! At least the shower to get clean lifted Uisneach's spirits. He loves the water. Apparently it doesn't matter how poorly he feels.

The planned hospital appointments were another matter. His Man and Dad were still feeling a little apprehensive about attending these appointments although the nature of them had changed since they were first scheduled.

They were arranged when we were still investigating the cause of Uisneach's delayed development. So even though we now had the 1p36 diagnosis we decided to keep the appointments with the Gastroenterologist and the Optimologist in the hope of ensuring that there weren't secondary issues that were going to cause Uisneach further health problems or that needed to be addressed.

On Tuesday morning we met with the gastro doctor. He reviewed Uisneach's notes and gave him a quick check up. He was satisfied that, although Uisneach was small, he was processing the nutrition he needed and that he had plenty of body fat. He said he didn't see for himself, or hear anything we had said, to indicate that Uisneach was having any problems beyond what would be the case with any child. It was a relief to hear. He said he didn't see a need to schedule any further appointments and that they would just keep Uisneach on file and offered his availability in the future if we felt there was a need for further consultations.

On Friday it was in with the Optimologist to check out a small flicker Uisneach has every now and again in his right eye. We'd read the condition, nystagmus, is often linked with cases of 1p36. Once again the consultant was very reassuring. He checked out Uisneach's eyes and saw nothing out of the ordinary – the structure at the back of the eye was fine – his response to light and movement were as they should be. He did however notice that the left eye was stronger than the right eye and he suggested that we start some treatment to address that as soon as possible. So Uisneach was given a prescription for glasses to address the imbalance and prevent a lazy eye from developing. His Mam is concerned that they'll take away from his good looks!

Dún Laoghaire pier Summer 2009

We finished what was a busy but relatively positive week with a walk on the pier in our home town, Dún Laoghaire. We brought Uisneach out on his little ride-on car. You forget how small he is until you see him out on his little car in the big world.