He's Baaack!

Emmett, the elephant baby, is back. He went up to the mountains with his Nana & Auntie Mette on Wednesday, to spend the weekend. And apparently on Sat. he started breaking out in spots/hives. And then his feet started swelling up. So they decided to bring him home Sun. after church, rather than wait for Monday afternoon. They called from Payson and said he was getting worse quickly and that we needed to be ready to take him straight to urgent care. He looked awful and was so pitiful with his crying and scratching. He couldn't even stand or walk because his little feet were so swollen. My Dad came over and he and Aaron gave him a quick blessing before we headed out. Oh, that was after switching cars since mine wouldn't start unexplicably. (Just a dead battery, we had it jumped later.)

After waiting forever at urgent care, as I'm sure you've experienced, the doctor examined him and pronouced him to have Erythema Multiforme, which is the same thing he was diagnosed with last February. And since he's been on amoxycillin the last 10 days for his ear infection, just like last time, we're gonna go ahead and conclude he's allergic to it. But what I want to know is, what about all those times he broke out in hives between rounds of amoxycillin? And I say hives because when the dermatologist biopsied Emmett's little tummy, we were told they were hives. Apparently from here we can go to a pediatric dermatologist, an allergist, or an immunologist. Gee, I can't wait.

The Spotted Monster

Today I took Emmett to the dermatologist to get his stitches out. Stitches, you say, hmmm.. Tara hasn't posted anything about this. They were our first kid ones ever and here's the story.

Since last February Emmett has had a recurring problem with breaking out in red spots all over his body. See the post & pictures about the first time Emmett broke out. (The Elephant Baby) He has never been so bad as this first time, but it is definitely a recurring problem and we've been to the pediatrician more times than I wanted to spend a $15 co-pay. The good thing about all this is that Emmett has never been bothered by the spots. He acts as if they aren't there and they don't seem to itch or hurt him at all. Which is why we haven't been more agressive about treating them or finding out the cause. He's been on & off antihistamines, which seem to help and as a side effect make him drowsy - which could be the cause of his sleeping 4-5 hours per day & 12 hours at night - but who's complaining? We tried a course of daily Allegra and when he was broken out continually for 2 weeks with that we took him to a dermatologist.

This was quite the drama. I figured it would just be a consultation so I took Alden too. He was very good during the whole thing. Emmett did okay with like 3 doctors & nurses looking him over VERY closely for like 20 minutes solid. After all, Mom was still holding him. It was when they told me they needed a couple biopsies that things got dicey. 2 more nurses came in to help hold Emmett down. This is the point that Alden announces he needs to go potty. So they all have to wait for us while I take both boys to the bathroom. They wasn't anywhere else for Alden to go so I tried to set him up with Aaron's PDA and a movie facing the corner. At which point the battery dies, I replace it and get the fatal error message and completely wipe out everything on Aaron's PDA. Did I mention he got a new iPod - so he was only minimally angry. So Alden watches the whole thing - which involves 3 of us holding Emmett down and the PA carving out 2 spots on Emmett's tummy. They numbed him first, of course, and the spots weren't huge - but a bit deep and certainly bled a ton all over. Emmett was hysterical the whole time, and Alden was crying too. They put 1 stitch through the middle of one wound but the other wouldn't stop bleeding. So everyone left and I was supposed to hold a gauze pad over it and keep pressure on it for 10 min. That's when Alden announces he has to go potty again. And let me tell you - a bit difficult to hold an almost naked, very upset, baby with a bleeding wound and take a 3 year old to the bathroom. But did I mention I'm super-mom? Eventually Emmett got all stitched up and they tell us to come back in 10 days to get the stitches out and hear the lab results.

