Nandini's First Doctor's Appointment

Yesterday, we drove to Houston to take Nandini to her required doctor's check-up with the International Adoption Clinic at Texas Children's Hospital. Well... we weren't required to go there... it was just highly recommended. Plus, our local medical clinic is really small and they don't do blood draws or stool samples for little kids..... and there was no way I was going to drive Nandini all over East Texas and parts of North Texas to get all of the necessary testing done. I wanted a one-stop shop experience....so off to Houston we drove.

Now... before you ask... yes, there is a doctor who "runs" an International Adoption Clinic in Flower Mound. Don't even get me started. He was our pediatrician for years. I would not advise him. He refused to believe that Noah had autism - even though he stopped talking, started stimming, stopped making eye contact, blah blah blah. His answer... oh, it's just the CP. Or... oh, it's just from being in an orphanage (despite the fact that he had been home for five months). His answer was to tell me that Noah was fine and that I needed to go on anti-depressants. So, no. I would not advise him.

And I would absolutely mention his name, but I don't want to get sued for slander. He might get that $1.67 that's been accruing interest in my saving's account for the last 10 years.

So... it was off to Houston for us. Which turned out to be great. The doctor was awesome!! Let me tell you, there is a BIG difference from a pediatrician's office that deals with some international adoptions and a hospital that has a clinic specifically for international adoptions. They were really on the ball. I cannot recommend them highly enough. I am so glad we went because... well.... because... okay, let me explain...

At first Sim wouldn't let me blog about this. He said absolutely not. Forbid me from even getting near the computer until is was all sorted out. But now that's it's sorted and we know she's okay, he said I could mention it.

A few days ago, we noticed something about Nandini. Let me say again.. it turned out okay... but it completely freaked me out. I'm not sure how to say it delicately, so I'm just going to get it out there.. we noticed Nandini had what you might call a fused buttcrack. The exact medical term for that part of the body is called a natal cleft.. but I know none of ya'll would have had an inkling as to what I was talking about, so I had to use the popular term. It didn't bother Sim, but it just sorta grossed me out. I mean, how exactly does that happen?

So, the reason I'm telling you about it is because I don't want what happened to me to happen to anyone else. You see, I am a major worrier. I think it is just deeply embedded in my genetic code. I can worry about the teeniest, tiniest little thing. And a fused buttcrack just set my mind into overdrive. Would it get infected? Would it hurt as her body continues to grow. Would insurance consider surgery to separate the buttocks as medically necessary? And how would she ever wear a thong? Was she destined to a life of wearing granny panties?

I could find no information on the subject. Googling "fused buttcrack" turned up nothing. It appeared that no one in the world had ever been in this situation. (And don't even try to google "stuck buttcrack" because that'll pull up a whole host of websites that you don't want to know about). I really didn't know what to do - and I drove Simeon crazy during the entire 5 hour ride up to the hospital with my incessant questions.

Well, we got to the hospital and met with the doctor and I told her of my concerns. It was a bit embarrassing because, although, I can write down the word, I felt very inconspicuous mentioning the "bc" word in front of the doctor. I tried using the medical term, "natal cleft", but felt like a big goober and turned bright red. Anyway, she checked it out and it turns out that Nandini has something called a "sacral dimple" -

which is different from the dimples I have on my bottom. Those are called cellulite.

Nandini's is much different. Apparently, her little bottom is completely normal, but at the base of her tailbone, she has a dimple that goes in right before her "bc" starts. So, it looks like it starts, stops, and starts again. Hence, the fusing. But it's not fusing. Her body parts are completely normal. She just has a deep dimple at the top of her "natal cleft"... which gave me great relief... but now my parents are going to know they paid good money for me to sleep through Anatomy & Physiology during my freshman year of college.

The important thing is that she's fine. And she's not destined for a life of visible panty lines.

Okay, seriously, though, we need to keep an eye out because in rare cases the dimple can fuse with the bottom of the spine and is common in patients with spina bifida. In some cases, it can cause problems with bladder and bowel control. So, we will get it checked out. But the doctor said it looks okay. Praise God!

