"That's the worry..."
Such a phrase is never a good thing to hear from a doctor. Especially in this case, where the doctor is Zachary's doctor.
Today was his 9-month checkup. All in all, I expected a good one. He's developed so much in the past couple of months it's amazing. He's started talking (well, babbling syllables that don't sound like crying), crawling, pulling himself up to a standing position in his crib, and sitting up for long periods of time. He laughs and smiles more than ever before. He has 6 teeth (more than some Lawrence County folks...heh...j/k). He got over his cold pretty fast. He stays up and plays for long periods of time. All in all, pretty impressive, considering that he did little or none of these things just a short time ago.
Unfortuately, he's literally stopped growing. He hasn't gained height or weight since his 6-month doctor visit. And that is a mystery, even to the doctor.
It's so weird. He started out so HUGE! And he grew like crazy his first few months of life, dwarfing other babies in the nursery at church. But now, he's the smallest. A peanut among coconuts.
So, "that's the worry..." Figuring out why may take some time. It could be as simple as being 'normal' for him (genetically), and he'll advance in big spurts like a lot of babies/toddlers do. He may just be like me and grow slowly and generally be smaller than everyone else his age.
Or it could be some sort of protein deficiency. They took a lot of blood from him today to run tests with. Not sure what all is involved, but the doc should call me tomorrow with the results.
Or it could be something worse. The doctor mentioned 'cystic fibrosis,' which is a life-shortening illness. I'm supposed to take Zachary to Hunstville sometime next week for the test.
So right now, I hate this. Not knowing. Fearing what I may know soon. And worrying about my 9-month-old son. Knowing that the cause for his lack of growth could be normal for him or something very serious.
The doctor told me his gut instinct is that this is probably normal for him. I know I had growth problems when I was a child, though I don't think I ever just stopped. And though I'm no giant, I turned out relatively normal. So I hope his doc's instincts are right. And I appreciate his thoroughness in wanting to figure out why.
But it's going to be hard to sleep at night when a phrase "it could be normal" is shortly followed by, "I want him tested for cystic fibrosis." On the bright side, he's got no other symptoms that suggest this latter condition (no wheezing, no recurring infections, etc.). But still...even the suggestion of getting him tested has my heart and mind all tied up in knots.
Just keep this little kid in your prayers while we 'wait and see.'
Today was his 9-month checkup. All in all, I expected a good one. He's developed so much in the past couple of months it's amazing. He's started talking (well, babbling syllables that don't sound like crying), crawling, pulling himself up to a standing position in his crib, and sitting up for long periods of time. He laughs and smiles more than ever before. He has 6 teeth (more than some Lawrence County folks...heh...j/k). He got over his cold pretty fast. He stays up and plays for long periods of time. All in all, pretty impressive, considering that he did little or none of these things just a short time ago.
Unfortuately, he's literally stopped growing. He hasn't gained height or weight since his 6-month doctor visit. And that is a mystery, even to the doctor.
It's so weird. He started out so HUGE! And he grew like crazy his first few months of life, dwarfing other babies in the nursery at church. But now, he's the smallest. A peanut among coconuts.
So, "that's the worry..." Figuring out why may take some time. It could be as simple as being 'normal' for him (genetically), and he'll advance in big spurts like a lot of babies/toddlers do. He may just be like me and grow slowly and generally be smaller than everyone else his age.
Or it could be some sort of protein deficiency. They took a lot of blood from him today to run tests with. Not sure what all is involved, but the doc should call me tomorrow with the results.
Or it could be something worse. The doctor mentioned 'cystic fibrosis,' which is a life-shortening illness. I'm supposed to take Zachary to Hunstville sometime next week for the test.
So right now, I hate this. Not knowing. Fearing what I may know soon. And worrying about my 9-month-old son. Knowing that the cause for his lack of growth could be normal for him or something very serious.
The doctor told me his gut instinct is that this is probably normal for him. I know I had growth problems when I was a child, though I don't think I ever just stopped. And though I'm no giant, I turned out relatively normal. So I hope his doc's instincts are right. And I appreciate his thoroughness in wanting to figure out why.
But it's going to be hard to sleep at night when a phrase "it could be normal" is shortly followed by, "I want him tested for cystic fibrosis." On the bright side, he's got no other symptoms that suggest this latter condition (no wheezing, no recurring infections, etc.). But still...even the suggestion of getting him tested has my heart and mind all tied up in knots.
Just keep this little kid in your prayers while we 'wait and see.'
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home