Tuesday, January 27, 2009

The big day...

We got so much information today, it's hard to know where to begin, so you'll have to bear with me.
ENT - we never made it to see the Ear, Nose, and Throat guy. We spent too much time at the hospital, so we re-scheduled for Thursday at 3:30. However, if this doctor thinks Olivia needs tubes in her ears and he is willing to coordinate a time with the general surgeon, they can do this at the same time as the G-tube. That would be awesome!
Cardiology - we went to see Dr. Shah at 1:00. Love that guy. Anyway, he ordered some labs, listened to her, and here's what we know. Her platelets are at 45,000 (up a bit), her hemoglobin is at 9.6, and her white count is still low. Her retic count was good, meaning her bone marrow is producing healthy new baby red cells. He consulted with Olivia's doctor from St. Jude and they are both tending to believe it is something viral, not cardiac related or having anything to do with the old leukemia stuff. They are going to continue to watch her counts by re-testing on Thursday and getting a chest x-ray. Dr. Shah heard a little something in her lungs, so he's just checking for pneumonia. So, we thought that was all good news. They let us leave, after all!
G-tube/General Surgeon - We met with Dr. Pearl at 2:15. We loved, loved, loved Dr. Pearl and his entire staff. They had done their research and knew all about Olivia extensive history. He went through all the possible scenarios and didn't even laugh at our questions! So, for now, we are going in Thursday to have a GI study done, and again on Tuesday for another GI study to get more information. If he still needs more info, we'll go for a third test that would require an overnight stay. We are definitely going ahead with the G-tube, but are trying to decide if Olivia has a problem with reflux and needs what is referred to as a Nissen. We'll know more on Tuesday afternoon when we meet with him again.
We felt really good coming out of all of these appointments. It's definitely going to make for long days on Thursday and next Tuesday, but it will be nice to move forward with all of this. Thanks for thinking and praying for us today! It definitely brought us peace! And the best part - Olivia was happy all day. She usually gets really fussy after spending all day in and out of doctor's offices. I think the main reason is that Zac was there, which helped tremendously. He can be pretty entertaining. At least Olivia thinks so.
Jack is feeling better. Just a bad morning, I guess. He should be good to go tomorrow!
I suppose that sums up our day without giving too much medical detail. There will be plenty of time for that!

6 comments:

Judy said...

I've been waiting for this update all day. (Ryan's out of town and that always means I spend way too much time on the computer :) I'm so glad you are working with some great doctors. That makes all the difference. It all sounds very encouraging. It's great that they're being so thorough even if it means extra appointments. I'm glad daddy could come along on this trip to keep Miss Olivia happy. I'm convinced that Daddy's are better entertainers than mommy's! At least in our house they are!

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad you had a day full of good appointments. It's so nice to read that the new doc did his homework & was prepared for you. Sounds like you are on the right path. Hopefully everything will fall into place & Olivia will look as normal as she feels soon.

If you need someone to take the kids, let me know. My schedule is pretty flexible.

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad to hear about all of your news today. Livvy is such a trooper. Hang in there. All of this pain in the butt stuff will be for the good, in the end. Just take a deep breath and take it day by day. I know you know all of this already, but it doesn't hurt to be reminded- does it? :) Please let me know if I can do anything for you.

Bethany, PICU

Anonymous said...

Wow! What a relief :) I'm so glad the day went smoothly and Jack is doing better. Dr. Vengunta did Izzy's Nissan and g-tube. Him and Dr. Pearl work consult each other especially with cardiac kids. You really couldn't be in better hands. A good doctor NEVER makes you feel like you are inferior.
We have an appointment next week with Dr.Shah (love him too!) and I'm dreading my hubby not being there to entertain Izzy. I guess us mommies are not as fun since they see us all day. :p

Peoria Peepers said...

Thanks for the update.
We were surprised to see you at the hospital Tuesday, but we know you log many hours there!
We're thinking of you all and will see you this weekend.

Anonymous said...

So glad to hear you got a lot of your questions answered! We had also met with Dr. Pearl when Jake was little and we loved him too!
I'm sure it makes you feel good to be with such a great dr.
We'll keep praying for you and we hope today went well too!
Jen Weber