Endoscopy update

WG's endoscopy went well. Here are the results in a nutshell:

* The pancreatic rest is not causing a blockage (YIPPEE!!!!!!)
* She has damage to her esophagus from GERD
* The lining of her stomach is inflamed
* The tissue of the upper part of her small intestine is inflamed and friable (which I understand to mean brittle)

The results of the abdominal ultrasound and barium swallow were normal, which we figured. They didn't show anything last go-around either. We won't know the results of the biopsies or the allergy testing until her follow-up appointment which is July 22nd. In the meanwhile her GI doc has added carafate to the prevacid. She also mentioned that she thought that WG's stomach might not be emptying as it should. Tim and I would concur with this since there are times that WG vomits in the morning and her dinner from 12+ hours before is completely undigested. There is a good possibility that an emptying study is in WG's future.

WG did pretty well with the whole thing. She freaked out when they did her vital signs at check in and then again when they were ready to take the tape off her hand to take the IV out after the procedure. She recovered swiftly from the anethesia and was very anxious to get her "huey-huey." She's back to running around and being herself this afternoon. Tim and I, on the other hand, are beat. Neither of us slept well because we were anxious and then we had to be at the hospital at 6:45am. Tim is currently napping and WG and I are about to join him.

The other shoe...

WG is having some health issues again. When she was somewhere around 6 months old she started vomiting for no apparent reason. At it's worst she would vomit 15 to 20 times a day. When the gastroenterologist did an upper endoscopy he found the cause. WG has a pancreatic rest, which is basically a volcano-shaped mass of pancreatic tissue that has grown on the inside of her stomach. Many people have pancreatic rests and never know because they never cause problems. The unique thing about WG's rest is it's size (it is huge) and it's placement. At the time it was causing a blockage and her food couldn't always pass through. We took a "wait and see" approach hoping that as she grew the blockage would lessen and the vomiting would stop which is what happened.


About two months ago, WG started vomiting again. For various reasons (in the interest of not making YOU puke I won't be graphic) it is obvious that something is not right in tummyland. She saw a different gastroenterologist (her usual GI doc is on vacation) who decided that it would be a good idea to see what is going on with the rest. WG had an ultrasound and barium swallow and will undergo another upper endoscopy scope tomorrow morning. While she is under for the scope they are also going to take blood for extensive food allergy testing.


Tim and I are going okay. We've sailed these seas before.... We are being proactive with trying to figure out what is going on this time instead of waiting until she is throwing up nearly every meal. She is also not a frail little baby anymore. WG (finally) has some heft to her. Right now she is at the 95th% for height and the 75% for weight. When we went through this the first time she was around the 98th% for height and the 30th% for weight. There is more wiggle room before panicking about weight loss this time. WG has been a real trouper through it. She did very well with the first round of tests. I don't think she knows what's going on tomorrow, just that she is headed to the hospital and that when she is done (and is up to it) she will get to go pick out a "huey-huey" aka a hula hoop. WG has wanted a huey-huey all summer.

I will post an update when we know more about what is going on. We have always conferenced with her GI directly after the upper endoscopy so I expect that will be the case tomorrow.

My first smocked dress!

It's much cuter with WG *in* it but those pictures didn't turn out well so I asked Tim to take some pictures of it on the dummy. I'm pleased with how it turned out. It is smocked on the back in the same colors and pattern as the front. For me the smocking was the easy part. I had some problems with construction. I had to adjust quite a bit. I don't know if I cut out the wrong size facing to line the bodice or what, but it's still not completely right. The facing is too tight / small at the sides. Eventually I am going to put a zipper in on the side under the arm. I learned a lot, though, constructing it and the next one will be better and easier. I have fallen in love with smocking. I finished this dress yesterday morning and pleated up my next project last night. I started smocking it today.

Here is a close up of the smocking:

Poison Ivy

Friday WG was playing next door and got into a wee bit of poison ivy. It wasn't too bad, but I guess the first exposure isn't usually. Saturday Tim took her outside with him while he was working on the yard. She was warned several times not to venture into the "jungle" but WG is not always the best listener. She is also at the age where she thinks that she knows better than we do. (oh, wait, isn't that just a universal thing with kids?) Tim turned his back for a second, and when he looked back WG was in the "jungle," had picked some poison ivy and was rubbing it on her face. This time she reacted. I did not see WG until Sunday morning because I was out playing weddings past her bedtime Saturday. When she got up she had red rashy streaks on her face, including on her eyelids, and her eyes were puffy and a bit swollen. The rash also extended to the inside of WG's nose. We called WG's pediatrician's on-call service for advice. The nurse said that they needed to see her within 24 hours of exposure since it involved her face and strongly suggested that we take her in the the emergency room.

So we packed WG up and headed to the ER at Children's. If my math is correct, this is the third time we have hit the ER in about a month and a half. It is a new record for WG.... I have lost count of how many times overall we have been in the ER with her, I think it is around 15 or so. Yup, this is a lot, but in our defense the only time that wasn't an emergency and was due to parental freak-out was when her toe got smooshed under in her shoe and she screamed so much for so long that we thought that she had dislocated her elbow. She was not talking at the time and Nursemaid's elbow is what over 50% of her ER visits have been for. The discharge papers for that visit had the instructions, "Have the child measured for larger shoes." Our other favorite discharge instructions instructed her to avoid pushing objects up her nose.

WG got a big dose of oral steroids at the ER and within an hour looked (and felt) a whole lot better. She is on oral steroids for the rest of this week and is also taking benadryl for the itch. Today the rash has faded almost completely. WG is feeling much better. Tim took a picture of her yesterday. I'll edit it in here when he downloads it.

UFO's

There have been many UFO sightings here as of late.... Not UFO's of ET fame, I'm talking about Unfinished Objects. Projects that are half-completed and then left, for whatever reason, for another day that never comes.

Last night I started in on my UFO's. I finished two bibs and a lunch bag to send to a friend, converted a large pile of WG's winter knit pants and tops to shorts and shortsleeved shirts for summer PJ's, and (finally) finished hemming the curtains for my bedroom. We've had a blanket covering the window for longer than I care to admit. I finished the curtains, Tim hung them and it is sooo much nicer than it was. Funny how a small change like that can make the whole room more relaxing.

I still have a bunch of UFO's. So I've decided from now until July 4th is UFO challenge time. Let's gain independence from our unfinished projects! It doesn't have to be sewing or craft projects; household projects, garden projects, etc all count. I would love to hear about completed UFO's. (Mom, Aunt Beth, Amy I know you probably have a few!)