Javier

Boy did this boy give us the scare of our lives recently! He stopped breathing on us a couple weeks ago! It was very scary to say the least...Micki thank goodness beat his back and brought him back to life while I was on the phone with 911...

Through some testing (upper GI, colonoscopy, endoscopy, nasal/throat swabs, bloodwork, urine samples...) they finally determined that he has severe acid reflux (which is perhaps why he stopped breathing...he choked and stopped breathing) as well as a hypersensitivity to milk protein.

Javier is on a new hypoallergenic formula and doing much, much better! He does not spit up, he does not have gas, he has normal twice a day bowel movements (unlike before when he was constipated all the damn time!), and he is eating a lot more and sleeping better now! In fact, he has been napping for an hour and 15 minutes so far!!!

What a joy to watch this little man grow up before our eyes! Here is a clip of our baby boy laughing with Mommy Micki!

Allergies

Allergy Testing......


I did not have allergies as a child. It wasn't until I was in college and 19 years old that I started sneezing and whatnot...I was put on some medicine and that was that....I would only have problems in the fall and in the spring...As the years past, I began to have more and more issues with allergies, and they were starting to bother me all year long. About 4 years ago, I finally made an appointment with an allergist. I would see this doctor every 6 months and all he did was change my meds. I was having terrible headaches all the time and he just kept dismissing it and saying that it wasn't due to allergies. I was concerned so about 2 years ago, I decided to seek the help of and ENT doctor. This doc sent me for a CAT scan and didn't find anything except a slight swelling on one side of my sinus cavity....So back to that same allergist again...He just changed my meds once again. When I became pregnant, I had to stop all meds and I was terrified....However, I didn't seem to have any issues whatsoever! My allergies were GONE!!!

Now that I am not preggo anymore, the allergies are back!!! I decided to go see a new allergist. This place was wonderful! They thoroughly examined me which I really appreciated! So the suffering is soon over (hopefully)!

I was told that I am allergic to everything (they tested me for) except dogs and cockroaches!!!! Can you believe that?? No wonder I've felt so bad the past couple months!!! My doctor also said, "when you eat cantalope or celery, does your mouth tingle??" I said, "um, no...but then again I don't like cantalope!"... Apparently, I'm allergic to those two items as well as many grasses, molds, pollens and trees....oh, and cats....Guess it probably doesn't help that we have 5! (I am checking into encasings for our pillows and mattress) I will be on 2 different nasal sprays and a medication that I take once in the morning and once at night. I will also start allergy shots next week!

Here is a pictures of my skin test from today! Crazy, huh??

Shadowing...

Yesterday I shadowed Physician Assistant Mike at the Henry Ford Hospital downtown. I arrived rather late in the day (noon). We first went to lunch across the street from the hospital in a small diner and then we went to an hour long meeting. There were 6 MD's and Mike the PA there to discuss patients they were treating. They discussed their individual issues and a treatment plan. Afterwards, we headed downstairs to a surgery room. Mike explained that this 40 year old woman was diagnosed with a Postpartum Hypertrophic Heart, meaning that when she was pregnant, the fetal cells from the baby attacked the mothers tissues. The mother had some sort of immune disorder that caused this. As a result, her heart grew very large and was not pumping properly. So this woman had to have a device installed last year that actually pumped her heart for her. The surgery I observed yesterday was to replace that device with a different device. She is also on the transplant list for a new heart, although Mike said that it will be difficult to find a heart for her due to her small size and the fact that she has had many blood transfusions and because of this, her body has produced a lot of different antibodies which means that it will be difficult for her body to accept the new heart. Anyways, yes I did see her heart. It was an open heart surgery. It was awesome!





Turns out last night on this TV show called, Hopkins (which is based on real-life doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital), there was a 19 year old man who was getting a heart transplant and had the exact same device that I saw yesterday in the OR!!!

I plan on returning to shadow Mike in a couple weeks. He will also set me up with other disciplines that I am interested in shadowing. I hope to observe in Neurosurgery, Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, Ortho, and OB/GYN.

Overall, yesterday was a great day!