Denver-revisited

Okay, so I posted a while back about our trip to Denver and how much I hated the traffic, but never told about our reason for making that trip. The reason was I wasn't sure of the outcome. But after last night I know the outcome and it doesn't change the status at our house one bit. You will have to bear with me as I have to tell it from the beginning, so I have to go back to July. In July, Bethany turned 5 and I took her in for a well-child check and so that she could get her shots to be able to go to school in a couple of months. At that visit it was discovered that she hadn't really grown much since last year (height or weight). So her doctor recommended that we have a weight check in three months and see what happens. She really wanted her to gain about 3 pounds in that time and told me to load on the food. Actually what she said was to load the calories....instead of giving Beth a plain piece of bread, put peanut butter on it type of things. So we went home and didn't really change her diet, becuase she is a good eater and we were doing those kinds of things anyway. So 3 months passed and I took her in Sept for the weight check. She had only gained 1/2 a pound. So the doctor asked for us to run some tests to see if there was something medically wrong with her, specifically looking at her thyroid, but also doing a bone age test. So I took her to the hospital where they drew blood for the tests and did the x-ray for the bone age test and went home to wait. The doctor called and told me that the blood tests looked fine, that her thyroid was working great ect, but the bone age test was the one they were concerned about. They told me that her bones looked like that of a 3 yr old (remember that she is 5), and this is indicitive of a growth hormone deficiency. So they recommended that we see an endocrinologist in Denver and check things out with him. I left that conversation feeling like she had a diagnosis and that we were just headed to Denver to confirm and get the proper treatment. When we get to Denver the doctor tells us that it isn't sure that she has a growth hormone deficiency, they will run more tests and that she may have Turner Syndrome have a nice day and we will call you with the results. (That is almost as fast as they did that too). So we come home wondering what Turner Syndrome is, what does that mean for Bethany and for me really stressing about what I am supposed to do now. I will admit that the internet is a great source for information, but can be bad when you are unsure if you really have that condition. Try it, look up what Turner Syndrome is and then put yourself into my shoes. We waited the time frame that they gave us before they should know the results, and still no call. The doctor had given me an email address, so I emailed her to ask about it....only to discover that they hadn't run all the tests that they needed to, and we had to have MORE blood drawn. Fortunately they could do it here at the local hospital and we wouldn't have to drive to Denver again. So they drew the blood and we waited some more. And finally last night, she called and gave us the results. Bethany does NOT have Turner Syndrome nor does she have a growth hormone deficiency. Essentially she is a perfectly healthy 5 yr old girl, just tiny for her age. So now what.....we are going to continue to monitor her with the specialist, but won't have to go to Denver, only to Casper as they do clinics every 3 months there. There may come a time where we might have to do more testing, but for now it is just a wait and watch her growth. It is hard as a parent to know that your child isn't growing normally (they told me that in Denver) but I know that she is perfect for her size (they told me that too). These past months have caused me to reflect on my actions during her pregnancy and after to wonder, could I have done something different?, but in my heart know that she is perfect and nothing is wrong with her, other than she got the raw end of the genetic battle and got Gabe's short side and mine too, and is therefore going to be really short. But for any and all who have met Bethany, you can astest that this little girl is little in body only.....she has personality and spirit that people twice her size don't have. I am so thankful that the tests right now have fallen in our favor, but still pray that she will be the child that she was meant to be.