Immunology and Update

Earlier this week, I thought Kate was getting sick. She was showing me some of her classic very early symptoms, so I scheduled an appointment with the ENT to get her tested for strep. We went yesterday, and the test was negative. The doctor said he was actually really glad to see that, because it likely proves that she's not a carrier who is just going to test positive every time because she is carrying it, not necessarily infected. (If that makes sense.)

He did say though, that after talking things through with my Pediatrician, they agree that they want her to have an immunology workup before she has surgery. They want to make sure her immune system is working correctly because tonsil surgery might be unnecessary if it's actually an immunity problem. In other words, more torture for Kate. The nurses at the pediatrician tried to do the blood draw, but two awful attempts later, they couldn't get any blood out of Kate. :( I felt so awful holding her down while they just dug in her arms. They sent us off to a lab to get it done. I asked them if they had anyone who is really good with babies because Kate had already endured so much. They assured me they were really good, and don't make the poke unless they're sure. Well, it took them two digging tries too. Poor Kate. I was definitely crying with her by the end. I'd never heard her cry that hard. She was crying so hard she was gasping for breath in between sobs. Poor sweet heart. At least it's over and we can try to forget about it. They said she's probably going to bruise pretty badly.

On the way home we stopped and I treated her to some Cold Stone Cake Batter Ice Cream. All her trauma was long forgotten. :)

It'll take the results about a week to come in, so it'll be interesting to see what we learn. After all that, I almost hope we get something out of it, though of course I'd never hope for something to be wrong with her immune system! I'd just hate to think it was a pointless exercise just to torture my baby.

I just hope we are coming to the end of a long stretch of illness, questions, and doctors in Kate's life. I really hope we'll just get through this surgery, make it through recovery, and have a great healthy winter.