Growth Hormone test wasn't as bad as I anticipated.

The dreaded test is over! And we were able to do the whole test with 1 IV that worked for blood and infusion. Just amazing! I had called so many times to alert them of his very tricky veins and begged them to make sure the person who would attempt the IV was an expert. They kept telling me they do it all day every day and I shouldn't worry. But that's usually what they all say as they are calling the 3rd person in to try. Turns out, they were right. This part of the clinic is also used for pediatric oncology patients, which is so horrible. Of course these poor children have really messed up veins and have to get IV's all the time.

The nurse had to dig a bit but eventually got it on her first try and it worked the whole 7 hours we were there! Besides the IV, he only had to get 1 shot, which was the Glucogone. I'm just realizing now that I didn't ask them is why they couldn't give it via the IV. The needle for that was so long it looked like it could go right through his leg to the bed! But they were quick with that as well.

And they were very conservative with my sweet love, in regards to how low they would let his blood sugar go. Which I was fearing the opposite. I thought that was the point of the whole test. Was to take him down as low as they could and then stress his body with the Glucogone to see if adequate hormones were being secreted. As soon as he began dropping below 50 (which took a while actually) they gave him some OJ. And I was able to distract him with his favorite books, the iPad with his spelling and alphabet game and Word World and Barney shows. He didn't start getting really irriated until they gave him his 2nd shot, which I can't remember the name of at the moment. He began to sweat quite a bit and was clearly affected. I checked with the nurse, who was with us exclusively the whole time, and their next draw showed he had dropped into the 40's. She immediately got 2 cans of OJ to bring him back up. This was towards the end of the test anyway so a doctor came in and checked with me to assure me they wouldn't let him go that low. 

To be honest, he was just amazing during the whole process. I had been explaing what was going to happen for a few days and really was the night before. I was so distraught about the whole thing I was not being the strong mommy I usually try to be. And I think he really understood it all. You would think he'd be fighting the whole thing. But he didn't. He let me distract him. He sat there for hours. When they did the 10 blood draws, the nurse had to put a tourniquet on him and he just let her. Usually anything squeezing his arm freaks him out, probably because he just assumes it will be an IV or poke from a blood draw. But he barely flinched each time. And the blood pressure cuff on his leg wasn't bothering him either. The nurse said he was one of the best patients she ever had for this test!

Besides the IV placement, the last 2 hours were the toughest. He was getting really hungry at that point and the smells from the main area were wafting in. I closed the door and amped up the distractions. And he had just dealt with the drop to 40 so he was irritated. When I was finally able to give him an apple, he was elated! But kept on with his game. His letter obsession is paying off for sure!

 As I finish this posting I'm awaiting the doctor to call me with the results. I began the post the day after the test but never seem to finish them until much later these days. We were supposed to get the results after Thanksgiving but the doc emailed me last night to say she could speak today. I'm a bit nervous but will deal with what is presented.