Well Liv is now 5.5 years old. She is a very energetic little girl and if I every thought that she wouldn't be able to talk, I was definitely wrong. I have been busy raising 4 kids, working from home, as well as homeschooling and running different co-ops.
I thought since I was contacted today by a friend about someone they met who has this same condition, I would update my daughter's condition and what I have seen since she was born.
It's really hard to believe that my daughter who was diagnosed with Bell's Palsy the day after she was born, is now a very healthy and thriving 5.5 yrs old. She keeps very busy playing with her dolls and likes to play Lego's with her big brother. Even though she isn't the little brother he was hoping for, they get a long rather well and they are pretty good friends.
What started out almost 6 years ago as a definite trial and concern has now turned into a small memory in the back of my mind. But it has been ingrained there for what I hope will be the rest of my life. And I say that because of a phone call that I received today that makes me happy to know that I can help that one person that doesn't know what to do or where to turn. And now perhaps someone aside from myself can document and write some type of protocol for treating this in small children, as well as adults.
I'm glad that we went through this and can help others in the process. While it is not some type of life threatening disease, it can be debilitating in the fact that it can cause permanent paralysis. It can hamper the way a person sees, smiles, eats, drinks, speaks and looks. This is a lot for something so small.
At almost 6 years old my daughter can speak clearly (and quite frequently). She can smile a pretty smile and she can eat with out drooling all over. Her eyes are both equal and open and close with no issues. I hope that some of the info in my previous posts will be helpful. I can't believe it's been almost 6 years since she was treated but I'm so happy that we did. I wouldn't regret for a moment the money we spent nor the time I spent driving 75mins one way to this Pediatric Chiropractor that really helped to save my daughter's face.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Our First 6 months of Treatment are done.
Well we have now completed the first 6mos of treatment for Liv, and we need to decide from here how we will continue. It's been reccommended that we continue weekly for the next 6mos. I'm hoping that we will be able to. Liv has progressed nicely, I need to upload some photos that we have of her to show different things that were looked at when she was first examined.
It's interesting how a little pinched nerve can cause so much chaos in the body. Her blocked tearduct that she had at birth after the first few adjustments has not come back so that has been really nice. Her mouth looks good, and most times you don't see the pulling on the one side of the mouth unless she is crying. Which is really great! I can't imagine what she would look like now if we hadn't started these treatments when we did. I trully feel if we had started at birth the results would have been even quicker. I was worried as I watched her through the first 7mos of life as her face changed and pulled more and more to the one side. It made it appear as though the opposite side was drooping, but it was actually that side that wasn't effected.
I'm also interested to see if this will effect her speech in any way as she gets older. She just had her 1st birthday in March and is saying Da-Da, Ma-Ma, kitty, and the kicker is that she tries to say her brothers name. Now this would not seem so interesting but his name is Isaiah and for most kids that name is not an easy thing to say. She doesn't try to say either of her sisters' names, just her big brother. But I guess perhaps that's because she's the only one that has the BIG brother! lol.
It's interesting how a little pinched nerve can cause so much chaos in the body. Her blocked tearduct that she had at birth after the first few adjustments has not come back so that has been really nice. Her mouth looks good, and most times you don't see the pulling on the one side of the mouth unless she is crying. Which is really great! I can't imagine what she would look like now if we hadn't started these treatments when we did. I trully feel if we had started at birth the results would have been even quicker. I was worried as I watched her through the first 7mos of life as her face changed and pulled more and more to the one side. It made it appear as though the opposite side was drooping, but it was actually that side that wasn't effected.
I'm also interested to see if this will effect her speech in any way as she gets older. She just had her 1st birthday in March and is saying Da-Da, Ma-Ma, kitty, and the kicker is that she tries to say her brothers name. Now this would not seem so interesting but his name is Isaiah and for most kids that name is not an easy thing to say. She doesn't try to say either of her sisters' names, just her big brother. But I guess perhaps that's because she's the only one that has the BIG brother! lol.
Friday, January 19, 2007
About 10 months ago we had a baby girl and our story began after she was diagnosed shortly after birth with Bell's palsy. Here is a basic idea what it is: http://www.facemakernyc.com/services/paralysis/
My sil is currently in Chiropractic school and is getting ready to graduate this spring. It was through her and some very helpful links, that supplied me with the help I needed. I can also say that if it wasn't for the thrush we had to endure while nursing in the first few months I never would have connected a treatment with her condition. As you may be wondering what does chiropractic/thrush/breastfeeding have to do with Bell's Palsy, well I'll tell you our story.
