Nathan's adventures in Raleigh

Probably one of the reasons we felt like we ran around all week in Raleigh was because we scheduled lots and lots of Dr. appointments for Nathan while we were there. We've just never had medical as good as when we were in Raleigh, so we made some follow-up appointments for Nathan.

We got to see Jen Mock at "Abilitations" on Raven Ridge. She was Nathan's first pediatric physical therapist... the BEST out there, in our opinion! :)... and she has become part of our family. We all just love her, and appreciate the love and advice she's given our family over the years ... even when we moved away and were no longer 'patients.' :) We just love her! Nathan had FOUR appointments with her during our stay there; we wanted to get in as much therapy time with her as we could! :) Nathan was also casted for new AFO's... new braces for his legs, since he as almost out-grown the ones he has. Jen also put together some exercises/stretches for me to do with Nathan, so that we can keep up his therapy while we are in transition. Thanks, Jen, for all you do!

Nathan also saw Dr. Jefferey Board, the pediatric ophthalmologist who did Nathan's original surgery on his eyes. (Nathan's eyes were crossed, and the surgery corrected that.) His eyes are beginning to cross again... not all the time, but every once in a while, one eye will stray. Since we were SO happy with Dr. Board's expertise, we made an appointment with him to check Nathan again. It turns out, Nathan needs glasses.

Now, Nathan is one of the most amazing children you'll meet. He has Cerebral Palsy, and the Lord seems to have blessed him with the perfect blend of his personality. He is so laid back and loving... yet, strong willed and determined all at the same time. I just love my sweet boy. Most people who meet Nathan are amazed at his speech. He is extremely articulate, and can carry on an adult conversation ... at the age of 5. :) He is incredibly witty, and there's no doubt he would make you laugh if you were to talk with him.

As amazing as Nathan is, as a mom, my heart just aches for him. I know the Lord will use him to do incredible things for His kingdom. That's been our prayer every day of his life, and I already see God molding him and preparing him for that. I don't doubt that he will grow up to be a dynamic, Godly man... but I do ache for the boy that has to go through extra trails to get to that point. :) So, on this particular day... when the Dr. Board told me Nathan needed glasses... I about cried. Yes, silly me. Glasses are not terrible- I wear them! But, all I could think was that it was just one more thing for my sweet Nathan to have to deal with. He also will need to patch his left eye everyday, and that didn't help my aching heart. :)



Dr. Board says that every child is near sighted to an extent, until their eyes grow and change. But b/c Nathan is having to focus to compensate for the nearsightedness, and also to try to keep his eyes straight... he can't do both. Our hope is that if we take away one of the problems, he'll be able to take care of the other one. One eye definitely sees better than the other, so we also have to patch to make sure he doesn't loose the sight he does have. Dr. Board says Nathan's glasses will most likely be long-term (as well as the patching...), but that there is a chance Nathan could grow out of it. Please pray he does grow out of them!!!!

We picked out Nathan's frames and he also got to choose two patches with designs on them. We don't have any insurance for glasses, but the Lord provided a good package that we were able to work into our budget. Two days later, we picked up his glasses!! Nathan was too cute. He tried them on, and he simply said, "I look old." We all laughed... and Weston told him he looked "way cool." :) That always helps, coming from an older brother. :)