And we are blessed with a super healthy little girl named Johanna. She's so healthy that she could run around constantly all day, stopping only for her afternoon nap (which thankfully can last over 2 hours).
It's almost strange how little time she's spent with doctors or on any medication, considering how regularly we were meeting with doctors the first couple years of Adria's life and how she's still on several daily medications.
In fact, early this year I was so preoccupied thinking about Adria's appointments that I completely forgot to schedule Johanna's two-year-old well visit. It wasn't until I tried to register her for fall pre-school that I realized it. Oooops! She was only about 4 months late on that...
However, more than a month ago our healthy 30 month old daughter suddenly had an onslaught of illnesses.
- First, it was a bad cold and allergies that caused her to regularly get sick all over the bed or couch or carpet.
- Second, she got a terrible ear infection which caused her nose to be constantly runny.
- Third, she got a urinary tract infection (something we are familiar with Adria having due to catheterizing but never Johanna).
- Fourth, she got a case a pink eye, likely from wiping her hand over her snotty nose then rubbing her eye.
- Fifth, she got another ear infection that actually had dark mucous coming out of her ears...gross!
What is the deal here?! For the first time, we were visiting the pediatrician on almost a weekly basis for Johanna. We were not being neglectful parents, but our poor little baby just had the issues piling up. It was so unusual for her.
And THEN, after all that, she got an inflamed skin lesion in a...not so pleasant potty area (there are certain words I will not type). It caused her a great deal of pain and almost made mommy cry to watch her struggle. The pediatrician told us that Johanna might need to have it surgically removed. Really?!
The pediatrician scheduled a time for a consultation with a general surgeon. We go to Nemours Pediatrics in Seaford, which is affiliated with Nemours at A.I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington. Once a month a specialist from A.I. comes down to southern Delaware to meet with patients for consultation.
Today was that appointment. Both the girls and I arrived at the doctors before 9 a.m., and I was expecting to leave with a scheduled date for surgery. Thankfully, that was not the case!
The doctor said these "skin tags" are fairly common, and he only operates on about 1 in 20 cases that he sees. Fortunately the lesion had gone down over the weeks since we first saw the pediatrician about it, and the surgeon felt that continued attention to a high fiber diet and using stool softeners when needed should allow it to heal. However, if it continues to bother her or gets enlarged, call him.
I think I'm good with that. I just hope it heals and does not continue to trouble her.
It was pretty funny watching Johanna today. She had obviously become accustomed to being at the doctor's office more. She eagerly stood on the scale to be weighed and measured, acting like a champ...when she wasn't crawling under tables or trying to play with medical equipment. That said, she did NOT appreciate having her blood pressure taken.
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| Little Johanna growing so fast, measuring almost 3 ft. tall. |
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| Hi Nurse, whatcha got there? |
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| Ouchy! This blood pressure thing squeezes my little arm. |
At the end of the day, I very am thankful we are not having to schedule another trip up to A.I. duPont for Johanna to have surgery. If you read my last post, you know we were just up there for a Full Day with Adria.
I said it before, and I'll say it again. Healthy children are an immense blessing. Treasure them. Of course, children who have countless health challenges are also blessings, they give you the chance to learn what selfless love is all about.
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