Part Two - Endocrinology

Where were we?  (You can read PART 1 if you missed it.)

Oh yes, the pesky questions from the resident at the Endocrinologist's office. Well, after that she left the room and we waited and waited and waited some more.
Thank goodness for crayons and coloring books. About 60-70 minutes in, I started to fuss on the inside. Not real clear on why we were even there in the first place, I was getting annoyed. If you want to know the truth, I kind of like Joshua just the way he is. He has an amazing way of growing on you!

Thus enters the doctor.

I love it when I see how clearly God has my back.

We were originally scheduled to see the other doctor in the practice in May but I asked to be put on the cancellation list. When they called, we switched to Dr. O and got in six weeks sooner. 

Where was he while we were waiting? He had run upstairs to the Pediatric Cardiology practice to hunt down a doctor or two to ask about Joshua's heart. He had reviewed all of Joshua's records from the multitude of doctors we've already seen. He even got the low down from the resident about how grumpy serious I was.

Impressive. Black cloud dissipates quickly. I like Dr. O. The first thing out of his mouth is, "What is your take on why Joshua is not growing?" I told him my theory and he said he concurred 100%. We are off to a very good start. 

We poured over a book of hand x-rays, talked theories and touched on treatment plans. We discussed the bazillion blood tests Joshua would have to rule out the obvious causes of slow-to-no-growth. 

Then mid-sentence, Dr. O. stops cold and says, "What do you do? Outside of this, what do you do?" 

I'm......a.....mom? (This is the second incredulous moment in a very short time.)

"Why do you ask?" Mama Bear says.

"Because you are obviously bright and ask all the right questions and seem genuinely interested. Resident said you were very serious and warned me to be careful because I like to joke around," replies Dr. O.

Mama Bear recovers poorly mumbling something about a college degree and the science lesson resumes at full speed.

Oh good grief. I think I should go home and write 1 Peter 5:6 on the whiteboard 100 times. Enough about my humiliation, back to the boy.

The good news: Joshua's bone age is that of a six year old which suits his size.

Not as good news: The beads, also known as an orchidometer.

These fun beads (that look like something your toddler would chew on) represent the volume of the testicle. Apparently the size is a good indicator of growth in developing males. 

Joshua giggled out at around 8 years old. Which he is. He thought the whole thing was hilarious. Thank you China for no inhibitions. It makes this part of life a bit easier.

So we are testing for IGF-1 and IGFBP3 to find out if Joshua's body is producing the right amount of Growth Factor and checking for the BP - Binding Protein. Along with a bunch of other stuff. Which I didn't write down. 

We get test results in two weeks and see Dr. O again in four months unless something is crazy out of whack with Joshua's blood. 

I love this Doctor. A very good thing because it didn't take me long to figure out that he is now part of the team and will be with us for the duration following, advising, and helping us to give Joshua the best quality of life possible. 

 And that's the goal.

Every day.

Thank you, God, for the opportunity of being part of 

this precious child's life. I will never take it for granted.