Sam in the Pool

Sam's Upcoming Treatment

Well, the last few weeks have been spent getting Sam approved for the hormone shots. The Doctor ordered an x-ray of his wrist and hand to see what age his bones were. The results were that his bone size shows that he is 1 and a half when it should say 2 and a half. The Doctor said that this confirms that he is not growing the way that he should. These shots are so expensive. We are so thankful for the insurance that we have. Our insurance does cost us a good bit each month, but the cost of these shots will make it well worth it. The cost per year is about $20,000. Wow! These will be delivered to our house on Tuesday. A nurse will be instructing us on how to administer these shots. Please pray that these shots will cause as little pain as the doctor told us that they would. Sam is doing pretty good. He is walking great. His speech needs alot of work. We are so thankful for his therapists. The therapy that he is currently having will only be available until he turns 3. Then, the program will be offered through the public schools. I will be meeting tomorrow with Sam's care coordinator as well as representatives for the public school program. Please pray for us as we make these decisions. I don't want a label on Sam. The term "disabled" is not one that I am very fond of and it is very hard to hear that term associated with your child. Yet, we do want the top notch help that they can offer for Sam. All of these decisions to make on your child's behalf can seem a bit overwhelming. I know that ultimately God is in control. That is such an easy statement to say, but a very hard one to always understand.

No I V

Well, the nurse could not get the IV in his veins. Sam's veins are so tiny and everyone seems to have such a hard time getting the IV in. The nurse was so nice and only tried when she thought there was a chance of getting it. Sam screamed and screamed and soaked the whole table with sweat. He is now pretty aware of what is about to happen now when he goes to the Doctor. So, we are going to wait until the Doctor is back in town so that he can try. This will be on the 21st.
Yesterday, when Sam and I got back from the Doctor, Sam had another "episode" of screaming for about an hour. It was a pain scream. His breathing became a little "off". I don't know how else to describe it. There was no stopping him either. His stomach was hard as a rock. His head was soaking wet from sweat and he got so pale. After the pain went away, he drank everything in sight. He even woke up last night twice so thirsty and drank a ton of juice. Most of the time I can convince myself that nothing else is wrong with Sam. But yesterday and days when this happens, I know that we are missing something. I just want him to quit having this kind of pain. I have no idea what it is, but I am so determined to get to the bottom of this. I'm going to call the Dr. today to see what we can do.

Sam's Upcoming Test

Sam's doctor called us this week with a request to bring him in so that they could run another test. He will not be able to have any food or drink for 12 hours. This will be pretty hard for Sam. He always wants to eat and drink. He will be given an IV and some medication that will make him pretty nauseous. Then, they will give him some medication to make him sleep. Please pray that they get the IV in right away. He has extremely small veins which always makes it difficult. I'm going to bring our DVD player so that he can watch one of his Praise Baby DVD's. He loves them. This test will measure the amounts of growth hormone that he is producing. The doctor explained to us that the pituitary gland produces this in spurts throughout the day, so they will be checking it the whole time. Please pray that God will give us clarity on making decisions for Sam.
Sam is doing so great walking! He wants us to clap for him all of the time. When he walks, he puts his hands on his butt. He thinks that it is so funny. His physical therapist is working with him climbing on the swingset. Sam is getting the hang of it. He does such a great job with Sam as well as teaching us different techniques to work with him on. God has blessed us with 3 wonderful therapists to help Sam. They all love Sam and are all so nice. Sam especially loves all of the toys that they bring. They always seem to have the neatest little toys. They each have such a gift for working with children.
I'll keep everyone updated on the results of this test. Please pray that it will go well and as pain free as possible.