Avery's Endocrinology App., Feb. 7, 2012

We've always gone to the endocrinologist every 6 months; however, since starting the growth hormone treatment, we must go every 3 months. This appointment, Avery had to have blood work done to ensure she had normal levels with her thyroid, etc. Turner Syndrome girls are more prone to issues with many things and the growth hormones can add a little more risk too, so we have to be cautious. As always, we turned onto Woodrow Wilson and Avery began to whine. She seems to work herself up more now than she used to, and what begins as a fake sort of cry, ends up being screaming, tears, and well...throwing up! She settles once we are in the outside waiting room, then gets upset every time a nurse comes out to call a patient. When we get called back, she gets a bit louder, but she will walk onto the scale and put her back against the wall for her height. She hates the BP cuff, and they never get an accurate reading, but we get through that part too. Next, we head to the waiting room as she tells everyone, "bye!" Jake usually speaks with the nurse outside, so they can hear one another! Avery then settles down and begins to watch videos or listen to music. As you can see above, M&Ms seem to help, lol.
Dr. Dixit entered the room, and it's funny, but Avery doesn't get too frazzled by her. As a matter of fact, she ended up giving her high fives and a hug at the end! I think it is because she doesn't have to do much for her examination- she'll take a listen, but it's mainly a discussion. Avery is now 22.8 pounds and 33 inches tall.She will be 3 in June, so she is definitely small for her age. Most girls with TS don't fall off the normal growth curve until age 2, and Avery has never been on the normal scale. She has grown around 2 inches in the last 3 months; however, Dr. Dixit expected her to have more rapid growth on the HGH. She is responding to the treatment, but it is working a little slower which is probably due to her TS and other things she has going on. We talked about upping the protein in Avery's diet and we will start her back on PediaSure. We've been giving her Ovaltine because it is less expensive. Dr. Dixit upped her Genotropin dose from .5ml to .6 ml. Afterwards, we went for blood work, and Avery screamed, but she didn't fight them as much as usual. Jake and I didn't even have to help! They got 3 vials, and told us we'd receive a call with the results. Our next appointment is in July due to something being changed over with the system in June. They tried May, but it was the day of our state test, so that couldn't be done!
Jake went on to work, and Avery and I ran home to change to prevent having the smell of throw up on us all day! Hopefully, this phase will end soon- she's done it at our last 2 appointments! Everyone looks as if we are contagious when it happens, and we get enough stares as it is with all the crying. I shouldn't care what-so-ever, but people getting the wrong ideas has always bothered me!
This has been a rather emotional week for me with so much going on. Dad begins his treatments this next week, this week is the anniversary of Avery's NYC surgery, her appointment was stressful, and then I got a call from daycare on Thursday that I missed. They called and left a message saying Avery began screaming at nap time. They thought it was because a familiar teacher (but not her teacher) was in the room putting them down. When her teacher entered the room, she climbed up her, clinging to her, and proceeded to scream and cry. She continued crying and sitting in the laps of two ladies throughout nap time and never went to sleep. Since they couldn't get her to calm down and she'd never done this before, they called me. I was busy with my students and didn't see the call. Thankfully, I was able to go check on her and she seemed fine when I got there. I called the pediatrician's office and they didn't think it could be growing pains or anything, They told me to watch her- may be she just had a bad day? Avery has laid down readily for a nap since day one at her daycare. She is on the go so much- she never stops, so she is always tired at that point! The following day, I called to check on her, and she was doing fine. Afterwards, I received a call with Avery's blood work results.
It looks like her thyroid levels are elevated a good bit. The nurse said not slightly and not extremely- somewhere in the middle. This hyperthyroidism can keep her from gaining weight and make her extremely active. Kids that have this often act as if they have ADHD. Avery has trouble calming down to rest any way, and she has been very restless lately. It is difficult to  get her to sleep at night. She is so active that she burns calories quickly making it difficult to gain weight. Her doctor is putting her on Levoxyl daily to get her thyroid levels within normal range. I know this is a good thing, but it still makes me a little sad. We got rid of one heart med. and added this one instead. It's definitely difficult not to worry. Worry is just one of those mountains I am relying on God to move. We are so extremely blessed with Avery's health, strength and abilities, and I know God has her in his hands every second of every day. He has shown that to be true continually. He lets me be emotional, but he also sets me straight by putting things in perspective allowing me to see the big picture.
Isaiah 40:31...but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not grow faint.

This is Avery dancing in the room while waiting on her doctor. This is what I need to remember- she's healthy, she's happy, and every little thing is gonna be alright! Through my moments of weakness comes strength. My hope is in you, Lord! 

Avery is...

filling in the blanks to songs as I sing- Me: You are my, Avery: sa-shi (sunshine), Me: My only, Avery: sa-shi, Me: You make me, Avery: happy.....

singing along with her shows and copying dance moves ( I either have a gymnast or a dancer on my hands it seems) 

saying her friends' names at school

conversing more and stringing words (she isn't very clear, but I don't want to rush into speech therapy- will wait until she is 3 and see where she is then)

continuing to do pull-ups on our cabinets and drawers- climbing on EVERYTHING!

wanting to watch The Fresh Beat Band over and over again on demand

sighing- so funny, she goes "ahhh" like she is just exhausted- copies Jake and me I think