Wow, once again it's been a year since I posted last, lol.  I'm STILL super busy with school, but finally done with all the classes needed for my associates RN degree and preparing to enter the nursing program in the fall.  I can finally see a light at the end of the tunnel! 

I guess my biggest news is that Blake is potty trained!  Yay!  We have waited for this for almost 7 years.  It happened just a week or 2 before his 7th birthday.  He was #1 trained a few months ago...we just started sending him to school in underwear, and he never had an accident!  For about 2 months after that he would still sneak off to do the other in his underwear.  A couple times we caught him in time to get him on the potty, and one day we just found him sitting on the potty all by himself!  The rest is history.  Since he has been #2 trained he has had no accidents.  (Still in pull ups at night, but who cares?) His little sister Alli (now 4) potty trained just before him, so now after years and years of changing diapers we are finally diaper free.  Weird.  One of my biggest worries was sending him to kindergarten not potty trained, and now that weight has been lifted and it is such a relief.

Speaking of kindergarten, he will be starting in the fall.  New school, new teacher, new friends.  And he will be going all day; until now he has been going half days so this will be a big change for him.  He is not a morning person...most days I have to wake him at 11 or later so he will not be happy at first.  But hopefully he will get used to it.  Alli will be starting preschool in the fall also, which is perfect timing for me to be at nursing school all day.  My oldest Paige is going into her junior year and currently taking driver's ed, Savannah is going into 4th and Ty is going into 5th.  My stepson Jacob just turned 13 so now we have 2 teens.  Lord help us. 

Blake is talking like crazy and just learned to write his name.  He recently performed in his first school program with a typical pre k class, and sang his solo in front of everyone, beautifully.  I can't believe we wondered if he would ever talk.  If you are reading this and your child has special needs, don't ever, ever give up hope.  They can do amazing things, they just need more time!

We just got back from our 2nd PTLS family reunion, in WI this year. It was so awesome to see the other families again.  Every time I leave with so much happiness but feel so sad because 2 days is just not long enough.  These are the only people who know what we have been through and although some of us have never met there is an unbreakable bond that will last a lifetime.  I will post pics if I can figure out how.  =.)  There is nothing like seeing Blake playing with other kids just like him, and seeing my other kids treating the other PTLS kids just like they would Blake.  Words can't describe how happy that makes me.

That is about it for now.  Updates are fewer and farther between now because he is older, and progress isn't as quick as when he was a baby.  But I will update when I can, or when anything exciting happens. 

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Wow...has it really been almost a year since I last posted?  I have been back in school for about 10 months now so I guess that explains why I've had no time to do it.  School has actually been going really well!  It seems to be taking forever, since I usually can only fit in 2 classes at a time.  This fall is my last semester of classes before I start the nursing program, so that's exciting that I'm almost to that point.  I am hoping they will have a spot for me right around Dec/Jan, which is the same time I will be finishing up fall semester.  The timing would be perfect.   I have been getting really good grades and have to say I'm extremely proud of how I've done so far.

All the kids are doing great.  Paige just finished her freshman year of high school and after a rough patch (that we corrected-quickly) she managed to end the year like we knew she could.  Ty is going into 4th grade, Savannah 3rd.  She has Ty's teacher from last year, which has happened every year except for one.  So that is like a running joke between us and the school staff now. 

Now for Blake.  He is doing so so well.  He is talking like crazy, though we still can't understand everything he says.  In the fall he will be spending part of his class time with his ECSE teacher from this school year, and will be spending some of his time in a typical pre K class.  This is something that I felt very strongly about and fought for.  The awesome thing is that the school agreed and everyone is on board.  There is a pre K teacher who is just awesome-uses music, silly characters, etc. to help the kids learn.  I know with Blake's silly personality and his love for music this will be the perfect place for him.  Will he be on the same level as the other kids?  No, but we are hoping that he will learn a great deal from the other kids and will make great strides this school year.  The pre K teacher even suggested Blake stay in the afternoon class so he can be a part of his annual Mother's Day program.  I am so moved and appreciative of the fact that he is already including and welcoming Blake into his class, and the school year hasn't even started yet.  The plan is for Blake to gradually spend more and more time in the pre K class so by the end of the year he is in there for the majority of his school day.

