GI Scope... Over and Done!

Reece had his GI scope this morning.  To say that I'm glad this day is over with is an understatement!  Everything went smoothly with his procedure.  They gave him Versed, took him back, sedated him with gas, and then inserted the IV in ONE stick!  The whole thing took about an hour.  Dr. Rippel was able to do a full colonoscopy, and she wasn't sure she would be able to prior to going in.  She took several biopsies to test for various allergies, but other than that, things appeared normal.  To be honest, I had become very anxious about the whole thing because it was one area that had never been checked in Reece.  I was terrified she was going to come out and tell us that something was in the wrong place are malformed.  Praise the Lord that she did not!  We will wait for week for biopsy results, and if they show nothing, she will put him on a medicine for irritable bowel syndrome.  The only side effect of it is increased appetite, which she said could be a good thing for Reece!  The blood was drawn for his pulmonologist to evaluate his blood gas levels.  From the results I was given, everything looks pretty normal.  There were a few abnormal levels, but they weren't too high or low.  Our main concern was his carbon dioxide level, and it was only like .9 above normal.  I'm sure the dr will tell us more when he calls.  I just hope it's not the witch of a nurse that I had to deal with when I called to try to get the blood draw coordinated with this GI scope.  I won't get into that.  On the other hand,  we were very impressed with the anesthesiologist that put Reece to sleep.  The nurse told us that he had researched Escobar last night.  I knew he had done his homework when he mentioned the malignant hyperthermia precaution that we used to have to fight for.  I LOVE when doctors do their homework on Escobar syndrome!  That means I don't have to give them a full blown speech and presentation!  
After we left the hospital, we let Reece decide where he wanted to go for breakfast.  He decided on Chick fil a, and he wanted to go in instead of doing the drive thru.  So, we go in, get in line, and order.  After I finished mine and Reece's order, I could feel Reece began to wretch.  I had him on my shoulder.  Before I could move, vomit went all over the floor, but not before running down the back of my shirt and into my shoe.  I darted out the door as fast as I could.  I'm sure someone's appetite for breakfast was shot after that.  Nick got our food, and I cleaned Reece up in the car.  After we loaded up, I began to back out of the parking place, and wouldn't you know, so did another girl right behind me.  Nick hopped out while I just threw my head down on the steering wheel.  Seriously, did all of that just happen in a span of 10 minutes??!!  I decided I had better get out, vomit covered and all, to assess the damage with Nick.  My car was fine, and her's was already dinged up anyway.  We gave her our insurance info just in case, climbed back in the car, and headed straight home!  Reece sacked out for about an hour,  we ate a bit, and I joined him for another nap.
When he got up, his first words were "Can we go get my prize at Target now?"  We waited until Nick made it home from test driving a car, and we headed to Target where Reece enjoyed a shopping spree.  We took him to see The Avengers last Sunday, and he's hooked.  So, we now have Thor's hammer, Captain America's shield, and an Iron Man mask and whatever that little button is on his chest.  Mama's still trying to learn all about this new interest.  Reece's choice for supper was Sal and Mookie's for pizza and ice cream.  He took one bite of pizza and didn't feel well afterwards.  He was so excited about cotton candy ice cream, but he just couldn't muster the appetite to eat any.  The nice waiter gave him a gift card to come back and get some another day.  We decided Reece's stomach pain was the gas that Dr. Rippel said he might have.  We pulled into Walgreen's and bought some gas drops.  They immediately did the trick!  And, as luck would have it, Walgreens had some cotton candy ice cream.  Paired with goldfish crackers, that was his supper.  Not great, but it was what he felt he could eat.  Now, I just put him to bed, and he was still talking about turning into Iron Man.  I have a feeling Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, will be 100% in the morning. 
Somewhere along this journey, things have changed for me.  When Reece was smaller, surgeries and tests were hard, and I just knew they would get easier.  "He'll understand more when he gets older" is what I kept telling myself.  I was so on fire for finding ways to help him surgically that I became a bit numb to the whole thing.  Now that we've had a break from the surgeries, I have lost that fire.  Even things that are remotely related to therapy are getting on my nerves.  Except the horse riding.  He loves that way too much!  It's not that I don't want to still help him every way possible, but it's just that I dread having to go through something else now.  Two years ago, I would not have even entertained the idea of serial casting on his elbows.  I would have just jumped in and said "let's just go ahead and do the surgery!"  Now, not so much.  I want to exhaust all options before surgery comes into the picture.  Yes, Reece does understand now, but he also understands that it all sucks too.  Sorry.  Just no other way to put it.  Now, things seemed easier when he was a baby.  I know that's not true, but the time is getting close when he's going to ask some hard questions, and we are going to have to honestly answer them.  One day, he will be making his own medical decisions.  
All of that being said, we still live our family life to the fullest.  I have to thank Nick for that.  He's always reminding me how to have fun.  Reece is out for the summer.  There will be more days for he and I to just have fun.  I plan on doing just that.
I leave you with a few pictures from the past week.  Again, Reece has been cracking us up using words like "revenge" and saying things like "I'm gone spank you to death, Ridley!" when the dog is driving him crazy.  He says so many hilarious things that I never have time to write them all down!  "To death" has been used with lots of verbs here lately.  Not sure where that came from.  I've wracked my brain trying to figure out what I or Nick would have said with "to death" in it.  Nick asked him what that meant one day, and he had no idea.  I think we'll leave that definition for some other age.  He also told my sister that he would put her on his calendar when she asked him to come stay with her next week.  Actually, he told her that he would have his Mama write it down on his calendar.  Apparently, I am his secretary.  I don't think I'm getting paid enough...  
While he is in this superhero/revenge/fighting stage, he still manages to be my sweet little boy.  Last Sunday while I was getting dressed for church, he told me "You look really beautiful, Mama."  He also told a little girl at school that she looked "really pretty today."  We won't talk about that.  I'm not ready for competition. 
So, here are the pictures.  I hope everyone has a safe Memorial Day weekend.  Please don't forget what we are remembering.
With love,
Beth  

 Proud to celebrate Mother's Day because of this little man!

 Reece "test driving" his favorite car on the road, a Mini Cooper!

 Visiting with friends who just had a sweet baby girl.  I'm loving all of these babies!

 Daddy atop the rock with Reece and Seth at Zachary's birthday party.  Daddy's and Seth's muscles are covering Reece's head.  The fun thing about birthday parties?  Nick and I have to climb up, crawl in, and slide down everything with Reece.  Ok, maybe not fun, but we do get our exercise.

 Reece on the last day of K3 with Mrs. Amber  She has been so accommodating and loving to Reece. We are going to miss her!

 Reece and I kept baby Anna Grace all day on Wednesday.  Reece asked her "Do you wanna do some arts and crafts?" He also asked me, "Mama, can she play with play doh with me?  Mama, I want her to put together a puzzle with me.  Mama, just sit her up on the floor."  I don't think he quite understands she's 4 months old :)

 The terrifying Darth Maul from Star Wars  Mama fought hard not to buy this, but in the end "Maaaamma, pleeease!  I've been looking everywhere for this" won.  Mama still really hates this thing, which means it's one of Reece's favorite things to pretend.  The 27 lb body attached to it makes "I am a weapon forged by the dark side" seem a little less intimidating.

 Iron Man having some cotton candy ice cream

       And finally... here we have Captain America and Iron Man looking for a Hulk and a Thor.  Do you think Nick is having fun with all of this super hero stuff?  He couldn't wait to break into all of Reece's new stuff and play with him.  Don't you love Reece's true Captain America pose?  I think he's studying this stuff!