Gage's testing

Gage survived his tests although it took the best of him.  We arrived at 7am and they put us in a Mavericks room...was very impressed by this hospital which is one we had never been to before.  There was a Wii set up for him to play so immediately he started playing.  The nurse put a numbing patch on his arm before placing the IV.  He got really scared when he saw the needle for the IV and cried a little.  He did not feel it though and was happy to learn that they would not have to stick him anymore.  The nurse took blood and then gave him a medication through his IV. He was not able to play the Wii with his IV in so he watched some Scooby Doo videos. She came back and took blood 30 mins later and then had him swallow 3 tiny pills.  He has never swallowed pills before but did great.  He was getting bored of watching TV so we read books.  She came again in 30 mins & took more blood..waited 30 more minutes and then took blood again.  She then wanted him to swallow 2 capsules.  Really?! He's 7! It took some time (and crying) but he finally got the 2 pills down and was NOT happy and ready to leave the hospital.  The first med had kicked in and he was getting sleepy, cranky, and hungry. I layed down beside him and he went to sleep in less than 5 minutes.  The nurse took blood 3 more times in 30 minute intervals and he slept through it all. ;)  He finally started waking a little when the nurse said she just needed to make sure lab got all they needed and then we would be free to go.  We were released about 1:30pm and Gage was not looking good.  I had to carry him to the car and his lips were white and face completely pale.  He immediately fell back to sleep in the car and every once in awhile would cry out that his stomach hurt.  He had requested Sonic so once we got his food he ate maybe 5 fries and drank a little of his chocolate milk and went back to sleep.  He slept the whole hour car ride home.  Once home he started perking up and went upstairs to play...about 30 minutes later I went looking for him and could not find him and he was not answering when I called his name.  On my 2nd search of the house I found him sitting on the floor in the playroom.  He said he answered me but it looked as though he had been sleeping so I brought him downstairs.  He cried about his belly more but refused to eat or drink anything.  He fell back to sleep from about 5-6:30pm and finally ate and had some energy back to play on the Wii.  It was pitiful to see him that way because he's always so energetic and talkative.  By the next morning he was back to normal Gage! We go in 3 weeks to hear the results.

Gage

I thought I would send an update about Gage.  I took him for an x-ray of his bone age and then we had an appointment with his endocrinologist to talk about it and get bloodwork done to get his growth hormone levels.  Well, the bone age showed his age about 5 instead of 7 which is not too far behind but tells us that he could very well have a growth hormone defiency and that he may not have a delayed growth spurt later in life.  The dr. & I talked about all the issues and I made it very clear to her that we are COMPLETELY fine with his small stature if it's just a genetic issue and not a health issue and that we would only do growth hormone therapy if it's proven to be a health issue and not just a size issue.  Gage is fine with his size and if he wanted to do growth hormones we would consider but he does not.  We feel God made him just the way He intended (just like He made Autumn) & we accept it unless it's causing a health issue for him.  The dr. wanted to get his bloodwork to see what it showed and also wanted to schedule a stimulation test to be done as well.  I was not for the stimulation test since it's an intense test & I did not want to put him through it if it was not needed.  So, we headed out to get his bloodwork done and I was going to wait to schedule the stim test depending on the results from his bloodwork.  Well, the bloodwork showed his growth hormone levels were slightly low but it also showed his cortisol levels were low as well.  So, the dr. said she wants him to have both his pituitary & adrenal glands tested.  So, Monday night we will fast Gage starting at 9pm & Tuesday morning we have to have him at the hospital by 6:30am to start the 4-6 hour test. They will put in an IV and then give him medication to see if his glands respond how they should to the medication.  They will take blood levels every 30 minutes for about 4 hours.  The medication could cause him to become sick to his stomach. ;(  It should take about 2-3 weeks for the results to be ready & then we will meet with the dr. to discuss the results and options for therapy/treatment if needed.  I really hate going through all of this with him but at least we will know for sure if there is any medical issues that need to be addressed.  His last endrocrinologist who wanted to start him on growth hormones never wanted to do any testing which made us so uncomfortable so I'm glad this dr. is pushing for proven medical testing instead of just looking at a growth chart to recommend growth hormone therapy. Please keep Gage in your prayer on Tuesday & I will try my best to update on how it went & results when we get them.