Last Couple of Weeks - A lot has happened the since my last update, though I have put other updates on social media along the way. Elijah’s upper and lower GI show Crohn’s Disease. Crohn’s and colitis make up what is called Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). It’s NOT Irritable Bowel Syndrome, which is common mistake. Radically different. This is a chronic, lifelong disease that causes ulcers in the intestines. And his diagnosis is not a “for sure” thing yet, but the doctor is confident that it’s Crohn’s. A pill camera is going to, hopefully, give us an official diagnosis. More on that below.
Crohn’s is likely to have caused his eye trouble last year, hip arthritis now, and his plateaued growth the last few years. Often when diagnosed properly and treated correctly it can go into remission and kids will begin to grow, even go through major growth spurts. E is hoping for that!
Crohn’s is serious and when intestines and other areas of the GI tract are affected over a longer term, it can require surgery to remove scarred areas.
After his scopes E was put on antibiotics (4 pills a day for a month) and he was referred to the IBD Center at Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago. A week of antibiotics left him a mess. Growing abdominal pain, difficulty eating much, and even vomiting. It took a few days to figure out the meds were what was causing it. A call to the doc and he got off the meds and now feels MUCH better.
Elijah As Of Today - After stopping meds and having his hip gradually improve, Elijah is feeling just about as good as he did before Christmas/New Years when the hip pain started. He still has a tiny limp and different daily aches, but doing pretty well considering everything. We haven’t seen him laugh and joke and sing this much (yes, he sings LOUDLY around the house at times…which will shock some folks) for several weeks. We are very thankful.
Camera Pill Test - Saturday and Sunday Elijah did an at-home test to make sure he could swallow and pass the pill camera. They gave him a test pill which is the size of a large grape, as they put it. He swallowed and passed it fine so the test is on. I don’t know the company that make the pill, but it’s something like this photo.
Test & Appointments This Week - We leave early Tuesday morning (tomorrow) for Shriner’s Hospital to see his rheumatologist. Then we stay in Chicago at the Ronald McDonald House near Lurie (Danny and I stayed at the RMH at Loyola Hospital near Shriner’s last time) on Tuesday night. Wednesday, first thing in the morning, E takes the pill camera, wears a recording device for 8 hours, and then turns it in so they can view it. We don’t know if we will have results from that immediately on Wednesday or not. The camera passes naturally and doesn’t need to be recovered (whew!). He has his first appointment with his new gastroenterologist, Dr. Brown. <reader can insert joke here>
Sarah (18) and Jack (16) will be home and at school and all that the next couple of days while Daniel (12 this month) will be with me and Molly and Elijah. Thanks for your prayers for our boy and for us. We all appreciate it so much. It’s hard to describe how difficult the last few weeks have been for us. Honestly, we really need a break. But we keep on as the Lord strengthens us.
