Giardia Update

Yes, this little pest is still here... he is currently living in Henry's tummy.  Henry finished up his first round of antibiotics this week. 

We'll be breaking out "the kits" next week to test Merone- we are hoping she is parasite free.  Henry will be tested the following week. I am praying that we'll be done "sampling" by the end of the month.

The good news - Igor is parasite free!! 

Parasite 1, Antibiotics 0

The doctor called this morning, Merone still has giardia.  We started a second round of antibiotics today.  I'm concerned about Henry who has some symptoms of giardia sooo we stopped by the doctors office to pick up another "sample" kit for Henry. 

Merone had her two year old check-up.  As we suspected, she is younger than two.  (disclaimer- our agency told us up front they believed Merone was younger than the orphanage reported in their paperwork.)   Merone's one year old molars are just breaking through and there are no signs of her two year old molars. 

Some of you are wondering how could her age be in question.  Most mothers in Ethiopia have their babies at home not in a hospital so there is no hospital record of the birth.  Many mother's remember the season (rainy, planting, harvesting, etc) of the child's birth but maybe not the actual date.  There is also an issue of the calendar.  We use a Julian calendar and Ethiopia uses Ge'ez calendar which has 13 months.  So, there could be an issue with the conversion of the date of birth.  There is the case of when the child's parents have died or the child has been abandoned so a birth date must be created with the best guess.

The nurse at the doctor's office tried to take Merone's blood but she was unsuccessful.  We will visit the hospital for her bloodwork.  Henry was a "hard stick" too so we had to take him to the hospital for his blood work as well.  I hope Mary is working when we take Merone in but I'll take the Goth guy too. 

Giardia

This picture says everything if you have ever collected "samples".

Merone did not have any signs of Giardia but I asked the doctor to test for it, just in case. I was shocked when the doctor called last month saying she did have Giardia.  Not only does she have it, she has the most difficult type to kill.  Henry had a different type of Giardia, but it still took several rounds of antibiotics before he was parasite free.  Merone has taken one round of antibiotics.  Rob dropped off her second  "sample" this morning for re-testing.  We are praying that the Giardia is GONE!!

I had to laugh when I saw this website

Giant Plush Microbe

You can buy all sorts of parasites and microbes, including Giardia. 

He looks so soft and cuddly.... but he really is a pest.  I am looking forward to saying good-bye to Giardia forever.

Lab results are in.. sort of

The doctor called yesterday. She said she had good news and bad news. The bad news is the lab did not process the food allergy panel and they no longer had any blood to test. We have to go back next week to have Henry's blood drawn again. The good news is one of the three stool samples came back negative for worms and parasites/giardia, all the other tests results were within normal ranges. (the remaining stool sample results should be in at the end of the week)


I asked the doctor about the link between lactose intolerance and giardia. If you google (always dangerous!) the topic you will find articles from Georgetown University to the Mayo Clinic that state giardia may cause a period of lactose intolerance. Henry's doctor spoke with a pediatric GI at the University and did some research herself. Both doctors agree there is no research that proves the link between lactose intolerance and giardia. hmmmm... I did find a few websites that say the link between gairdia and lactose intolerance hasn't been medically proven but anecdotal evidence indicates there is a link. Many giardia fact sheets say of to 40% of people with giardia develop a temporary lactose intolerance.

My gut says go with the anecdotal evidence. We have taken Henry off dairy and we'll see what happens over the next 2 to 3 weeks. The allergy test the pediatrician is running is not for lactose intolerance but for the milk protein. Removing milk from his diet cannot hurt him. I will make sure he receives the daily recommended dose of calcium. If we see a positive difference we'll keep him on a dairy-free diet for up to 6 months. The dermatologist said Henry's pigmentation issue was a food sensitivity issue. The medication she gave us has not helped. We'll see if milk is causing his skin problems.

I made almond milk this morning. Henry loved drinking it and didn't seem to notice a difference in his oatmeal. I have two batches of almonds soaking so we will have plenty of almond milk on hand for the next day or two. Rob and Henry walked to the grocery store this morning and picked up some Silk. It's the brand my sister drinks. We'll see if we can get Henry to drink it.

I am wondering what I am going to cook for dinner each night. Igor is a vegetarian (his choice) and now Henry is off dairy. If you have some kid friendly non-dairy vegetarian foods let me know! I found a couple of non-dairy recipe websites so I will be checking them out this weekend.

Giardia update and Let it snow...

Praise, praise- Henry's test results came back negative for giardia! Woo-hoo.... His tummy is now adjusting to being parasite free.

It snowed in the south again. Igor enjoyed another snow day!

