Wednesday, October 28, 2020

Hannah Labwork

Hannah has annual lab work to keep eyes on her thyroid, celiac, iron, and white blood cell count (WBC) - these specific items can be more likely in people with DS. The high white blood cell count can at times be a lens to possible leukemia. 

We had her blood drawn this past Friday. The phlebotomist was a woman we see every year. We both restrained Hannah a bit and got the needle in Hannah’s left arm. The phlebotomist didn’t hit the vein well enough (!!) and kept trying to maneuver the needle back into a vein - for the love of God woman, it’s your ONE job!! Hannah was wailing and I was very close to barking at her. She finally stopped, removed the needle and gave Hannah a break. She called in some help and the three of us held Hannah steady while she successfully got Hannah’s right arm. 

Hannah thankfully bounces back quickly and we were on our way. 

By the midday Friday, her WBC had been reported - normal range is 5-14.5 and Hannah’s was 2.93. Now, if I wasn’t informed and didn’t know low WBC can be quite common with kids who have DS, I would have freaked out. BUT all of Hannah’s other numbers were in normal range, so I knew she was okay. 

Her pediatrician knew this and agreed Hannah is probably fine, but we have to get lab work done again in two weeks - wah wahhhh.

Also of note - my last trick for digging into Hannah’s sleep was her iron/ferritin levels - which were also normal. 

So now we know it’s 100% behavioral. Ack! 

Tuesday, October 27, 2020

Oophorectomy Update

Quite a word, eh? “An oophorectomy (oh-of-uh-REK-tuh-me) is a surgical procedure to remove one or both of your ovaries.”

My parents graciously drove down to watch the girls while Tim took me to my surgery at Christ - about 30 minutes away. Arrived at 8:30am. 

I had a pre-op COVID test the week prior. It wasn’t far and a testing site for only pre-op needs - which was nice, I was the only patient at 8am. The swab was gentle, she only went a bit into my nostril, not as far up as the other tests.

Tim and I went into a triage room. Got my IV and gown on. The new warming blankets were pretty bizarre - they hooked up to a small vacume-sized machine that blew hot air into a hollow blanket. It was actually quite cozy and warm. 


They rolled me back close to 10:30am. I’ve never been in an operating room - it was bonkers - didn’t realize how many people would be in there - so many lights and instruments and I think I even saw the laparoscopic robot! 

They put the oxygen mask on me, and I was out in 5-10 seconds! 



The next thing I knew, my eyes opened in recovery. The RN next to me asked how my pain was. I muttered that on a scale of 1-5, my pain was a 2. It was strange laying there, coming out of anesthesia. I kind of enjoyed just laying and resting. 

Surgery only lasted 45 minutes! Dr. O spoke with Tim at 11:15am. I opened my eyes around 12pm, was wheeled back to a room around 12:30. I think we left near 1:45pm? 

I have three incisions; one in my belly button (I can’t even detect it) and two on each side of my pelvis. 

I needed extra strength ibuprofen the first three days, never needed the big gun painkillers! I’ve mostly just been sore. I didn’t realize how much I used my ab muscles throughout every day. I did take stool softener too because.... I needed gentle help!

Recovery has been much easier than anticipated. I’ve been enjoying the down time, taking care of odds and ends, running errands - like renewing my drivers license! I’ve been taking walks every day while I listen to podcasts - it’s been relaxing! 

My follow up is this Friday. Dr. O called me last week to see how I was doing - she was happy that I’m doing well and said my health and physique helped the ease of recovery. 

She advised I take two weeks off which I questioned. At first I was irritated I had to use so much PTO. However, if we don’t use it, we lose it. So.... in a way I’m glad I was able to take advantage and use all my PTO that I had! Luckily we’re headed into November so Thanksgiving is approaching and then a good break for Christmas.