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A DAY IN THE LIFE OF SPENCE J. VITALIANO!

[Spence]

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March 2010
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1 DECEMBER 2008

Dec 01, 2008 03:16pm (EST)

Well today Spence was admitted to CHOP for a scheduled 24-hour video EEG to determine if what we're seeing with his eye movements are really seizures.

When they put the leads on the air gun scares the crap out of him so he screams really loud. Noise really seems to irritate him so bad. I mean aluminum foil or plastics bags just put him into a fit of crying & screaming.


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27 NOVEMBER 2008

Nov 27, 2008 03:10pm (EST)

Time to eat! At grandma's house.


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26 NOVEMBER 2008

Nov 26, 2008 03:08pm (EST)


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21 NOVEMBER 2008

Nov 21, 2008 03:06pm (EST)

Today was Spence's Feeding Clinic appointment at CHOP. They are helping us formulate a plan to start him on oral feeds safely. The end result was he'll need a swallow study however, he's most likely ready. The Speech Pathologist worked some with Spence in a Tumble form chair and talked to us about some of our experiences with him. She gave us some information about a support group for children with feeding issues and allowed us to ask her questions.

The OT was there and she was able to get us an appointment with the Seating Clinic faster and she said he definitely needs OT.

The doctor also said she would make some recommendations to his GI for an alternate medication (in place of Reglan) for gastric emptying and a change in formula that breaks down better to also help him empty easier.

Then the nutritionist there said she would follow Spence and said we could cancel the future nutrition appointment while we await the swallow study.

Lastly the social worker for the feeding clinic spoke to us and gave me some information on the Family Advisory Board that I requested. It was a very productive appointment and I was again extremely impressed.


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19 NOVEMBER 2008

Nov 19, 2008 02:58pm (EST)


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18 NOVEMBER 2008

Nov 18, 2008 02:54pm (EST)

Spence got a loaner Kid Cart from NJ Early Intervention until he gets equipment from CHOP.


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12 NOVEMBER 2008

Nov 12, 2008 08:01pm (EST)

Well 6 am and the Respiratory Tech informed us the testing was complete. Unofficially he said Spence may benefit from BIPAP rather than CPAP. He said Spence is having Central Apnea spells at night, he was able to get his sats to 100% by increasing his O2 to 1/2 liter of flow through the night. He told us to wait for the doctor to contact us and he expected that the doctor would want another sleep study to determine additional information. So now we're researching something new - seems like a constant thing with Spence. By the time he's a teenager I mine as well have went to med school - LOL!!

He had a uneventful day and isn't as sleepy today as he has been which is positive. The nurse practitioner from the neurology clinic talked to me about Spence's status the other night and about his seizure last week. She's concerned that if he stays sleepy until this weekend (which he isn't now) or if he has more seizures they may need to use another seizure medication. I asked her more about the EEG and how bad it really was and she said he was seizing up on every frame of the EEG test which was a 20 minute test. She said according to the EEG their was no way he could have been developing effectively since his brain was seizing so much. We've seen a significant improvement in his development, head control, trunk control, & attention span since they started him on the medication so I'm very hopeful for him.

Only time will tell - Spence is clearly getting the best possible care any parent could ask for. Thank God we're near CHOP.
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11 NOVEMBER 2008

Nov 11, 2008 07:30pm (EST)

So here's Spence at his Sleep Study out at CHOP. Poor guy he was in such a great mood in the beginning, then he got sleepy. Of course anytime you mix sleepy with messing with him and loud noise (the air tool) it gets ugly. He screamed & cried so bad he started gagging & wretching for the first time in weeks. In fact his stomach sounded like a volcano it was rumbling inside like it was going to erupt. We had to do suction on him because he had gotten himself so riled up & upset that he was all congested from the loosened mucus now pouring out iof his nose. It was an ugly scene, I felt terrible for him but the test was really important.

Anyway once he was mostly hooked up and wrapped (like a mummy) he passed out cold. I was surprised that they actually had two beds for both Raquel & I to stay, that was an unexpected bonus.


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10 NOVEMBER 2008

Nov 10, 2008 07:50pm (EST)

Spence's Endocrinologist called me tonight and says the results of the CRH test say he's fine and that he's producing the hormone properly which is really good because that would create more long term problems otherwise.

Also I haven't really mentioned it but we've been slowly weening Spence off his Reglan and he's now down from 4 doses (QID) to once per day and doing great so far.

Today we got an appointment date for the Feeding Clinic at CHOP as well which will help us determine a plan to start his oral feeds. I'm sure they'll want to schedule a swallow study.
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7 NOVEMBER 2008

Nov 07, 2008 07:46pm (EST)

Today Spence had his CRH Test and Raquel was accompanied out there by our newest nurse Teresa - she's been great so far. Things went fairly uneventful although the nurse had a challenge getting the IV started on Spence. Funny that Teresa asked if we had considered a port - I have many times but I've been told it's too much of a risk for infection.

With him only needing lab draws every two months it's not as bad as before, he does seem to be getting better too. He was much harder to stick before.

We should get the results in a week or so from his Endocrinologist.
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