Today Mike met Dr. Hammesfahr for the first time while grandma got to sleep in.  It is refreshing to hear from a medical professional the validation that brain injury/trauma can be treated.  It seems like in our country the mainstay focus is on preventing further complications like seizures, hydrocephalus, etc.  What about correcting the problem?  If my liver or kidney are injured then procedures/medications are administered to improve their function.  I guess I feel like we've seen several different neurologists and we've been to the local developmental clinic, and all we get out of the appointments is that Drew has a fantastic smile.  We are also told to continue with physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy.  Therapy has helped Drew tremendously, but what about the source of the problem?  What about his brain?  Part of the issue is obviously the complexity of the brain, but I feel one of our biggest barriers is the bias...that it can't be healed.

We also have met success because Dr. Hammesfahr has addressed the stem cell therapy Drew had received in China.  All of Drew's doctors back home will not address this with us or talk about it.  It's documented in his file and that's it.  It's like a breath of fresh air or like a mentos commercial when we are able to discuss it with him.

Today we learned a lot.  Dr. H feels that there are a selected few types of "therapies" that will help Drew reach speech and motor milestones.  He listed vasodilation, growth hormone therapy, and hyperbarics (HBOT).  Currently, we are starting up vasodilation with Dr. H this week; however, it will take many years.  He talked a fair amount about growth hormone therapy.  Dr. H explained that children like Drew with brain injury do not produce enough growth hormones.  Growth hormones are essential to kids like Drew because they provide the body with a natural source of stem cells.  He told us to make an appointment with a pediatric endocrinologist and have blood samples drawn.  He did say this may be inaccurate because the body expels growth hormone  in short bursts over a 15 minute time window.  In other words, it may be impossible to get an accurate reading.  A patient could also have a 24- hour urine sample collected.  However, he felt that due to Drew's diagnosis, it's obvious his body is not producing enough growth hormone so the doctor would probably just prescribe growth hormone replacements.  Dr. H also mentioned you have to be careful with this because having a constant level of growth hormone via injections could lead to cancer.  Don't worry, I'll be asking more questions on this because it's completely new to me.

The last therapy he mentioned that Drew should try is hyperbarics.  He did mention that in 10% of the population, HBOT can have adverse effects meaning instead of improvements a person can decline.  Dr. H said that it would be subtle like perhaps a change in tone, personality, or even as small as not being as ticklish.  This information is a tad bit scary to me so i'll be sure to do my research on the facility so that we'll have trained professionals guide us.

Dr. H also mentioned that hyperbarics is useful in conjunction with vasodilation.  Vasodilators improve blood flow but they cannot assist with improving blood flow past scar tissue in the blood vessel.  However, HBOT will help heal the scar tissue, therefore allowing the vasodilators to reach areas past the scar tissue.  This means that more oxygen-rich blood will be able to flow through areas more easily than before.  Does that make sense to everyone????

 We also picked up a new medication today from the Nature Food's Market.  It's called Vinpocetine.  He's going to talk about it when we see him on Monday and possibly start Drew on it.  He said that it's actually a prescription drug in Canada and Europe.  For some reason you can buy it over-the-counter here, he explained why, but I think my brain was on overdrive.  The bottle states, "Vinpocetine enhances brain metabolism by improving utilization of oxygen.  Also, Vinpocetine increases the synthesis of several neurotransmitters that affect such critical brain functions as memory recall, focus and mood."  Mother then stated "maybe I should take one with my gin & tonic every night."

As far as the topical Nitrate, we are to continue administering the teeny, tiny amount three times per day.  If we're going to be out in the heat during the day, he definitely told us to skip the afternoon dose.  He mentioned something about the heat activating it anyways.  As far as any improvements, we haven't seen any yet folks.  We will keep you posted.  Tomorrow depending on the weather/temp. we may drive over to Busch Gardens. 

Mike is coming to town today!  He arrives in Tampa tonight via AirTran at 1030pm.  He is bringing a couple travel books with him to help jazz up our little medical trip here.  Hopefully, Drew will be allowed outside this weekend for a little while so that maybe we can hit up Busch Gardens!

This morning was our 5th round of topical Nitrate.  It was applied to his posterior calf again.  Our schedule is changed slightly; today I am supposed to apply the cream myself at noon then we are to go in for another visit at 2pm.  Dr. Hammesfahr also mentioned that he might be writing a new prescription for Drew this afternoon.  He didn't mention what though.

We do have exciting news and I'm going to attribute this improvement to his parents/therapists/grandparents.  Drew was reading a book with gaga and he read the word "hat" outloud for the first time.  For the past couple of weeks he would sound out "h" and "t" together to say hat.  He finally was able to bring them together.  Other than ma ma, da da, etc. "hat" is Drew's first reading word.  Don't worry we definitely gave Drew lots of high-fives and pats on the back.

One other improvement I noticed is that Drew is sitting really well in his carseat.  He sits perfectly straight with his head straight up in the air.  I can actually see several inches of his neck.  He actually looks fantastic to the point of not being able to tell he has a disability.  However, once he is out his tone is very tight.  In fact, his legs are a little banged up from his Kimba Stroller.  The Kimba is fantastic for keeping Drew in a sitting position (which is a challenge!), but it's all metal.  There is always something that he seems to snag his skin on, no matter how much we pad the stroller.  We do have a new special needs stroller on order that should arrive this summer.  I will definitely write up a review on here on how it goes.