I forgot to say what they thought the problem was. Apparently all the spots are hives. And they were mystified as to why they don't itch. But they said he is not allergic to anything external like food or soap, which is what the pediatrician told me too. One guess was that he has a low-grade infection - not enough to make him sick, but that he is allergic to and breaks out in the hives. Their other guess was that he has a disease called mastocytosis - which somehow means that he has extra mast cells floating around that tell his body to break out in hives, even without a trigger. It's a pretty rare childhood disease - but not exactly life threatening or anything, and kids grow out of it. Either of these 2 issues they treat with antihistamines, which is what he's been on already. To shorten this very long story - the labs showed no extra mast cells so the dermatologist recommends giving him antihistamines everyday, having the pediatrician do every test for signs of infection, and coming back in 6 weeks. Did I mention he's been pretty much clear-skinned since the dermatologist appt. with only 3 doses of meds in 2 weeks? So after talking to the pediatrician - we've decided to do... NOTHING. Emmett is better - I can give him meds if he breaks out - he's not uncomfortable when he is broken out - and I am sick and tired of paying $15 co-pays! We're not going to do blood work, chest x-rays, or other invasive tests looking for some phantom infection that may or may not be there but doesn't appear to be hurting him. My pediatrician did recommend me to the Phoenix Children's Hospital where they have a pediatric dermatology group - and said it doesn't hurt to make the appointment. It will take months to get in and if he seems good until then I can cancel.

What a nightmare! It's exhausting just writing about it and I bet not many of you made it through the whole story or even care that much. Emmett sure doesn't. But hey, this is supposed to be our family journal, to save for the boys and all posterity, so I figured I would chronicle this craziness. Too bad I don't have any fun pictures to add.

True Confessions of a Pediatrician Hopper

It's interesting how you choose this random person (hopefully not randomly) to be your children's pediatrician and they become a very important and influential person in your life - at least they can be. I had been very happy with our pediatrician group, having seen several different doctors and was worried about finding someone when we moved to Florida. But we lucked into a wonderful pediatrician, Dr. Lori (she's goes by her first name) and even recommended her to friends. She and the other doctor we saw occasionally were informative without being condescending, asked lists of comprehensive questions for well visits to ascertain all kinds of development, and didn't seem as rushed as other doctors we have been to. The office had a good staff, could always get us in very soon for sick visits, , and had the BEST waiting room I've ever seen. The worst part was dragging Alden from the toys or fish tank into the exam room, and then out to our car afterwards.

We were very lucky in FL but our office in AZ is no slouch and I assumed we would return as patients when we moved back home. I didn't count on my husband insisting that 20 min. is too far to drive and that we needed to find a closer pediatrician. I finally chose one the best I could from our insurance list and scheduled Emmett's 6 month well visit (it was only 12 min. away). Let's hit the highlights. They pricked Emmett's heel for an unnecessary test, squeezed it for 5 min. to make it bleed so they could collect blood, then left him to bleed profusely all over the exam room. The dr.'s only medical advice for my boys was to always put sunglasses on them to protect their eyes. He berated me for not having official copies of their vaccinations. He wanted me to take Emmett for blood work (a needle in his 6 mo. arm) because of the heel test. He refused to give Emmett the 2 shots I knew he needed, insisting that he had already had them. I barely managed to hold it together until we got to the car, where I dissolved into tears because of the bad feeling I got from this office. Luckily we were on new insurance and they were willing to pay for a lot of well visits before age 1 - so we went back to our regular pediatrician the next day. Emmett got his shots and I learned that he had ear infections in both ears (the crazy dr. neglecting to even look in there). Thankfully all is well now and we are very happy to be with a pediatrician that I respect and trust, and who respects and trusts us. When Aaron had a question about a medication prescribed to Emmett I told him to call the office and they put him on with the Dr. immediately. That's good service.

I read a book called You Just Don't Duct Tape a Baby: True Tales and Sensible Suggestions from a Veteran Pediatrician by Norman Weinberger. An excerpt from the publisher says:

[Dr. Weinberger] gives effective advice on everything from chicken pox
to autism, from special abilities to learning disabilities. He talks sensibly
about bedtime hassles, sibling rivalry, and adolescence. He provides meaningful
insights into thorny modern-day family issues, such as father involvement, loss
of a parent to divorce or death, stepfamilies, dual-career families, and single
parenthood. And he offers an inspiring perspective on how to teach kids to be
respectful, respectable individuals in an increasingly violent and morally
volatile society.

I would highly recommend this for humor and good suggestions on loads of stuff. But when you finish you will wonder where to find a pediatrician like this. If you ever find one, please let me know. They don't make great offices like this around here and I have to remind myself that I am very pleased with what we've got and never want to change... unless Dr. Weinberger starts practicing in Mesa.