A week ago Wednesday, our 3 littlest ones put in a full day at the hospital. It worked out to be a 12-hour day for yours truly who drove to Grand Rapids completely in the dark before dawn, and barely pulled into the drive before dusk.
Waking and dressing 3 little ones much earlier than normal results in many tears, and naps in the car.
The instructions for parking and elevators were really good, right until we got out of the elevator. The directions for location of the offices were somewhat ambiguous and we ended up crossing the sky bridge into the hospital, only to be redirected back to the parking garage building. Turns out, parking is below the professional building. (good to know.)
Our first triple appointment was with the Endocrinologist at 8am. Getting checked in here took the longest, because they had to copy insurance information, and put vitals and history into the computer. since the kids all had naps, they were ready to go, and bored from all the waiting.
We flipped the stool and played "basketball" with some wadded up table cover paper, played "how far can you jump" and all the other waiting room games, but we had exhausted all the games by the time the appointment was over.
I like their new endocrinologist, and was excited to learn that she had other patients with HPP too! She's actually seen her first case of hypophosphatasia while she did her residency, back when the only treatment they had was bone marrow transplants.
She was excited to meet the crew as well, since they are kind of celebrities among doctors in their circle:
She wanted us to get some baseline testing done: x-rays, blood work and a DEXA scan. We agreed that with our full day, we would not be able to complete the DEXA scans, but would work them in the next time we go up to Grand Rapids (in January.)
From their we were late for their nephrology appointment, but they took us in and treated us well.
The nephrologist requested a urine sample, but when I had asked at the previous appointment, they said they didn't need one. Lesson learned: always take the sample when the opportunity arises, if you are slated to see more than one doctor.
After recounting their history, the nephrologist saw no need to keep them returning regularly, unless calcium buildup is detected. So we are able to cross at least one specialist off of our list.
We had a failed attempt at a specimen collection, so the cup became a new game during our wait.
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| 3 of the 4 pennies I pulled out were older than I am, which is quite unusual these days = ) |
The nephrologist wanted us to get a baseline renal ultrasound, and managed to sneak us in right then and there. Of course, at this point we were all hungry, but headed to imaging just the same. Luckily, once we were checked in, they had a full fledged playroom!
The two who were not on the table had bubbles to occupy them. As they were scanned, the one on the table always looked like they were at risk of falling asleep.
Once we finished all 3 scans, we had about 15 minutes to grab lunch, which luckily we'd packed. I don't think we'd have had time to gather our food, pay for it, and eat it with our crazy schedule.
The next appointment was only for the twins. They needed to follow up with a pulmonologist, with their history of respiratory issues. Luckily, those issues are distant past, and he also released them from regular appointments, unless their condition changed!
Since we had 45 minutes, we ran down to xray to try to scratch that task off of our list, but spent a much longer time in the play room, and by the time we made it back into the xray room, we were already 10 minutes late for our next appointment. Since we had an hour an a half block scheduled with the neurosurgeon, and we were there, we just had the xrays done.
We booked it back to the professional building, but the kids were done. They were distracted by everything, and not listening to directions at all. = /
When we arrived to their last appointment, the receptionist scolded me because we were 30 minutes late for grace's appointment, and the doctor would probably want to reschedule her. I was annoyed that she was not understanding, since we had been doing something else in the hospital, it's not like we were eating ice cream or something. = (
When the neurosurgeon came in, he didn't seem worried at all about discussing all three of them, so we did not have to reschedule Grace.
He was very interested in their history, and of course this was the only folder I forgot to bring! I was able to give him a summary, but signed forms so that he could request official records from Houston.
While we chatted, William couldn't do it any more, and literally fell asleep on the floor. They will continue to be monitored by him. He also wanted us to schedule an initial visit with the plastic surgeon that he partners with for craniotomies, so we'll see him in January as well. Or possibly see him during one of his monthly office days in Lansing.
Grace's primary entertainment by the end of the day was getting hand sanitizer.
We finished up that appointment around 4:30, and as our final task went to the phlebotomist. They had a decent play area, but poor William had to walk, and the twins were exhausted from the day. They all did really well, and the nurses gave them toys, stickers, snacks and juice!
When we left, they had closed the waiting area doors, so it must have been after 5.
The plan was to go to sonic, since Sonics are non-existent in Lansing! = ( Sadly, there are only two and they were both out of the way. So, we just headed home.
All the kids slept, so I stopped at Wendy's for a quick meal.
My mom had taken responsibility for the big girls while we were out west, so their homework was done and lunches were made. This was, of course, the day before the twins' first day of school. = )
I'm so glad that there is a place we can go to see all of the specialists. I was impressed with the doctors and the facility. I'm not looking forward to going again in January, but it should be a little less hectic of a day, and should mark the end of initial visits with specialists!
later days
<what happened previously
what happened next>
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