As I mentioned in our last update, although Alli had gained weight, she started refusing food and liquids again.  Garrett and I were completely beside ourselves and decided we simply couldn't wait before seeking help again.  We were determined to break this cycle so we attempted to contact Alli's GI doc last week.  We reached out to her last Tuesday and had a response by Wednesday: "bring Alli in on Friday at 10 a.m."  We were really nervous for the appointment, assuming that she had lost more weight, afraid she may be hospitalized, and concerned that we would have to battle to get help.  We could not have been more wrong. 

Well, we were partly right, she did lose weight.  She's now at 17 lbs 7 oz so she lost 6 oz in two weeks.  I have to say that while we weren't happy that she lost weight, we were relieved to see that we had hard proof of a need for further help.  Alli's GI doctor is AWESOME!!!  I truly think this woman is an angel sent by God to help us with Alli.  When she walked into the room, the first thing out of her mouth was "thank you so much for contacting me for help, I'm so glad you didn't wait"  What?!?!  We begged for help almost daily with Alli's former pedi and were told that nothing was wrong, she would grow out of it, blah, blah, blah.  We were made to feel crazy.  Not with her.  She even apologized again for the delay ~ she was in Brazil for a family emergency.  She re-reviewed all of Alli's tests and they are negative, but she said that the RAST (allergy) test may not be accurate so if we don't see improvement, she will do an endoscopy and colonoscopy.

What was even better about this appointment is we have action.  Like us, she found it interesting that Alli stopped eating two days after she stopped the Zantac.  Garrett got really nervous when she said this, but she quickly erased his fears.  She prescribed the appetite stimulant and another medication to treat reflux.  It's not Zantac but apparently in the same family, just newer.  We also need to continue giving Alli the Vit D, Vit E and Iron supplements.  She asked that we call on Tuesday to check in with her to determine if we need to up the amount of the appetite stimulant.  She also wants Alli back in three weeks to determine whether to schedule the further tests.  Here is what also impressed us, she went to the scheduling desk with us and made sure that we got an appointment for exactly three weeks even thought the scheduler thought she was over-booked that day.  We got the first appointment of the morning so there will be no problems :)  She asked that we call her that afternoon to let her know the vitamin concentration.  I was amazed, the number she gave us was her direct line ~ she actually answered the phone ~ WOW!!!

After a couple of days on the appetite stimulant (which is actually an antihistamine that has the side effect of increased appetite) Alli does appear to be eating a bit better.  She is still not eating a lot but she is no longer violently refusing food and she will actually ask to eat, which she never does.  It's pretty exciting but at the same time, we are afraid to get our hopes up since she does go through cycles of eating okay. 

We truly believe we are going to get to the bottom of Alli's issues and we're going to get help.  Praise God, the prayers are working!!!  We know there will be difficult days but at least we know that we are in good hands.  Please keep praying that the appetite stimulant works and Alli will not require a feeding tube.

 

As you know, we bought a brand-new house so all we were really doing was adding "us" to the house.  It originally came with wire shelving, which I detest, so as part of our purchase agreement, we had the builder remove all of the wire and fix the walls.  Garrett and I my dad completed the coat closet, linen closets and pantry.  We are having a company do custom shelving in the Master closet as well as a custom built-in office.  We will have to work on Alli's closet and guest room closet on our next visit.  We also did a ton of painting.  We went for earth tones in every room but Alli's.  The living room is a chocolate brown, the Master bedroom, bathrooms, and office are all tan, and the dining room (by far our biggest project) is an olive green with white wainscoting.  Alli's room is adorable.  We painted it spearmint green on top with green and white stripes on the bottom.  I have to thank my wonderful friend Michelle for the idea ~ future baby McDonald's room is blue and white stripes.  Garrett and I loved it and asked if we could copy them.  I had to return to work that Monday so Adele graciously offered to paint the stripes (I cannot say I was sorry to miss doing that!)  As you can see from the pictures, she did a FABULOUS job.  All we have left to do in Alli's room is put up the chair rail.  It was exhausting but fun working on the house and we are so anxious to move back there!!!

 

Now for the update on Alli . . . she's part of the reason that we're not sure when we'll be able to move.  We need to get her eating and weight issues under control before we move.  Now that we have such a great team of doctors working to address these issues, we are hesitant to switch.  Alli had her follow-up with her GI doc last Thursday.  The GREAT news is that all of the scary tests came back negative and she does not have reflux so no more Zantac ~ she is thrilled about this.  She is slightly low on iron and Vit D so she's on a vitamin now that she does not love!  They are re-running one of the tests concerning her absorption of fat because the results were not clear.  She is up to 17 lbs 13 oz so she gained 7 oz in the last 3 weeks.  This was a good thing (although it doesn't sound like much) because the GI doc said that if she had not gained, she planned to hospitalize her and place a feeding tube that day ~ WHAT?!?!  That made us nervous but thankfully, she gained.  Because she gained, the GI doc wants to wait another month before trying an appetite stimulant but agreed that if she does not gain substantially in the next month, we will begin Alli on an appetite stimulant ~ can we say "fat pill"? :)  We would like to just start it now but agreed to wait until her 15 month appointment to see where she's at.  We're praying she will finally hit 18 lbs!  The bummer is that she is working on more teeth and they are causing her so much pain that she is not at all interested in eating right now.  One step forward, a giant leap back.  We'll see what happens . . .