Thanks for the prayers

but....

you can ease up on the one for keeping this baby in.  :)  Just kidding.  I really am grateful for all prayers uttered in our behalf.

SO... I haven't really been posting about all our medical issues lately.   I'm not sure why, probably because we don't really have any answers yet.  Everything started about a month and a half ago with Twister and Benson both getting pretty sick.  This was around the same time as I had my false labor event, and Goose beat up a pole with his foot.  Oh yeah, we like to do things big.  LOL.  Anyway, Benson missed a week of work and still wasn't feeling good after that.  Twister ended up with pneumonia, but recovered fairly easily after getting the right meds.  Benson went back to work at that point, but was just not feeling back to himself.  He was REALLY easily fatigued. 

About a week later, he developed a sharp pain in his kidney area that took him back to the doctor.  He had lab tests and a CT scan done that were basically normal.  Great, right?  But what is the pain?  A few days after that the kidney pain got so intense that we went to the ER.  They did another CT scan with contrast this time, and since it was normal again, he was sent home with pain meds.  I should mention that although various doctors had told us his labs were normal, his kidney function tests kept coming back on the high side of normal, or just slightly high.  The ER doctor told us they were fine and that Benson was probably just a bit dehydrated.  Anyway, fatigue was becoming a SERIOUS issue for Benson as well as the flank pain. 

Then a new symptom developed, right upper abdominal pain.   I took Benson back to our primary care doctor.  He was awesome.  He sat down with us for a good 20 minutes trying to go through every step of the past few weeks.  He suggested another set of blood tests, testing for gallbladder issues, a visit to a nephrologist, rheumatologist, and gastroenterologist.  It may sound like overkill when listed all at once, but if you know Benson, you know he is not one to lay around sick for a month "just for fun".  SOMETHING was wrong.  Anyway, the gallbladder ultrasound came back normal, so he then went on to do a HIDA scan.  Our primary care doc had suggested that he thought Benson may have a chronic gallbladder issue, rather than something acute like gallbladder stones.  Anyway, because he thought that, when the HIDA came back normal, he still suggested a consult with a surgeon. 

In the mean time, Benson had finally gotten in to see the rheumatologist and nephrologist (kidney specialist).  The nephrologist visit was probably the most helpful visit Benson had.  After going over the labs and tests, he said that someone as healthy as Benson (never smoked, drank, young etc...) has absolutely no reason to have slightly high kidney function levels.  Combined with his other symptoms, he was really worried about Benson.  SO much so, that he scheduled a kidney biopsy to check for an auto-immune problem that he suspects.  Benson had THAT test done earlier this week and should get results in 2-3 weeks. 

Most recently, Benson had a consult with the surgeon about his gallbladder.  THAT appointment was a joke.  The doctor completely dismissed all of his symptoms and said that the tests were normal and taking out his gallbladder would be ridiculous.  She can have her surgical opinion... that was fine.  However, she went on to say that Benson looked perfectly healthy and really was doing overkill by doing all these tests.   That was uncalled for.  We aren't doing these tests for fun.  Thanks anyway.

SO, that is where we stand.  We are waiting for the biopsy results and a few more blood test results.  Hopefully they will give some answers.  He also has the appointment with the gastroenterologist in a couple weeks.  That one is more of a follow up on some chronic stomach issues than anything else though.  If the gallbladder pain doesn't ease up in the next few weeks while we wait for other answers, we will get a second opinion on that.  Joy, joy joy. . . . gotta love medical issues.  I'm just glad that we haven't added a premature baby to our list of medical issues.  So far, she seems very content to stay right where she is.  I had all those contractions for weeks, and this past week, they've been few and far between.  Guess she found her "happy place".  :)  I'll be 37 weeks on Saturday and she is welcome to join the family ANYDAY.  In fact, tonight would be fine.  :)