February 10, 2009 — We leave for Birmingham to check into our hotel. We have found a new hotel to stay in that offers a Children’s Hospital discounted rate, if you are having a procedure or an appointment (the catch is you have to have a note on Children’s Hospital letterhead stating that you are having said procedure or appointment). Now, granted the rate is not a swell deal like it was in 2004 (we stayed at the same hotel for a mere $25 for a night!)…the rate was $79, but compared to the regular rate of $119, it was a decent hotel for a decent price. We actually checked into the hotel earlier than we normally do, and found that it gave us some time to rest before getting out for dinner and some fellowship time with our adopted family, the Key’s.
Kimberly & Thad
We met Thad and Kimberly at our usual spot, Taziki’s in Mountain Brook. We love to eat there, and thankfully, so do Thad and Kimberly! They got their usual — chicken roll-ups, Mojo had them, too, Button Boy had the children’s grilled cheese (which amazingly enough, I had to force feed him) and I had a wonderful Basil-Feta Pita–YUMM-O! We had wonderful conversations…catching them up on what is going on in our lives, and hearing what is going on in theirs. Button Boy played on the booth bench we were sitting on….played on the bench to the table in the middle of the room…and pretty much couldn’t sit still for the entire dinner…he wiggled and squirmed and giggled and grinned…and was typical Prednisone happy boy. We then split up–girls in the van withButton Boy and guys in the deadly 4-runner (with Thad driving –a Yugo would be deadly!) and off to The Summit and Barnes & Nobles — another usual spot to spend a few hours of fellowship with the Key’s. It is a great place to let Button Boy roam in the children’s area (with the girls keeping watch while sitting and sipping our Starbucks and chatting away!) and to let the guy’s talk their “guy talk” in private (private = the history section or religion section….I think one time we found them in the reference section — but they got busy talking and walking and got lost!).
Once back at our hotel, we allow Button Boy to finish watching his Scooby-Doomovie on the laptop before getting him ready for bed. We have a room with a king size bed so we can all snuggle in for the night…little did I know that meant watching one of Button Boy’s and Mojo’s favorite t.v. shows…I’ll give you one hint — DOH! Yes, I had to suffer through the Simpson’s. I guess it wasn’t that bad….yeah, it was! Luckily, we were all tucked in and asleep before 10:00pm. The morning was going to begin early!
February 11, 2009 — Up at the crack of dawn….5:15am! UGH! It was not meant for anyone to be up and awake before the sun rises. My daddy would argue with me, but he has always been an early bird. I am always first out of bed, usually because once I wake up, I can’t get back to sleep, but on mornings like this it is because I am way too nervous about oversleeping! We get to Children’s Outpatient Waiting right at 6:30 (okay, really it was 6:33, but they understand what it is like with a nervous child).
This morning we actually don’t have to take Button Boy to the lab for pre-op. I’m not sure why, but am certainly NOT complaining! We get to our room, get Button Boy into his gown, and get him in bed with a blanket, a Scooby-Doo video, and snuggles from Mommy….when the nurse comes in, she comes in WITH the Anesthesiologist. WHAT?! That is unheard of in any hospital!! Of course, the Anesthesiologist was already aware of Button Boy’s history, but made sure nothing had changed, and we made sure they were aware of our last procedure and the difficulty that he had afterwards with nausea. Dr. Saeed had told us in November that Button Boy really needed to have Versed to help relax him before the procedure…and boy, did he relax! He chuckled at the nurses and Dr. Saeed, and never got overly anxious — even when we were standing in the door of the procedure room!
The procedure seemed to take much less time than it did the two previous times. I had enough time to go down to the Starbucks in CHS (yes, there *is* a Starbucks in Children’s — YIPEE!) and Mojo to go to the cafeteria to get his overly large breakfast. Dr. Saeed actually got to our room before Mojo got back upstairs! I have seen Dr. Saeedhappy before, but he actually looked GIDDY when he came into our room!!! He was literally bouncing into the room! He had the pictures in his hand…and I could tell from his face that the results were better than he expected! The pictures showed smooth surfaces in Button Boy’s esophagus and stomach…and a beautiful pink color! (well, his stomach had a gross yellowish color, but it was the discoloration from the Versed) I could feel a lump in my throat! I was just amazed at the difference since November 19th!
OH MY!!!
My very first question to Dr. Saeed was….HOW DO WE COME OFF OF THE PREDNISONE! (not that I was ready, or anything!) He immediately let me know the way to wean Button Boy from the Prednisone….then he said that the actual biopsy results would be back within a week and he would look at the results to determine when we would have another appointment and the probability of another endoscope.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009 — I couldn’t stand waiting any longer! I called Dr. Saeed’s office today to find out what they knew about the biopsies….the office called about three minutes later! The nurse said that the results said ZERO EOSINIPHIL CELLS!!! Yes! No white cell accumulation! The Prednisone did exactly what Dr. Saeedhoped it would…even though the side effects were horrid, they might have actually been worth it to know that the white cells are gone! Okay, breathe! I can breathe again!!
Once I was able to catch my breath and think, I did have two questions for the nurse to ask Dr. Saeed. One, when is our next appointment? Two, will we have to schedule a follow-up endoscope to see what the eosiniphil cells do without the Prednisone? The nurse, who is always a blessing to talk to, said that she would ask Dr. Saeed and call me back as soon as she could. She called back within 10 minutes! Our next appointment is in June, and we just need to keep it….unless Button Boy complains about his throat or stops eating again. As for a follow-up endoscope after no Prednisone, it is likely, but that will be discussed at our June appointment, unless we experience some problems.
ZERO EOSINIPHIL CELLS!!!! breathe, breathe….
Praise God! He is so good!
Button Boy
Tags: GOTTA LOVE THEM KEY'S!
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