My sister was here when it snowed. Henry is finally getting comfortable around dogs!

Henry, Igor and our Insurance

Henry loves his flavored medicine! He opens his mouth as soon as I remove the bottle from the refrigerator. If your child tests positive for giardia I highly recommend going to a special pharmacy which will compound and flavor the medicine for your child. We are on day 2 1/2 of the medicine but we can see a difference. YAH!!

Last night at dinner we were talking about orphans and orphanages. I asked Igor if he wanted to paint a picture for an Orphan's Ticket Home Gala. He said, "Sure but I want to draw a picture right now." Here's Igor's picture of a mom and dad with their adopted child. According to Igor the letters next to each person is their made up name because Igor doesn't know this family. I don't know why the dad only has two teeth but I love the fact that each family member has a heart and they are all holding hands. The belly buttons made me smile.

I have talked to the insurance company more than I would like to admit. I finally spoke with a woman who really wanted to help me sort the situation out. She spoke with several departments and supervisors but we still do not have a resolution to the situation. She said they have 30 days to review the documents. So we wait....

Henry started his medicine!

The pharmacist called this afternoon to say Henry's prescription (for giardia) was ready for pick up! Yippee! The medicine smells very tasty- grape bubble gum. Henry took his first dose with dinner. He did not spit it out which is a wonderful thing. We cannot wait for Henry to be healthy!

No Antibiotics this weekend....

The doctor called me last night around 5 PM to say the pharmacist would call me late Friday afternoon to confirm Henry's prescription was ready. Evidently it would take all day to compound and flavor the medicine. I hadn't heard anything at 4PM today so I called the pharmacy since they closed at 5PM. The woman said they had no record of the prescription. I called the pediatrician's office and they said they'd call me back. It turns out the pharmacist misplaced the prescription and cannot fill it until Monday or Tuesday. The doctor's office called the hospital to see if they could fill the prescription tonight but they cannot not fill it until Monday. It appears that compounding pharmacists don't work weekends or after 5PM in our town. There is no way Henry will take the medicine without the flavor so we will wait.

When I was changing Henry's diaper this evening Igor came in the bathroom and threw up on the bathroom floor. This is unusual for Igor because he has only thrown up when car sick. Before Igor went to bed last night he said he thought he had bugs in his tummy... hmmmm.... He was fine when he got up this morning for school. I called the pediatrician's office right before they closed (I'm pretty sure they recognize my voice when I say hello). They are going to test Igor for giardia and also for norovirus which is making the rounds in our town. Igor said he felt better after he got sick so I'm not sure what's going on with Igor's tummy. He will sleep with a trash can next to his bed just in case.... I will be bleaching doorknobs, handles, knobs and counter tops after everyone is asleep....

Oh, and the last big thing that happened in the last 24 hours- Our Health Insurance company wrote us a letter to say they canceled our policy. heavy sigh... Of course it's a terrible mix up. I hand carried paperwork to the insurance company today hoping to get it straightened out. They informed me that they can take up to 30 days to review the paperwork and reinstate our policy.... Uh, 30 days really doesn't work for our family. I plan on calling them everyday for a status until this is resolved. I know it sounds a little over the top but we really cannot be in limbo land for 30 days.

Henry's test results are in

The pediatrician called this afternoon. Henry still has giardia. In a weird way this is good news because it explains his drop in the percentiles, his tummy issues and hopefully his erratic sleep patterns. We will start a 6 day antibiotic tomorrow. The pediatrician is sending me to a compounding pharmacy not our local drug store chain. This pharmacy specializes in masking the flavor of terrible tasting medicine. The pharmacist promises the medicine will taste like bubble gum so Henry will not spit it out. We will see. It all sounds too wonderful to believe. There is a catch, they don't take insurance! We have to file a claim to be reimbursed. I am looking forward to Henry feeling better soon!

Henry's weight and Igor

Rob dropped off Henry's "sample" at the pediatrician's office this morning. We hope the results will come back saying he is giardia free. Since Rob had Henry with him the nurse asked if she could weigh him. Rob agreed but was surprised by the request since he didn't have an appointment. The nurse weighed Henry. She said he isn't gaining weight fast enough so he has dropped from the 36th percentile to the 33rd percentile. She wanted to know if Rob wanted to meet with the doctor. He declined since one major piece to the puzzle is test results for giardia.

