Results

Last thursday Ethan and I spent a lot of time with our family doctor. I was very impressed with how thorough he was with Ethan. Going over him from top to bottom and after reviewing his symptoms and the tests results that we had done previously. He discovered that Ethan has a stomach ulcer. He did order some more tests just to be sure it is nothing more serious, like Colitis or Celiac disease. Thankfully, all of his kidney and blood tests were great, and nothing showed in that regard.

The treatment for his stomach ulcer is a medication that he took every day for 8 years while he was on prendisone. As prednisone is very hard on the stomach it was used to prevent ulcers. Ethan is to take this medicine every day, twice a day for the next 3 weeks. We are already seeing a great improvement and his appetite is coming back. We did realize that he has to avoid tomatoes and anything acidic, he had mild salsa on the weekend and was in agony three hours later. Ethan got so used to taking awful tasting medicine that he did it without even blinking. Now that it has been a few years, he gags as he chokes it down. I have to laugh at the faces he makes....

As to why he is having an ulcer, well, we have known for a few months now that some issues were going on in his class that were causing him stress. After talking to the doctor and Jeff, we have decided to talk to the principal about everything because the doctor said he believes it is related to School after his chat with Ethan. We have talked to the teacher numerous times and have gotten nowhere. So pray for us tomorrow at 4p.m. as we meet with the principal. My heart breaks for Ethan as he is going through this, and it also brings back memories for me. I got my first stomach ulcer when I was also 10 and spent much of my teens going back and forth to various doctors and tests for both my ulcers and my headaches. I pray that Ethan does not have to face the same. We are so grateful that his kidneys are still doing well, and now we are looking forward to Spring Break in a week!!!

Tests

An update on my earlier post...I decided to take Ethan to see our family doctor after school yesterday. Upon hearing his symptoms he agreed that some blood and urine tests needed to be done. Just to make sure that nothing is going on with his kidney's that we can't yet see.  

As we headed to the lab for blood work, I asked Ethan if he was okay, as blood tests are not his favourite thing. It sure brought us back to 3 years ago, when Ethan was preparing to start 12 weeks of the chemotherapy drug. We were at the lab for blood work every week, so we were very excited to see our favourite nurse from years ago assigned to take Ethan's blood. She didn't remember him, but could tell from his large medical file that he used to be a regular!

Ethan did a great job handling the blood tests and after leaving a urine sample for them, we were on our way home. We will find out the tests results next Thursday afternoon. Hopefully there is nothing major to worry about, but I will let you know what we find out next week, until then, here is a picture that I found that I keep looking at to remind me to relax while we once again wait!

Happy Valentines Day

I woke up to the best Valentines day surprise... Jeff had tied Valentines balloons all over the house for me. Here are some pictures. Wishing you all a wonderful Valentines Day.

The reason behind the Song

Yesterday I posted a song that a friend posted on Facebook. It was perfect timing for me to hear this particular song, as I have been struggling again with fear.

You see, Ethan has been getting sick a lot lately, and even though this has not produced any protein. I have been finding my fears of him relapsing coming out in my dreams at night. They seem so real that when I wake, I can't wait to examine Ethan's face for any sign of puffiness.

Ethan has been complaining of stomach aches as well and looks rather pale and tired, he says he is not sleeping well at night either. He also has had a big reduction in his appetite. He never was a big eater to start with but his lack of desire to eat is concerning me. We have recently realized that some of his physical complaints are related to what is going on at School.  Hopefully we are getting to the bottom of these issues and things can return to normal for him.

The signs and things Ethan was telling me was sounding all too familiar. Without realizing it, I quickly began to move to that place of fear and anxiety. So when I heard this song, it was a perfect fit for me and as I cried and let the words wash over me. I began to feel comforted that even if the storms rage and we must battle thru this again, that God will take my hand.

Please keep Ethan in your prayers as he works through some of these issues as well. It affects him more than we realize, and when we come in contact with a sick person, because we have had to be so
cautious in the past. It can trigger a lot of anxiety and fears not only for him but for us as well.

Lindsay Mccaul, Take My Hand, Lyrics..