TEN MONTHS AFTER
SURGERY!!!!!
4/27/15
We are really
thrilled with how much better Alexa is doing!
She still has the pain on her left side as usual & especially with bowel
movements, but it is not as bad as before.
We are making progress!! Now to
report on the new GI dr that I mentioned we had found after that horrible
experience with the last one who didn’t even read her history before doing the
endoscopy. When I was 1st
looking for a new dr & praying fervently to be guided to the right one, I
felt really good about this one named Dr. Doxey. When I called to get the apt they said he was
completely booked for the next 2 months but we could get in to one of his partners
there. They said that Dr. Moore had an opening
in 2 weeks & that was my big mistake!
Alexa was in so much pain that I just wanted to get it figured out &
I didn’t stop to ask Heavenly Father about it & made the apt. We actually really liked this dr but he
didn’t have any clue at all about the surgery Alexa had. I do have to give him credit for reviewing
all of her records before coming in to talk to us. The 1st thing he said when he came
in was, “I can’t believe you had such a radical surgery, why would you do
that?” Alexa is actually the one who
explained to him why she had it, she simply said, “Because my pancreas was bad
& needed to be removed.” He then
said there wasn’t enough medical evidence out to prove that the TP/AIT surgery
is the best way.” That’s when I spoke up
& told him that that’s where he is wrong!
I told him that I had been studying this for 2 ½ yrs straight & that
there is so much evidence that this surgery saves lives & he just hasn’t
researched it! I asked him if he thought
we should have done the Whipple surgery where they just remove part of the
pancreas & then it kills all chances of saving any islets later &
almost always they end up having the pain come back again & have to have
more surgery again. Then I said,
“Alexa’s islets were able to be saved & she was completely off insulin
after 1 month!” He said, “Well, from
that stand point I guess it’s good.” I
said, “What do you mean from that stand point?
That’s HUGE!!” Then he said,
“Well Alexa is still in pain, has this improved her quality of life at
all?” I looked at Alexa & said,
“Alexa, has your quality of life been improved since having this surgery?” She said, “Yes, about 1000 times!” I then told him about how she was just on the
couch before surgery & hardly ever left the house & missed her jr &
sr yrs of high school & now was able to go out with friends & enroll in
school & actually have somewhat of a life now! He then went on & asked why we had
traveled around so much so I explained about how there were no doctors in Utah
trained to perform this surgery & why we had to go so many different
places. He said, “I see that you have
been to lots of different GI doctors & that you are on lots of meds. You
know, if you go to enough doctors, you can always get one of them to prescribe
what you want.” I couldn’t believe
it!! He actually thought we were there
seeking more meds!! I then told him that
he doesn’t understand who he is talking to!
I said, “You are talking to a family who doesn’t like taking any medication
at all & Alexa was on absolutely nothing before all of this!! We had very legitimate reasons for leaving
each & every GI dr!” He said, “Well,
you are probably not going to like what I am going to say & I suspect I
won’t be you last GI dr. I am not going
to do anything until she gets off of some of these meds since I am sure that
they are contributing to the probs that she is having.” I said, “I actually do like what you are
saying & I do hope that you will be the last GI we will have to go
to.” He wants her to get off 2 of the
medications before seeing her again. I was
actually really glad about this, it was good for Alexa to hear this from
someone other than her parents. The prob
is I knew this dr didn’t realize how much she was on before surgery & how
far she has come down! He really didn’t
have a clue!!! We went home after that
visit, which was on Feb 19th, & immediately she went off one of
the meds he wanted her off of, which was for restless legs. I got some minerals that were supposed to
help with that & it worked! The
other med was the Oxycodone. It took her
about a month to get off of it completely & I was really amazed at the
difference it made. She was also on a
pretty high dose of tizanadine, which is a muscle relaxer & we started
dropping off that too. We made an apt to
go back in to Dr. Moore the end of March & she was about ½ the dose of that
too. He seemed pretty surprised that she
was off the 2 meds & down so much on the other. That’s when he decided to try an anti-spasm
med. We tried that for 2 weeks & it
did nothing. I called to let him know
& he had her stop that & switch to something else & after 2 – 3 weeks
I called to let him know there was no change again. That’s when he suggested that we schedule an
endoscopy. Well, I was wondering about
that since she’d just had one a few months ago & he had looked at the test
results & said they really helped him a lot. We went in for an apt with him this past
Thurs & he told me the reason he wanted to do the test was to check for allergies. I told him that she has had at least 7 or 8
of these endoscopies & had been checked for everything under the sun
already!! He got very, very sarcastic
with me during the apt. He brought up
the surgery again & said to Alexa, “I know we don’t agree on this but since
you had such a radical surgery, you will probably have this pain the rest of
your life. That doesn’t mean I’m going
to give up & not try anymore, but we’ve about exhausted all of our options.” I was so upset that he was trying to take
away a young girl’s hope!! I started in
on him & told him there are plenty of people who have had this surgery who
are totally pain free & living normal lives!! He actually stood up & threw his arms in
the air & said, “Oh well, she’s all cured then!! She had this wonderful surgery & is
totally cured now!!” I said, “Well, her
life is sure a heck of a lot better than it was!” And then he did it again & threw his arms
up & said, “Ok then, she cured!!” We
left his office & I decided I’m done with all these crazy GI docs!!! I feel like we will just show him!! Alexa IS NOT going to be in pain the rest of
her life!!! I told Alexa to forget what
he told her & put it out of her mind!
We just need to show Heavenly Father that we have faith & do some
extra praying & fasting!! I told her
that Heavenly Father told her specific things in her patriarchal blessing &
she has a purpose here in this life. She
can’t fulfill that purpose while in this pain so I know he will heal her!! Here she has come off of all these meds &
of course it is going to take time for her body to adjust!
Honestly, Alexa is
really doing fabulous! She has been
going out with her friends, going to church at the singles ward every week,
going to PT twice a week & started horseback riding lessons once a
week. I know it will just take time for
her body to finish adjusting & find a new norm. She will get there though. This experience has made her have so much
more empathy for others. I am sure she
will be able to help so many people now.
She has always had such a tender & caring heart but this has made
her so much more compassionate, and also the rest of our family. There is always a purpose for the trials we
go thru, we will just enjoy the journey!!
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| LADIES NIGHT OUT! |
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| EASTER SUNDAY |
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| With Taya in AZ |
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| With Freestone cousins at Frozen Custard |
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