5 Year Stats and Upcoming Surgery

I forgot to post Nathaniel's 5 year stats when I took him to his pediatrician at the end of June. He is right in the 50% for both height and weight:
Weight: 40 lbs
Height: 43 inches

Everything at his 5 year check up went well for the most part. Dr. Miller had a hard time finding Nathaniel's left testicle. He does have both but seems like the left one has retracted. At his 4 year visit the doctor found both and was able to pull both down but the left was harder so he said that he would check again at age 5 and go from there. Dr. Miller referred us to a pediatric urologist at Hopkins and off we went the next week for that appointment. After a quick exam an ultrasound was ordered and back to Baltimore once again we went. I think I made 3 trips to Baltimore in less than a week. Anyway, the ultrasound showed the testicle in the groin area so Nathaniel is scheduled for surgery on August 29th to have it brought down. From what we have been told it is a very common and simple procedure but as with any surgery we are nervous.

In the mist of the urology appointments Nathaniel also had a 5 year checkup with the pediatric NICU doc at Kennedy Krieger that has followed him since birth. She says he is doing great and right on track for his age. At this same visit a couple of Neuro Psych doctors did some testing on Nathaniel. The testing went well for the most part and I have to remember that I woke Nathaniel up at 5am that day to drive to Baltimore so by the time they started the 2.5 hour test he was tired. This was a cognitive and fine motor test that we agreed to participate in before we were told it would add an additional 3 hours to our visit. Instead of rescheduling and needing to make another trip to Baltimore we decided to go ahead and let them do it. Nathaniel did great but the doctors have some concerns that they think we need to keep an eye on as he enters Kindergarten. Nathaniel already has an IEP in place but it mostly focuses on his large motor challenges. After I receive the full written report from the psych docs I will decide if we need to make any changes to the IEP. Right now I am leaning towards lets wait and see how he does before I add a bunch of adaptive measures to the IEP. I am also going to have his PT therapist take a look at it since she has been with us since Nathaniel was 6 months old and can help us decide what we may or may not need to do. Again, Nathaniel was very tired during the testing and some of the results may not be completely accurate in my opinion.

So that about sums up our last couple of weeks full of appointments in Baltimore. The important thing to remember is Nathaniel is a fantastic child and doing wonderful - we are very blessed! Yes he has an upcoming surgery and yes he may face some additional challenges in Kindergarten but just as we have done all along we will do what we can to support Nathaniel and make available whatever help and additional resources he may need to be successful. Prayers are welcome because at the end of the day its all in Gods hands.