Riley Trip ~ Dr. Haggstrom

Last Wednesday, Gavin had an appointment with Dr. Haggstrom.  We dropped the girls off in the morning and were on our way.  We were a little worried about the weather, but the driving part of the trip went very smoothly.  We stopped in Terrre Haute at Teppanyaki for lunch on the way up. 

The actual appointment was a little tense and didn’t go as well as I’d hoped it would.  To be honest, I had a pit in my stomach feeling and was kind of a ball of nerves on the way up.   Dr. H is so awesome and Gavin loves her.  She is so calming, but honest and doesn’t hide anything.

For my records, I’m going to cover the main bullets of the visit:

• Compression sock:  Dr. H was impressed Gavin wore his sock every day all day.  He loves it and it is helping a lot.  We did talk about whether or not it is the right style.  It doesn’t seem to go up high enough and is cutting off a main vein.  We didn’t make any changes right now and are going to think about it in the future.
• Pain and Swelling: Gavin has been experiencing a lot more pain in his leg and knee.  He has been crying about it, complaining, and sitting out of activities at preschool.  His leg has also been swelling more, especially on highly active days.
• Clotting Blood Work and Aspirin: Dr. H wanted to rule out tiny blood clots breaking off and causing the pain, so she ordered blood work.  It would check to see if he is clotting too much.  He was less than thrilled about the blood work because he hates the “ribbon” you tie around your arm first.  He did fairly well and came out with plenty of rewards!  Dr. H called the next day and said that blood work came back normal, so there is no need to start a daily dose of aspirin at this time.  She said to just give him motrin for pain.
• Vein: The main vein in Gavin’s leg is protruding more and more.  Dr. H noticed it right away.  This big vein is probably the cause of a lot of the pain.  It goes from his upper thigh all of the way to his foot.
• Vascular Lesion Clinic: Dr. H wanted us to come back for the clinic again on February 3rd.  It is where we meet with a team of doctors to discuss his case and see what’s next.  The two big things she wants to discuss are another possible MRI (to figure out why he has those white spots) and to start treatment to shrink his veins.  Basically, they would inject the veins, he would be put under, and the wanted result would be less pain.  This could take multiple times to get the result we want and it is not a cure, simply a way to cope with it.  He will also get another ultrasound at this appointment.
• Conference: Dr. H asked if she could share pictures of Gavin at an upcoming conference.  She just can’t figure out those white spots and that bothers her!  We agreed.  Any help is appreciated on our end!

It took some working out and moving around, but Brian will be able to come with me on the 3rd and we moved two other appointments to Spring Break so I won’t have to miss as much school.

On the way home, I was having a tough time.  A lot of this is progressing at a faster rate than we anticipated.  I had a few moments of…maybe I shouldn’t be working, how are we going to manage all of this, why does my baby have to go through this? Then, I got it together and realized it is our life and there is nothing I can do about it, but face it head on.  We have God on our side and I know that he will be with us on this difficult journey.

When we got to Evansville, we met my parents and the girls at Hacienda.  It was a nice way to end our difficult day!