But the whole reason I'm mentioning it is because if for some reason, some Mom is up at 3:00 in the morning like I was - googling "fused bc", it'll pull up my blog and she'll be able to know that her child actually has something called a sacral dimple.. and she can stop worrying. So, there ya go.

The fabulous doctor at Texas Children's also looked at all of Nandini's MRI results and CT scans and said that she looks amazing. She recommended us to seek out a neurologist just in case, but said that the brain cyst occurred either in utero or at birth and that, from judging how well Nandini's doing, that it looks like her brain rewired itself and other parts of her brain took over from the damaged parts. In other words, the cyst is static and will not grow. It won't get worse. It doesn't need to be drained. It's just there. That's it. Any damage that's done is done. She did say that Nandini needs to see a Physical Therapist and will probably need an AFO (brace) for her left leg, but overall she was really impressed with how well she's doing. She was also majorly impressed with all the medical information we received from India. (Big shout-out to Holt and BSSK!)

Wow... there's so much that happened. I need a laptop or something so that I can type as the events happen. There's no way I can remember it all.

I will say that Nandini was a trooper getting her blood drawn. I had prepared myself for the worst - after having lived through Noah getting numerous blood draws. We never even drew blood for Eli, but he goes into hysterics if an animal cracker falls on him (seriously, that's true). Plus, I've been through EEG's with Noah and witnessed Eli coming out of sedation after getting his teeth capped... there was no way I was going to have Nandini go through this without Simeon being there. I'd been there, done that. Nandini had just started to bond with me and there was no way I was going to hold her down kicking and screaming while they took 5 vials of blood from her skinny little arm. So, I made Sim come with me. At first, he wasn't sure if he could get the day off... so I had to do some persuading. I think the conversation included the words "over my dead body", "it's your turn", "my way or the highway", and "no way, Jose". A fly on the wall might tell you that the word "divorce" was thrown around, but I can assure you it was in jest. Because if that happened, I would be stuck taking ALL three to the doctor's by myself, wouldn't I?

Ask any woman who's been married for over 50 years what the secret to a long marriage is and I bet after some prodding she'll tell you that it's because the thought of raising her kids on her own scared the living daylights out of her.

So, Simeon went with me - and truly, he is the most wonderful husband ever. I got terribly lucky and do sometimes worry that one day the blinders will come off and he'll realize he's married to a crazy woman, but so far, so good. I am blessed, let me tell you.

Okay, back to the point.

Sim came with me, and I prepared him for the worst. I told him how he had to be strong and not let Nandini seem him panic. He needed to hold her tight and not let her squirm. I told him all the lullabies to sing in her ear as the phlebotomist drained a quarter of her life's blood through a tiny, little hose. I told him how proud I was that he came with me and was up for the challenge... and then with a quick kiss, I high-tailed it outta there. I wasn't about to ruin the bond I'd just established with my little girl.

Wouldn't ya know that little thing didn't so much as whimper? She didn't cry. She didn't scream. She didn't kick. She just stuck her arm out and took it like a champion. And Sim carried her out and said, "What's the big deal? That was easy." I'm sure he was also thinking... you made me drive 5 hours for this? But he didn't say it. Bless him.

Now, I'm glad Nandini didn't scream or cry. I really am. But come on. He was supposed to see what I go through everytime we have a doctor's appointment. It was going to be a "whoo hoo!" moment for Mother's everywhere. A sort of... "Don't You Appreciate Me?" Hallmark scenario. A pat on the back. A bouquet of flowers. And those fancy ideas just deflated like a popped balloon.

I'm sure she's saving it all up for when I have to take her by myself.

I just know it.

And that's it. That was our adventure to Houston. We stopped off at TJ Maxx in Conroe on our way back and finished up our Christmas shopping. (We found Dinosaur Stilts for Eli!!! For $3.99!!) And then we ate at the worst Long John Silver's ever - mainly because Nandini needed the toilet and that was the first place we came across that had one. And then we made it back to my parent's house, where I'm typing away on my dad's computer. (He just reminded me of that fact 2 seconds ago). We're off to Dallas in an hour for Noah and Nandini's cranial sacral appointment and then to Whole Foods to get a daily multi-vitamin that contains iron. And that's it.

Adios,

Leslie