I have to admit even though it was my idea, I'm nervous.  I guess my main concern is the fact that he is STILL potty training.   He has been making progress.  He has asked to go a few times, which he didn't used to do.  But he is still going 1 & 2 in his pullups, and I don't want him to be embarrassed.  I don't want to put the pre K teacher in the position of having a kid with poopy pants when I know all the other kids are going to the potty by themselves.  I am hoping for a potty miracle this summer.  Alli is also potty training so I have been taking them both at the same time.  I am hoping that she will pick it up and then he will pick it up, or vice versa.  Like I said... we need a potty miracle.

Now for my final bit of news.  This weekend we are going on our first family roadtrip to Ohio.  We are driving with 5 kids, so please pray for us.  It will be about a 6 hour drive.  The occasion is a PTLS family get together at the Great Wolf Lodge.  This is so amazing because although it has been 4 years since Blake was diagnosed, we have never met any of the other families.  We all keep in touch on facebook and honestly, they already feel like family.  But to actually meet them in person, and for Blake to meet other kids just like him...there are no words to describe how that feels.  This trip is a gift from my grandparents/great aunt, and I am so very grateful.  I will try to post again after the trip, and post some pictures. I'm sure it will be an amazing time!

Blake, on his 6th birthday.

Well Blake is 5 now.  He finished off the school year strong and will be doing one more year of ECSE in the fall.  We had the option of sending him to preschool, but with his speech/cognitive delays I don't think he would have gotten the individual attention he needs to learn and would have been way behind.  His ECSE teacher is moving to pre-K due to some physical restrictions, so he will have a new teacher next year.  But I am hoping in a couple years he will be able to have Miss Sheri as a teacher again.

His speech has exploded since the last time I wrote.  He is putting together many sentences and phrases, instead of just a couple.  "I don't want to" and "I didn't mean to" are some of his favorites!  He is also telling us to shut up (his dad is his favorite target for that one) and has gotten my 2 year old Alli saying it, so we are trying hard to break him of that habit before the school year. 

He is eating everything and his behavior has gotten a lot better.  He still has his days where he is really challenging, but most of the time it is just because he is bored and if we come up with something for him to do that helps. 

We have gone to the beach a few times this summer and he LOVES it.  He has no fear of water and is the first one in the lake.  A life jacket is definitely needed for him because he does not understand how far is too far, and would quickly get in trouble.  I think swimming lessons will be really good for him...maybe next year when he is a little older.

We are STILL potty training.  He is pretty cooperative and will always go when brought to the bathroom, but does not tell us when he has to go.  I am hoping this will come soon, because I feel like this is one of the main things that differentiates him between his peers.  Although he has special needs, he is still 5, and that is pretty old to be in diapers.  I don't want him to be the only kid in his class in pull-ups.

I took him and Alli to the mall the other day to play in the big tree house.  I was nervous the whole night before because I thought he would be ignored by the other kids because of his delays.  Then a little boy came up and introduced himself, and asked if Blake wanted to play.  He kept asking him what his name was, and Blake wouldn't answer..I don't know if he was being shy or just didn't understand how to answer.  Anyway I went over to him and I said "his name is Blake.  He can't talk very well but I'm sure he would love to play with you."  And that sweet little boy didn't care one bit.  Blake and his new friend ran around that place together for the next hour, and it was so nice.  So....normal.  And it made me so happy.

I am enrolled at GRCC and will be starting school in a little over a month.  I am so excited and so scared at the same time.  I know I need to do this, to get my degree so my family can have a comfortable life.  But what if I can't?  What if I am not smart enough, or strong enough?  What if I fail?  I wish I had done this years ago, but the reality is I had my kids.  I am only going part time, early in the morning or at night, so Nick and I can both still work, and I can still have time for the kids.  When my name comes up on the wait list, all the kids will be in school and I will be able to attend during the day. 

I feel so guilty because by the time I have my life together, Paige will be off to college and will miss out on the new house (with a pool) that I WILL have someday.  We will have struggled through most of her life, and for that I am sorry.  But we did the best we could with the cards we were dealt, and we can do better for the other kids.  And Paige can use the pool when she comes home for the summer, right?

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Today at lunch Blake didn't want to eat, so he put the table cloth over his plate and just sat there.  Apparently he thought no one would notice his ENTIRE plate was missing...so funny!  I'm very impressed that he came up with that plan all by himself!  He has also started saying, "oh, I see"  when you tell him something...no idea where he got that from but it's hilarious.