Rob and I were a little shocked by the drop in percentile but when I look back on the last few days it makes sense. I'm not a doctor but I still think something is wrong with Henry's tummy.
Henry was eating 6 meals a day. You read that correctly- 6 meals a day! I was so concerned about the amount he was eating I consulted with the doctor. She said to feed him if he was hungry. We wanted to make sure he knew we would meet his need if he was hungry.
The last few days Henry has limited the amount he will eat to 2 or 3 small meals a day. Tonight he didn't eat his dinner, a meal he has previously inhaled. Henry has even refused his bottle the last two nights.... hmmmm. I hope the test results will help us understand what is going on with Henry.

Igor's tongue is on the mend but it's still painful. It is going to take more than the 7-10 days the dentist quoted me but I do see improvement!

Today was a particularly bad day for Igor. In previous posts I have written about the dust bunny in our house but today a different analogy hit me- wounding. Igor has some deep wounds as a result of being in an orphanage. Over time these wounds have healed but one wound scabs up but never quite heals. Today, the scab of that wound was ripped off and we had to deal with the consequences. It was not pretty. This afternoon I prayed with Igor for the wound to heal. Igor said, in a defeated way, that it will never go away.... my heart was so heavy. I told Igor I would never stop praying for him and we would continue to work with him and do everything possible for the wound to finally heal. I want my precious little boy to know hope and healing!

This and That

In my last post I used the phrase "orphanage dust". I didn't make the phrase up, I wish I was that creative but I'm not... I am pretty sure I read it on Apryl's blog last year.
The orphanage dust bunny is still here but it's no longer the size of Kansas. thank goodness.

I went to the doctor- great news, I do not have a hernia!! I have torn a muscle in my stomach. The doctor said it will heal on it's own.

Henry is still having tummy troubles which is now causing him to scream in pain. This happens during the day and in the middle of the night. We are all very tired. I think the medicine Henry took made the parasite angry but it didn't kill it. Rob took him to the doctor yesterday. Henry will do another round of medicine for giardia. In the mean time, my mother-in-law bought us medical gloves for bathing and changing Henry. I wasn't sure if we'd like them but I LOVE them. They keep our hands clean (although we still wash our hands) but there is much less chance of us contracting giardia with the gloves on.

My friend and blogger pal Susan has started making body butter for her son. She inspired me to make butter for Henry since his skin is so dry. I didn't have Aquaphor but I did have Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream so I decided to modify Susan's recipe.

I mixed 6 oz of raw Shea Butter and 3 oz of Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream in my KitchenAide and wallah, the mixture is like body butter and it keeps Henry's skin from getting ashy. I love it. Thanks Susan for the recipe!

While I'm on the subject of things I love, I thought I'd share two products I really enjoy. Other moms might like them too?? I LOVE the Kiddopotamus Place mat check it out if you have a toddler! We received this at Igor's toddler shower and it's an item I have treasured (it's the simple things!). Henry uses it daily. It's portable so you can take it with you to a restaurant but we use ours at home. Why do I love this product?

1. It sticks to the table so Henry cannot slide the place mat with his food on it.
2. The surface of the place mat is not slick so the plates/bowls do not slide
3. It has a scoop to catch spills
4. It's durable
5. It's easy to clean

My other meal time favorite are Munchkin bowls. They are dishwasher and microwave safe they come in cool colors AND they are BPA free. They have a tall angled side to help Henry keep the food in the bowl while he is scooping out his food.

Igor keeps reminding me that Henry's birthday is this week! We will celebrate this weekend. Pictures to follow.

Snow, blood work and Igor returns

It's snowing outside! I wish Igor were here because he pines for snow and it rarely snows here. Igor will be home tonight!!


This morning Henry was up at 4:15 AM so we had plenty of time to play in the snow before we went to the hospital. Henry was not impressed with the snow. He stared at it, walked in it, then decided he wanted to go back inside where it was warm.

After a few pictures I made a few calls to the hospital but no one answered.

I gave up on reaching the Goth Guy because we really needed to get Henry's blood drawn today. We decided to take Henry to the Women's and Infants Hospital. Because most of our town shuts down when it snows, I wasn't sure if there would be anyone at the lab. We were able to get rock star parking which is a rarity at the hospital. When we arrived at the lab no one was at the desk but we waited until a nurse arrived and registered us.

There was a sign saying only one parent could go in with the child but Mary, the phlebotomist, said she wouldn't do that to us, we could both go in. Mary is a grandmother and loves little children. She was a sweet woman with a gentle touch. She quickly took Henry's blood... there was some crying and gnashing of teeth but they were able to get the five vials of blood! As soon as they took the needle out we gave Henry a bottle and all was right with the world. Henry fell asleep in the car before we got home.

This morning the pediatrician confirmed Henry has giardia. I am so glad they found it! It can be hard to detect. I think Henry will feel so much better once the giardia is gone.