Fred In My Head 2017

Gabby turned 11 this month!  She is recovering well and is back at school full time!  She still has some pain in her abdomen but it is getting to be less and less.  She does still get tired and we can tell when she has just done too much.  Usually she starts the week strong and by the end of the week she is tired.  She is walking to school and back and has started swimming a couple times a week.  We have been trying to eat healthier since a large portion of kids who have a craniopharingioma end up suffering from hypothalamic obesity.  This is an increase in weight which cannot be controlled by diet and exercise due to damage to the hypothalamus.  I am not sure if they can test for this or if it is simply diagnosed with time but we were told to cut back on empty calories and implement a healthier eating plan.   Low fat low sugar. We are still heading into the hospital on May 19 for an MRI and eye exam and will meet with our team on June...

Easter weekend has proved to be quite exciting for Gabby!  Thursday we had to take Gabby in to get some testing done as she is still having pain in her abdomen.  We needed to get blood tests done for the endocrinologist to check her hormone levels and had to take her back into the local clinic to check out her abdomen.  Doctor says all looks well,  the pain may just be her shunt tubing but we really are not sure.  Going for blood tests is never fun and Abby has deep, hard to find veins which makes the experience that much more stressful for Gabby.  She is a very good patient and stays very still but Thursday they had to poke her three times and where concerned that she might faint as she went very pale after the second poke.  So once we were done at the hospital and clinic they sent us home.  Stress is not good for her cortisol levels so I have to watch her.  When we left the Stollery they asked if we have any questions and I didn't but...

Gabby's check up on Friday went well.  They say everything looks good except for the fact that Gabby is very constipated.   This causes the tubing from the shunt to sit really high in her abdomen which causes the pain that she is still having in her belly.  Apparently constipation is something that is a common side effect of VP shunts but it easily treated.  Once that is cleared up her abdominal pain should go away.  Everything looks good otherwise and we will return April 20 for an MRI to check on Fred and decide if they are going to do radiation therapy or not.

We had a little bit of an adventure last night!  Gabby had a bit of a tough day, left school earlier than planned and came home because her stomach was sore near her incision.  Rested and took it easy then went to her first piano lesson since her surgery.  Jerry and I had a grad meeting to attend and Gabby texted us that her stomach was upset.  She got a bowl and by the time we got home had settled into her place on the couch, wrapped in a blanket with her bucket.  We gave her some gravol and hoped that she would feel better.  By 9:10 she was throwing up and having stomach cramps.  We usually give her Cortef at 9 but she doesn't need it till 10 so at 9:30 we gave her the medication.  She threw it up about 5 min later.  Protocol is to triple her dose when she is sick so we gave her a second  triple dose which she threw up soon after.  Once she has thrown up her meds twice we have to take her to the hospital where they can administer...

Gabby had her first day back at school today and we very excited to go!  Doctors said to do a half day first to see how she did but if it had been up to Gabby she would have stayed the whole day!  A half day seems to be about right though as she was tired when I picked her up.  Gabby loved being able to see her friends and her teacher again!