Part II

Before we are checked out the hospital, they ran one last blood test and verified that some of his elevated levels  had decreased.  Fortunately, they did.  However, Espen was still experiencing diarrhea. One wonders if it had anything to do with the NINE apple juice boxes that he consumed upon his admittance to the hospital!  HA.

After checking out, we went to pick up the big kids at my Aunt Mony's house.  I have to mention that we are incredibly fortunate to have family living only 15 minutes away from the hospital.  So while Espen and I spent the night at the hospital, Bjorn and the big kids spent the night with family.  They showered my little family with food, attention, hospitality and love.  There are no words to express our gratitude for their support. They made it possible for me to fully concentrate and advocate for my littlest man and for Bjorn to do work while they cared for my big kids.

The next day, Bjorn went back to work and I took Espen back for a follow-up check-up.  He was looking great and made his trip to the ER like it was ages ago.  No fever.  No vomiting.  The rash was clearing up and he only had mushy poop.  It looked like we were on the road to recovery.  The doctor declared him healthy.  Then the next day, a new symptom shows up: hives.  I try to stay calm, but past experience told me that I needed to call the on-call pediatrician NOW.  So I called him.  He suggested that I try benedryl to see if his body would react to the anti-histamine.  An hour after forcing the benedryl down, his hives barely subsided.  Then diarrhea shows up again... in full force. I walk into the clinic for an evaluation.  The doctor then decided that it was time to make a referral to a pediatric GI up in Bethesda.  And until our appointment date, we would do some more blood work.  Days prior to the appointment, Espen develops a high fever.  He becomes febrile for two days.  And then as suddenly as it appeared, it was gone.

We went to the pediatric GI.  Another resident...ha, we meet again!  After well over an hour of waiting to meet with the doctor, the resident and her attending decided that Espen probably had a milk-protein allergy.  They came to this conclusion because all of his blood work came back normal except for one.  This particular one indicated that his body was reacting to either some sort of allergen or virus.  And because it was unlikely to be a virus and given that Audriana and Haakon are lactose intolerant, they presumed that it was probably a milk-protein allergy.  As they are explaining this to me, I could feel my frustration boiling and anger rising at the pit of my stomach.  THIS WAS NOT AN ACCEPTABLE EXPLANATION.   At the onset of his illness, we stopped all milk and milk products and adopted the B.R.A.T. diet for Espen.  We were concerned that he was lactose intolerant (since we went through bouts of severe diarrhea with Audriana and Haakon).  But despite our efforts, he was still having the vomiting, diarrhea, fevers and rash.

When you get a mama bear pissed off and just try to pass her off quickly, WATCH OUT!  I told the resident and her attending that this was the wrong diagnosis.  And even more, even if Espen did have a milk-protein allergy, it still did not explain the high fevers.  In all the medical literature and journals that I could find pertaining to milk-protein allergies in toddlers, a very rare number of cases involved fevers, and when they did, they were all low-grade fevers that never came on without the consumption of dairy.  Espen's fevers would come on suddenly and without warning.  I don't think I was very good at hiding my frustration from the resident and her attending.  Their eyes were wide with surprise at my response.  So I left there with very little answers.

Espen then had a few more episodes and I called our primary care physician and asked not only for a RAST test for milk-protein allergy, but also a referral to a infectious disease doctor.  He agreed to both.  A week later, we were at the doctor's office again.  This time, we spent four hours at the specialty clinic.  And were seen by 1 junior fellow, 1 senior fellow, 1 attending, 1 resident and 1 medical student. They were very thorough and asked questions of our activities and home environment that no other doctors asked us.  In other words, they asked us questions that a diligent scientist should.  Imagine that!  After that visit, I think we finally had answers.

As it turns out, Bjorn and Espen probably caught some sort of virus together.  While Bjorn recovered, Espen took a while longer to recover.  And during the course of that recovery, it was likely that Espen also picked up a parasite that is not particularly common in toddler/children.  Essentially, it was uncommon enough that he was not tested for it.  The parasite is generally found in the dirt/ground from fecal matter.  And since he is a thumb sucker, he was especially vulnerable.  Since, by the time we met with the ID doctors Espen was no longer exhibiting symptoms, the assumption is that Espen's system cleared the parasite and he is recovered.  The doctor said that should his symptoms re-emerge, we were to bring him back to infectious disease that day for an evaluation and testing.

As I am writing this, I am incredibly happy to say that he is recovered!  No more symptoms.  He has resumed to eating like a bottomless pit and poops normally :)  Bjorn and I are so relieved and finally enjoying the last remnants of summer with our three healthy cubs before Fall settles in.  Thank you for all your prayers, calls, thoughts and well-wishes.  It was very much needed!

Mama-Bear:  I am keeping busy with the little family.  Bjorn continues to be painfully busy with work/school, so I am back to single parenthood in full force.  Its not been too bad.  I am currently training for my first, and last,  1/2 marathon in a couple of weeks.  With the change in schedule, it is harder for me to fit my 6AM workout, so I try to do as much as I can during the boys' nap time with Audriana cheering me on!  Work as a community and court mediator is always fascinating and I continue to really enjoy and appreciate the work that I do both outside and inside the home.

Whew!  That was a long couple of posts!  I hope it makes up for the lack of activity within the last few months.  Check back for pictures and news.  Hope you all are doing well.