It's been a while. I have been busy. I am trying to get into the nursing program at a local community college and started working on some of the pre-reqs this past fall semester. I took Anatomy and Physiology I, British Literature, and Developmental Psychology. Those last two, I've taken before, and I was retaking them to improve my GPA. A&P, however, was a class I haven't had before. I had heard it was difficult. I guess people underestimate both my medical history and my personal hobby with all things scientific and medical. It wasn't that hard for me, and I ended up with all As this semester, which is exciting. Next semester, I have Medical Terminology, A&P II, and Microbiology. I am currently enrolled in First Aid as well, but it's odd hours, so I think I will change it to something else with better hours.
Oscar and I have been doing fairly well. He has managed to put on 2/3 of an inch since October, which thrills me beyond words. He basically only gained 1 inch all of last year. He still hasn't gained much weight to speak of, but I am happy with growth in height. He also has been improving with his speech. He has a narrow palate, crossbite, and overbite, and those all add up to wonky speech issues. Specifically, he has trouble forming "fricatives." Basically, if it is a sound that involves the use of his tongue or lower lips touching or narrowing near his upper palate or teeth, he has trouble. His "t" makes a "ch" sound, his "l" sound makes "eh" or "yeh" sounds, his "y" sound makes a long "i" sound, he can't crisply end his consonants like "t" or "d" very well. There are other examples, and not to mention the fact that he slurs and spits a lot as well.
To correct this, he will need a palate expander placed when he is 5 or 6 years old, and he will work up to braces later and have them for several years and then even when they are removed, he will need to use a retainer for the rest of his life to keep the palate and his teeth from returning to the original, incorrect, narrow shape. I really really really really really dread this. I mean, really really really, totally and utterly dread it. It will be painful, and I am sure he might be teased for being a 1st grader or even kindergartner with braces, as if he didn't run a high risk of that because of his clumsiness and small stature. That is probably one of my largest concerns for him- finding his place in the world and people not teasing him and beating down his dreams.
Anyone with EDS-kids or just kids needing palate expanders in general, please shoot me an email, I'd love to find out more about it. They both have their cleaning, which they get every 3 months, plus a good fluoride treatment. For Os, it's especially important, it helps him avoid cavities.
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