Neurologist Appt. tomorrow

Here I am - up late again dwelling on the fact that a big appointment awaits us tomorrow.  I do this every time we have a big appointment the following day.  I should be sleeping, so I can actually get all three kids dressed and looking presentable, loaded in the car, and arrive to the appointment early enough to fill out the packet of paperwork which takes a good while with their history.

I wrote about adding more "ologists" to our collection of specialists in a post back in April.  After their 2 year check-ups, our pediatrician wanted Camdyn to see an endocrinologist for her small size and a neurologist for her speech delay.  We are seeing the neurologist tomorrow (well, actually the neurologist's nurse practitioner).  I really think these are precautionary measures given her history as a micro-preemie.  She has made a lot of progress in speech in the 3 months since we scheduled the appointment; however, she is still very delayed. 

I always think they are both doing so well because I see how much they have progressed, but then we get together with other 2 year olds, and I realize how much "catching up" (don't really like that term) they have to do.  Let me debunk that myth here.  No, micro-preemies will not be "caught up" by the age of 2.  Just think about what an unfair race that is anyway.  Put a bunch of big full-term, healthy kids on the starting line.  Now, go several miles behind the starting line and line up the 1 pound micro-preemies.  Put about 100 hurdles in the way - ventilators, collapsed lungs, feeding tubes, heart surgeries, etc.  When those little NICU athletes finally jump those hundreds of hurdles with all the courage and strength their frail bodies can muster, they've only made it to the starting line.  In the meantime, the full-termers who just arrived at the starting line ready to run their race with healthy hearts and lungs have already made it around the track several times.  It will take years to "catch up".

Now that we finally have an appointment after 3 months of waiting, we are definitely going.  I just hope and pray that they do not give me any bad news.  Please pray along with us for no news which is always good news!