Progress (and a Neurology Visit)

 Last week Teddy had his neurology appointment. He sees his neurologist every 6 months. Honestly, these are my favorite appointments to attend because his neurologist is absolutely everything you could ever want in a doctor: he's incredibly intelligent yet can explain complex matters in understandable terms, he genuinely cares about Teddy as a person and wants the best for him, he spends time educating himself on the little information there is about Teddy's diagnosis, he has incredible rapport with Teddy, he's understanding of our challenges with Teddy and he also cares about us as Teddy's parents. He's the only doctor who's ever asked me what's on my heart. He's also one of very few doctors or therapists or people on Teddy's school team who addresses me by name rather than "mom." That little thing speaks volumes because it means he knows my name and not just that I'm Teddy's mom. 

Anyways, Teddy has been practicing wearing masks. He's gotten better about tolerating them, although he still licks the inside of them, which really isn't fully effective. But he did absolutely fantastic wearing his mask in the waiting room for his appointment, even though they were behind schedule. He even wore his mask the entire time the nurse was checking him out, never attempting to remove his mask and allowing me to adjust it the few times it went into his eyes or below his nose. Since it was wet, I removed it once the nurse left as he'd been wearing it for 30 minutes. That's a world record for Teddy.

Rocking his mask and his mystery scar. 

When the doctor entered, I went to put it back on, and he was comfortable with his PPE with Teddy not wearing his mask. He also was willing to sit on the exam table with Teddy when Teddy asked (or more so told) him that he should sit up there by Teddy. I tell you, our neuro is one a million. You may never find the doctor who's as perfect a fit as ours, but don't be afraid to move away from a doctor who doesn't meet your need. That was our original neurologist who spent perhaps 5 minutes with Teddy and had no connection with him or us. 

As our appointment ended, our neurologist leaned in to Teddy and said, "I'm proud of you." I'm proud of Teddy as well and grateful for all who support him to be his best self.