This morning, Gabriel had the first of his three specialist appointments. This one was with a pediatric allergist and immunologist to see if Gabriel's frequent sinus infections and bad allergies were contributing to his speech delays. The theory there of course being--sinus infections usually cause a stuffiness and associated ear infections, both of which result in difficulty hearing. Since he has gotten sick so often from this, it is possible that he has just missed out a good chunk of hearing the last couple of years.
With all the specialists, we are kind of throwing everything against the wall and seeing what sticks. Which sounds bad, I know, but since we don't know what is causing Gabriel's developmental delays, we don't want to prematurely label him with a developmental, social, or mental disorder that will follow him around throughout school and for the rest of his life if it was something manageable, something treatable.
That being said, allowing Gabriel to continue to be out of commission for several months every year because of severe allergies is not a reasonable alternative anyway, but this was going to be a difficult test.
When Emerald was younger than Gabriel--I remember that we didn't have him yet--she was getting suspicious rashes around her mouth while eating. We could not pinpoint on our own what the common factor that could have resulted in the rash, so we were referred to an allergist for her as well. The test was fairly easy--she didn't cry, barely fussed. She has never had a problem with being restrained, and was more curious about what the scratches on her back were than anything else. The whole affair was a relatively painless ordeal in which they tested her for some 16 common allergens--all of which turned up negative--and we decided to be more aware in the future if she had any more reactions; she never did.
This trip was nothing like that one.
It is in a building that we have never been to, so we are a little uneasy to begin with. The benefit of the kids' pediatrician office is that it has everything in one place--the labs, x-rays, hospital, and even my OB and specialist. One stop shop.
But it's a nice building and the receptionist is helpful, so it's not too bad. Sitting in the waiting room, all the patient rooms face out toward us with their doors closed, so we are able to hear more than we care to hear in there.
Specifically, a girl screaming and crying and begging not to get poked with any more needles.
Due to some unintentional eavesdropping, I discover that she is a 16 year old patient that has been here many times before and has had lots of tests, so she now has a severe phobia of needles; and she has to get some 8 sticks.
I feel for the girl; I do. But her screaming and carrying on was really shredding my nerves.
The wait was not outrageous. It was only about 30 minutes before we got called back, and they did apologize for that--apparently, it is a busy day of the week for them, since they were seeing a lot of new patients.
The nurse takes down some history and is asking why we got referred and I am really starting to struggle to answer questions. Normally, I have my notebook that is filled with pertinent information and any questions I might have for the doctor, but I wasn't really sure what to be expecting with this visit, and the girl screaming nearby still had me on edge, Michael was incredibly tense as well, and the smell of Gabriel's mousse was making me dizzy and lightheaded. At that moment, I didn't have the foggiest notion as to why we were there, or what we were accomplishing. I felt foolish, like we were wasting everyone's time, especially since Gabriel does not have the traditional "allergy" signs like itchy, watery eyes or sneezing.
Finally, the doctor comes in and he examines Gabriel and explains what is going on to us as he is asking questions. Dr. Shome determined that Gabriel has sinusitis (inflammation of the sinuses) that is conducive to chronic sinus infections. All right, kind of all ready knew that, but right on. Sure.
He then explains the prescription regimen that he was putting Gabriel on. Nasal spray to cut down on the inflammation; two types of allergy medication to keep the symptoms in check; and finally a six-week antibiotic course that will clear him right up.
Dr. Shome said that it was possible that Gabriel could be experiencing some hearing loss as a result of the frequent sinus congestion, but we are still not positive that is what is causing it. We will start seeing if that is the case in about six weeks when he finishes with the antibiotics.
After the talk, he ordered the scratch test.
That is about the time everything started going right to crap.
On his back, Gabriel got 40+ scratches, and he received 8 on his tiny little arm. Now, this is actually really good because not so long ago, he would have had to actually endure that many needles poking into him. That would have gone much worse.
One thing you need to know about Gabriel is that there are few things in this world he hates as much as he hates being restrained. He hated being swaddled as a newborn, could never cope with being held too tight as an infant, and as a toddler, restricting the movement of his arms and legs is akin to torture for him. For Emerald, it made her feel safe and secure and helped her calm down. I guess that goes to show how very different siblings can be, even at this young of an age.
