Repeat!

Well, last night we had a repeat of Thursday night only not as scary and a couple hours longer. Mark took Nathan to the pediatrician on Friday at 3:15 and Dr. Lubelle sent him to CHOP because he felt that Nathan should see a neurosurgeon. Well after several hours of waiting, we did not see a neurosurgeon and nothing was done for Nathan. They didn't have the cat scan from Abington so they couldn't even take a look at that. They said they see frequent skull fractures with hematomas for normal kids and the parents often have no clue how they were injured. Nathan was soooo good for sitting in a little hospital room for four hours, no fussing or anything! We need to schedule with neurosurgery next week, pick up the cat scan at Abington and bring it to the appointment.

ugghhh Where do I begin?

Well, Wednesday night while Mark was giving Nathan a bath, he noticed that the one side of his head was swollen and soft. He called the doctor on Thursday and took him in for an appointment. Dr. Fitzpatrick recommended we take Nathan to the emergency room for a cat scan/MRI. Well at Abington Emergency room, they told us they thought it could be hydrocephalus water on the brain in which case he would have to be hospitalized and have a shunt put in. It was awful. I cannot describe how awful it was. Knowing that when you have a shunt put in, it is eventually removed; however, it would most likely return. Other possibilities were of course a tumor or trauma. I told them that two weeks ago the metal stocking holder fell on his head; however, the doctor did not think it felt like a trauma injury. He had a cat scan and within a half hour the doctor returned to tell us that Nathan has a skull fracture and hematite. Not sure if they have ever seen happier people who were told their 2 year old had a skull fracture. After deliberating for a while they sent us home with instructions to ice it four times a day (yeah right) and make sure he doesn't get hit in the head again. We were ecstatic that it is not some kind of congenital issue! Fortunately we had lots of people praying for Nathan and lots of people to help us with Libby. I didn't feel that she needed to be at the hospital and see us upset, so the neighbors and Mee Maw Falcone watched her for the evening.

So now I am exhausted which is why this is written so poorly. I could go on and on about how awful it was, but that is not necessary. The bad news is that he fell off the bed this morning (again on my watch-I was brushing my teeth). He hit his head and has two more bumps, one on the back of his head and one on top, near the hematoma. Our only eye witness is a four year old so we don't know where he hit his head but we assume it was on the night stand. Once again, no loss of consciousness, no vomiting, changes in behavior. Mark is taking him back to the doctor this afternoon. I was going to write that this is so stressful, but that does not even describe it. I am so worried that he will not be okay or that this will continue happening. He is two years old. He is going to fall. What if they send us back to the hospital tonight? We'll keep you posted.

GI appt.

Nathan had his GI appt yesterday. He weighed 20 pounds 3 ounces and was 33.5 inches tall. The only news is that we didn't know we were supposed to be giving him the periactin (appetite stimulant) 1/2 hour before breakfast and 1/2 hour before dinner. I don't know if it will make a difference or not but maybe. Dr. Kelly says his weight is "status quo", not great but plugging along. I asked about testing for Cystic Fibrosis which someone suggested to us. Dr. Kelly does not think this is likely, but said it does not hurt to rule it out so we have to schedule with Dr. Lockman (pediatrician) for a sweat test. No other news. Nathan's eye was almost completely better by Saturday!

WARNING: What you are about to see is graphic, please make sure small children have left the room!

Rough week for Nathan. He has been sick since Monday with fever and a cold. On Monday afternoon his eye was slightly swollen and we went to the doctor. Dr. Lockman prescribed Augmentin. He seemed fine by Wednesday-then Thursday morning-this and today not a lot better. We went back to Lockman Lubelle yesterday and saw Dr. Fitzpatrick who was "puzzled." She said it could be viral and recommended Benadryl. She also gave him a prescription for a different antibiotic as a back up plan. He is eating even less than normal! We had to cancel a GI appt for earlier in the week and it is rescheduled for Tuesday. I'm sure his weight will be down.

A strong wind.....

actually almost knocked Nathan over yesterday. Granted it was extremely windy, but it still is a bit sad. I caught him by the hood of his jacket.

Anyway, he had a check-up last week with his regular pediatrician which was good. Dr. Lockman was pleased with his progress. He weighed 20 pounds 8 ounces and was 32.5 inches tall. He has kind of plateaued in the weight department which is par for the course with Nathan.

I am getting a bit discouraged again. I think I go along and find joy in the little accomplishments, an ounce here, a tooth there, a positive appointment and then all of a sudden it just isn't enough for me. All of a sudden I get frustrated that he is 2 and just now legally able to be forward facing in the car. Or that I am still buying 12-18 month clothing for him and lots of 6-12 month pants still fit him. Or that his little mouth hangs open all the time because of low muscle tone. Anyway, I am worried about him getting behind physically in daycare. Nothing triggered this, I just don't want him to get so far behind that he is not able to continue in regular daycare or that he is unable to move up with the rest of the kids. He is already in a younger class and I want him to be challenged cognitively too. Well I am off to pick up him (and Libby) at school and I always feel better when I see that little face and hear, "mama!"

We have a couple appts coming up, endocronology January 23, bone x-ray January 16 and next monday a GI appointment. I'll keep you posted.