Who would have expected that getting a tooth pulled would cost over $8500? That is just ridiculous. Our copay is about $1700. Kind of stings, especially considering that it was the dentists fault that we had to end up doing it in the ER instead of in the office with IV sedation.
But, they did a good job and John's front teeth are moving in the right direction. They will never be perfect, but after looking at the picture below just after the surgery I see just how much better it has gotten. I'll post a picture soon.
We had another appointment with the neurologist. We decided to raise his Zonisamide level from 125 to 150mg. His blood work showed the level was pretty low and John has grown a lot since we started this med. We'd like to get rid of the occasional big seizures. I think we can live with the daily head-nods at this point. We also learned that John's VNS is within 9 months of having to be replaced. Man, we thought this one would last 7-8 years. Sure didn't expect it to run out this fast. We talked about just shutting it off and seeing what happens. We have no idea if it is still doing anything.
School reports that John has been getting harder and harder to handle. We don't really know what to do about it. We haven't really seen any change at home. They also say he will eat non-stop all day. It is definately true that you have to keep John well-fed if you want him to be happy. Since he has always refused to eat in the morning before the bus comes, we asked that they feed him breakfast after he gets to school. I hope this will help with some of his behavior issues.
We've been using iProloqueToGo on our iPad for John's communication device. It has been great and is such a nice alternative to the usual bulky devices. Hopefully the school will follow suit at some point.
John is back at PSU for speech twice a week and does well there. And, he enjoys swimming every Saturday.