Michael had to hold Gabriel's arms and head still while I compressed from his hips down--first they wrote up and down his back, and then the scratching began. I don't think Gabriel ever felt as betrayed in his little life--he was squalling as loudly as he possibly could and fighting against us with the full force of his surprising strength.
That's something I never considered before I had children. When they are toddlers, they will really surprise you with their strength. I think that's because they have no concept of holding back. Michael and I obviously cannot use our entire strength to hold him because he could hurt himself, but Gabriel was fighting with everything he was worth.
The arm test went much faster and they were able to leave the room because the results had to be read after 20 minutes, which gave me a chance to cuddle Gabriel and try and calm him down.
Now, to keep from invalidating the test, we need to try and touch his arm and back as little as possible; not let him scratch or rub up against anything or lie down. This is where Michael and I got a little tense with one another because I wanted to hold and soothe Gabriel, but Michael was afraid that I would mess up the test and we would have to come back and re-do it.
Luckily, that was not the case--they came back in 20 minutes later and determined that everything came back negative.
What?!?!?
EVERYTHING came back negative?! They are testing for all the common allergens, and we have seen Gabriel suffer long enough to know that this is definitely allergies. He can't be allergic to NOTHING!
Well, apparently those results aren't that uncommon in a child Gabriel's age. A lot of times, they don't react to anything except for the control stick, but that doesn't necessarily mean that he is not allergic to it.
Then why did we do it in the first place?! That was HORRIBLE!! Argh!!
Because if he had reacted, then we could have put him on a more targeted medicine regimen that would be more beneficial than the broad-scope. Okay, fine. Cool. The test is done with, we got our prescriptions called in, we got to talk to the doctor. Let's go home; we are all worn out.
Oh, no. That is not what they had in mind for this little family.
They would like to also check his blood to make sure that they didn't miss anything on the back scratch test, as well to check him for some immune disorders. All of that can be performed downstairs.
Unfortunately, the sweat-test that they ordered as well to check for cystic fibrosis cannot be performed downstairs; it will have to be done at the lab at the hospital, which means that we are going to do all the lab work at the hospital.
Frick!
That's way far away. At least it's (sort of) on our way home, and we are familiar with the building.
The first test is done on one side of the giant building, the second on the other. Great.
Overall, the blood test went really well. There was a big Toy Story 3 poster in there with a cuddly-huggaly Lotso prominently featured, and Lotso is Gabriel's favorite character, so he is happy going in. They have to restrain him again, but he barely cries, even when they stick him. Maybe he has run out of energy--maybe he is too tired to fight us any more.
Wrong.
We walk all the way down to the next lab over and they attach two electrode things straight out of the fridge to Gabriel's arm. The wires from these electrodes are attached to a battery, but I am not entirely positive how it works. On one arm, Gabriel still has the binding around the crook of his arm which we can't take off yet because he would still be bleeding; on the other, they are running the test which means that Gabe cannot move it until that portion of the test is completed.
The terrified, enraged, exhausted, hungry howls that followed were some of the most inescapable my child has ever produced, and it shook me and Michael very badly to see him so very, very upset. We were trying so hard to calm him down, but he was turning red all the way into his hair and screaming as though his life depended on it, coupled with the very insistent yanking of his arms to get them free. All in all, this portion must have only lasted 10-15 minutes, but it seemed like hours and hours.
Finally, the machine beeped and we were able to put a monitor on him which had to remain in one place for 30 minutes, and then we would finally (finally!) be able to go back home. The best part of the monitor is that we were able to wander around the hospital with Michael carrying Gabriel instead of sitting in one place trying to entertain the little guy.
We walked for a while but ended up in the waiting room with vending machines. After a few fistfuls of fruit snacks, Gabriel was begrudgingly grunting at us again. A few cheesy crackers, and he had progressed to pleasant babbling. The gatorade brought him back to making eye contact and signing again. He was quite hurt and offended by the whole affair, but at least he decided he was not going to be holding it against his parents.
Now we are home with Gabriel napping and me and Michael trying to shake off a very emotionally, physically, and mentally draining morning. Hopefully in the next few days, we will called with some test results--the nurse said that if we have not heard from them in a while, assume it is good news, but that is not how I play. I will probably start calling back this afternoon or tomorrow looking for answers. We have picked up all of the prescriptions and will be starting them tonight, so I sincerely hope we start seeing a change in how Mr. Gabriel is feeling soon.
~Andie~
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