The latest and greatest medical mystery, presented by PP.

Penelope has never been an easy kid to figure out, for anyone.

Before she was born, no one could solve the mystery as to why she wanted to come meet the world when I was 26 weeks pregnant. Even with insanely strict bed-rest and an unusual cocktail of 'anti-contraction' medicines while staying in the hospital, no one knew why she stayed in my tummy until 36 weeks because I would contract on a daily, if not hourly basis the entire time. After she was born, it took a very long time to hammer through the countless health problems she encountered.  RSV, E-Coli infection, torticollis, apnea, low muscle tone, acid reflux, silent aspirations on thin liquids, developmental delays, surely I'm missing something but I think you get the idea. Eventually we got a handle on things.

PP was diagnosed with Weaver's Syndrome on March 7th, 2011, at 18 months old. The diagnosis didn't explain all of her ailments, but it helped us understand a lot of what was going on with her. Thankfully, she doesn't have such a long rap sheet anymore. Her health has improved dramatically, and we are down to only one prophylactic medicine a day. She has a great team of doctors at the hospital to keep tabs on her, the two most important are her Genetics doctor and Pediactrician. PP has an absolutely amazing team of teachers who visit her on a weekly basis, without them I honestly don't think that she would be where she is today.

At 22 months old, PP looks like a 3 year old. She has been in the 97th percentile for her peer group since she was a wee baby. She now wears 3-4T clothing. When she was 10 months old the doctors measured her bone age, which turned out to be 30 months. Considering that equation, she is 22 months old now with the bone age of about a 5 year old. This is another area that is difficult to understand and even more difficult to explain, so that's that for that.

I am getting to a point, I promise.

I really just wanted to give an update on her latest health anomaly, but without a proper introduction to the life of PP you couldn't appreciate it to the extent that I do. PP got a rash. Just any rash? Of course not! It looks like hives, but these hives are HUGE and they cover very large areas of her body. They are red and white at the same time, they are swollen and hot. She doesn't seem bothered by them whatsoever, so I am happy about that. She was tested for numerous things including a UTI, Strep, this crazy bacterial thing that I can't remember the name of, blah blah blah. The doctors don't know what it is! I am always amazed at the amount and variety of medicine this kid has taken in her life, thank you pharmaceutical people for making things fruit flavored. The most recent cocktail, concocted by multiple doctors at different times during this week, includes a prophylactic antibiotic, steroids, Benadryl, and some sort of antihistamine blocker. This has been an ongoing problem since Saturday and today is the first day she woke up without giant hives covering her poor little baby butt.

Say, "HOORAY!" I am! *doing happy dance*

So, that was a long explanation to a fairly simple question, but just know she and I are doing well! We are getting ready to have a play date with some of our favorite friends, and then we will be visited by the Physical Therapist in the afternoon. Wishing everyone a happy day, peace out.