He's doing well with his switch to the afternoon class..  He gets a little rowdy with another little boy in there but really seems to like his new friends.  They have also been spending time in a typical preschool class and his teacher said he loves that.  He has been a lot naughtier at home; we're assuming that's because we basically had to switch his entire day around...hoping he calms down soon because he can be really challenging at times.

Blake has made such improvement over the past few months.  He has started putting 3-4 word sentences together, even telling us "have a good day" when we go somewhere.  He is constantly talking at home (even though it is still hard to understand a lot of it.)  He loves school and riding the bus everyday.  He knows many songs from TV shows, radio, etc...he actually seems to have a really good memory.  It will be interesting to see how much he really has stored in that brain of his when he gets older.  It actually makes me kind of nervous--I hope there's not too many moments of, 'hey mommy remember when you got really mad and said all those naughty words?' 

Potty training is going slow but steady.  He still isn't initiating potty trips but is always willing to try when I bring him.  He is successful at least 3-4 times a day, although we are still working on the elusive #2...

I got a call from his teacher today who wants to move him to the afternoon class, which is a bit more of a higher level class.  I am so happy she suggested that because I have been wondering if his current environment has been holding him back a little.  He learns a lot by modeling others and in the class he is in now there aren't many typical behaviors for him to learn from.  So excited for him to learn some new skills and behaviors.  He is definitely up for the challenge!

Christmas was busy but really nice.  Blake was really into it this year and remembered the Christmas tree and Santa from last year...they talked a lot about it at school and he loves singing "jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle all da way..HEY!"  Christmas morning he sat on the floor patiently with all the other kids and when it was his turn for a gift he would say, "Yay!"  LOL, sooo cute!

I hope everyone's New Year is going well.  I'll try to update often but it is so hard to find the time with 5 kids!

Blake had a repeat swallow study today and passed with flying colors!  There was no sign of food or liquid going in to the lungs, so we officially no longer need to thicken his liquids.  So very happy & thankful  that after a very long journey we can finally put his feeding issues behind us.  Yay!

It finally happened....poo poo on the potty!  Way to go Blake!  He  gets a blow pop for that.

Blake had his second heart study last week.  It went much better this time.  He was such a big boy and was very cooperative, laying so still he almost fell asleep during the echo.  The 1st one we had done (when he was 2) was horrible--he screamed the whole time and I had to hold him down for the whole thing.

Everything looks good so far-he has a stills murmur, which is fairly common (up to 30% of kids have one, including my TD son) and has nothing to do with ptls.  The cardiologist said that if the aortic root were to dilate it most likely would happen between 8-13 years of age, which makes sense because that is when they hit their growth spurt.  So we will check back in 3 years.

He also has started at a new preschool because we moved in to a different school district, and due to ECSE rules we can not bring him to an out-of-district school.  I was pretty upset about that one.  I loved his last school and teachers and thought they had a great program.  I was really worried that he would be expecting to see the same faces and the same building from last year and was going to be totally confused and scared by the change.

He was a little unsure his first day, but when i picked him up he had a big smile and when I asked if he had fun he said "yeah!" His teacher is very nice and has 22 years of experience, plus her background is in speech pathology so her program is very language focused.  With his biggest challenge being the speech delay i think this will be a huge benefit for him.  Also the co-teacher specializes in ASD (autism spectrum disorders); a large percentage of ptls kids end up somewhere on the autism spectrum, so if this is the case for Blake we will have someone with him daily who is very knowledgeable in that area, too.

The Jenison school district has a reputation for their great special education program, and i have heard nothing but good things so i hope that it will work out...I still wish we could have kept him at his old school but I guess all that matters is that he is happy and getting whatever help he needs. 

Potty training has been going well. He has peed on the potty pretty much every day now. Still waiting for something a little more exciting to happen in there if you know what I mean. I don't even have to give him a reward most of the time; he is just happy to do the potty dance. I'm sure it will take a while but we are off to a good start.

OMG! Blake just peed on the potty. It was an accident at first, but once he got the hang of it he just kept going. This has definitely given me new motivation to keep up on the potty visits...Before it was like, what's the point? He won't do anything anyway. But now that he knows what we want him to do and how to make himself do it on purpose, hopefully he get it fairly quickly. Yay for Blake! I guess mom has to make a trip to the store for things to put in his treat bucket...

Blake has been doing really great the last couple of days! He has been throwing out random words all over the place and has been eating really well. He has been eating the sandwiches I make him for lunch and he has been eating his dinner without the usual struggle.

