A few weeks ago, we went back to Salt Lake for clinic and another appointment. I don’t know why we keep forgetting to report about our clinic visits right away. Guess life has gotten back to “normal” enough that we forget people still want to know the details of this journey. 😉
So, for clinic, we got to go to the brand new Primary’s Eccles Outpatient Building. It just opened at the beginning of October. It’s so beautiful, sparkly new, and clean. Loved the theme that flows freely to the new hospital remodel, and feels comfortable, yet child-friendly. It’s just wonderful! The darling balloon lights in the lobby and cafeteria were my favorite thing!
Sarah’s clinic appointment went well. We got to meet and become acquainted with a few new transplant team members. Sarah’s echo looked good (consistent with others in the past), and her labs all checked out OK. One of her drug levels was a little high, but they decided that the antibiotic she was on (for a sinus infection) was probably the most likely contributor. We’ve had her labs drawn again off the antibiotic, and everything’s just perfect!
While we were in Salt Lake, we also did the neuro-psychological testing I mentioned that we were planning to have done. She spent the greater part of a day doing testing to check her abilities in areas like academic, reasoning, memory, and concentration. We felt it would be good to know how her brain works, and what skills/helps she might need when she gets to college in January. We discovered, much to her delight, that even though she’s taken a few years off from school, she’s still scoring average to above average in most areas. We were really happy to find out that her processing and memory recall is also normal, when given enough time to pull it out of her brain. When the task is timed, she usually came in below average, but when given time to complete the task, her answers always were average or higher. So, we concluded (and the psychologist will write reports for the college to include this) that she simply needs extra time to complete tasks. Timed tests will need to not be timed, or shortened instead, so she has adequate time to remember and process the information she needs to answer the questions. She will also need to develop some strategies as she goes in order to memorize information, and may need a little extra tutoring when learning new skills. No sweat. It was good for her to be assured that she CAN do college, and that her development and health issues haven’t really impacted her ability to learn and process information. I’m so excited for her to realize what she really can do with her second chance.
So, the question I still get asked most often these days is “How is Sarah doing?” I’m thrilled to report that she is doing incredibly well. She seems to be getting along just great with her angel heart. She is healthy, loving her life, and feels great almost every day. She is taking good care of herself, making plans for her future, taking steps toward independence, and developing stronger relationships with family and friends. We truly couldn’t ask for more…. 🙂
~Julia
