News from Cleveland

Hi everyone,
We're back from the 2days at Cleveland. We were very fortunate that the weather and roads were clear. There was alot packed in to the 2 days so I'll try to summarize it here:
First was the consult with Dr. Kay. Mainly no news from this appointment because many of the labs have not come back yet. Most of the questions I asked her she had to defer until after she did the tests or received the lab reports. At least we knew that she had been reviewing Jeremy's records and she was trying to get to the bottom of what was going on with him. The place was really packed. It is a very busy practice but they were still able to see us pretty much on schedule.
Next was the bone density test. The preliminary report did not look the best but Dr. Kay said to not worry about it until she reviewed the final report. That was reassuring. It will help to get him off the Prednisone as soon as possible. For now we're just pushing as much calcium as possible for him.
Then he had the MRI MR/CP. He had been with nothing to eat for 6 hours prior to this test and I have to admit he was a real trooper about this. The test showed that he does not have the pancreatic divisum. Unfortunately we had hoped all summer he did have this as this can be surgically repaired. The pancreatitis mystery remains unsolved.
Then we stayed at the home of Janice's boss's sister who lives about 5 minutes from the hospital. Jeremy played their Wii while drinking his colonoscopy prep. This made the whole situation much more bearable for him. The home was beautiful and Suzy and Greg were so kind and easy to talk to. Jeremy called Suzy Aunt Suzy at one point which came natural to him because he does have an Aunt Suzy and Uncle Greg. He did beat them on Mario Kart Wii often but we should note Greg did beat him once! Only because he fell off the ledge twice, though. We were very blessed to be able to spend the evening with such wonderful people and knowing that we were also so close to the hospital.
The next day we arrived at the hospital at 7am and they were starting his procedures by 7:40am. The nurse did give him some grief about being from Michigan, as the big Michigan Vs Ohio State game is this Saturday. She was reassured when we told her we were not Michigan fans. They completed both scopes within an hour and Jeremy was in recovery. Dr. Kay looked happy when she met with us after the procedures. The inflamation was limited to a small spot, no skip spots, esophagus and small intestine looked good. She decided to reduce the Prednisone (steroids) more and told us to call next week to reduce it some more. She wants to wait for the biopsies before she could say anything for sure about the results. We got the impression that she was very positive about what she saw but it's hard to know for sure. So for now, we're more hopeful than we were on Wednedsay.
We really want to let everyone know that our experience at Cleveland Clinic was exceptional this week. The anesthesiologists were able to sedate Jeremy without using a tube that hurt his throat so when he woke up he was not hoarse and not in pain. They ran an IV of pain medication and anti-nausea meds while they had him under for the procedure. When he woke up he was able to start eating cookies, drinking pop and did not feel nauseous at all. This made his recovery much easier than the last time. All of the staff at Cleveland Clinic were very helpful and went out of their way to try and help Jeremy feel more at ease. His recovery was much quicker this time then when he had the procedures done at a different setting last month. We are very thankful for how much better these procedures were for him.
Jeremy is still on a low fat, low fiber diet. Turkey, mashed potatoes and green beans fortunately fall into these categories. We found a low fat pumpkin pie recipe we'll be trying on Thanksgiving.
We are very thankful to God for the many blessings from this visit, the new friends, the start of a good report, very competent doctors, nurses and anesthesiologists, and clear roads. We're very thankful that there was no additional bad news in Cleveland and that there is possibly some good news. We're also very thankful for all the prayers and support from so many great friends.
So if we don't see you this Thanksgiving, we wish you a very special Thanksgiving and we hope that you know that when we are remembering all of our blessings on Thursday, we'll definitely be remembering you.
And before he comes behind me and types it in....yes, Jeremy's mother did type this blog.

Labs update

Just to clarify, Jeremy's totally normal labs are now Amylase 44, Lypase 18. The Lypase was the one that was 2248 in August so we are very thankful that he is now within normal limits. His bone age was 11 years 6 months which is actually 9 months younger than his actual age, which is wonderful news. The IBD serology was non conclusive for IBD, although his doctor did warn us that this test can show false negatives and false positives. They are starting to wean him off the Prednisone, which is a very good thing. The Hemocoult slide was negative for blood. The pancreatitis related labs have not come back yet so hopefully they will be back by the time we go to Cleveland next week.
And before Jeremy writes it, let me say, his mother wrote this blog.

Prayer/Health update

I just got some lab results back from Cleveland Clinic, and guess what? I'm, like, almost completely normal! (Yeah, I know, you all never thought I was. Oh well.) And also, on Tuesday, I went to see these ladies, who prayed over me in tongues for healing, and they gave me this totally awesome necklace that is good for comfort and healing! Like, sweetness!
So, anyways isn't that cool?
By the way, I think CLeveland Clinic totally ROCKS. They're really great with kids and are, like, so professional. I'm glad we are switching to Cleveland.

Speelling Be Champin!

Just on Tursday, Noveber 6th, I placed first in a Speelling Be at Reese High Scool! There was a hole 5 people there, so it was prety touf competonition. Next, I will go to the Regoinlas. I am, like, so ecksited. Bee there!
PS: My buther plased second in the sam speelling be.

Sunday Update

Jeremy had a really good week this week. He felt good all week. He started basketball practice and is looking forward to playing with the team this year. We were previously promised that he would be all cured by the time basketball season started but unfotunately he still has more tests and meds ahead of him. On the 19th and 20th he'll go back to Cleveland to repeat the MRI MR/CP, the colonoscopy and the endoscopy. Until then, we're praying he continues to feel as good as he has been and he can resume all his normal activities.
He is planning on running the Turkeyman race in Lansing again this year. (NOTE: I'm going to run it with my mom!) He probably won't get first place this year but he is hoping to finish the race and that will be great.
We'll update his blog after the next Cleveland visit.
PS: My mom wrote this post!

Today's Advice...

It depends... Are they lemon?

RE: Cleveland Clinic Update

Jeremy was seen by Dr. Kay at Cleveland Clinic on Thursday. The good news is that she was very thorough and did a complete review of all of his records. She spent 3 1/2 hours with him for his initial visit. The bad news is that every diagnosis she thinks he may have are all the ones we have been praying he doesn't have. Currently they are saying he probably has Crohn's disease or Ulcerative Colitis and chronic pancreatitis and is at risk for osteoporosis. They are running alot of labs on him that were not done previously and they did a bone density study as well. He will have a repeat colonoscopy and endoscopy the week before Thanksgiving. His meds were changed and are now more in line with the recommendations of Bert's friend from Florida. There were some areas we were not happy with from his previous hospital so he will be following up now with Cleveland. It was a long trip and the news was pretty discouraging but Jeremy has maintained an upbeat attitude through this all. We both felt that Dr. Kay and her staff were more thorough, professional and were going to do everything they could to help him.
We'll update his blog as we learn anything new with him.
PS: MY MOM WROTE THIS POST!!!! And Cleveland really rocks. We are so going to stay with them!!!!!!

Wait, where's Lucy?

That cats got skills!

About Jeremy's Post

This is a blog I created to keep people who are interested updated on what's happening with my health so my mom doesn't have to keep sending out a bajillion emails. Also, if you've got any great jokes, videos, or anything that you think is funny, email it to me, cause I love a good laugh!