He is saying juice and cheese and thank you and many more words on a regular basis. Just today he took a bath and after he got out he said he was "keen"-it took me a minute to realize he was saying clean.

We are beyond excited for this sudden progress with his speech...we know that most of the kids with ptls start talking around 4 or 5 so we have been waiting for it to happen. We can not wait to see the progress he will make this school year.

Ahhh, summer is here and the kids are driving me nuts already. Blake did a great job in his first year of preschool! His teachers said he behaves well and does great with the daily activities and routines. His speech is slowly but continuously improving and he is attempting to communicate more than at the beginning of the year. Just the other day I got back from the store and he said "mama home!"

He also has finally started eating bread, which he wouldn't touch before. That gives me so many more options for lunch-up until now it was yogurt and fruit or chicken patties. I have a feeling the sudden improvement in speech and eating are related, most likely the muscle tone in his mouth is improving. He had a repeat sleep study in May and this time he had no sleep apnea, just some snoring. So that is a great improvement! Once again possibly related to muscle tone?

His sleep study went much more smoothly this time. He was really good and when it was time for bed I laid with his for about 20 minutes or so. He watched the pulse ox monitor on his finger glow in the dark for a while and then he just went to sleep. And he slept all night. I thought I would sleep really well there. I didn't. I was up most of the night and was very happy when it was finally over and we could go home.

At home he has been quite the handful lately, pretty much needing constant supervision unless he is really into a movie. He is always picking on Alli; laying on her, kicking her, pulling her hair, pushing her. It has gotten to the point where she will scream when he even comes near her. And the other kids are targets, too. Savannah seems to be his second favorite to terrorize. I don't know if it is jealousy, lack of routine, his age, or behavioral issues associated with PTLS. The fact that he doesn't act like this at school tells me it has less to do with PTLS and more to do with the other things.

He had his 4th birthday last month so we have decided to use the summer to attempt potty training. He loves to sit on the potty; he will go and get his little stool and put his potty seat on the toilet. Then when he's done sitting he will get down and wash his hands and say "I pee! I poo!" even though he hasn't done anything yet. He will tell me he peed after he does it in his diaper, so I guess that's a start. I am trying to mentally prepare myself for the fact that it will most likely take forever, just like everything else he's learned has. You would think that I would be really good at being patient by now. I'm not.

So Blake's speech has been his biggest challenge lately. Then just when I think it will never come it improves a little.

He started saying "cold" the other day; come to find out they had been learning about hot and cold in school and he took what he learned and started using it at home.

As if that isn't exciting enough, the other day I asked him what he did at school like I always do. He never answers me, but when I asked him he started imitating animals. When I read his What We Did Today Paper, sure enough it said they went over all the zoo phonics animals and the noises they make.

Then today, today was the biggie. He picked up Alli's bottle, brought it to me and said "here your baba." HERE YOUR BABA?!?! It came out more like "he ya baba" but it was perfectly clear what he said. He says words here and there but he has never put a 3 word sentence together. I've always had to prompt him to repeat a sentence. That is amazing and such a big deal. I am so excited and am hopeful his language development will continue to improve.

Hope you had a happy and blessed Easter--I know ours was!

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Long time, no see...

We have had a very busy 8 months or so, but I think I have finally found some time to update this blog.

Baby # 5 came a little sooner than expected, only a week after Blake's sleep study. Her name is Alli Elizabeth and she was 7.0 lbs and 19 inches long, with a full head of hair. She is now a beautiful, happy and healthy 8 month old. She is crawling and just started pulling up on her knees, and even pulled to stand a couple times! I can't believe she has grown so fast. It is sad for me because she will be our last, and I will miss the baby stage like crazy. BUT someday when I am done with school maybe I can work with babies in some capacity.

Also, Blake's dad and I finally got married in August after 8 years together (we did it all backwards, but we did it.) It was just family and we were blessed to not only have my grandparents attend, but my grandpa was actually the officiant. So that was very special for us. And Blake looked very handsome in his little tie!

The results of Blake's sleep study showed that he has mild obstructive sleep apnea, which means he only has a couple episodes of interrupted breathing at night. It doesn't seem to affect his quality of sleep much, as he is always rested the next day, so as far as treatment I don't think there is much we need to do right now. He has a repeat study coming up in May and we will see if there has been any improvement.

