MRI Today

We have our MRI today...

We have to be at the hospital by noon then be there for the next four or five hours. Not to be selfish, but can I say that I am starting the day off exhausted!

So now...the next two hours of my day is focused on Matthew not eating or drinking anything. I am like the..."Don't go in the kitchen!" Warden!

I have a feeling I will be ready to pass out this evening.

Did I mention that Jason is still in bed? Yeah...whole other blog!

Rab-BIT!

So we were coming from Children's Hospital today to JCPenney's to pick up picktures!

Anyway, Matthew is not able to say rabbit. It comes out Ra-hit. So Mary-Jo his therapist says to use the phonetic sign for 'b' to help him. He can say rabbit beautifully with that.

So, today I said, Matthew can you say rabbit.

He replied..."Ra-hit."

So, I went on to correct him and his reply this time was..."Mom, I'm not playing that game."

I waited for awhile then tried it again..."rabbit!"

"Mom, I can't talk today."

I gave up!

Matthew on a ball.

I was talking to Mariclaire tonight about what we had found out about Matthew today. So she wanted to talk to Matthew. When Matthew was done, Drew was asking to talk...Matthew looked straight at him and goes...Too bad!

Then...at lunch/supper...I was telling Matthew that if he didn't sit still I was going to take away his food! He looked straight at me and said to me...No mom...I take away your food!

Yet again, in the same meal, Matthew, said to Drew...I beat you down Drew!

It was too funny...so just to add to it all...I put in this innocent picture of Matthew that I found!

ANSWERS!!!

So...we met Dr. Reinhardt today. A rheumatologist at Children's Hospital. At first I was leary of him, but then he started to asks lots of questions. Finally he said that he doubted that Matthew had arthritis. That was a sigh of relief.

So he started poking and proding at Matt. Docs theory was that maybe matthew had a condition where he could move his joints more than most people could. So he moved legs and arms and wrist and fingers and toes. WHen I saw him bend his fingers almost back to his arm then pull his leg out to almost a 90 degree turn...I was like...yeah, I'd say he had movement! :)

So he said that he has what is called hypermobility of his joints! All it is going to take is some physical therapy. The down side to that is that it isn't a few weeks of it, but more like a few months.

I almost cried and jumped across the room to hug the doctor! It wasn't going to take any medication or any pills, but just lots of physical therapy!

I can do that! I can do exercises and therapy! Answers...FINALLY...answers!

However, we are still going to do our MRI on Friday just to be sure that it isn't something else too! But I am finally content.

What a champ!

Last night I stayed at Mom and Dad's. I wasn't working, but technically I was still on call and if I got called in during the night, I would have to have the boys be somewhere. Anyway...we just lay down to sleep and Andrew starts coughing. He coughed and coughed and coughed. I finally got him woke up to go downstairs to ask Grandma for cough syrup when he gets two steps down and he starts throwing up.

This is his norm. He throws up a couple times and then feels better and goes back to sleep and doesn't have any more coughing.

So anyway, he threw up like a champ, cleaned up and went back to bed without any further events!

The funny part was while we were in the bathroom to get cleaned up he just started stripping. He was half asleep still and I had to shake him and go.."Drew, what are you doing?" He was like...whoa! Then got his clothes back on! TOO FUNNY!

Week of Answers

I have one more night of work...then hopefully our week of answers will begin.

Wednesday we are on the highway again to Omaha to visit with Dr. Reinhart, a rheumatologist with Children's Hospital. We get a days break and then Friday is our big day with our MRI. Hopefully between the two appointments, we will find something out...something simple that is.

The other day Matthew Robert told me his legs were hurting and so I said...where. He said "Inside and outside." When I asked him to point out what is inside and what is outside, he pointed to his thigh for inside and knee for outside. So I'm not sure. Part of me just wonders if he learned two new words! :)

Matthew-isms

I'm so orignial on the titles on these Blogs!! HAHA!

Matthew has been in his prime these last few days!

The other night I was in the bedroom working on something and Matthew climbs on the bed and taps my leg and says...in Matthew language..."Mom, you need me, you call. I come right here!"

I was impressed with the sentence! :)

Then today he came across one of my stethoscopes and decided he HAD to use it. So he was trying to get it out and it was stuck. So he would pull then he would have to take a "break" and get a drink and then go back to trying to get it unstuck! He went back and forth like this for five minutes or so...HILARIOUS!

Then tonight we were making cookies and Matthew kept eating the dough and I said...NO MORE! He looked at me, put another finger in and goes...one taste mom!

Results

I didn't waste any time today calling Dr. Kronberg's office!

