I can hardly believe
it’s been over six months since I last posted here. I’m glad to report that the
dearth of posting is mainly due to there being no major dramas recently. Finlay
has just been getting on with life and doing what 4 year olds are supposed to
do.
So this is just an overdue
update for any of you that check in from time to time to see how Finlay is
doing.
We’ve been struggling
for a while with weight or, more precisely, lack of it. The different aspects
of his disease seemed to be conspiring against us to stop him gaining the pounds:
we find a solution to get round one issue just to find any positive effects are
nullified by one of his other issues.
So last year we made a couple of changes to his feeding and drug regimens and at last he is steadily
gaining weight. Nothing earth-shattering but real, sustained growth. He has
caught up with the bottom of the growth charts again, weighing in around the 3rd
percentile. Sitting here at 6’2” and just a few burgers short of 200 pounds it
still amazes me that my son can be so small. But he’s never going to be a
heavyweight and progress is progress. It’s really pleasing that our persistence
is paying off.
So as I said in the
first paragraph he is just doing what 4 year olds do. And that’s wonderful to
be able to write! For the last six months or so, through the long, hot southern
hemisphere summer, it has been possible to put everything about Finlay’s
condition to the background. Never out of the picture completely (still
multiple BG checks, quick calculations, boluses, medications: the never–ending
grind of the chronic illness) but not the all-encompassing disease crisis
management of the early years. We are now learning to view him as a growing,
developing young boy. To look to his future with hope and excitement rather
than trepidation.
And this year will see
him take great strides towards that future. Our little boy is about to start
school!!