Tye's tests

We went to Tye's doctor for his 4 year check up last month (yes I was a little late with vacation and trying to get the painting of the house done, but at least I did it! lol) and the doctor was concerned about his height and weight. He said that it is like in the 30th percentile or some strange low number like that (I can't remember or really understand him....he is from India or some place like that, usually really nice and really good, but sometimes I can't understand him. lol). Anyway, so he says to me, "you aren't feeding him enough." And I said, "he eats as much as I do." and then he comes back with "well aparently that isn't enough." To which I said, "he can eat a whole double cheeseburger from McDonald's and fries!" That kindof shut him up. (Not that I get him a double cheeseburger very often, in fact prior to these tests, except for vacaton, I think probably the last time we did was probably in February or something!) Anywho, he wanted to check his growth hormone and take an x-ray of his bones. I also mentioned his speech and he told me he thought it would be a good idea to get that tested too.

So the week the Olympics started we raced around getting a million tests done. We had to have blood drawn for the growth hormone. Of course, Tye cried. I tried to distract him, but he would NOT look away from the needle and was freaking out. I was sure glad when that was over and then the bandaid they put on wouldn't stay so he was upset about that. He kept saying "ow" and wanting me to fix it. I finally just took it off and threw it away. He didn't mention it one time after that! lol Then we went and got x-rays done. He thought that was pretty cool that we were going to see the machine that daddy works on. He asked me a couple of times where daddy was. He wanted to see him at work! lol And then we had his speech tested.

The results:
Blood work--growth hormone is completely normal! YAY!! I really did not want him having to take growth hormone especially at such a young age.
X-Ray--they said his bones are only 2 years 8 months. Most likely because of the malnourishment as a baby and early toddler, until we got him. The doctor also said that he is probably just a late bloomer too since his bio dad is like 6 feet tall. So he said we will just continue to monitor it.
Speech evaluation--his comprehension is 95 points and it should be between 90-115. So she felt that was really good. His articulation is 60-65% of his words and for a 4 year old they say it should be about 75%. She has recommended that he has speech therapy 1 time a week for about 3 months and then reevaluate. She does not feel it is horribly bad, and that he has come really far considering he only knew 2 words (mommy and car) when he came to us at 2 1/2. However, she does think he could use some help and so feels that 1 time a week will be plenty for him to catch up. She also said that his mouth is in the proper shapes but for some reason the sounds aren't coming out correctly. So that is good. I just want to say THANK HEAVENS FOR MEDICAID! lol It is hard because I feel like people look at the medicaid card and think, "lazy people have medicaid, go get a job!" lol But I am so glad we have it, the test alone would have cost $150 and then the therapy is like $75 for a 1/2 hour session! YIKES! So glad medicaid pays for everything!! WOOHOO this time! lol Of course, I know in the end I am basically paying for it anyway through the payroll deductions on all of our paychecks, but that is okay too. I do not abuse it, but I am certainly going to use it when it is needed. And that is one of the benefits we got with the adoption until he is 18 years old.

So I am glad for the results. I am so grateful that we do not have to put him on growth hormones. I pray he will continue to grow and get that growth streak (maybe not 6 feet, but at least something!) I think with the speech it's nice to know I was correct in my assesment and we are able to get help for him. I think he will do really well probably really quickly too. I will keep you posted of his progress.