Gregory was born Sept. 19, 1996 weighing in at 7lbs. 14 0zs. He came into this world grunting, within 5 minutes they had whisked him away to NICU where they put him into a little oxygen bubble, hooked him to all kinds of monitors and IVs. At that time they really were not sure what was wrong with him. During his stay in NICU he had neonatal bilirubin, ( jaundice ), bradycardia, hypoglycemia and apnea while in the hospital. Finally, he was discharged and sent home with an apnea monitor.

          During his first few weeks of life he had all kinds of tests done. He was diagnosed with panhypopituitary. They put him on medication therapy right away. Synthroid being the first of many meds. At that time he was five weeks old. Second, they sent him to an orthopedic surgeon who put him into a Pavlik harness because he said he had hip dysplasia. The harness only stayed on a few weeks because we felt that it was not really necessary and got a second opinion confirming our doubts on that issue. Then a trip to the endocrinologist, she put him on a hydrocortisone medication, Cortef. Next, a trip to an ophthalmologist, who said he had bilateral nerve hypoplasia. Next, a MRI, EEG, plus a number of other tests confirmed the diagnosis of Septo-optic Dysplasia. ( Gregory was born without a pituitary gland and brain malformation ). At that time he was put on a growth hormone, Genotropin. We had to do a blood sugar count at least twice a day with a glucometer. Also, he had a nebulizer to give him breathing treatments with. At first he spit up most of what he ate, until they finally found a formula that he could keep down. All of this before his first Christmas. We no longer have to do the blood count unless he gets lethargic. The nebulizer for his breathing is rarely needed anymore. We feel we are very fortunate to have doctors that were able to diagnose and treat his symptoms at such an early stage in his life.

         He is really quiet a remarkable little guy. He has endured many things in his not quiet two years of life, many, many blood tests, several hospital stays, and many trips to the doctors and ERs. He has only had one seizure, though that was very scary. At that time, I decided to quit work and stay home with him. Just by him being at home and not being exposed to other colds, viruses, etc. at a day care, his health improved dramatically. That was then, this is now. His medication therapy is working fantastic.

          He is a husky little guy who loves to sing and play all the time....He has a vocabulary beyond his age group because he repeats and remembers everything he hears....He communicates with one, two, or three words at a time....He also has a temper that shows up sometimes when things don’t go his way....He really enjoys his snacks and meals....It is really hard to get him to go to sleep at times,(hypothalamus controls sleep and appetite )....He is somewhat sensitive to sound....He gets around very well for a visual-impaired child. He has a vision teacher that comes to our home once a week. At first he could not see anything at all, now we believe he has a little peripheral vision out of his right eye. We don’t know how much he can see, guess we will have to wait until he can tell us.

          I am Gregory’s Nana. He is my strength and I am his eyes. He is my little angel, critter, and Greggie, he is Grandpa’s little buddy and his Mommy’s honey bear.
He is Gregory!

 
A wonderful meal!!Gregory at a year.  
   

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