Practice time for Bryce
On our way to the Christmas tree!
(We love soft cuddly p.j.'s)
Christmas morning with the new blue p.j.'s
Emma saw this picture of her and Bryce when she was a baby and she said:
"No wonder why Bryce has hip problems. He was always carrying me around and I was huge."
It has been a year and the words from President Glazier still enter my thoughts daily, "Sister Hales, I need you to be strong for him. You need to be strong." What does it mean to be strong? Little did I know just what he meant when I hung up the phone with San Salvador's Mission President.
Over the past year, we have kept searching, studying, learning and doing 'what the doctor says.' There are times that I want to tell the doctors my own thoughts, as they keep 'ruling' things out. There are times, I fall to my knees and cry and pray that Bryce will make it through this challenge. I pray for strength and endurance because this has been a very long year. We have been reminded that doctors are just 'practicing' medicine- they don't know everything, (even if they act like they do) and that persistence is needed. We have also learned to laugh about things! We try to find humor in our many adventures. We spend a lot of our travel time listening to motivational talks or funny stories on cd's.
On January 2, we met with our Immunologist, Dr Jones. He read through Bryce's charts from his last blood draw and the results from the biopsies taken during his Colonoscopy/Endoscopy (Dec 17), which are normal. He once again ruled out Rheumatoid Arthritis and said, "Whatever is going on, I believe is in your G.I. tract. The symptoms you are having I think are secondary to what is going on in your GI tract. Your tests that we have run on you, are consistently showing high for your liver and other organs." This confirmed our thoughts that it has to do with his liver. He ordered some blood tests to check for Hepatitis A, B and C, which all came back negative.
Every blood test we have had done, his liver and digestive functions (Albumin, Bilirubin, AST, Anion Gap, GFR) have all been slightly higher than normal. Even though we have had some doctor's say, "It's not that high, so I don't think that it's anything to worry about." Well, guess what, we aren't giving up! A consistent high level of these tests is a concern- especially when he has symptoms of liver problems.
So, on January 6, we took a trip into our GI doctor who did the Colonoscopy/Endoscopy. We requested a referral to the Mayo Clinic, which Dr Jones had also recommended for us. Our Doctor for some reason, knowing that something is going on in his GI tract suggests we have a CT scan of Bryce's lungs and heart. Bryce and I looked at each other and questioned him- "Why not do a CT scan of his abdomen?" Here is an abridged version of our appointment:
Doctor: "So what is going on with you? What are your symptoms?"
Bryce: "My stomach is cramping all the time, my white blood cell count was elevated in my stool test and my eyes are yellow and my joints hurt all the time. I have lost my appetite because of the cramping and lost weight."
Doctor: "Let me look at you for a minute." After reading through 15 pages of blood tests, he starts checking his stomach and abdomen. He tells him, "Sit up so I can listen to your lungs." pause.... "That's strange." long pause....
Bryce: He looks at me and I am thinking, great- he hears a heart murmur.
Doctor: "I'd like to order a CT scan of your lungs and heart. I think I can hear some railing in your lungs. Like the railings you get with pneumonia. But... this is different."
Mom: "Bryce, I'm going to have to listen to you breathe when we get home."
Doctor: "Oh, you probably won't be able to hear it. You need a really good stethoscope to hear it- like a cardiologist would use."
All during this appointment, Bryce and I are trying not to laugh. Really, the doctor kept saying funny things, but he was serious and we didn't know how to react. Of course I listened to Bryce breathe when we got home with our nice nursing stethoscope and heard nothing. AND that CT scan came back normal. Seriously, I wonder if this was just another distraction? We are also grateful for health insurance, because these CT scans are not cheap.
Then on Friday, Bryce went in for one more blood test to check the conjugated (combined) bilirubin and un-conjugated (un-combined) bilirubin. His other bilirubin tests were of the 'total' bilirubin. His un-conjugated bilirubin test is 2.7. (normal is 1.1) Thanks to my brother Eric, we have been studying his Anatomy books. We have been able to really study the human body and it's many functions. Our bodies are amazing! The way everything works together is a miracle. This has also been helpful in Bryce's decision to continue his studies in medicine. Who knows, maybe this journey is for his experience. (At least we like to think that it hasn't been a waste of time and energy and money...)
While we are moving along- we have had a lot of blessings come our way- little bits of light that have led us somewhere or to someone. Bryce was excited to get some new piano music for Christmas and played 'O Come Emmanuel' for Sacrament meeting with Emma and Brooke Hansen on the violin. I posted the Piano Guys music video of the exact song that they performed. (Only difference was that we had two violins instead of a cello.) I love the way music can really bring in the Spirit in a meeting, or in your home. Bryce is now working on 'Savior, Redeemer of My Soul' arranged by Rob Gardner. (I've also posted this music video by Dallyn Vail Bayles of the exact arrangement.) It is scheduled for Easter Sunday, April 20th. We asked our talented friend, Brett if he would sing it and he said 'YES'.
We love going to Institute again. We love talking to people and visiting our friends. We love the gospel of Jesus Christ and know that He is helping us through this. We know that "Our Future is as Bright as our Faith." (President Thomas S. Monson) We will continue to be strong and hold on to our knowledge that everything is going to be okay.
We love you all!
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