We had a rough day Sunday. Natalie slept poory at my parents and woke up stiff. In preparation for her appointment today, we hadn't given her and ibuprofen and aren't sure if that had an effect, though Mike who slept in the same room as her and was up all night thinks it did.
Then Sunday afternoon she said her stomach hurt, but she had had chips, and pudding, and a few bites of cake and a bunch of fruit, so I figured it was just the after effects of eating poorly. She complained a few times about asking me to kiss her tummy. We didn't notice until later that she asked for no snacks, and weren't shocked when she snubbed dinner as she often does. But at 715, just as I lay William down in his crib, I hear Mike call out "help" from the living room after a whole bunch of Natalie crying. Turns out she told him her upper stomach hurt and wanted a kiss, then she started crying, then asked for a tissue, then he got it, she puked right into it. :( After we cleaned her up, she kept saying how good she felt. I taught her that it was called throwing up and saying "I not throwing up now. I feel much better" was her mantra for the next 24 hours. Upon inspection and reflection of her puke, we decide she didn't chew a ton of whole grapes well enough and these blocked her system. It had been like 7 hours and her food still looked and smelled like it had been recently eaten. Over the night, she threw up twice more in bed resulting in sheet, pillow, and pj changes and having to wash half her hair. She handled it pretty well going back to bed after a story each time. She was very upset when Baby Kitty had to go get a bath though. The second and third time her puke got progressively less thick and chunky, and then she slept like a rock until 730. No incident today, but she also didn't eat much or poop.
But the real event today was the long awaited appointment with the pediatric orthopedist the pediatrician referred us to a month ago. We were worried that the stomach issue would cause us to cancel and have to wait all over again, but with no fever or further incident, we went. Natalie was in an awesome mood pretty much all day. The appointment was actually a bit of a let down. We got there on time, then waited at least half an hour for him in his office as Natalie talked about how he was going to check her. When he came in, she was immediately subdued. He asked some questions, gave her a very quick exam, and then said he thought she should see the rhuematologist. We said we were worried about another month long wait, and he said he would pull strings to get us in. As we left, he told the secretary to "not take no for an answer" about getting us in as soon as possible. We planned to do labs and x-rays while we waited for the appointment.
We drove home and after I help get the kids settled, I head out for the weekly shopping. As I'm checking out, the rhuematologist's office calls to make our appointing saying do we want 2 or 3 o'clock tomorrow? I was shocked. We wonder about the labs, but are told that after what he heard he just wants us to come in, and besides they have a lab on site. So, we sign up for the 3 o'clock appointment hoping it will interfere with nap time the least.
I'm quite conflicted. I'm so happy to see Natalie so happy and moving so well. She climbed up on to a chair on her own twice today! But, why does this have to be the exact day we see the doctor and get referred to the rhuematologist? I know that there is still something physical he could feel about her knees even though she was having such a good day, but its just the irony of it. Also, its like I've started to cling to it being JRA because it is something I understand somewhat and its an answer which can be treated. I kind of want the doctor to say she has it tomorrow (or whenever the results come in) just so we have an answer and can start to treat and understand her real limitations vs her toddler behavior. Yet, I don't actually want her to have a serious disease! I don't want to have to bring her to specialist and physical therapy and medicate her! Its so conflicting and contrary to how I feel I should feel. Its actually hard to believe we are seeing the rhuematologist so soon and might have a diagnosis tomorrow (they have an on site lab) or in a few days.
While Natalie had a pretty great day, William did not. He was not happy in the car and is at an awkward stage in his crawling and pulling up where he is constantly falling and hitting his head. Natalie was never this adventurous and curious, and thus she did not hit her head as much. We kid that people are going to think we abuse him because he always seems to have a bruise on his forehead. Also, his top front teeth are very, very close to cutting through. Add to all this, he seems to always want to be right on top of everyone. He is climbing up us and over us constantly, yet once he is there he doesn't just hold still. He also is trying to do this to Natalie, but she does not like it one bit. I think it is just a sister thing, but it could be related to her pain. Either way, it is not happy days around here for William. We do get some smiles and laughs, but we are definitely in a rough patch.
