Our appointment with our local Down syndrome clinic was this morning. It's really a neurology clinic affiliated with the children's hospital, seeing patients with all kinds of neurological issues.
Although it was not a whole team of doctors and specialists as I had imagined a Down syndrome clinic would be, I'm not sorry we went. It's run by, as far as I can tell, one doctor, a neurologist. After filling out the requisite paperwork, we were taken back to a small exam room where I turned Finn loose from the stroller and he proceeded to wreck the joint :) A "coordinator" came in to ask some questions, and he noticed Finn's Stones t-shirt, so we had a nice chat about the Stones and when their music lost its magic (he would have had a better conversation on this subject with my husband, for whatever that's worth).
Then Dr. Tourney, the neurologist came in. What a character! Kind of a goofy-looking, middle-aged woman. No white coat, just street clothes, and a child's backpack in bright, primary colors on her back (containing Finn's chart, etc.). Way to put the patients and parents at ease! I liked her right off. She had a thick British accent and kept referring to Finn as "a delightful little chap," and our pediatrician, who, it turns out, she went to medical school with, as "quite a lovely fellow."
I can't say we learned anything new from the appointment, though she is obviously extremely knowledgeable about Down syndrome. We were there for about an hour, and she asked a ton of questions about Finn from birth to now, and she examined him. She seems to think that our pediatrician has covered everything very well as far as diagnostic tests and so forth for Finn, and didn't seem to think anything is necessary that we haven't already done. I did mention the eye-rolling thing to her (which I still notice him doing from time to time), and from what I described, she doesn't think it's anything to be concerned about. She's also not concerned that he was pulling up to standing and has now stopped; she said that development for all babies - not just those with Ds - tends to often be a start-and-stop process.
So no earth-shattering revelations, but I'm glad we went just the same, just to have all our bases covered. The doc said she'd be "delighted" to have us come back once a year so she can
"have a little look at the chap."
7 comments:
It's always nice to have a "feel good" appointment and be reassured that potential concerns aren't really anything to be concerned about after all. So glad she was smitten by your little chap. :-)
Well, he is a delightful little chap! She sounds quite a bit like our geneticist. I'm glad y'all had a good experience.
Alisha sees Dr. Tournay too!! We used to see somebody else before...but I was so not impressed with that doc. We met Dr. Tournay while Alisha was in-patient at UC Irvine Med Center. The other docs and nurses spoke very highly of her so we made the switch...and I haven't looked back since. She is a great doc...I'm glad you had a good experience!
The doctor sounds awesome!
Love her! and I have to agree Finnian is such a delightful little chap!
Isn't it great when that happens... All is right with the world and your beautiful Finn. BTW - I've given you a blog award b/c I love the way you write about your life with Finn. Stop by and pick it up when you have the chance.
Even though it was only the one Dr it sounds like it was a good experience. I wish we had something like this near us. The only DS clinic I can find in the state is for adults.
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