He is doing well with everything else; the speech is still the hump that he can't seem to get over. Gross motor is awesome, fine motor has improved, he can eat pretty much anything (although he has been in quite the picky stage lately.) He started a special needs preschool in the fall and really seems to like it-he even takes the bus now! I really didn't want him to ride the bus at first but once Alli was here and it started to get cold we thought it may be for the better. He has adjusted so well to everything, and his teachers say he is happy and well behaved and nice to others in the classroom.

He seems to be getting more and more frustrated with his inability to communicate-he acts up and screeches a lot, which really drives us crazy. We try to put ourselves in his shoes and be patient, but sometimes it is really hard. I keep praying that speech will come and I hope that God will hear me, because I want so much for that little boy...for him to be happy, successful, accepted. He is always talking and singing, and can say some words so I know he will talk someday...the other day i told him to hurry up with his breakfast and he rolled his eyes and said "k...gosh." So maybe I should appreciate the lack of talking back for the time being.

We didn't end up going to the PTLS conference last June because of the baby and the wedding, but they did end up making a dvd that I can not wait to see. If they have another this year I would really like to go and have Blake meet all the other kids. I think it will be so special for him as he gets older to know he has friends all over the world that are just like him.

Alli is waking up- probably from her little teeth coming in, so I'm signing off for now. From now on I will update more often than once every 8 months.

Blake had his sleep study Thursday night. I wasn't sure if I should just do it or reschedule since it was so close to my due date, but I figured it would be easier to get it out of the way now than try to schedule around a newborn.

It went MUCH better than expected. I thought it was going to be a night full of crying, fighting, pulling off sensors, etc. He actually did amazingly well. We got settled in around 8 & put in a Barney movie to keep him distracted while the tech got him all wired up. He just sat there as she put them on his face, chest, head and chin. Then she wrapped it with a bandage to keep them on. He looked a little confused but really didn't seem to be bothered too much.

It wasn't until she put the rubber tube (that monitors breathing) in his nose that he got a little annoyed. He spent about the next hour pulling that out over and over and over. I put Barney in a second time, and the tech came back in to adjust everything and then laid him down and told him to go to sleep. And about 15 minutes later he did. I was expecting him to be really uncomfortable and wake up often during the night. He slept from 10:15 to 6, when they woke us up.

I, on the other hand, hardly got any sleep. I discovered during the study that he is a very loud breather when he sleeps on his back. I think he was also a little more restless than usual due to all the equipment that was attached to him. So every time he moved or made a sound I would wake up, then it would take a really long time to get back to sleep.

But I am just happy that he was able to get some sleep; it would have been much more stressful if he had been crying all night. He was a very big boy and then next morning we went down and got some pancakes. Then we went home and took a nice long nap.

I am expecting the results sometime next week-I will post again with the results.

Blake had his final Early On evaluation last week. This is what determines what level he is at developmentally and what placement will be best for him in the fall.



He will be going to a different school than we originally thought; our house is right on the border of two districts, and we are in the other school district even though it is farther away (makes no sense-I know). BUT this school is a lot newer and is state of the art-they have awesome facilities and it was designed by the teachers and therapists that work there, so he will be getting the best of the best.



He was tested by the school's social worker; he averaged at about an 18 month level, the lowest being 13 month for expressive speech due to his speech delay. Which I guess is okay considering the tests are standardized so either they can do something or they can't, according to the "rules". There were many things he has done at home that he just didn't do that day for whatever reason, but that doesn't count. If the tester doesn't see it it isn't a skill, you know? So if he had been tested in a more familiar environment or my someone who knew him (like one of his therapists) I think he would have scored higher.



I have to admit I was really upset when we got home, mainly because I expected it to be a little higher, and the 13 month level for speech just crushed me. Here he is almost 3 and he is on the same level as a baby for speech??? He has been saying more words at home and is ALWAYS having a conversation with someone, even if we can't understand it. He will cock his head and make little hand motions like he is really talking. So he is improving and he is trying, so I guess we just have to focus on that and have faith that with a little more help it will come. Like I said before, if the tester had seen how he "talks" at home, he probably would have scored a little higher.



I have to expect that he is going to score lower than his age range. Part of PTLS is having developmental delays-I understand that. But it still hits a nerve when he is compared to other kids his age. His new school will be every day, half days. So he will be getting much more help, and he will be in a class with other SN kids as well as typical kids. That is great because he won't feel alone and yet he will be able to learn from the "regular" kids.