Although it appeared that LV had the perect latch from the beginning there was a slight problem with her palsy side. When she did nurse on my right side there was almost a gumming going on with my nipple and was sometimes painful. Then due to antibiotics being taken for mastitis we developed thrush which was a totally new experience for me and not a very pleasant one. I found this site through some online friends and found this related article on the site: http://www.breastfeedingonline.com/craniosacral.htm
I had heard of cranial sacral massage therapy before used in helping to treat ear infections and the like, a very noninvasive technique. I then went to my sil the chiro student and asked her opinion, as she's involved with pediatric patients at school and has watched her professor working with them. She highly reccommended that I find a certified Dr. and I used the link on her blogspot to find just the right one. I went to http://www.icpa4kids.com/ and found a great friend in Dr. Heather. She has been an absolute Godsend! LV didn't just suffer from BP but also from a nasty blocked tearduct in her left eye and by doing different techniques after about 5 visits it was totally gone and no more eye boogers bogging her down!
Some other almost instant transformations that occured. After about the first 5-6 visits LV's tear duct was no longer an issue, it went from being a constant gross green snot coming out of her eye to a clean eye and no more goo! We also saw the cheek that had started to really become drawn back and taught, relax and come forward and create a symmetrical relaxed look.
Her right eye which I had thought looked almost lopsided or unlevel with her other began to look fully open and equal with her left eye.
We experienced a strong tongue thrust upon entering the baby food era, and made it difficult to feed her with a spoon as her tongue didn't seem to realize which way it needed to move, to get the food down. Then miracously it started to work! She started babbling like a brook! It was quite the transformation in just two weeks time.
Although we've seen some dramatic transformations, she'll be receiving treatment for the next several months yet. Her one side of her mouth still does not always totally round out like it should so it makes the opposite side appear to sag or hang at different times. But the progress we've seen in just the past 3mos or so has been a complete reward for driving 75-80 mins one way to get to this great gal who is helping LV recover from her Bell's Palsy.
My sil is currently in Chiropractic school and is getting ready to graduate this spring. It was through her and some very helpful links, that supplied me with the help I needed. I can also say that if it wasn't for the thrush we had to endure while nursing in the first few months I never would have connected a treatment with her condition. As you may be wondering what does chiropractic/thrush/breastfeeding have to do with Bell's Palsy, well I'll tell you our story.
Although it appeared that LV had the perect latch from the beginning there was a slight problem with her palsy side. When she did nurse on my right side there was almost a gumming going on with my nipple and was sometimes painful. Then due to antibiotics being taken for mastitis we developed thrush which was a totally new experience for me and not a very pleasant one. I found this site through some online friends and found this related article on the site: http://www.breastfeedingonline.com/craniosacral.htm
I had heard of cranial sacral massage therapy before used in helping to treat ear infections and the like, a very noninvasive technique. I then went to my sil the chiro student and asked her opinion, as she's involved with pediatric patients at school and has watched her professor working with them. She highly reccommended that I find a certified Dr. and I used the link on her blogspot to find just the right one. I went to http://www.icpa4kids.com/ and found a great friend in Dr. Heather. She has been an absolute Godsend! LV didn't just suffer from BP but also from a nasty blocked tearduct in her left eye and by doing different techniques after about 5 visits it was totally gone and no more eye boogers bogging her down!
Some other almost instant transformations that occured. After about the first 5-6 visits LV's tear duct was no longer an issue, it went from being a constant gross green snot coming out of her eye to a clean eye and no more goo! We also saw the cheek that had started to really become drawn back and taught, relax and come forward and create a symmetrical relaxed look.
Her right eye which I had thought looked almost lopsided or unlevel with her other began to look fully open and equal with her left eye.
We experienced a strong tongue thrust upon entering the baby food era, and made it difficult to feed her with a spoon as her tongue didn't seem to realize which way it needed to move, to get the food down. Then miracously it started to work! She started babbling like a brook! It was quite the transformation in just two weeks time.
Although we've seen some dramatic transformations, she'll be receiving treatment for the next several months yet. Her one side of her mouth still does not always totally round out like it should so it makes the opposite side appear to sag or hang at different times. But the progress we've seen in just the past 3mos or so has been a complete reward for driving 75-80 mins one way to get to this great gal who is helping LV recover from her Bell's Palsy.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)