We have added a new word to our vocabularies, and a new specialist to our repertoire. According to the American Academy of Physical Medication and Rehabilitation, "physiatrists, or rehabilitation physicians, are nerve, muscle, and bone experts who treat injuries or illnesses that affect how you move."
Per our pediatrician's recommendation, we brought William to the physiatrist at Children's Hospital last week. He actually was not concerned about the tightness in William's legs and thought his tone was good. He did place an order for our PT to increase from twice a month to once a week, and will follow up in May. I'm waiting to hear back from our current physical therapist if this is something she will do, or if we will need to take him to a private practice. Our PT is through Early Intervention, and at this age they typically only see babies twice a month at most. If we do need to switch to a private company, I'll need to make sure that both boys are receiving the same service, since the order was technically only for William. While I don't really want to add more appointments to our calendar, I am happy to have the physiatrist manage the PT and follow the boys' progress. We still want to move into Hanover at some point sooner rather than later, which would move us into a different Early Intervention area, so it will be good to have someone who will be consistent.
Our regular PT visit this week was better than the past. She was a little more interactive with the boys, and brought a medicine ball for them to use, to practice tummy time and gravitational changes. I like the ball, it's kind of fun for me as well as the boys :) I did tell the ladies (both PT and the Early Interventionist visited) that we were taking William to Children's, and they knew right away that an increase in PT would be recommended. They basically said that the doctors there don't understand that they are leaving us with all of the tools do to the PT ourselves at home, and that it's the PT we do that will make the difference. I understand this, but again, I want PT to be more hands-on, and I want to be as proactive as possible.
So that's where we are right now :) We have a pulmonologist appointment next week, and then the neurologist and developmental clinic in early February.
