We have a really busy week ahead of us. We have an appointment with an immunologist at University of Alabama Birmingham tomorrow, which is a minimum three hour drive for us, one way. Korban has always had problems with his immune system--he gets sicks very easily and has a hard time fighting it off. I had worried for a long time that there might be something wrong with his immune system. We got a referral to an immunologist when he was around three. She did some blood work. At the time, it didn't show any specific immune deficiency but it did reveal that he didn't titer to several of his vaccines. Meaning they just didn't work. He got the shots just like he was supposed to but his little body didn't make immunities to the diseases they were supposed to. Scary, huh? So they checked blood levels periodically but basically just watched him. He was tested for cystic fibrosis, and that was negative, thank God. When Korban had his tonsillectomy in September, we asked the ENT who did the surgery for another immune system work-up. This time, it revealed that he was IgG deficient in classes III and IV. The ENT told us we needed to see an immunologist. (You think?) So I started calling our immunologist, who is in Jackson MS. I found out that she is on FMLA leave until some time in 2011, so our pediatrician referred us to a new immunologist at UAB. I am praying we get some answers and that something can be done to help my little man. I know our situation could be much worse, but it still stinks being sick all the time. The way I understand it so far is that he is not more likely to get seriously sick, he is just more likely to get frequently sick. I'm hoping the new doc will shed more light on things tomorrow.
Wednesday my mom has an appointment with a neurologist to check on some health issues she has been having. I will be taking her to her appointment. Korban will be at school, but Selah will be going with us, so I really hope she is a good girl. Shouldn't be too much of a problem. And Thursday Korban has an appointment at LeBonheur in Memphis, TN with an infectious disease specialist. This is regarding his recurrent strep infections. He's had it three times just since getting his tonsils out in September. He has even tested positive for strep when he was already being treated with antibiotics. His pediatrician says she has never seen anything like it. He had strep almost constantly over the summer, but we thought getting the tonsils out would fix things. We were very disappointed when it didn't. Strep is scary business. If left untreated, it can affect your kidneys and lungs. Plus there is a lot of debate over something called PANDAS, which is basically a sudden onset of OCD type symptoms and tics after a child has strep. Apparently, some doctors believe in this diagnosis and some do not. I know that Korban's autism symptoms get worse when he is sick or on antibiotics, which is most of the time. I asked the ENT about PANDAS, and he said to ask the immunologist. I asked our old immunologist, and she said to ask the neurologist. I haven't seen her yet to ask her, so I'm hoping this doctor tomorrow will have some wisdom to offer and not just pass the buck.
Korban has gotten to the point of being able to tell us if something hurts him for the most part, but his communication skills are still limited. I worry we will miss something. I am a little stressed about this week, but mostly just hopeful that we will learn something new and be able to help Korban in a way that we haven't been able to so far. Please pray that the doctors will have godly wisdom and that they will see Korban and truly care about his well-being. Pray that Brad and I will ask the right questions and actually have them answered. Pray that nothing is missed or left out and that the best course of treatment is found. Also, pray for traveling mercies. That's quite a prayer list! Feel free to add anything I may have left off. We appreciate every prayer sent up on our behalf. I'm headed to bed to rest up for tomorrow!
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