Hi Everyone! I know I haven't updated in awhile, but we have been SO busy! Since the last time I wrote, so much has happened. A few weeks before Liam turned 18 months we visited his GI doctor, Dr. Paul. We were following up on a test called a "milk scan" to check for reflux which came back inconclusive since Liam only would drink a very little bit of milk that morning. However, Dr. Paul felt that since what the milk scan did show was positive, we could pretty much rule out reflux for our little man! I was SO happy! One more medication down, since Liam was on Pepcid to help with his reflux. At this point we decided to schedule another swallow study to see if Liam was still aspirating fluids. I was told that it could take up to a month to schedule this test, and then when we sat down with the scheduler they had an opening right away! Lucky for this momma, I now have approved FMLA to take when we are busy with appointments! This test did not go smoothly. Liam is at an age where he actually gets scared in certain situations. Being in the radiology room really freaked him out, let alone being strapped into a chair high up and his mom had to stand a few feet away. My anxiety was sky high the whole time, and seeing what this put him thru I decided we are done with any recommended testing for awhile. Liam chugged his milk, and of course although it was thickened he was still "penetrating." What this means is that when Liam drinks really quickly, he cannot properly control where the fluid is going. The GREAT news is that he did NOT aspirate fluid into his lungs, however, the risk is still very high since it appears that Liam's swallow reflex is somewhat delayed. When a normal person drinks, your swallow reflex kicks in at a certain point, and when this happens a "flap" in your throat covers your airway so what you are drinking does not go into your lungs. Liam's swallow reflex is intact, but delayed, and as long as this is happening we will have to follow precautions, continue with feeding therapy, and monitor for aspiration. Liam also trialed with unthickened water during the test. The good news is that if Liam takes just a sip at a time - he does great and the fluid is able to go right where it should. The bad news is that Liam does not usually take a sip at a time. This is where feeding therapy comes in. We have been working with Liam on taking sips, and have made some progress. As a mom, I am SO thankful for the ladies that help with Liam's feeding and speech, they are truly angels. Being a toddler, trying to work with Liam can get ugly when he throws his tantrums or just doesn't want to do what your asking, but these ladies have patience of steel and I know we wouldn't have made this much progress without them. My other hope is that Liam "grows out" of this delayed swallow down the road. Toddlers can be very uncoordinated, and although these results are not "normal" we are hoping in the future he will be able to drink normally like every other child!
We also had a follow up with Liam's allergist. They reviewed our blood work and all of Liam's immune studies came back NORMAL! All around Liam's illnesses have decreased since treating his allergies and asthma, and we are hoping we now have things under control! The only abnormal test that came back was Liam's vitamin D level, and we now have Vit D drops to put in his milk at bedtime! Since Liam is getting older we were able to switch his daily nebulizer treatment out for a toddler inhaler. I can't tell you how much easier this makes our morning routine, Liam even loves taking his inhaler in the morning! The only time we will need to use Liam's nebulizer from now on is if he begins to wheeze, which thank goodness has not been happening!
In other news, Liam turned 18 months on July 9th! I don't know where the time went, but our little man is growing up so quickly! We also went to the beach the end of last month and Liam enjoyed his vacation. Since being home, we have also been visiting with family, and had our first trip to the Lehigh Valley Zoo! That's all for now ~ love to all!
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