With children, trust intuition

It was not the way we had intended to spend our Friday evening. We made repeated phone calls to Texas and constantly checked the computer for any messages. We worried and sent up prayers to guide the surgeon’s hands.

The last couple of times I had talked to daughter, Beth, she had expressed concern about her middle child, Jacob, aged 10. Like her other two kids, Emma and Nicholas, Jacob is an active child who is quite capable of entertaining himself.

He had played baseball over the summer and had developed into a good pitcher. He was gaining a little weight but everybody assumed it was a side effect of his ADHD medicine or maybe the fat genes were beginning to kick in. Very few of his ancestors were lean and we are afraid he is destined to be on the hefty side when he is fully grown.

The last few times I talked to Beth she expressed concern that not only was Jacob gaining weight he also had a pronounced lack of energy. It concerned her enough to take him to the doctor. The doctor did his thing and ran some blood tests at Beth’s request. The doctor said he doesn’t normally do those tests on children but Beth insisted.  

The tests came back and prompted even more tests. A growth on his pituitary gland was found and surgery was scheduled. It turned out that the growth was benign but that didn’t stop it from beginning to infiltrate the dura mater and bone, plus threaten the optic nerve and somehow cause a small leak of his spinal fluid. 

The surgeons were able to remove the trouble maker that was about the size of a sugar cube and the consistency of jelly. Now they are waiting to see if they have caused diabetes by doing the surgery. He is quite uncomfortable and all they are giving him is Tylenol.

It is times like this that I hate living so far away. We couldn’t do anything to help even if we lived next door. All we can do is offer a listening ear, prayers and mylar balloons that are attached to a teddy bear with a broken arm.

The reason I’m telling you this is to remind you that you know your child better than anyone else does. A doctor sees a patient for a few minutes but you see your child every day. What is normal for one child may not be normal for someone else.

If you are convinced that something is not right, then don’t accept a pat on the head and a quick dismissal. Yes, doctors have the education and experience that the rest of us don’t have. We rely on their judgment. That is how it should be but they are human.

A day after his surgery Jacob is beginning to feel a tiny bit better. He has had a few bites to eat and the pain in his head when he changes position isn’t as bad as it was. Both of his parents have been with him during this whole ordeal.

He will be home soon. Thankfully, people tend to forget how much things hurt. He will begin school in a day or so or whenever the doctor releases him. Life will get back to normal and the family will be glad that Beth listened to her intuition and got Jacob the help he needed before it caused any more harm than it did.