Hangin' out waiting for the Dermatologist
Just before being sedated for the MRI
Sedated
As I was thinking of what to call this post (an update on Case’s latest round of doctors’ appointments), this song kept popping in my head. What’s even funnier about this particular kids’ song is that after hearing me sing it to Case a few times, Brian thought I’d made it up.
“That’s a really cute, and creative song, babe, – I can’t believe you made that up,”
To which my response was (for a week I had him going…),
“Thanks!”
And now to the meat of the post:
HEAD – On Tuesday, Case and I headed back to Womack for his MRI. It was scheduled for 10 AM but we had to be there at 7:30 so that he could be sedated (you can’t exactly tell a 6 month old to, “be perfectly still or you’ll mess up the pictures of your brain they’re taking, ok sweetpea?”) meaning that he needed to be NPO (in latin it means, nil per os, or nothing by mouth) and sleep-deprived. A sleep-deprived, hungry 6 month old isn’t really all that fun, but we made it through and only suffered a bit of grogginess for the rest of the day. Dr. Cooper (the Peds Dev. Specialist who ordered the test) is out of town until Friday, so we’ll expect to hear the results by Monday. Crossing our fingers…
SHOULDERS,KNEES & TOES – I got nothing…
EYES – Yesterday Case and I went to Family Eye Care of the Carolinas in Aberdeen, NC – it’s about an hour drive for us. He saw Dr. Michael Bartiss, who dilated his eyes and told us that they’re not just good, they are great! Yay for Case! His father had horrible eyes up until he had LASIK, so we’re hoping Case keeps the ‘great’ vision up (my eyes are still 20/20!).
and ears, and MOUTH, and nose oh and SKIN – At the Dermatologist appointment on Monday at UNC Chapel Hill, Dr. Burkhardt gave Case two topical steroid creams for his eczema ( Derma-Smooth/FS (Fluocinolone Acetonide 0.01%) and Triamcinolone Acetonide Ointment USP 0.1%) and indicated that he should see an Allergist to confirm his exact allergies (yes!). He also said it was a mild case of eczema (11.7 on a scale of 72 – I told him he was seeing Case on an exceptionally good day) and he scheduled a follow-up for a month from now. While I had a captive audience, I asked him if he could (although I know it’s not his area of expertise) take a look at the growing mucous cyst on the floor of Case’s mouth (SIDENOTE – I’ve brought up this mucous cyst at all of Case’s well-baby appointments (he’s had it since birth), but in general the response has been pretty laissez-faire). Dr. Burkhardt indicated that he would put in for a referral to the ENT because the cyst didn’t feel hard like other mucous cysts he’d seen and was a little concerned about issues with Case’s lymph nodes, he was also concerned to hear that it is growing. I know it seems a bit crazy to worry about such seemingly small things, but my feeling is that if we can limit all the physical issues with the mouth that feeding/babbling will come easier (he’s not babbling yet and spoon feeding is little bit weird still and the kid will still not take a bottle!).
I left feeling relieved, except that on the drive home I remembered that Dr. Burkhardt wouldn’t actually be able to do referrals (because all of our referrals need to come from within our system, at least that’s my understanding of the system). So now we’re in the process of getting Case’s PCM changed from Clark Health Clinic (where we see a different indifferent doctor every time, to the Pediatric Clinic at Womack), and hopefully once we have an appointment there we’ll be able to get referrals to the Allergist and the ENT. The recommendation to try to switch from Clark to Womack came from the attending doctor who oversaw Case’s sedation before his MRI (yeah, I’m talking to everyone about this little guy!) The Army health care system is a little like going around around your elbow to get to your thumb (as Kim Moser put it), but we’ll do what we have to do!
Next up? Ears (still awaiting an appointment to get his hearing checked) and the big switch to Peds to get referrals for the Allergist and ENT. We’re also waiting with baited breath for his MRI results and then by the middle of September the metabolic and genetic testing results. We’ll update!
Finding Our Way 