January 18
It was a busy day and a challenge to get out of the house on time. First stop was the new Sanford Hospital in Fargo to see a pediatric surgeon who looked at the gtube site. They agreed that the small boil that had formed above her tube likely needed to be drained. So some numbing cream and a scalpel later we had all sort of stuff coming out, including what appeared to be a couple stitches that had not dissolved as planned. They did collect some of the drainage to culture, so hoping to hear back on that soon.
From there I ran through (well actually I DROVE through) a drive through and hit the interstate to make it to Sioux Falls, SD in time for an afternoon appointment with Henley's GI dr. As much as an inconvenience as it is to travel that far, we really love Dr. Doubledee. We made some changes to her nutritional plan and hope that over the next 6 weeks they pay off. We'll stay in touch with him via email until then. He goes to a remote clinic in Aberdeen once a month, so we will save some miles and see him there the first week of March.
The most irritating part of my day was dealing with Sanford (specifically a nurse manager named Kristi) and trying to arrange for Henley to receive a shot she needs TOMORROW in Fargo instead of Dickinson. It took about 3 hours, multiple phone calls, then working with our insurance and our pediatrician before she finally agreed to do the shot. It was completely ridiculous. Henley is blessed to have an pediatrician that has made himself available to her whenever needed because he recognizes the complicated life we have signed up for. She's also blessed to have an advocate assigned to her at Blue Cross Blue Shield. Both hit the phone hard advocating to get this shot done. What's incredibly sad is that not every child is that fortunate and for truly NO LEGITIMATE reason Kristi was being difficult. So disappointing.
