A Mixed Bag - Feb. 28, 2009

We received the biopsy results from Noah's little stomach surgery on Monday and we have been processing...the results weren't too encouraging. Since Mike has access to the Madigan Army Hospital computer system, he had looked up Noah's results before the appointment. It said something about "chronic gastro blah, blah, blah", but it didn't seem too threatening to either one of us. We were scratching our heads a bit though wondering how an 11 year old could have anything "chronic". At the appointment, the Doctor said that the biopsy results, in conjunction with the other tests, may indicate Crohn's Disease or Ulcerative Colitis. Noah is down 20 plus pounds and continues to lose weight. This is becoming a major concern for the Doctor. Some special wham-a-dime blood test was taken and sent off to a lab somewhere in America (I assume). Of course this blood test is not the end all, be all diagnosis, it is merely an indicator if they are barking up the right tree. Personally, I want the barking to stop. More testing is in Noah's future; CT Scan, Colonoscopy (yuck) and some other fun stuff. I'm still scratching my head and not really believing anything could ACTUALLY be wrong with him. It would be great if this was all some weird, funky viral attack...oh yeah...it is...I can actually name the viral attacker...Satan! I'm pretty much over him, and want to see him destroyed.

On the flip-side, Aaron had his repeat IEP and he qualified for every service available. So now that little guy is going to school every day and has a team of teachers. Let me say that again, "he has a team of teachers!" It is good. I am so glad he is getting services from 3 specialists at school. He LOVES it. He absolutely loves it. All of his repeat testing showed again that his intelligence is in tact, meaning that they are going to try to find a way to reach beyond the disability to get to his intelligence and not just teach him life skills.

D-day for me and my throat surgery is March 19th. Party on, Garth. I'm sure my excitement is contagious. The refresher of the procedure is this: they are going to induce anaphylaxis in order to see what muscles need to be cut in my neck to keep from closing off my airway. I get to go in with my wits about me and they won't let me alter my mental status in anyway...and I think that is just plain mean. Hello? A little Valium here please! But, no way, because it will interfere with the meds used to bring me out of anaphylaxis. I guess I need to look at the BIG PICTURE here, don't I? Anyway, I mentioned to Mike last night that I was "nervous" and "dreading" this, and he was so compassionate and understanding as he told me to "suck it up because I'm going in anyway." Humph. I was looking for a little sympathy about the process, and he was looking at the end result of my airway staying open. I guess that pretty much sums up the difference between men and women!

So that's the scoop. Some good, some not so good...a.k.a. "a mixed bag".