I got a quick return that the ultrasound was negative and showed nothing! I was able to breath again! :)

So although we found out nothing this time, we still have our appointments at the end of the month! I'm okay with that!

OCD

One of the on going jokes in Jason's family is about Jason's Dad's OCD tendencies!

This morning we were putting together valentine's and I had bouncy balls and little bubbles in them! Me being me, I was purposefully mismatching them.

Then Mr. Matthew comes behind me and matches up the colors! I mismatched them again, he matched them up again! It went on like that until I finally gave in!

Thanks, Papa K! HAHA! JK!

Little Room

We had girl's night last night at our house and then shortly after everyone left, I got called into work for a car accident with four victims.

So a few hours later I got to come home and finally crawl in to bed! When I woke up a couple of hours later, I was sleeping on about 6 inches of bed and being smothered by two little boys!

Oh! Did I mention we have a king size bed?!

Guilt

I was in Omaha with Matthew on Friday for doctor's appointments/tests.

I left Drew in O'Neill because I didn't want to have to worry about two babies in Children's Hospital when one could hang out at home with a sitter. Plus one less kid I had to tote around...I know bad mother again!

Anyway, the guilt sank in so while I was at Walmart I picked him up a couple Lego pieces to build. It's amazing how the kid puts them together! I think I would have difficulty with them!

So, early this a.m. he brings them to me to show me what he accomplished and says..."Sorry Mom, I had to get up early so I could start working on these!"

I loved it!

Food

I can't remember where we were or what we were doing, but it was Matthew and I. I was asking him what he wanted for supper and without a moment of hesitation he says..."Food!"



He has more and more of these one liners that remind me of his dad everyday!

A long frustrating wait!

Well, we had Matthew's ultrasound done yesterday (Friday). He was such a champ. In the morning I sat down with him and kind of walked him through what they were going to do with him. So when they took him back to the US room, he crawled up on the table, crossed his legs and laid there like a big boy! I was SOOOO proud of him!

When we were done, the tech had to go make sure it was all good and when she came back she simply said...."You know that if it was really bad you would be talking with Dr. Kronberg right away!"

I said, yes, thank you and knew that she probably couldn't tell me much more than that! Then to top it off, we would have to wait until Monday to get results!

However, my mind hit hyper drive about 90 minutes later. I was driving down Maple St. heading out of town and it all sank in! I started crying, almost to the point of hyperventilating and just kept thinking...so it's not REALLY bad, but what if it is BAD or not SO bad!

I mean I was there for the whole thing and it went smoothly other than when she was looking at the liver and the portal vein. She hung around there FOREVER!!!

Big Matt had just left us so I'm pretty sure that's why reality set it and so I called another friend and crying to their voicemail! It's all so frightening!

Dr. Kronberg is sure that they won't find any thing with the ultrasound. I know this makes me a horrible mother, but I want them to find SOMETHING that will explain my baby waking up at 2 a.m. just about every night screaming and crying. Or why he can't walk on certain days or why he won't walk stairs another! Tell me it's because he's growing too fast and I will be fine with it! Just stop telling me it's in my head! A child does not scream like that for a minor ache in their leg. A child who likes to run and play does not decide to just not walk one day! He may be cute, but he hasn't learned all the tricks quite yet!

Okay, sorry, side rant there! So now, we wait for the MRI and Dr. Kronberg wants us to meet with Dr. Reinhart, a rheumatologist. Lots of back and forth over the next few weeks.

I just thank Dr. Kronberg for doing all this. Okay, not for the hefty bills that are coming with it, but he said on Thursday when we saw him, "I would never forgive myself if we missed something!"

You can't be upset with a doctor for that!

More Testing

Matthew has been doing so good this winter. He has only been sick once minus all these leg problems. I was so proud of myself and I knew better than to say it outloud and jinx myself. He now has fought an URI and an ear infection! Oh well, I can manage those.

However, it brings me back to his legs! When the boys picked me up from the airport on Sunday night Matthew didn't want to walk. I thought it was because he didn't feel good, but am now pretty sure his legs were hurting. All this deduced from him crying and saying "My leg hurts."

After talking to Jessica, I learned that the previous day he had not wanted to walk down any stairs. Although that sounds minor, that is usually my cue that something is hurting.

So, I was on the horn to Dr. Kronberg today! After three phone calls and lots questions we are to this point:

This Friday we go to Omaha to do an abdominal ultrasound because Dr. Kronberg has been doing some research and wants to rule out and abdominal mass. Then on the 27th of this month we return for an MRI in which Matt will have to be under general anesthesia because of age and weight. The MRI will be looking for vascular issues.

So this is where we stand. Another few weeks of waiting and wondering. I just thank heaven for Dr. Kronberg.