Peter's Follow Up

We got absolutely no answers from the doctor yesterday. They've got nothing. The stool sample showed nothing, and the doc is pretty stumped. He offered two suggestions: a severe food allergy, or the rotavirus. The rotavirus lasts 14 days, and he hasn't exhibited any of the other symptoms of the rotavirus. We're ruling that one out. We got a referral to a specialist, a pediatric GI. We're scheduled for May 1st at 8:00 a.m. I had Peter put on the list to contact if there is a cancelation. The gal who scheduled us told us to take him to the children's hospital ER where we can request a GI consult. I'm mighty tempted to go on Monday morning. If he weren't hydrated and acting so happy I would.

Peter's weight went up by a half pound. Yay. That was reassuring. However his belly has started to look bloated for the last week, and he has a couple lymph nodes on his abdomen that are really swollen. The doctor said his belly was full of air, which is confusing because he hasn't had any gas. The bloating will be bad for a couple days and then randomly go down slightly. My food-in/poop-out journal has not helped us find a consistent pattern yet. :(

So everyone understands, I am NOT just sitting back and twiddling my thumbs over this. I'm not dragging my feet, I'm not stalling. I want to get to the bottom of Peter's problems as quickly as possible. I'm bound by the medical constraints that are our health insurance, the doctor policies and procedures, and the tests we're running. I'm putting on a really brave face, but I'm really, REALLY scared. It is incredibly frustrating to sit and wait, to watch each day as Peter's diapers look no better. I've quit looking at Google because it always presents the worst case scenario. I'm not ready to face that worst case scenario until I have to. No point in worrying over it when we don't even know what is really going on with poor Peter's guts. In the mean time I am doing everything in my power to keep him comfortable, hydrated, and nourished. It is all that I CAN do at this point in time. My doctor did not feel that his case was so desperate that I needed to take him into the hospital immediately, but it is a very concerning case. And so we do what we are able to do, and then we wait. We will get answers, and we will help Peter get well again.

Prayers would be appreciated. For everyone.