Poking and prodding at Mia
Norah turned 4 yesterday, by the way. We had no party because we figured going to Disneyland was birthday present enough. If you're interested, you can read all about her first day in the world here. Yay, Norah at 4 years old!
Meanwhile, Mia is still having issues. As long-term readers of the blog know, after her hip surgery she stopped eating. We've taken her to a gastroenterologist twice, and the second time she decided to do some investigating, because the steps we took after the first visit weren't working. So she scheduled her for an endoscopy, which occurred today. Actually, Mia had an EGD, which is (very) short for esophagogastroduodenoscopy, which looks at the upper part of the gastrointestinal tract to the duodenum. How about that for a word? It's awesome.
We went in this morning (two hours prior to the procedure, of course, because if you're not sitting around a waiting room in a hospital, you're just not having fun!) and met with the doctor and the anesthesiologist. Mia has done this so many times that I could probably give the prepared speeches to them, but it's always necessary to go over it again. The procedure was scheduled for 9.30, and it was mighty quick - no more than 30 minutes, and possibly as short as 20. I wasn't really looking at the clock too much, but I know it was quick. The doctor didn't find much - she was looking for an infection that Mia might have sustained in the hospital when she had her surgery, but her esophagus, stomach, and duodenum were all clean. I wasn't surprised - if she had an infection, I imagine she would have been sick by now, and as usual, she's as healthy as a horse (well, except for the boo-boo on her brain, but you know what I mean). The doctor did say there's some "old blood" on her stomach walls, and she biopsied them even though she doesn't think they're ulcers and doesn't think they're causing any problems. It's best to be sure! Check out the small blood spots:
She came out of the anesthesia and soon afterward was keen to go home. She drank and ate her usual allotment today - as in very little - and she seemed fine. She's always very good about going under the anesthesia and coming out - the doctor even said that kids who freak out when they get the gas are easier to put under because they're gulping in air, while kids like Mia, who just lie there calmly, take a bit longer. But she was fine, as per usual.
The doctor prescribed Prevacid for her, mainly because she isn't totally sure those specks aren't ulcers and also because Mia may have acid reflux, which is unlikely but remotely possible. I'm not sure how we're supposed to get her to drink the water in which the tablets are dissolved, but we'll figure something out.
Next up: a barium swallow! Whoo-hoo! She's had a modified barium swallow before, back in the day when she just got off the tube through her nose and we wanted to know if she could eat. Now we need to see if there's anything wrong with her gastric system that might be inhibiting the progress of food through her body. We're trying to rule out any medical reason for her problems. I'm still convinced it's all psychological, as it's the only thing in her life she can control. But we have to eliminate all possible medical reasons for it. That certainly leads to some fun stuff!
Meanwhile, Mia is still having issues. As long-term readers of the blog know, after her hip surgery she stopped eating. We've taken her to a gastroenterologist twice, and the second time she decided to do some investigating, because the steps we took after the first visit weren't working. So she scheduled her for an endoscopy, which occurred today. Actually, Mia had an EGD, which is (very) short for esophagogastroduodenoscopy, which looks at the upper part of the gastrointestinal tract to the duodenum. How about that for a word? It's awesome.
We went in this morning (two hours prior to the procedure, of course, because if you're not sitting around a waiting room in a hospital, you're just not having fun!) and met with the doctor and the anesthesiologist. Mia has done this so many times that I could probably give the prepared speeches to them, but it's always necessary to go over it again. The procedure was scheduled for 9.30, and it was mighty quick - no more than 30 minutes, and possibly as short as 20. I wasn't really looking at the clock too much, but I know it was quick. The doctor didn't find much - she was looking for an infection that Mia might have sustained in the hospital when she had her surgery, but her esophagus, stomach, and duodenum were all clean. I wasn't surprised - if she had an infection, I imagine she would have been sick by now, and as usual, she's as healthy as a horse (well, except for the boo-boo on her brain, but you know what I mean). The doctor did say there's some "old blood" on her stomach walls, and she biopsied them even though she doesn't think they're ulcers and doesn't think they're causing any problems. It's best to be sure! Check out the small blood spots:
She came out of the anesthesia and soon afterward was keen to go home. She drank and ate her usual allotment today - as in very little - and she seemed fine. She's always very good about going under the anesthesia and coming out - the doctor even said that kids who freak out when they get the gas are easier to put under because they're gulping in air, while kids like Mia, who just lie there calmly, take a bit longer. But she was fine, as per usual.
The doctor prescribed Prevacid for her, mainly because she isn't totally sure those specks aren't ulcers and also because Mia may have acid reflux, which is unlikely but remotely possible. I'm not sure how we're supposed to get her to drink the water in which the tablets are dissolved, but we'll figure something out.
Next up: a barium swallow! Whoo-hoo! She's had a modified barium swallow before, back in the day when she just got off the tube through her nose and we wanted to know if she could eat. Now we need to see if there's anything wrong with her gastric system that might be inhibiting the progress of food through her body. We're trying to rule out any medical reason for her problems. I'm still convinced it's all psychological, as it's the only thing in her life she can control. But we have to eliminate all possible medical reasons for it. That certainly leads to some fun stuff!
posted by Greg at
7:19 PM
1 Comments:
I hope Mia gets back to eating soon. I'm really pleased that they are checking out any medical reasons, even though it's likely to be psychological. In the UK we'e just had some major reports/inquiries into people (with disabilities) who'd died unnecessarily because assumptions were made that issues were psychological/ untreatable when in fact people were simply ill. My heart goes out to Mia (and you) undergoing those tests though.
PS Happy Birthday to Norah
By
Custancia, at 24/6/09 2:39 PM
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