Update

You think you have had a bad day? Well at least you aren't _________....now she's had a rough day! Admittedly, maybe even a bit shamefully, I had this exact thought today after running into a girl I went to high school with. Bless her heart, she had an eight week old baby and shared that her husband had broken both of his arms when the baby was just two weeks old. Both. Of. His. Arms! Girls, can you even imagine how awful it would be to have a newborn to care for and a husband who, rendered just as helpless and needy as the baby, was also requiring care? Awful!
As I walked Liz to the radiation department for her xrays I thought, "well, at least I'm not __________!" That sounds so bad, but sometimes perspective is gained when we see how others are suffering in some way. So, as much as it exhausts me to care for Liz sometimes, at least I am not caring for a newborn and a husband with two broken arms! Right? Right!

Talking about perspective and how people view things, today Mr. Jersey Shore made me laugh out loud... My eye is now totally blood red. Not just a little bloodshot, but a mess of red. Anyway, I went to an eatery to pick up pizzas for the girls' class and the owner, who is Jersey Shore aged about 20 years, says in his awesome accent- "Hey, are you alright? Cause, uh, you're eye is looking a little red there." I was dying because "a little red there" is the understatement of the decade. I think he was wondering if I was hemorrhaging right there at the register and wanted to make sure I was off his property before I did. So funny!

Today we met with the Pulmonary doctor who also happens to be an Immunologist. I liked him very, very much. I also feel like a schoolgirl just thinking about him because man, he is so handsome and has a Soap Opera voice. I have mentioned how Dr. M, the Infectious Disease doc, has been referred to as Dr. Cute a handful of times, but Dr. R is Doctor Ridiculously Cute. I realize I also sound like a school girl speaking about his looks, but when you are jumping doctor to doctor, week after week, a little silliness (and truthfulness at the beauty of Dr. R!) goes a long way. Anyway, I am happy to have him on our team...and not just because he's dreamy.

There is TOO much to say about what was discussed, so I'll keep it simple. First, the Cystic Fibrosis test will be tomorrow morning. This is a sweat test which is exactly what is sounds... they will stimulate sweat, collect it and check for chloride levels. Dr. R does not think she has CF, but agrees we need to rule it out. In addition to the CF test, she will have labs drawn to test for 18 different diseases/disorders/abnormalities. It is so much blood that Dr. R recommends splitting it into two Lab visits.
Based on labs, we now know that Liz has a new diagnosis of Immunoglobulin Deficiency. For my medical fam, her IgA level was 40. Being Ig deficient could be the cause of many of her symptoms (excluding her GI issues related to all her surgeries), as the deficiency leaves your body without the antibodies needed to fight infection. We are waiting for results from further tests as the doctor feels she may have more than this issue going on right now.
Tomorrow she will start a diet called the Elemental Diet. This is a diet used either by mouth or through iv or feeding tube, which will allow her gut to rest. Her main intake will be an amino based formula that is made of digested fats, minerals, etc... her body won't have to work because it has already been done for the formula, thus giving her gut time to rest and heal. This diet is only done in serious cases where a doctor thinks it is necessary. In addition to the formula, she can eat a small amount of rice, rice bread or root vegetables. This will only be done for two weeks and is done under the physician's care....

More tomorrow....