Theresa News

I know this blog has mostly been about Kirby, but mainly b/c there's not much new going on with Gary or me. However, I have been gong through something unexpected lately.

A few weeks ago, we went to Florida for vacation (3 days with my mom and 3 days with Gary's sister). Our first night home, I felt a bit of a scratchy throat. The next day I felt cold most of the day and by the evening, I felt horrible. I ended up calling in sick 2 days b/c I either didn't have energy or had chills/aches. By that weekend, I thought I was getting better (no aches, but super snotty).

The next Monday night, I started feeling intense pains in my upper abdomen. I'd felt something similar before, but never that painful. Almost immediately, I felt like I had to go to Urgent Care. Thankfully, my MIL was able to come over to watch Kirby, but those 10 minutes of waiting were torturous! Gary drove as fast as possible, but I felt so awful that I ended up throwing up out the car window (mainly b/c I had a lot of gunk in my throat from the illness and just couldn't bring myself to swallow it). The other tortuous part was waiting at Urgent Care to been seen (there were 2 other people ahead of me). The dr couldn't really do much for me, but thankfully the pain wasn't as intense by then. He suggested that I take Zantac and go on the BRAT diet for a few days (banana, rice, applesauce, and toast).

When I had similar pains in the past (well, stomach pressure in the same area), it usually started after dinner and ended around 2am. I was typically able to fall asleep and magically the pains would be gone when I woke up. Unfortunately, it was impossible for me to fall asleep this time b/c of the pain. I finally threw up around 4am and fell asleep shortly after the pain went away.

2 days later, I saw my regular dr and tested my blood to look at my liver functions. Boy, there's nothing like seeing the message the next morning that my liver functions are abnormal and that it's jaundiced! More blood donations and stool samples to rule out hepatitis, parasites, etc. On Friday, I ended up getting an ultrasound and it came back "multiple" gallstones.

This past Wed, I saw a liver dr and he said that the jaundiced liver sounds like a classic case of a gallstone getting stuck in one of my tubes - which causes other functions to back up and not work properly. I donated more blood for them to check how my liver's doing, and thankfully it's 90% back to normal (which means it was an issue from the gallstone and not some other liver issue). Also on Wed, I had an MRI to look at my stomach area. At least the appt was that day instead of making me freak out about it for several days. It certainly isn't the most pleasant thing to do (especially since I already felt like a pin cushion and they had to inject contrast), but I felt like I handled it like a trouper since I didn't have Gary there to calm me down.

The liver dr called me yesterday and told me the good news about my liver and said that even though there are a *lot* of gallstones, there are no stones in any tubes. He was concerned that I might have another episode, which can possibly cause other issues (pancreatitus, etc). He said that if I have another episode, to go to the ER instead of Urgent Care to make sure there's someone around in case something bad happens. He referred me to a surgeon to discuss my options. That appt isn't for another week, but I'm assuming they're going to suggest that I have my gallbladder removed. I'm scared of surgery, but I'm ok with the idea since I *never* want to go through that pain again. Additionally, I'm terrified to have another episode so I've been really careful about what I eat (no fat, no dairy). I'm hungry all the time, but on the plus side, I've lost 10 pounds. :)

Half a Year?!

Oh wow - has half a year already passed since the last update?! Sheesh! Let's see if I can think about what's happened since January.

Kirby went back to daycare in February and he's been doing really well. Dropping him off in the morning still sucks, but he only cries for about a minute before he's off playing. This week he transitioned into Toddler 2 (18 months - 2 years). Apparently, they start to speak more once they get in that room b/c they're around older kids. Kirby still doesn't say much, but lately he has been saying more words that we understand ("ma mo" = lawnmower).

Health-wise - Kirby's doing well. He got sick a lot when he first went back to daycare, but that's not too surprising. In March he was tested for allergies and it came back that he's definitely allergic to peanuts and possibly eggs, so for right now we're avoiding all tree nuts and low heat eggs (scrambled eggs, french toast, etc). We question whether he's allergic to high heat eggs (cookies, cakes, etc) b/c he's eaten things at daycare without having a negative reaction so we have an appt in July to test high heat eggs. I'll make a souffle and he'll eat small bites of it at the dr office to see how he reacts. For peanuts, we're avoiding nuts until he's tested again next March. We're hoping that the levels are lower, which may possibly mean that he's going to outgrow the allergy. *fingers crossed*

Developmentally, he's right on track. He's running around, great with his hands, and super smart (in my opinion, of course). He's still a super sweet kid, but toddler tantrums have started to rear its ugly head. We're coping ok so far, but I may need to read up on how to raise a singleton without making him spoiled. ;) Like most kids, he's happy to be outside exploring and he's really into firetrucks. It's been quite an interesting experience to be his mama, but I'm enjoying every minute of it.