Settling In

We have arrived in Seattle safe and sound! I know many people have been awaiting an update, but internet access have been a little problematic which means that unfortunately I may not be able to post too much these next couple of weeks.

Aubrey and I flew in Sunday morning to Seattle Tacoma International Airport, where a hospital shuttle picked us up and took us to the Ronald McDonald House, where we will be staying for the next two weeks. We spent the day Sunday trying to settle in and find our way around in our new surroundings – it’s a little more disorientating than I expected to try to figure out how to do all the things our program requires in our new surroundings, but I’m sure that will get easier as we find our way around the house and neighborhood more.

Monday morning we met with a nurse for an initial physical evaluation and then we met with the occupational therapist who will be directing Aubrey’s care. She spent the first day mostly observing Aubrey’s eating behaviors and then set us up with the following daily plan (to change as needed): breakfast: 7:30 am (on our own), snack: 10 am (at the hospital), lunch: 12:30 pm (hospital), snack: 3:00 pm (hospital), dinner: 5:30 pm (on our own), snack: 8:00 pm (on our own). Since each eating session is about an hour, that gives us six hours of intensive (as in, highly interactive and directed by an adult) eating per day.

Positives so far:

*There was space available for us to stay at the Ronald McDonald House, which is a very easy walk from the hospital, provides many meals, laundry facilities, etc., and is very inexpensive.

*All of the nurses, therapists, and staff we have met and worked with so far have been extremely kind and competent and everyone we meet tells us stories about what a great hospital Seattle Children’s is.

*Aubrey is already eating and drinking far more than she ever has in her little life. All the therapists are delighted and assure me that she is poised for success.

Challenges so far:

*We are still figuring out how to best work out our schedule. Yesterday we were at the hospital from 10 am – 4 pm straight. This involved 3-4 hours of therapy, 30 minutes of waiting for therapists, and about 2 hours of free time. Trying to keep a very active child busy and out of trouble through all of this felt almost impossible.

*Aubrey has some social behaviors and mannerisms that lead the therapists to believe it is possible she may have some sensory issues and they want her to have a developmental evaluation. This evaluation will take place once we come home so that we can get follow-up at home with the same person who does the evaluation, if necessary. That said, the therapists also admit that at this age it is hard to sort out which of her behaviors may indicate a problem and which are just a normal 3-year-old reaction to being in a strange environment and being pushed to do things she doesn’t really want to (i.e. eat).

*I’m feeling completely exhausted. This schedule feels extremely intense and grueling. Not only that, but I am realizing that I will have zero time to myself for the next two weeks, which is mentally exhausting as well.

*In the midst of everything else, our neighborhood was hit by a tornado on Sunday afternoon. Our house faired better than many, but we’ll need new shingles on the roof and one of our big trees went down on the neighbor’s house. Hopefully Jason will have a chance to post his story about that crazy day soon, but for now you can check out a couple of the pictures he posted in our picasa album.