| Amanda Update |
| (Last Updated: July 22, 2002) |
| A couple of months have gone by, so I guess it must be time for an update. It's getting difficult to find time to use the computer, but those of you who are parents understand. We've loaded twenty new pictures of our angel on the website. Check them out and let us know what you think. Amanda has been doing well. She's getting bigger (almost 13 pounds) and getting stronger every day. We are happy to report that she is sleeping through the night. She's doing all the things you would expect from a four month old, which is her corrected age. Our house is filled with the sounds of "coo", "laa", and "whaah!". Somebody found her voice and isn't afraid to use it. She's also able to roll herself over....and over....and over. Even her hands and feet are starting to work right. It's all coming together. She'll be crawling sooner than you can say Broncho Pulmonary Dysplasia. :-) Last month we visited her eye specialist. She'll visit him about once a quarter to monitor her progress with ROP. During her last visit, her doctor indicated that Mandy would be severly near sighted. Some time in September, she'll be fitted for glasses to help correct this problem. Even with the glasses, it is expected that her vision will not be 100%. This is actually great news, considering that a few months ago we were facing the prospect of her being blind. She's also visited her Pulmonologist and Gastroenterologist within the last month. Both doctors believe she is coming along nicely. We even got the green light to start feeding her solid food. I thought that meant cheeseburgers, but I guess we'll have to wait a little longer for fast food. Amanda had her first visit with a developmental specialist who works in conjunction with the UCONN Medical Center. She conducted a complete neurological exam including many tests. Amanda passes them all. She's ahead of the curve for her corrected age of four months, but we knew that. Lastly, we made our first return trip to the UCONN N.I.C.U. last week. We had been invited to attend a special celebration honoring the development program that Mandy participated while she was a patient. It was so nice to see some of our old friends again. It was obvious that they liked seeing her too. I'm sure the feel a sense of ownership in her success. We'll keep you posted on her progress. Thanks for all of your support and concern. It's nice to know we've got friends and family pulling for us. Kim and John PS: Sorry that it's taken so long for this update, but I'd rather play with her than this computer. :-) Don't forget to leave a message in Amanda's guest book on the main page. Thanks. |