Illnesses

We have had quite a round of illness run through our house recently.  Just since Christmas break ended this is what we have been privy too:

Felicity:
Throwing up and diarrhea Jan 3-5

Collin:
Throwing up and diarrhea Jan 4-6
Throwing up, diarrhea and Fever Jan 13-16

Justin:
Throwing up and Diarrhea Jan 6-8

Jaicie
Throwing up and diarrhea Jan 6-8
Throwing up and diarrhea Jan 13-15
Throwing up and Diarrhea, Nausea and chest pain Jan 19-23
ER Trip on Jan 20 due to Dehydration
       X-rays, blood work, and urine check
       Recommendation for a CT scan of her abdomen.

On Jan 22 we took Jaicie in for the recommended CT scan of her abdomen. The Xray showed a nonspecific finding of calcification in her pelvis. Because the quality of the ER Xrays suck, they couldn't make any determination as to what it was. They said possibly a dermoid or a teratoma, and felt that an appendicolith was unlikely. Unfortunately, when we were given the information they skipped the part about the dermoid and teratoma and told us they were looking for an appendicolith. An appendicolith is basically a blockage of the appendix which COULD at some point lead to appendicitis. We felt with that info, we could wait to have the CT until after a follow up appt. on Monday.

Unfortunately, Jaicie didn't improve much. We thought on Friday she was better and gave her a pancake for dinner. She immediately wanted to throw up but never did. Saturday was a rough morning for her. She was in a lot of pain and was really nauseous. She was still having trouble getting fluids in because they kept making her more nauseous. So we decided to get in for the CT scan. The brought us in late morning and she had her CT scan. She did great! She was a great trooper with the 2 needle pokes for the IV and with everything.

At the end of her CT Scan, after the radiologist reviewed it, they let us know that they did find a calcification, but that he doesn't know exactly what it is and needed to do some research to figure it out. They then brought us copies of the Xrays from Thursday, the CT images and the Xray report, along with a CD with all of the images on it.

As I read the xray report, I was a little confused. So I checked with Justin. He was upset that he wasn't told they were looking for a dermoid or teratoma. It is frustrating to get the wrong information. Especially when he would have felt more inclined to get the CT if he had known that. In the end, it doesn't really matter because we got the CT done anyway, and probably quicker than we would have initially. But it would have been nice to have all the information to make the decision with.

Tomorrow morning we will be taking Jaicie in for her follow up with the pediatrician. At which point we should find out what the calcification is in her pelvis. Dermoid and teratoma are usually benign and would just be surgically removed and then checked on later to make sure they don't come back. But there is still the chance that it could be malignant and that scares me. I don't even know if the calcification has anything to do with her vomiting and nausea. It may just be a freak coincidence that we even found it.

It has been a rough weekend, well, actually, a rough few weeks with all the vomit and diarrhea, but it seems that we are about past it and hopefully everything will get better. I will ask that you keep Jaicie and her parents in your prayers. I don't know what any of this will entail, and I don't know how we will all handle whatever it is. But I do know that Jaicie will be okay in the end...She just needs lots of prayers!

Thanks!