Thank you Dr. Bishop!!

Finally some answers about the GI issues and what was considered "picky eating" by other professionals.

J had his GI appt today to follow up on the foul smelling, sandy stool. Dr. B walked into the room and sat down and said "Okay, so fill me in on what's been going on." I love that about her. She is prepared to listen. We should be able to say the same about all MDs but unfortunately we can't. I told her about the stool being sent of by his pedi b/c it was very foul smelling and that they suspected giardia. However, the test came back negative so they referred him to the GI. She told me that giardia is recurrent and will not always show in every stool sample. One sample can be completely negative and the next can be FILLED with the giardia bacteria, so she wanted to just go ahead and treat him (like his pedi wanted to do). She then asked me about his diet and I told her about his eating habits and that he only eats bread, fries, processed nuggets, and yogurt on a daily basis. I also told her that I have been told for months now that it's just a phase. She disagreed. She said that even with a phase or picky eating the child will still get a variety of foods within a month, but Jayden's variety doesn't change and it all seems like its texture specific. She also went back into his chart and saw where he had a hard time starting solids as an infant, so he has always had a feeding issue. While I was talking to her, Jayden signed "eat" and I pulled out a granola bar for him and started giving him pieces. Before he asked to eat he had been running around the room like crazy, but to eat the pieces I was giving him, he sat down and stared into space while chewing. So the Dr just watched him chew. She said that he was trying way too hard to chew the little pieces I was giving him and she could tell that he wasn't able to chew it enough to swallow it without pain. I always knew this was an issue. So she looked at me, almost apologetic, and told me that he is going to need a battery of tests done and then she wants to put him in feeding therapy. Honestly I wanted to just jump up and hug her b/c this has been going on for far too long and I was tired of being made to feel as if I am the crazy person. She said that there is a chance that his feeding issues could be behavioral, and feeding therapy would help with that, but before she puts in in FT she wants to make sure that it's not painful for him to eat before we force him to do so. From watching him, she thinks there may be pain associated with feeding. So tomorrow morning he goes in for a barium swallow. Then after that they will schedule an EGD with biopsy. I feel so uneasy about my baby going under anesthesia, but at the same time, I am so ready for them to figure out what's bothering him. I'm also upset that it has been ignored for so long. Her main concern is that he may have scarring and narrowing of the esophagus, which would require extensive care and multiple surgeries. We are going to take this one day at a time. I walked out of the clinic so relieved that someone finally listened to my concerns and that my son is finally going to get some help and relief. Keep him in your prayers please and I will surely keep you all posted!