*Love* our pediatrician

Today was our appointment with our beloved Dr. Oates. It's always great to see her. She is so complimentary of our kids, and I feel that with her, I can speak freely. About all our therapists, neurologists, opthamalogists, ENTs, audiologists, fears, questions, etc. She is our home base, and has always been, since Ana was young, our cheerleader, once calling us her "favorite new family." Shhh...don't tell anyone! Those words validated us so much, as anxious first-time parents unsure of so much.

Today was Elliot's visit for his polio and MMR shots. I was relieved to learn that Dr. Oates hadn't prepared the MMR shot after she'd heard from the nurse that I had lots of MMR-autism questions. She said, "You all have too much going on for that today." That's the kind of doctor she is...helping us eat the elephant one bite at a time.

Here's a summary of our visit:

• Elliot looks glorious and happy. Well done! He's one ounce shy of 24 pounds.
• He has fluid in both ears. We knew of the fluid in the right ear at the time of the test. The fluid would not skew the test result to the degree that was indicated, and so it's (impossible?) unlikely that he's can hear in that ear.
• We discussed tubes, as he seems to have had lots of fluid over the last year in one or both ears. With these hearing issues, we can't have Elliot's one good ear full of fluid all the time! As I've said, we are operating as a family as though Elliot will lose his hearing in his left ear. Did I mention that these tubes might be the answer to this chest gurgle? Wouldn't that be a 2-fer(-;
• When Elliot was first diagnosed with CMV(12/23/05), Dr. Oates and our neurologist discussed all of these anti-virals that I alluded to in a previous post that might have prevented late-onset hearing loss. These medicines are not currently best clinical practice. I am encouraged to hear that Elliot's two primary physicians have already researched and dismissed these.
• We will see our ENT in 10 days to see if the fluid is clear, then set up another hearing test with the possibility of tubes being put in somewhere in that time frame. I'm almost too excited about the tubes. Does this mean he'll sleep better too? I might be expecting to much from this, but let me dream, ok?
• I asked Dr. Oates to find out where all the current research on CMV is happening, and if there is a doctor who we can discuss his diagnosis with. All of our wonderful doctors and therapists give only a piece of the puzzle. I feel like we need to talk with someone who knows the puzzle in its entireity. This is all happening at UA-Birmingham. She is going to make some connections there on our behalf.

Yes, we are making progress, I feel, and a visit with Dr. Oates always helps. On our way out with Elliot's polio shot bandaid on his forearm, and two enormous stickers in tow, she says, "Elliot's lucky to have you two as parents. He really is."

How can I tell her that Elliot's made us who we are? Would she understand? He is a tremendously powerful little boy. Thank you, Elliot.