Gideon's Diagnosis

Oh me, oh my, what a relief to be home! That's right! We finally got to come home today. Gideon practically levitated with joy at the hospital when he saw me put my coat on. Again, just real quick, I'll come back and post more later, but up until about 20 minutes before we left they still did not have a diagnosis. Then his food allergy panel came in and lo and behold he has a dairy allergy. Boy am I glad that I kept asking about that test, the doctors weren't considering that high on the list because it is usually accompanied by eczema and diarrhea and he had neither. Still I know what we were experiencing at home and the last two major vomiting episodes followed dairy, once yogurt and once cheese. So this is not a lactose intolerance we're talking about but an honest to goodness whey protein allergy. It is encouraging that this is often something that children grow out of and also that we can "play" with Gideon's tolerance level for dairy once he's feeling better. So we can still give him bites of ice cream if we have some and give him a bit of yogurt or cheese and then wait a few days and try some more in increasing amounts. Our first order of business is to try to pack on his weight again. Poor fellow weighs less now than he did at his 9-month check and he has areas, especially around his used-to-be-chubby thighs where the skin is all baggy like he just won Biggest Loser. We have orders to supplement his diet with a non-diary Pediasure type product. We had success for the first time in Gideon's life giving him a bottle just the other day (well, Rob got him to do it when he was home on leave but then he started rejecting it again) so that will make things a bit easier. I'm also supposed to sneak olive oil into his food when I can and a few other things. I can't tell you how much the joy welled up inside me when Gideon first saw his stuffed dog from his crib. I had no idea that Gideon was actually attached to a lovey. He thoroughly and vehemently rejected every little stuffed animal that the hospital had to offer but the second he saw that dog he grabbed it and bear hugged it and bit it's nose. With Gideon that is the utmost sign of affection! He nearly squealed with joy, what a lovely reunion! And after him fighting me on sleep for the last week in the hospital to have him go down tonight without a peep was such a relief. He is really happy to be home. I will keep the blog up to date with his progress and perhaps even news on my other two kids. Yes, they still exist! They have been having fun with Jamie and Jamae all week. They even got to meet the Easter Bunny who Zion said was "nice" and let her hold his hand (though as Jamie would tell it she was terrified and wouldn't get any closer than barely arm's length).

I just want to say that all of the staff at the hospital from housekeeping to the doctors themselves were awesome. I really felt cared for and that everyone adored Gideon and really wanted the best for him. Between that and really being able to fully trust in God and not worry (to the point where a couple of times I actually felt bad for NOT worrying about my son - silly me!) this past week I was as peaceful on the inside as possible when your son is in a hospital bed, hooked up to an IV and monitors and wires everywhere and with pokes in every body part (seriously, they drew blood from every limb - or tried, and from his scalp three times) and a mystery illness that is sucking the weight off of him one ounce at a time.

And thank you all for all the prayers and e-mails and kind thoughts and comments. It's really wonderful to see how many people care about us! God bless!