Monday, September 24, 2012

BIG Jump!

Nine months ago, I am not sure I thought I would be writing this....two years ago, I know I didn't think I would write this....Ella is GROWING, and at light speed!
Stand up TALL!
After struggling with a correct diagnosis and then wrangling with doctors and doses, it seems we have finally found a combination that works great. A combination of not only medicine, but doctors too. Ella had another check-up at Boston's Children's hospital on Friday. The results are still unbelievable to me. Our little Pnut is now 30lbs and 36 inches!!!! This not only bumps her up on the growth curve, it puts her in a much closer range to her peers.

I was not surprised that she has grown. I figured that out when all of her pants were too short, her shirts were creeping up her belly and she jumped from a size 6 shoe to an 8. I just didn't realize how much she has grown. Since her well visit in June, Ella has gained three pounds and two inches. She has put on 10 lbs since January! We celebrated her jump ONTO the growth charts in June when she landed in the 2%. Now she is in the 8.7%....still tiny, but catching up quickly. Jason and I don't care all that much about the numbers and percentages, but it certainly puts it all in perspective.

We had a great visit at Children's. Along with the good news on her growth, it seems we have finally stabilized her thyroid medication. Her doses were changed so often at the end of last year, she went from being too low (hypothyroid) to way, way too high (hyperthyroid). This wreaks havoc on everything (growth, appetite, mood, immune system). Now that Dr. Holm has followed Ella for 9 months and had several consistent blood draws, she feels confident turning her attention more to her growth hormone dose. Ella is getting the highest dose possible for her age and size. The challenge with growth hormone therapy is finding a dose that replaces what the body is not making. We don't want her to grow too fast. The good news is, we may be able to lower her current dose. However, like the thyroid medication, it will have to be done gradually. We will know for sure once the lab results are back. Dr. Holm also ordered a bone age x-ray. Here's another bit of perspective...when Ella had her first bone age x-ray when she was diagnosed (at 18 months), the results showed her bones were the age of a newborn! We should have all the results back later this week.

Perhaps the best news of our visit was to hear the Doctor say Ella is healthy. She is very pleased with her progress, not only her growth, but overall development. As long as all the labs come back normal, we don't have to go back until January.
Cousins! Ella is the "big" girl in every sense now :-)

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