Happy Birthday to my sweet big man!

I cannot and will not forget to post a birthday blog for Jackson! Even though we are somewhat focused on Emma's good news (see post below), we must remember to praise God for one of the sweetest, most genuinely kind kids you'll ever meet! He's an amazing boy with such character. I will be coming back either tonight or tomorrow and posting pics of Jackson over the years...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACKSON!!!!!!!

The results are in! (And they are good!)

She's completely healthy!!!!!

The endocrinologist called this morning and went over all her test results. No Turner's syndrome, kidney, liver, thyroid all normal. The entire blood panel was totally normal! Can you believe that? Let it sink in for a moment....okay, so maybe you don't need a moment, but I sure did. I couldn't believe it when the doctor said it in her asian accent - I was afraid I heard her incorrectly. But nope - she's perfect! The Dr. did say that the only test that gave her any information was the bone age x-ray. It gave Emma a bone age of 6 yrs, 10 months, close to her actual age. Because of this, it showed that Emma is going to be pretty tiny as an adult. Her adult height will be 4'10" - without growth hormone replacement. We will be doing what's called a "growth hormone stimulation test" where they will put in an IV, give her two stimulants, and proceed to draw and test her blood every 20-30 minutes for 2-3 hours. Based on the results of this test we'll know if she's a candidate for the growth hormone replacement. If she is, the meds will gain her about 2-3 inches. Not much, but a significant difference for a girl to be at least 5 feet tall. Dave and I haven't had a chance to talk about any of this much, so no idea on if we'd have her take it, but I'm guessing we would. The Dr. gave her the diagnosis of idiopathic short stature - meaning short stature with no known cause. I can live with that!

Thank you everyone for praying for Emma. It's been a crazy ride and I'm ready to get off!

Update

After going to the mailbox today and still no results, I decided to call the office. The nurse put me on hold to go get her chart. Took a long time, because her chart was on the dr's desk. She said "the results are in, but the doctor is still reviewing them. I'll have her call you when she's back in the office on Monday." Phooey.

On a bright note - Emma hit a goal at occupational therapy yesterday. She learned to tie her shoes! I literally had tears in my eyes. It was a priceless moment.

No News Yet...

I see people are checking the blog regularly so I wanted to let you know that we haven't heard anything yet. I'm taking this as a very good sign, believing if it's something major they would call rather than just mail the results. And since we haven't heard anything from them, and the results haven't come in the mail yet, I'm praying no news is good news at this point. Although I won't lie to you - I'd like to get the results sooner vs. later.

Thank you all for praying for us. Emma is such an amazing little girl I know she'll handle whatever ends up being thrown at her.
Please continue to pray - we feel them and need them!

Thank you all so much!

The United Tour!

Last night Heather and I went and saw two christian music legends in a joint concert. Steven Curtis Chapman and Michael W Smith on the same stage! It was music history (to those of us who love and follow their music). We had a wonderful time and it was an amazing concert. We were so close you could see the sweat. At one point Michael was introducing a song that H and I had just joked about, so we laughed (somewhat loudly) and he caught it - kind of funny moment - he stopped the song looked toward our direction and went "okaaaay....let's try this again" and then started the song. It was hilarious - and just goes to show how close we were. Oops!

I have some close photos to share, and I also have video clips before they went around and said no video allowed. I felt bad I had recorded some, so I won't post it online just to honor the artists. But if you would like to see a clip I will see if I can figure out a way to share it with you. Just know it was so amazing to see them on stage together.

Happy Birthday Little Man!

Well it happened. Even though I petitioned, pouted, refused to change the calendar...it happened anyway. Brian is three today! He is such an amazing little guy, full of energy and spirit. And when I say spirit, I mean attitude! :-) He definitely knows what he wants, and we do our best to accommodate him. As long as it's within our normal allowances, it's not worth fighting him on small stuff. But we obviously hold our ground when needed - and he's not a fan of that. But all in all he's a sweet kid with a huge personality and we treasure him. I really should get him in for his three year well-check, but haven't gotten around to that. I'm pretty sure he's 39 inches tall and about 35 pounds. Nothing like his older siblings. As we always say, thank goodness he looks just like his dad!

Here's a photo journal of the last three years (abbreviated, for sure).

for those curious

I just found this on the web...

http://www.icd9data.com/2009/Volume1/780-799/780-789/783/783.43.htm

Emma's encounter form had a diagnosis code of 783.43 so I decided to google codes to see what it said. Very basic stuff, but to see the word "failure" associated with my child hurts a lot.

89!!!!!

Ladies and Gentlemen...I have an announcement to make. Emma Turner's morning glucose number was an 89! That's before eating breakfast - an amazingly healthy number. I am so elated by this small victory. What it says to me is while she might be hypoglycemic, she's most likely not diabetic. I realize this was just one test on one day, but I'm taking any and all positive signs as an opportunity to celebrate. Join me, won't you!

Back from the appointment

We're back from the appointment...I'm in tears. The endocrinologist suspects the same thing we/pediatrician did - Turner's Syndrome. It's still not a diagnosis until the test results come back, but to have a specialist confirm it is enough to make me tear up.

We did her blood draw today, as well as test her sugars. She came home with a meter so we can test her here, too. She's pretty upset by the whole thing - but only the needles part. She still seems to be somewhat oblivious to what's going on and I'll keep it that way for now. She did say, however, that she did get bothered by people always saying how small she was. That's the first time I've heard her say it bothers her.

We won't know anything for two weeks. Two week wait - thought I was done with that!

I'll keep you posted as I find out anything.

Today is the day...

Alright everyone out there...today is a big day. Emma has her long-awaited appointment with the pediatric endocrinologist. We have been waiting 4 months for this appointment, and now that it's here, we're all a little nervous. I'm also anxious to find out what is going on with her. I have this feeling that this appointment will shed a lot of light on our little girl. I had reserved my concern about her having Turner's Syndrome, telling myself that it was highly unlikely. It felt good to kind of forget about it for a while. Then we had her evaluated by physical and occupational therapists back in August. I was very surprised by the results. Turns out Emma has the visual perception of a 5 year old, and the motor coordination of a 4 1/2 year old. That's a 2 1/2 year delay. The major downside to this finding is it does make Turner's a more likely diagnosis, however I'm still holding out hope that they're not related.

I am definitely worried and stressed, and even Dave is as well. That's when I knew I wasn't overreacting. When I saw him stressed, I knew it was okay for me to be also.

Her appointment is at 2:00 in Charlotte. I have to work tonight, but the minute I have a chance I will update here.

PLEASE pray that Emma is perfectly healthy and that her size and other concerns are a totally benign quirk (for lack of a better word). I have complete faith that whatever we find out we'll be able to work through, but I'd much prefer my daughter not have to struggle.

Thank you for your support....