Then Sunday afternoon she said her stomach hurt, but she had had chips, and pudding, and a few bites of cake and a bunch of fruit, so I figured it was just the after effects of eating poorly. She complained a few times about asking me to kiss her tummy. We didn't notice until later that she asked for no snacks, and weren't shocked when she snubbed dinner as she often does. But at 715, just as I lay William down in his crib, I hear Mike call out "help" from the living room after a whole bunch of Natalie crying. Turns out she told him her upper stomach hurt and wanted a kiss, then she started crying, then asked for a tissue, then he got it, she puked right into it. :( After we cleaned her up, she kept saying how good she felt. I taught her that it was called throwing up and saying "I not throwing up now. I feel much better" was her mantra for the next 24 hours. Upon inspection and reflection of her puke, we decide she didn't chew a ton of whole grapes well enough and these blocked her system. It had been like 7 hours and her food still looked and smelled like it had been recently eaten. Over the night, she threw up twice more in bed resulting in sheet, pillow, and pj changes and having to wash half her hair. She handled it pretty well going back to bed after a story each time. She was very upset when Baby Kitty had to go get a bath though. The second and third time her puke got progressively less thick and chunky, and then she slept like a rock until 730. No incident today, but she also didn't eat much or poop.
But the real event today was the long awaited appointment with the pediatric orthopedist the pediatrician referred us to a month ago. We were worried that the stomach issue would cause us to cancel and have to wait all over again, but with no fever or further incident, we went. Natalie was in an awesome mood pretty much all day. The appointment was actually a bit of a let down. We got there on time, then waited at least half an hour for him in his office as Natalie talked about how he was going to check her. When he came in, she was immediately subdued. He asked some questions, gave her a very quick exam, and then said he thought she should see the rhuematologist. We said we were worried about another month long wait, and he said he would pull strings to get us in. As we left, he told the secretary to "not take no for an answer" about getting us in as soon as possible. We planned to do labs and x-rays while we waited for the appointment.
We drove home and after I help get the kids settled, I head out for the weekly shopping. As I'm checking out, the rhuematologist's office calls to make our appointing saying do we want 2 or 3 o'clock tomorrow? I was shocked. We wonder about the labs, but are told that after what he heard he just wants us to come in, and besides they have a lab on site. So, we sign up for the 3 o'clock appointment hoping it will interfere with nap time the least.
I'm quite conflicted. I'm so happy to see Natalie so happy and moving so well. She climbed up on to a chair on her own twice today! But, why does this have to be the exact day we see the doctor and get referred to the rhuematologist? I know that there is still something physical he could feel about her knees even though she was having such a good day, but its just the irony of it. Also, its like I've started to cling to it being JRA because it is something I understand somewhat and its an answer which can be treated. I kind of want the doctor to say she has it tomorrow (or whenever the results come in) just so we have an answer and can start to treat and understand her real limitations vs her toddler behavior. Yet, I don't actually want her to have a serious disease! I don't want to have to bring her to specialist and physical therapy and medicate her! Its so conflicting and contrary to how I feel I should feel. Its actually hard to believe we are seeing the rhuematologist so soon and might have a diagnosis tomorrow (they have an on site lab) or in a few days.
While Natalie had a pretty great day, William did not. He was not happy in the car and is at an awkward stage in his crawling and pulling up where he is constantly falling and hitting his head. Natalie was never this adventurous and curious, and thus she did not hit her head as much. We kid that people are going to think we abuse him because he always seems to have a bruise on his forehead. Also, his top front teeth are very, very close to cutting through. Add to all this, he seems to always want to be right on top of everyone. He is climbing up us and over us constantly, yet once he is there he doesn't just hold still. He also is trying to do this to Natalie, but she does not like it one bit. I think it is just a sister thing, but it could be related to her pain. Either way, it is not happy days around here for William. We do get some smiles and laughs, but we are definitely in a rough patch.
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