Kaity Bug

I mentioned before that Kaitlyn has no more active CMV in her body. This is really exciting for us, it's been quite a process to get it to this point, and we were really happy to hear the news. It doesn't however, really change anything. It doesn't mean she is "cured," it doesn't reverse the damage that has already been done, and it doesn't guarantee she wont lose any more hearing. CMV isn't like cancer, for example, that goes into remission and stops harming the body. All the damage done by CMV happens in utero. It does however, make us feel good that the medicine is working and her immune system is growing stronger. We've decided to continue her on the antiviral for a while longer. We feel that the medication has many benefits other than just moving the virus into a dormant state and we hope that it will be helpful to her long term prognosis.

Kaitlyn has really been growing up lately. She just re-learned to roll over. She first figured out how to roll when she was 6 months old. We were thrilled and I even posted a video of her doing it. She did it for about a week and then stopped. Not even stopped really, but she seemed to forget how to do it. It's taken her a month and a half, but she figured it out again. She really has it this time. She does it very purposefully and very quickly and she is so proud of herself after she rolls over. I'm not sure why she lost the ability to roll over after she had first figured it out, but it seems to be a trend with her. She did the same thing with reaching and she does the same thing with sounds, learning a new one and then not doing it again for weeks. I know it is related somehow to the damage her brain sustained from the virus, but I can't really explain the why's or how's of it. The important thing to me is that she is able to re-learn a skill and really have it stick.

We added a developmental therapist to Kaitlyn's list of "helpers." She was working with Kaitlyn the other day, basically doing the same thing Kaitlyn's physical therapist does, and she commented on how "tolerable" Kaitlyn is. It's true, you can push, pull, poke, and prod Kaitlyn and she rarely gets upset. I think her rough start to life really toughened her up. And having Kinsey for a sister doesn't hurt either. I really thought the nostalgia of a little sister would wear off after Kaitlyn had been home for awhile but...not even close. If anything, Kinsey is more excited about playing with, hugging, and feeding Kaitlyn than ever before. Kaitlyn loves Kinsey too and puts up with so much. Just check out the following...

She is always hugging her