So I noticed that my last post was from January 23. Woops. Sorry about the delay. There has been a lot of stuff going on. This may end up being a list. I haven't decided yet.
Just to let you know, it is now approximately 30 hours later and I'm just getting back to the blog.
Jackson met his new GI Doctor at the end of January (my mother came to get Evelyn to and from school while I took Jack to the appointment, and also to keep me company while Jason was away on business). I really liked her. He was fairly calm during the visit. Odd. Jack will be having a Gastric Emptying Study on Wednesday, February 9th. I was surprised and happy, all at the same time, that this was going to occur. Finally, a Doctor who is willing to run more tests. She also gave me a stack of labs to have drawn (CBC, BMP, Vitamin A, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, Allergy). This portion. . .I wasn't thrilled. Jack had his blood drawn on Saturday, January 29. He was to have approx 26cc of blood drawn but the recommended amount is 1cc/lb. Jack is just under 20lbs. We planning on getting the 20cc and stopping. I was laying on a hospital bed with Jack directly next to me. He, of course, was crying and screaming. The first prick was in the back of Jack's right hand. The blood wasn't flowing (this is typical). They were able to get 2cc. The needle was removed and Jack's vein was blown. There was a large bulge where the needle was inserted. "ouch!" Jack was starting to choke on his saliva while on his back so I sat him up on my lap. He was still fussing and well, really. . .screaming. His left arm was held and a large vein was found. I wrapped one arm around Jack's torso and arms, and the other arm held Jack's head tight against my chest. The needle was inserted and the syringe was pulled. No blood. Again it was pulled. No blood. Oh!, a small amount. Wow! more blood! Quickly the syringe filled to 6cc. The nurses switched the syringe and got another 6cc. . .and then another! We were all cheering Jack on and whispering in his ear, "keep going Jack! Keep that blood flowing. Let's get this done. No more trouble then!" We stopped after the third syringe. 20cc was collected. The nurse told me that she wasn't sure if we got enough for the tests and she would call me to let me know if Jack would need to come back in a few days. The nurse shook my hand when we left. We were all proud that we were able to get something! Jack is such a hard bleeder when it comes to these draws. Within an hour, the nurse called and informed me that they had enough blood for the hospital lab. They would find out in a couple of weeks if the remainder of the labs, the allergy portion, was complete. The allergy labs had to be sent out.
Phew! My heart is pumping from sharing this story. Wow! That was a stressful event.
What else: Jack saw the eye doctor on Friday, February 4. Jackson had the best eye appointment yet. He was calm and smiling, as long as the Doctor stayed a very good distance away. Jack has to go back in 2 months to see a specialist, an orthoptist, because he has intermittent strabismus, and will probably need surgery to correct the muscle. Jack's right eye has been getting out of alignment more and more. It was very bad at the doctor.
We have a very busy couple of weeks. Jack goes to Springfield, IL (which is only a 50 minute drive) for Feeding Therapy on Monday 2/7, the Gastric Emptying Study 2/9, Nutritionist 2/15, and Feeding Therapy 2/21. I am completely fine with all of this. We're only driving for 50 miles, not 140. Simple trips.
This morning, while my parents were here (they visited over the weekend to help with Jack's appointment to St. Louis and getting Evelyn to and from school) Jack kept pointing to the door and signing "bye bye". We asked him what he wanted. He said, in words, "bah bah" (bye bye) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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