Doctor Appointments

Yesterday Josh had appointments with the pediatrician and also with the pediatric cardiologist.

Good things:

- His heart stenosis is unchanged. Yay! I was hoping and praying it would be improved, but unchanged is still good! Dr. Diaz said that it is rare for this type of problem to heal completely, but it could improve somewhat. He also said that it is much less problematic to have problems on the right side of the heart, as Josh does, than on the left side. We will have monthly appointments for the first year.
- The pediatrician immediately commented how much better Joshua's colour is, and also how much more alert he is.
- His ears, nose, throat and chest look and sound good. No infections despite the weeks of illness
- The pediatrician prescribed some decongestant drops. (I was hopeful they'd help Joshua sleep better at night, but they only bought us about 30 minutes. He was up and desperate for help to breathe at 4:45am. And now it's a cloudy day so I won't get the bedding sunned again today!)
- Joshua seemed to enjoy his sonogram. He cried initially, then quieted and watched the screen. When it was over he started crying again.

Not great things:

- Joshua hasn't gained much weight and apparently no length since last month's appointment. Dr. Flores isn't overly concerned but does want to keep an eye on it. I guess it's not surprising that Josh isn't growing too fast, since he has so many other things to spend calories on. But as his Mommy and sole source of nutrition, I sure would feel better if he were growing better!!
- The geneticist was concerned about the status of Joshua's testicles because she couldn't locate them when she checked him. Dr. Flores confirmed that they were descended at birth, but right now both are in his groin, rather than his scrotum. One is lower than the other. He said that they are "retractile testicles" and at this point it is nothing to worry about. They may descend on their own, and/or go up and down for a while. But if they don't come down on their own, he would need hormone treatments or even surgery. If they stay up there it would mean infertility and increased risk of testicular cancer.

All in all, the visits were good. I like the way both doctors explain everything so thoroughly and spend so much time with us answering my questions. I never feel rushed. I am grateful that Joshua's health concerns require only surveillance and not invasive tests and treatments and that so many of them are likely to resolve with time.