I will update as I get more information. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. I'm sure him going to school will be much harder on me than it is on him!!

Blake is doing great!

He is eating everything in sight. He has graduated to small pieces of chicken, and we switched him to a regular sippy cup with a hard spout, which he has never been able to drink out of before. He got the hang of it right away, and the fact that he can suck hard enough to get something out means his oral tone has greatly improved.

He has been released from his private feeding therapy because he has made so much progress in that area, but he still gets group therapy through Early On 2 x a week. When group ends for the summer we may bring him back so he is getting something, depending on what his swallow study says in May. Hopefully it will show improvement this time and we will be able to wean him off the thickener we use for liquids.

He will age-out of Early On when he turns 3, so in the fall will be starting a special needs preschool. He is so tiny- I can't imagine him going to "real" school! They like for them to ride the bus so they can get to used to what school is like, but I don't think I will be able to bring myself to put him on a bus just yet. Maybe next year...

As far as the upcoming swallow study, I don't see how he could not show improvement and be eating the way that he is. I'm so worried that we are gonna get our hopes up again and find he is still aspirating, and take one giant step backwards in terms of his feeding.

Gross motor wise he is awesome-a little too awesome. Last night I was in the middle of getting him out of bed while making dinner and trying to keep the other kids somewhat under control. I brought him downstairs and put up the gates-except the gate to the stairs. Then I resumed my post in the kitchen. About 10 minutes later I happened to walk past the stairs and saw a flash up at the top. "Tyler," I called. "What are you doing?" Then I realized it wasn't Tyler. It was my ninja toddler, who, seeing an opportunity to get up the forbidden stairs, had soundlessly crept up there when no one was paying attention. I don't know what he had been doing or for how long, but he seemed to be having a great time.

He is "talking" more and more every day, and the other day picked up Nick's shoes and said "shoe" as he threw them into the kitchen (like he does with mostly anything that is in the living room-towards the end of the day you can't even walk through the doorway). Then yesterday he said shirt! Of course, the first time he says it is usually the clearest, then when I try to prove to someone that he can say it it's not too convincing. But I know he can say it, so that's all that matters. Also, the latest sign I have been working on is thank you. Last night he kept giving me cars, and finally tapped me on the arm and when I looked did the sign for thank you, all by himself! He has never done that before without me doing it first. He was telling me to say thank you for sharing his cars! That was really great. When they sign a word without being prompted, that's when you know they really got it. He is such a smart kid, and every day he does something that makes me proud.

Lastly, (I know-this is what happens when you only have time to update every couple weeks) we had our visit with the pulmonologist on Monday. This is the secon to the last specialist on our list of things to have checked out. Woo hoo! anyway, he said based on the fact that he sleeps so much, the fact that he has low muscle tone, and has had difficulty swallowing, he wants to send us for sleep study to check for apnea or any other sleep disorders. I have always had a gut feeling that this would be the one area where he has something going on, so we will at least know for sure. Treatment would depend on the severity of the disorder-it could be anything from medication to surgery to a cpap machine ( a mask they wear at night to help them breathe--I'd like to see them try to get my mischievous 2 year old wear that.)

Also, sleep disorders are very common among not just PTLS kids, but kids with various other syndromes as well. So we will keep our fingers crossed. It is scheduled for May 14, which is about 2 weeks before I have our new baby. NOT looking forward to spending the night at the hospital 9 months pregnant, up half the night trying to keep busy little hands from pulling hundreds of wires off his body. But we'll see how it goes, and when this is over we will have a much needed break from the battery of tests we have been through.

Anywho, time to get another kid off to school. I will update as new things happen.

Blake's eye appt. went pretty well. She found no major problems, although did see some mild peripheral (cortical) cataracts. They are not interfering with his vision at this point, so we will recheck again in 6 months to see if they are progressing.

In children they are usually the result of eye trauma or congenital. I have also heard that cataracts are fairly common with genetic syndromes, although not enough is known about PTLS at this point to determine if they are related to his condition or not.

The good news is IF they progress as he gets older there are a couple different options he has as far as surgery goes. Cataract surgery is one of the most commonly performed surgeries and has a very high success rate. So we will keep an eye on it (no pun intended) and pray that it doesn't give him any problems.

Overall all he handled the exam like a champ, from the stinging eye drops to holding still for the doctor, and got some very cool sunglasses to wear home.