Well folks, that's all she wrote!

We have settled into a routine here in St. Petersburg regarding the vasodilation treatment.  We started with the Nitrate paste Tuesday morning.  Dr. Hammesfahr first applied it to his arm and it is absorbed into the bloodstream/body within minutes.  We then returned in the early afternoon and the doctor applied another little dab to his leg.  Today was the same schedule with two applications.  Dr. Hammesfahr immediately thought his head control improved and that Drew's hands were more relaxed.  I am a little bit more skeptical considering I'm Drew's farty old mother.  It's hard to tell sometimes if Drew is having a good day or if we really are seeing improvement.  However, I definitely love hearing positive news!

Today, however, was an exciting day regarding our rented minivan.  We noticed when we first turned it on when we arrived on Sunday morning that there was a little exclamation point symbol on the dashboard lit up.  Well today my mother decided to look up what it meant in the owner's manuel and it was a little scary.  It stated brake system failure, stop driving, call dealership immediately.  So we had Mike call Hertz and they agreed to send us a new minivan right at our hotel and drive the old one back to the airport.  Well, Mom explained to me that the driver drove out here in a tow truck with the new minivan.  He explained for liability purposes, he was not allowed to drive the old minivan back to the airport.  He then proceeded to check out the old minivan and he said the tire light was also lit up on the dashboard, a possible nail in the tire?  To make a long story short, I am beyond pleased Mike handles our vehicles.  I usually just stand on the sidelines scratching my head, while Mike does all the work.

Our little Drew is one well-traveled little rat!  We woke up at 5 am on July 5th to wake Drew up, get dressed, pack the car, pick up grandma, and then get our big behinds to the airport.  It doesn't seem like a lot, but with kids it always seems to take forever.  I do have some comic relief here folks.  I packed one bag for Drew and me.  I was nervous it would be overweight or over the 50 lb limit.  The check-in lady at the counter threw it up on the scale, and we all held our breath.  It was 49.5 lbs!  Praise the Lord!!  I could have just river danced my way to the security checkpoint.  Then the evil, evil witch reaches in her back pocket, and whips out her measuring tape!!!  She measured the circumference, length, and height.  She then snarled, "It's oversized!  You'll have to pay!!"  The hag then types in her computer for 4 or 5 minutes, while the line grows and grows behind us.  I think we weren't the only ones holding our breath!  Finally, the shrew charges me 40 extra bucks on top of having to check 2 bags which was another 30....so why is Air Tran so cheap???   We've flown with that bag to China twice and no one ever bats an eye.

Anyways, the flight went fine.  Drew slept half of it and didn't complain at all.  He loves taking off and landing, which I'm sure everyone reading this loves too!  However, I do have to mention the flight attendants were a little rough.  Mom counted 7 times that they asked us to place Drew in his seat and buckle him in.  There were a few times during the flight where the fasten seat belt sign would come on, and immediately all three would miraculously appear and demand his butt in the seat.  Having Drew sit without arching/wiggling is very tricky.  It kind of reminds me of forcing a cat in a bag.  By the end of the flight, we had the people across from us rolling their eyes when the flight attendants would start drilling us.  Drew got a laugh out of it, so it's all good in the long run.

We arrived in Tampa, collected our bags, and then went to obtain our rental minivan.  Everything went fine until Kristin tried to install the carseat.  Needless to say, it wasn't pretty.  Grandma flagged down two Hertz employees and we finally got it in.  I guess the back straps had gotten loose on the flight and weren't in the right holes. 

Our next step was to drive from Tampa to St.Petersburg then to Treasure Island.  Mom printed out directions and Hertz also had a GPS in the van.  Wouldn't you know we still got lost!!  Well we eventually arrived but had time to kill because check-in wasn't until 4 pm.  We had lunch at IHOPs and shopped for groceries at Publix.  We were delighted to discover at Publix they have their own baggers and they also will load up your groceries in your car for you!  It was awesome!  What's also interesting is that Publix and a lot of the newer buildings are up on stilts.  Treasure Island is really a large sandbar, so I guess they must have had some serious flooding issues in the past.  Anyways, it was neat that we got to park our car under the grocery store in the shade instead of out in the hot sun.

We checked in yesterday at 4 pm and we are very pleased with our accommodations.  We are staying at the Sunset Vistas on Treasure Island.  Check out their website.  It's only 3 years old and has a cafe serving all three meals, pool, jacuzzi, parking, and it's right on the gulf.  Our suite has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, two tvs, kitchen, washer/dryer, and a living area with a dining room table.  We have a large balcony overlooking the gulf too.  A++.

As for the rest of our first day, we went swimming from 7:30-9 pm.  We had to wait until the sun was setting with our Yankee/Vampire skin.  Then we put Drew in the new pottery barn carrier we bought (it's great Erin!) and we walked in the surf during the sunset.  No it was not romantic!  I was with my mother!  Drew got a kick out of a big wave that soaked my mother and her white capris.  Finally, we all went back up to our room and snored our brains out.

Check out my previous blog; I just wrote it.