Essary 4.0: Genetics Check-Up

Korban had his yearly check-up with his geneticist on Tuesday. We've been seeing this doctor since Korban was 3 and he's one of our favorites. He's brilliant and very, very kind and I always like taking Korban to see him. The reason we see a geneticist is because back when Korban was first diagnosed with autism they did a test called a chromosomal microarray and found that he has a deletion on chromosome 15q. It's one of those things where they don't totally know if it has anything to do with his autism or not. There are still so many unknowns with autism but technology and research are helping people (like our cool doctor) find out new stuff all the time so we keep plugging away.

We actually missed our yearly check-up last year because it fell during the time we were at Disney and this was actually the quickest they could get us back in. I apologized to the dr today and explained why we missed the appointment last May and he laughed and said "Don't worry, I think Disney is very therapeutic!" See, I told y'all he was cool. ;)

We actually drove down to Jackson the night before. It takes 4+ hours to drive, which is a pretty long haul for the kiddos. We are able to get in at their Ronald McDonald House, which was such a help to us. Of course the kids were excited to get to stay too!

Here we are heading in. Selah likes to pull the suitcase and Korban is making sure Tigger is good to go. He got it in his head that it would be really funny to toss Tigger over the stairwell as we were walking up to our room. Throwing stuff is a big issue with him so I tried to shut that idea down pretty fast and let him know that would not be tolerated. His response was to stuff Tigger underneath his shirt. To remove temptation I guess? Cracked me up.

Our appointment was at 8:30 and it sure was nice to get some sleep before it and not have to head out in the middle of the night and drive all that way. Especially since Korban had a rather sleepless night Sunday night and we were exhausted from that.

So anyway, the appointment went well and our doctor seemed very pleased with Korban's progress. He did send him down to the lab for some bloodwork so we can get an updated array done on Korban. The doctor explained that the technology has improved since the last one Korban had, so they wanted to do another to see if we could get any additional information from it.

Of course, Korban wasn't thrilled about having blood drawn, but Brad held him for it and the nurses were really good so they got it done the first try. That's always a good thing!

Here we are waiting outside the lab. Korban was being very patient. The Nintendo DS is a godsend. ;)

And I've always thought Korban looked like me, but take a closer look at this one. This is Brad Essary made over. Especially how he's sitting! Am I right?!?

When we were checking out of the Ronald McDonald House the clerk gave us tickets to the Mississippi Children's Museum. Such a blessing! We have been wanting to go there since it opened and we were so excited to get to go check it out today.

We stopped to get food on the way and Korban got ill about something and threw his hamburger in the van. It splatted against Brad while he was driving and got mayo and mustard all over the back of his shirt. Not cool. So unfortunately Korban had to sit in the van with Daddy while Selah and I went on in to the museum. They were able to join us after Korban calmed down. (It took about an hour. Brad waited him out. We are hoping it won't take too many more times like this for him to realize that certain behaviors (i.e. projectile hamburgers) are NOT acceptable. Pray got us to be loving, firm, and consistent and for him to understand!)

They had the neatest play home with a big kitchen area and Selah and I had a lot of fun "cooking" together while we waited on the boys.

We were glad when Korban was finally able to join us!

Floor Scrabble! Why do I not have this at my house? ;)

They had the coolest water table! You could actually go underneath it and watch the water spray over you.

This is a replica of the Mississippi Capitol building that you could climb in, but Selah was convinced that it was a princess castle. She wasted no time in climbing to the top, pressing her little face to the window and calling down to Korban "Help me Prince! I'm stuck in this castle! Come get me down!" He looked at her like she was nuts and said "Get your own self down!" Nothing like a very literal big brother to bring you back to reality. 😂😂😂

Korban sliding

Selah climbing UP the slide...

And then sliding back down.

And here's one thing they were both afraid to climb in--it's a replica of the stomach. I went in to try convince Korban to give it a try. It made noises as you climbed through. When it started making chomping noises as Selah and I climbed in, Korban flat-out refused saying "It EAT you!" Even brave Selah was a little unsure but we pressed on and Brad snapped that picture of us right before we ventured into the small intestine. (And that's a sentence you don't hear every day!) Shortly after that, we started hearing loud fart noises and Selah deserted me, leaving me to unfold myself from a very tight position while obnoxious noises boomed all around me. True story. All I can say is, I'm glad that exhibit wasn't scented! ;

Here they are "picking cotton."

This area was very fascinating to the kids because it had a real car they could play in, along with a play gas pump. When we first walked up there was a little boy about Selah's age in the driver's seat. She climbed in beside him and they started talking. After awhile she announced that they needed gas, and hopped out and pumped some. Then she jumped back in and shouted excitedly "Let's go! Drive me to Egypt!" His mom and I cracked up. Pretty ambitious for a first date. And it also begs the question, exactly how much gas do you need to drive to Egypt?

Korban loved playing with the toy boats in the water area.