Elijah's Doctor Appointments

Today Eli had appointments with a speech pathologist, surgeon, and ENT. The speech pathologist observed his sounds, evaluated his mouth, and gave us suggestions to help develop his speech. She said his drooling may not just be about his new anatomy, but also awareness of his open lips. We're going to work on that... The surgeon was able to get a good look at Elijah's palate. She said it appears the hard and soft palate were repaired but that the soft palate is still not completely closed. She said there may not have been enough tissue or a few stitches didn't hold. This small hole may make speech difficult for Elijah, as well as allowing food/drink up his nose, so repairing it is beneficial. The PA at the ENT office evaluated Elijah's ears and mouth. She cleaned out his ears and after looking inside, wanted him to have tympanometry. The audiologist used a machine to measure the movement of Elijah's ear drums, which was minimal. His tympanogram was a flat line, indicating he probably has fluid behind the eardrum and needs tubes. The fluid can cause ear infections and muffle his hearing, making speech difficult. So the PA introduced us to the ENT who will clean out Elijah's ears during surgery and place tubes if necessary. These procedures are currently scheduled for April 20.