A military wife's life is easier than you think. All you have to do is accept the impossible, do without the indispensable, bear the intolerable, and be able to smile at anything.
~ Anonymous
The above comment I do agree with but I still love the one I heard from years ago... IMPROVISE - ADAPT - OVERCOME
Each one bears on my heart today. Some of you know the ongoing medical issues with the kids but for those of you who don't know, I will give you a brief overview. Since Joshua and Hannah were born they have been on the smaller side and from about 9 months old and on their growth for some reason has been slowing down. So they were diagnosed with failure to thrive and with that diagnosis comes monthly doctors appointments, keep a log of what they eat, etc. They have had bone age xrays done, that is when they take xrays of the childrens hands to see how much physically they are maturing. My children have been behind on that. So they have seen specialist such as gastroenterologists and pediatric endocrinologists which have performed various tests and all have come back normal. So the waiting game, let's wait a few more months then re-evaluate everything.
Well, I have been putting the appointment off for a year and finally went today. It was not what I was expecting to hear.
Hannah Rose is a petite little girl. She has been on the smaller side but for her height for age she just hit the 5th percentile line today! The is great that she even made it onto the growth chart. Her xrays revealed that she has the bone age of a 13-14 month old and right now she is 2 years and 5 months old. She is 82 cm tall and weighs 22 pounds with clothes on. She is still cute as ever and does exceptionally well at the doctors office. For now all we are doing is going to continue to have follow-up appointments to track her progress or the lack there of.
Joshua Trier is a little boy. No one believes me he is as old as he is until he opens his mouth. He is very smart for his age so don't let his size fool you. Joshua is 87 cm and weighs 28 pounds with clothes on. There is a lot of heart in this little guy though when he is at the doctors all he has is fear. He has seen many doctors and has many tests, that now he is terribly frightened when we go to the doctors or sees someone with a white coat on. I try to help calm him but not much works. My heart breaks for him when he has tears streaming down his face because he generally knows something is going to happen to him. I was very proud of him today, getting his xrays done for the first time without having to have an adult hold him down.
Well, I thought the appointment was going well till we got the xrays back. The look on the doctors face was not good. She looked at me and said he has to be retested. His bone age hasn't changed in over a year, his bone age is that of a 12 month old. Even when I looked at the xrays I could see that Hannah's were a little more developed then his were. So I ask the obvious question, "What would cause him to not grow?" The doctor replied with, "It is most likely his growth hormones or possibly something wrong with his pituitary or thyroid like a tumor..." My mind kind went blank after she started going. I am just thinking, excuse me, we have had growth hormone testing done before which came back normal, we have had some genetic testing done and that has come back normal plus various other test, all which have come back normal. So to date we have no answer as to why he isn't growing.
So tomorrow I will take Joshua in to have more bloodwork drawn...oh, this should be fun, NOT! So hopefully we can get some answers. I will have to wait a few days for the results but I guess from there we will either start him on growth hormones or figure out what other tests need to be done. Right now his doctor; pediatric endocrinologist, is still calling it constitutional growth delay, which means that he will develop much more slowly then other children and might not mature until he is in his late 30's and even then she said he might only reach 5 feet 4 inches. But after the blood test I am hoping that she will change her diagnosis for him. Both Hannah and Joshua have changed from failure to thrive to short stature. For some, this may not seem like a big deal but to me it means a lot. It means less doctors visits, less intrusion, etc.
Even though Joshua will be four years old next month and is little, to him, he has no understanding of what is going on with him physically. Mentally he is right up there. Just like it says uptop; improvise, adapt and overcome. That is what I need to do with both my children. I need to improvise when things aren't 'kid friendly' for my kids. I need to help my kids adapt to what is around by showing them how to do things that work for them. I need to help them overcome anything by showing them that no matter how big or small someone is there is always a way to do things. I believe my kids can do anything they put their minds too, I just need to remember to treat them like they are just any other kid. Until now I looked at their shortness as an obstacle but what it really is, is that I am their roadblock by babying them. They will continue to go about life and find ways to do things as long as they are not treated like they have a handicap. I need to look at this in a positive light...not sure what that is now but I know God has a plan. Every good and perfect thing comes from Him!
So please, please pray that we might be able to get some answers one way or another!
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