EGD complete

I finally got my EGD over with yesterday. We had to go to yet another hospital, making it hospital number five. It's interesting to see how each place handles things differently. The last couple of times I have had to go in for scope, it consists of waiting in a large room and then being taken back to a larger room, sectioned off by curtains. This one, we went to the actual hospital and were admitted on the floor to an actual room. The staff was quite friendly and thankfully they got me on and IV right away, I was pretty depleted from the fast. Here's a first, I actually got in early! I have never met this particular doctor before, but apparently he had records from me from about 11 years ago. I was never made aware of this, but they had actually suspected gastroparesis (there is a wide variation of normal to severe) then. I don't remember why I didn't go back or what the circumstances were, but I found that quite odd. We talked to him about all that has been going on and even asked if they'd take me on here locally. He said it shouldn't be a problem. I asked if they do botox here and in the pylorus, he said he had done it maybe twice. I'm thinking in my head, never mind. He asked about the botox and was quite curious about it, but really didn't know much about it. They ended up taking me back for "twilight sedation." While everyone was really nice, I was awake more than I was asleep. I could feel them pushing the tube down and my whole stomach was quite sore, not to mention my throat was feeling pretty tore up. They had to keep on adding more medication, but I kept on waking up. After the procedure, the doctor came in to review what he had seen. He explained that they found two small cysts on my pancreas. He didn't feel they were big enough to drain for a biopsy. He found everything to be "normal!" I vaguely remember him saying something about not taking the gall bladder out due to the fact that it would cause more harm than good. So other than that, not much more else to add, which all I can say is "Praise the Lord!" He did add that he'd rather me stick to U of M, they feel I am in better hands there. I believe he is the 4th local GI specialist that has said this. They all seem to feel that they can take me on until we go through all of the history, where they end up backing out. So that puts us right at G-d's mercy, I still truly believe He is the only one that can heal me. The rest of the night I fell asleep on and off and ended up being energized at midnight, go figure. Today, my throat is pretty sore, but I am so grateful the test went well. Today is Isaiah's last day of school. This is quite the milestone for him, but also for me. Several months ago, I didn't know if I would make it this far. As you can imagine, I am beyond grateful. I spent the morning reminiscing how far Isaiah has come. He has proven to be intelligent beyond his years, but he wasn't able to express his feelings. Through early intervention, he has come leaps and bounds. He is playing with other children and engaging in child activities. We recently have started up a magnet chart of expectations such as; making his bed, sharing, being respectful, picking up toys, saying please and thank you, etc. He has quite a list of things. At the end of the day, we go through the chart and see what he accomplished without having to be reminded. He is doing so well with this. I have begun to realize how important organization is to kids, they need those boundaries! He gets so excited to see the magnets that say Good Job! next to his task. I know positive reinforcement is important, but I forgot how rewarding it really is to all who are involved. I also am realizing he is capable of a lot more responsibility than I had previously given him credit for. If that wasn't crazy enough, he likes it! I never realized how eager both of my kids are, to please me. We were blessed enough to have a close friend of ours (thank Tara!) come out on his field day and cheer him on. He was so excited to see her and chattered on and on about how field day was the best. I keep on forgetting how simplistic children really are. I think the media leads us on to believing that to be good parents we have to buy them stuff, when in reality, they just want our approval. I'm sure the stuff is always a bonus, but who cares if you have a lots of things, but no one to tell you how beautiful, smart, and important you are. To top it off, Seth told me about a little boy in Muskegon that suddenly died during field day, he was about Isaiah's age. Even I sometimes forget how blessed I am and take so many things for granted, especially my kids. You would think after all we have been through, I'd know better. Please keep his family in your prayers. I made sure to hug my kids extra, I am so thankful for each day we have together. So today even though I feel pretty battered from the scope (ultrasounds EGD's a bit bigger) I am pretty achy, tired, and I need to eat, but I am happy to be alive. My Mom and Dad would always do something fun on our first and last day of school, so I am hoping I feel better to be able to add some fun memories to this special day. Thank you all for your prayers and your words of encouragement, I really need them. Our next big hurdle is U of M on Friday. We are praying to get hopeful news from the doc from all of the tests and for safe driving both ways. As always, I am praying for healing and peace. I keep on hoping the testing will wind down and that things will just get better. I have ran into several people who actually think I look pretty good, which is quite the compliment. I look at pictures from me even a month ago and it's pretty icky. I am hoping to gain some weight and be a healthy woman again. I'll try to keep on updating, thank you all so much for your continued support. One day at a time!